Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
This action is in reply to the Applicant’s claims, filed on 05/26/2026.
Claims 1, and 8 have been amended.
Claims 7, and 14 have been cancelled.
Claims 1-6, 8-13, and 15 are currently pending and have been examined.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 05/26/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-6, 8-13, and 15 remain
pending in the application. Applicant’s amendments to the claims have partially overcome the rejections previously set forth in the Final Office Action filed 11/25/2025. Applicant’s arguments regarding the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection are not persuasive and the rejection maintained. Applicants’ arguments and amendments to the claims are persuasive and the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections overcome. However, upon further consideration, the amendments introduce new issues that a new ground(s) of prior art rejections is made for claims 1-6, 8-13, and 15.
Regarding Applicant’s arguments that the claims are not directed to a mental process, integrate into a practical application, and not an abstract idea; Examiner respectively disagrees. Applicant’s argument that the process cannot be performed in the human mind is not persuasive. Considering the elements of receiving, detecting, defining, and generating, these elements taken together recite the concept of obtaining information regarding a current state, obtaining information regarding a desired state, determining a relationship between the states and providing information based upon those states which all fall under the mental process grouping of abstract ideas. Applicant’s arguments are further limiting than the claims. The claims do not recite a limitation of a real-time, sensor dependent, machine-motion context as the applicant asserts. The concept of obtaining information regarding a current state, obtaining information regarding a desired state, determining a relationship between the states and providing information based upon those states is not limited to “real-time” as the claim does not require a particular sampling rate, response time, continuous sensing, or other limitation requiring the sensor data to be obtained or processed in “real-time.” The claims also do not recite a structure for propagating the data through a kinematic chain between the carrier, boom and drilling unit. The claim merely recites a sensor and generic computing device to receive, detect and generate tramming assistance information. The complexity and requirement of a propagating structure is further limiting than the claim requires. Applicant further argues that the information received, detected and generated during tramming cannot be performed as a mental process. A person may perform observations, evaluations, judgments, or decision making mentally while simultaneously operating or riding in a moving vehicle. Although the claims have been amended to include a specific sensor, the sensor performs the conventional function of sensing the position and direction of the carrier and the claims do not positively recite that sensor data is being used to track the orientation of carrier. For example, the sensor is recited without limitations as to its position on the physical structures or specific measurements being taken (like Thales did) nor do the claims contain specific actions or triggers in response to the output of the abstract idea (like Diehr opening the rubber mold). Examiner did not apply Thales or Diehr when analyzing claims. The reference of these citations is in response to the applicant’s previous arguments. Applicant argues that “during tramming” requires real time sensor data from a moving machine and therefore cannot be practically performed in the mind. The recitation of “during tramming” is a temporal limitation that specifies when the claimed detecting and subsequent information gathering operations occur. It does not require that the machine performing the tramming must itself perform each of the clamed functions, nor does it impose the additional claim limitations asserted by the applicant. The claim is directed to receiving pose information, determining an orientation of the drilling unit based on the pose information, and generating tramming assistance information based upon the determined orientation and target pose. The fact that the information is obtained while the drilling rig is moving does not change the character of these operations. Rather, the temporal limitation merely specifies the context in which the information is obtained and used. Applicant’s argument that a human mind cannot practically obtain sensor data from a moving drilling rig does not establish that the claim is directed to a practical application. Thus, the information processing activity falls within the mental process grouping. The arguments are not persuasive and the rejection maintained.
Applicant further argues the additional elements recited in the claims integrate the abstract idea into a practical application as the claims purportedly improve the operation of a specific machine for improving tramming accuracy and safety. The improvement is directed to manner in which a decision is performed, rather than to an improvement in the underlying machine or the functioning of the machine itself. Merely implementing an improvement to a decision process is not the same as an improvement to the machine itself nor the functioning the machine itself as the improvement cannot lie in the judicial exception. In particular, the claim limitations do not recite any modification to the machine or other operation that results from the claimed process. The asserted improvement arises from the application of a decision process. An improvement in the decision making process is distinct from an improvement to the operation or functionality of the machine on which the process is performed. Therefore, the additional elements do not impose a meaningful limitation on the judicial exception or otherwise integrate into a practical application. The recitation of the drilling rig, carrier, boom, sensor, and drilling unit merely restrict the application to a particular technical environment or field of use. The recitation of “apply the tramming assistance” merely amount to the words “apply it” or are mere instructions to implement an abstract idea. See Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1356, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1743-44 (Fed. Cir. 2016); Intellectual Ventures I v. Symantec, 838 F.3d 1307, 1327, 120 USPQ2d 1353, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2016); Internet Patents Corp. v. Active Network, Inc., 790 F.3d 1343, 1348, 115 USPQ2d 1414, 1417 (Fed. Cir. 2015)” (see MPEP 2106.05(f)). Applicant’s reliance on the particular type of information being obtained does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. The claimed information is data representing a physical characteristic of the drilling rig. The claim does not recite that the data improves the operation of drilling rig or alters the direction. Rather, the information is obtained and subsequently used in determining orientation and generating tramming assistance information. For instance, a data gathering step that is limited to a particular data source (such as the Internet) or a particular type of data (such as power grid data or XML tags) could be considered to be both insignificant extra-solution activity and a field of use limitation. See, e.g., Ultramercial, 772 F.3d at 716, 112 USPQ2d at 1755 (limiting use of abstract idea to the Internet); Electric Power, 830 F.3d at 1354, 119 USPQ2d at 1742 (limiting application of abstract idea to power grid data); Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Erie Indem. Co., 850 F.3d 1315, 1328-29, 121 USPQ2d 1928, 1939 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (limiting use of abstract idea to use with XML tags). The arguments are not persuasive and the rejection maintained.
Applicant further argues the combination is not conventional or generic. Examiner is unsure what combination the applicant is referring to as not conventional or generic. Examiner has stated the control and the supporting system components (i.e. non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) are additional elements whose functions are recited at a high level of generality and are merely invoked as tools to perform the abstract idea. The recitation of the drilling rig, carrier, boom, sensor, and drilling unit merely restrict the application to a particular technical environment or field of use. The recitation of “apply the tramming assistance” merely amount to the words “apply it” or are mere instructions to implement an abstract idea. Accordingly, in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. Additionally, the specification notes that the control means and associated processing is a generic computer [0065]. The arguments are not persuasive and the rejection maintained.
Applicant further argues the claims recite a non-conventical control architecture. The recitation of a particular sequence of information processing operations does not establish a non-conventional control architecture. The use of a sensor derived information does not establish non-conventional architecture merely because the information is obtained from a moving drilling rig. The data being processed and the temporal context in which the data is obtained do not demonstrate that the control architecture is unconventional. The claims do not recite a particular unconventional processor architecture, memory architecture, sensor architecture, communication architecture, or other structural arrangement of the control means that recited in the claims. Examiner notes that novelty is not eligibility as a claim may contain novel features and be directed to a judicial exception without additional elements that amount to significantly more. The arguments are not persuasive and the rejection maintained.
Applicant further argues Examiners own findings undermine the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection. Examiner has identified claims 5 and 12 as eligible as the claims add a particular narrow view of the machine, specifically “carrier includes a first carrier portion and a second carrier portion interconnected by a carrier joint “ which integrates the abstract idea into a practical solution and may amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. While the claims may be eligible under 35 U.S.C. 101, the claims depend on an ineligible claim and therefore also rejected as instantly claimed. Thus, the arguments are not persuasive and the rejection maintained.
Regarding the amended limitation of “generating the tramming assistance information includes defining a steering control instruction for autonomous steering operation or for guiding an operator to control steering of the drilling rig” does not require that the drilling rig to be controlled or steered, it merely generates instructions or guidance that is used and therefore does not integrate into a practical application.
Examiner recommends the claim language to be amended to positively recite the tramming assistance is directly controlling the autonomous steering or outputting instructions to cause the carrier to change direction during tramming (i.e. not solely generating information or guiding an operator to control) or incorporating the elements of claim 5 into the claim to overcome the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-3, 6-10, and 11-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Step 1 of the USPTO’s eligibility analysis entails considering whether the claimed subject matter falls within the four statutory categories of patentable subject matter identified by 35 U.S.C. 101: Process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter.
Claims 1, 8, and 15 are directed to a system (machine or manufacture), and a method (process), respectively. As such, the claims are directed to statutory categories of invention.
If the claim recites a statutory category of invention, the claim requires further analysis in Step 2A. Step 2A of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance is a two-prong inquiry. In Prong One, examiners evaluate whether the claim recites a judicial exception.
Claims 1, 8, and 15 recite abstract limitations as shown underlined below:
A mobile underground drilling rig, comprising a carrier, at least one boom attached at a first end to the carrier, and a drilling unit attached to a second end of the boom, at least one sensor arranged to determine current position and direction of the carrier, and at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
receive target pose information indicative of at least a target pose for the drilling unit in accordance with an input plan,
detect, via the at least one sensor, during tramming of the drilling rig, current carrier pose information indicative of orientation of the carrier from a carrier pose information source, such as a gyroscope,
define, during tramming of the drilling rig, current orientation of the drilling unit on the basis of the detected carrier pose information indicative of the orientation of the carrier; and
generate, during tramming of the drilling rig, tramming assistance information indicating a current pose of the drilling unit relative to the target pose of the drilling unit on the basis of the target pose information and the defined orientation of the drilling unit, wherein generating the tramming assistance information includes defining a steering control instruction for autonomous steering operation or for guiding an operator to control steering of the drilling rig and;
apply the tramming assistance information during tramming of the drilling rig for assisting the tramming of the rig.
Claims 8 and 15 recite substantially similar elements, and therefore are not repeated for brevity.
These limitations, as drafted, are a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, cover performance of the limitations in the mind, or by a human using pen and paper, and therefore recite mental processes. More specifically, other than reciting “a data processing apparatus”, nothing in the claim element precludes the aforementioned steps from practically being performed in the human mind, or by a human using pen and paper. The mere recitation of generic computing elements does not take the claim out of the mental process grouping. Furthermore, as discussed in MPEP §2106.04(a)(2)(III)(A), claims directed toward a mental process include claims to “‘collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis,’ where the data analysis steps are recited at a high level of generality such that they could practically be performed in the human mind, Electric Power Group v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1353-54, 199 USPQ2d 1739, 1741-42 (Fed. Cir. 2016)”. Thus, the claims recite an abstract idea.
If the claim recites a judicial exception (i.e., an abstract idea enumerated in Section I of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, a law of nature, or a natural phenomenon), the claim requires further analysis in Prong Two. In Prong Two, examiners evaluate whether the claim recites additional elements that integrate the exception into a practical application of that exception.
Claims 1, 8, and 15 recite additional elements as shown bolded below:
A mobile underground drilling rig, comprising a carrier, at least one boom attached at a first end to the carrier, and a drilling unit attached to a second end of the boom at least one sensor arranged to determine current position and direction of the carrier, and at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
receive target pose information indicative of at least a target pose for the drilling unit in accordance with an input plan,
detect, via the at least one sensor, during tramming of the drilling rig, current carrier pose information indicative of orientation of the carrier from a carrier pose information source, such as a gyroscope;
define, during tramming of the drilling rig, current orientation of the drilling unit on the basis of the detected carrier pose information indicative of the orientation of the carrier; and
generate, during tramming of the drilling rig, tramming assistance information indicating a current pose of the drilling unit relative to the target pose of the drilling unit on the basis of the target pose information and the defined orientation of the drilling unit, wherein generating the tramming assistance information includes defining a steering control instruction for autonomous steering operation or for guiding an operator to control steering of the drilling rig and;
apply the tramming assistance information during tramming of the drilling rig for assisting the tramming of the rig.
Claims 8 recites substantially similar elements, and therefore is not repeated for brevity. Claim 15 recites the additional elements of “a computer program”, which is recited as a non-transitory medium. Examiner notes that the “data processing apparatus” is the same scope as “control” and therefore will analyze those elements the same way.
The control and the supporting system components (i.e. non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) are additional elements whose functions are recited at a high level of generality and are merely invoked as tools to perform the abstract idea. The recitation of the drilling rig, carrier, boom, sensor, and drilling unit merely restrict the application to a particular technical environment or field of use. The recitation of “apply the tramming assistance” merely amount to the words “apply it” or are mere instructions to implement an abstract idea.
Accordingly, in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea.
If the additional elements do not integrate the exception into a practical application, then the claim is directed to the recited judicial exception, and requires further analysis under Step 2B to determine whether they provide an inventive concept (i.e., whether the additional elements amount to significantly more than the exception itself).
As discussed above, the additional elements of the control means and the supporting system components amount to mere instructions to apply the exception. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. Additionally, the specification notes that the control means and associated processing is a generic computer [0065].
As discussed above, the limitations of the drilling rig, carrier, boom, sensor, and drilling unit merely links the use of the judicial exception to a particular technical environment or field of use and “apply the tramming assistance” merely amounts to the words “apply it”. Thus, even when viewed as an ordered combination, nothing in the claim(s) add significantly more (i.e. an inventive concept) to the abstract idea. Furthermore, the drilling rig, carrier, boom, sensor, and drilling unit are merely conventional wellsite tools to provide data input for the abstract idea (see MPEP section 2106.05(h)).
Thus, even when viewed as an ordered combination, nothing in the claims add significantly more (i.e. an inventive concept) to the abstract idea.
Regarding claims 2 and 9, these claims recite the additional elements of “a rock drill” and “a feed beam” which merely restrict the application to a particular technical environment or field of use. These claims also recite limitations that further define the “input plan” which further limits the abstract idea with more specific data elements. The recitation of the specific variables (i.e. target positions and orientations for each hole…) is insufficient as “merely selecting information, by content or source, for collection, analysis, and display does nothing significant to differentiate a process from ordinary mental processes, whose implicit exclusion from §101 undergirds the information-based category of abstract ideas (See Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2016)).
Regarding claims 3 and 10, the limitations of “defining deviation of the drilling unit…” and “generating…on the basis of the defined deviation…” are further directed to a method encompassing a mental process, as described above in regards to claim 1 and 8.
Regarding claims 4 and 11, the limitations of “receiving orientation information…” and “defining the orientation…and joint position information of a plurality of joints…” are further directed to a method encompassing a mental process, as described above in regards to claim 1 and 8. The “gyroscope” is not a positively recited structure, and is therefore not considered an additional element. There is not method step requiring the measurement by a gyroscope, and the claim on requires analyzing the data that is received. This also is applicable to the limitation of “a plurality of joints” as merely the source of the data that is analyzed and not a positively recited structure.
Regarding claim 6 and 13, these claims recite limitations that are considered insignificant extra-solution activity. As noted in MPEP 2106.05(g), limitations directed toward “necessary data gathering and outputting” is considered insignificant. The claim does not recite anything more than a generic display methodology; therefore, this judicial exception is not meaningfully integrated into a practical application, or significantly more than the abstract idea.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable, in a first interpretation, over Moberg et al. (US10,094,216) in view of Eilo et al. (US2008/0230270).
Claims 1 and 15. Moberg discloses: A mobile underground drilling rig (10 machine, Fig. 1-2), comprising
a carrier (structure of 12 frame and 13 tracks, Fig. 2),
at least one boom attached at a first end to the carrier (lower end of 21 boom is coupled to 12, Fig. 2), and
a drilling unit attached to a second end of the boom (15 cutter head at upper end of 21, Fig. 2),
at least one sensor arranged to determine current position and direction of the carrier (46 position sensor used to sense position and orientation of 10, Fig. 1); , and
at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor (41 controller comprising of memory, processor, algorithms; Fig. 1; Col.5, lines 32-37), cause the apparatus at least to:
receive target pose information indicative of at least a target pose for the drilling unit in accordance with an input plan (controller stores a desired machine path and determines a target position of the machine based upon the desired machine path; Col. 1, lines 63-65; Fig. 9);
detect, via the at least one sensor, current carrier pose information indicative of orientation of the carrier from a carrier pose information source, such as a gyroscope (position sensor is operative to generate signals indicative of a pose of the machine; Col. 1, lines 60-63); 46 can be as slope or inclination sensor; Col. 6, lines 39-42; Fig. 9);
define, current orientation of the drilling unit on the basis of the detected carrier pose information indicative of the orientation of the carrier (controller determines actual pose of the machine based upon position sensors; Col. 2, lines 1-4; Fig. 9);
generate, information indicating a current pose of the drilling unit relative to the target pose of the drilling unit on the basis of the target pose information and the defined orientation of the drilling unit (controller determines the difference between the actual pose of the machine and the target pose of the machine, and determines a milling path of the milling tool; Col. 2, lines 1-11; Fig. 9),
wherein generating the tramming assistance information includes defining a steering control instruction for autonomous steering operation or for guiding an operator to control steering of the drilling rig; and
apply the tramming assistance information during tramming of the drilling rig for assisting the tramming of the rig (controller generates next target pose after completion of milling set and instructions provided to an operator to position the machine at the next target pose; Col. 13, lines 1-15; Fig.9).
Moberg does not disclose: during tramming of the drilling rig.
Eilo discloses a method for driving a rock drilling device to a planned drilling site using distance measuring devices for guidance.
Eilo teaches: during tramming of the drilling rig ([0024]), generating the tramming assistance information includes defining a steering control instruction for autonomous steering operation or for guiding an operator to control steering of the drilling rig ([0026]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the machine of Moberg by including the distance measuring guidance system as taught by Eilo with a reasonable expectation of success in order to accurately drive the machine as taught by Eilo ([0024, 0026]) while receiving, detecting and generating pose information.
Claims 1-4, 6-11, and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable, in a second interpretation, over Eilo et al. (US2008/0230270) in view of Launis et al. (WO2018184916) and Tuunanen (US2014/0157860).
Claim 1. Eilo discloses: A mobile underground drilling rig (1 rock drilling rig, Fig 1), comprising
a carrier (2 carrier, Fig. 1),
at least one boom attached at a first end to the carrier (3 drill boom, Fig. 1), and
a drilling unit attached to a second end of the boom (6 rock drill machine, Fig. 1),
at least one sensor arranged to determine current position and direction of the carrier (11 measuring devices, Fig. 2), and
at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to (30 control unit, Fig. 1);
input plan (14 drilling plan, Fig. 3);
detect, via the at least one sensor, during tramming of the drilling rig, current carrier pose information indicative of orientation of the carrier (distance between carrier and wall is measured by 11, [0023]); and
generate, during tramming of the drilling rig, tramming assistance information (user interface displays measurements of deviations, [0025]) wherein generating the tramming assistance information includes defining a steering control instruction for autonomous steering operation or for guiding an operator to control steering of the drilling rig ([0026]); and
apply the tramming assistance information during tramming of the drilling rig for assisting the tramming of the rig (monitoring and comparing positioning, drive the rig to planned location; [0024]).
Elio does not disclose: receive target pose information indicative of at least a target pose for the drilling unit in accordance with an input plan; gyroscope; define, during tramming of the drilling rig, current orientation of the drilling unit on the basis of the detected carrier pose information indicative of the orientation of the carrier; and generate, during tramming of the drilling rig, tramming assistance information indicating a current pose of the drilling unit relative to the target pose of the drilling unit on the basis of the target pose information and the defined orientation of the drilling unit.
Launis discloses an apparatus for controlling booms of a mine vehicle comprising of a boom coupled to drill unit, a controller, sensors to determine pose information and server to compare target and current pose information.
Launis teaches: receive target pose information indicative of at least a target pose for the drilling unit (target pose of 3 boom coupled to 4 drilling unit; Pg. 20, lines 22-23; initial orientation of the tool is detected; Pg. 12, lines 3-4) in accordance with an input plan (drilling pattern or pre-designed plan; Pg. 20, lines 25-27); define, during tramming of the drilling rig, current orientation of the drilling unit on the basis of the detected carrier pose information indicative of the orientation of the carrier (current pose of boom is determined; Pg. 20, lines 27-28; current pose is input into system as well as other physical objects e.g. carrier; Pg. 20 lines 22-25; system is configured to prevent collisions between the boom and carrier therefore, the orientation of the carrier is inherently known; Pg. 6, lines 19-21); and generate, during tramming of the drilling rig, tramming assistance information indicating a current pose of the drilling unit relative to the target pose of the drilling unit on the basis of the target pose information and the defined orientation of the drilling unit (operator is informed, Pg. 12, lines 21-23); control unit may display guidance on a display; Fig. 4; Pg. 12, lines 24-25).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the control system of Eilo by incorporating the drilling unit control system of Launis to compare of the current drilling unit orientation to the target pose orientation to control the drill unit automatically toward the target position with a reasonable expectation of success as taught by Launis (Pg. 12, lines 3-13).
Eilo in view of Launis does not teach: gyroscope.
Tuunanen discloses a method for measuring the inclination of a drilling apparatus comprising of a carrier and boom.
Tuunanen teaches: gyroscope included in the carrier (8 inclination measurement device, [0048]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the carrier of Eilo in view of Launis to include the inclination measurement device as taught by Tuunanen with a reasonable expectation of success in order to incorporate a device to determine orientation and position of movable drilling devices as taught by Tuunanen ([0002]).
Claim 2. Eilo in view of Launis and Tuunanen teach: The drilling rig of claim 1, wherein the drilling unit includes a rock drill (Eilo: 8 tool, Fig. 3 or Launis: 4 drilling unit, Fig. 1) attached to a feed beam rotatably connected to the boom (Eilo: Fig. 1 or Launis: Fig. 1), the input plan including a drilling plan including target positions and orientations for each hole in a set of holes to be drilled (Eilo: 16 direction of holes and 15 starting points, Fig. 3 or Launis: drilling pattern or pre-designed plan; Pg. 20, lines 25-27), and wherein the target pose information is indicative of, or defined based on, a target orientation for the feed beam for drilling a hole in the set of holes (Launis: target pose of 3 boom coupled to 4 drilling unit; Pg. 20, lines 22-23; initial orientation of the tool is detected; Pg. 12, lines 3-4).
Claim 3. Eilo in view of Launis and Tuunanen teach: The drilling rig of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to define deviation of the drilling unit from the at least one target pose on the basis of the defined orientation of the drilling unit and the target pose information (Launis: target pose of 3 boom coupled to 4 drilling unit; Pg. 20, lines 22-23; initial orientation of the tool is detected; Pg. 12, lines 3-4), and generate the tramming assistance information on the basis of the defined deviation of the orientation of the drilling unit from the at least one target pose (Launis: operator is informed, Pg. 12, lines 21-23); control unit may display guidance on a display; Fig. 4; Pg. 12, lines 24-25).
Claim 4. Eilo in view of Launis and Tuunanen teach: The drilling rig of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to receive information on orientation of the carrier from a gyroscope included in the carrier (Tuunanen: 8 inclination measurement device, [0048]) and define the orientation of the drilling unit (Launis: Pg. 19, lines 20-35)) on the basis of the received information on orientation of the carrier (Eilo: [0022-0027] or Launis: surrounding surfaces and obstacles; Pg. 19, lines 20-35) and joint position information from joint position sensors (Launis: 12 sensors, Fig. 1) of a plurality of joints between the carrier and the drilling unit (Launis: Fig. 1).
Claim 6. Eilo in view of Launis and Tuunanen teach: The drilling rig of claim 1,wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to generate a graphical user interface view (Eilo: 18 user interface, Fig. 4 or Launis: control unit may display guidance on a display; Fig. 4; Pg. 12, lines 24-25) indicative of at least the orientation of the drilling unit and the at least one target pose, and displaying the graphical user interface view during the tramming of the drilling rig for assisting an operator to control the tramming of the drilling rig to a drilling position for carrying out a drilling operation according to a drilling plan (Eilo: [0024-0027]).
Claim 8. Eilo discloses: A method for controlling an underground drilling rig comprising a carrier, at least one boom attached at a first end to the carrier, at least one sensor arranged to determine current position and direction of the carrier ,and a drilling unit attached to a second end of the boom, the method comprising the steps of: detecting, via the at least one sensor, during tramming of the drilling rig, current carrier pose information indicative of orientation of the carrier, wherein the step of generating the tramming assistance information includes defining a steering control instruction for autonomous steering operation or for guiding an operator to control steering of the drilling rig (see previously rejected claim 1).
Elios does not disclose: receiving target pose information indicative of at least target pose for the drilling unit in accordance with an input plan, gyroscope, defining, during tramming of the drilling rig, current orientation of the drilling unit on the basis of the detected carrier pose information indicative of the orientation of the carrier, and generating, during tramming of the drilling rig, tramming assistance information indicating a current pose of the drilling unit relative to the target pose of the drilling unit on the basis of the target pose information and the defined orientation of the drilling unit and applying the tramming assistance information during tramming of the drilling rig for assisting the tramming of the rig (see previously rejected claim 1).
Launis further teaches: receiving target pose information indicative of at least target pose for the drilling unit in accordance with an input plan, defining, during tramming of the drilling rig, current orientation of the drilling unit on the basis of the detected carrier pose information indicative of the orientation of the carrier, and generating, during tramming of the drilling rig, tramming assistance information indicating a current pose of the drilling unit relative to the target pose of the drilling unit on the basis of the target pose information and the defined orientation of the drilling unit and applying the tramming assistance information during tramming of the drilling rig for assisting the tramming of the rig (see previously rejected claim 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the control system of Eilo by incorporating the drilling unit control system of Launis to compare of the current drilling unit orientation to the target pose orientation to control the drill unit automatically toward the target position with a reasonable expectation of success as taught by Launis (Pg. 12, lines 3-13).
Eilo in view of Launis does not teach: gyroscope.
Tuunanen further teaches: gyroscope included in the carrier (see previously rejected claim 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the carrier of Eilo in view of Launis to include the inclination measurement device as taught by Tuunanen with a reasonable expectation of success in order to incorporate a device to determine orientation and position of movable drilling devices as taught by Tuunanen ([0002]).
Claim 9. Eilo in view of Launis and Tuunanen teach: The method of claim 8, wherein the drilling unit includes a rock drill attached to a feed beam rotatably connected to the boom, the input plan including a drilling plan including target positions and orientations for each hole in a set of holes to be drilled, and the target pose information is indicative of, or defined based on, a target orientation for the feed beam for drilling a hole in the set of holes (see previously rejected claim 2).
Claim 10. Eilo in view of Launis and Tuunanen teach: The method of claim 8 further comprising defining deviation of the drilling unit from the at least one target pose on the basis of the defined orientation of the drilling unit and the target pose information, and generating the tramming assistance information on the basis of the defined deviation of the orientation of the drilling unit from the at least one target pose (see previously rejected claim 3).
Claim 11. Eilo in view of Launis and further in view of Tuunanen teaches: The method of claim 8, further comprising receiving orientation of the carrier from a gyroscope comprised by the carrier and defining the orientation of the drilling unit on the basis of the received orientation of the carrier and joint position information from joint position sensors of a plurality of joints between the carrier and the drilling unit (see previously rejected claim 4).
Claim 13. Eilo in view of Launis and Tuunanen teach: The method of claim 8 further comprising: generating a graphical user interface view indicative of at least the orientation of the drilling unit and the at least one target pose, and displaying the graphical user interface view during the tramming of the drilling rig for assisting an operator to control the tramming of the drilling rig to a drilling position for carrying out a drilling operation according to a drilling plan (see previously rejected claim 6).
Claim 15. Eilo in view of Launis and Tuunanen teach: A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer program code for, which when executed in a data processing apparatus, to cause causes the method in accordance with claim 8 to be performed (Eilo: [0022-0027] or Launis: Pg. 12, lines 24-25; inherent to control unit to process and display measurements and deviations).
Claims 5 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable, in a second interpretation, over Eilo et al. (US20080230270 in view of Launis (WO2018184916) , Tuunanen (US2014/0157860), Rokbi (US6152244), and Suvanen (201600112678).
Claim 5. Eilo in view of Launis and Tuunanen teach: The drilling rig of claim 1, the carrier pose information being indicative of orientation of the first carrier portion, and wherein the control means are configured the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor for defining the orientation of the drilling unit (see previously rejected claim 4).
Eilo in view of Launis and Tuunanen does not teach: the carrier includes a first carrier portion and a second carrier portion interconnected by a carrier joint and the control means are configured to use information on position of the carrier joint as an input.
Rokbi discloses a mobile drilling device comprising of a front and rear chassis coupled to by an intermediate articulation.
Rokbi teaches: the carrier includes a first carrier portion (1 front chassis, Fig. 1) and a second carrier portion (2 rear chassis, Fig. 1) interconnected by a carrier joint (5 intermediate articulation, Fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the single chassis carrier of Eilo in view of Launis and Tuunanen into a double chassis carrier with an intermediate articulation as taught by Rokbi with a reasonable expectation of success in order to have a drilling rig with better lateral stability when turning and a smaller bulk as taught by Rokbi (Col. 2, lines 19-23).
Eilo in view of Launis, Tuunanen, and Rokbi does not teach: to use information on position of the carrier joint as an input.
Suvanen discloses rock drilling rig comprising of sensors, other measuring devices, or other positioning detecting means for determining the position of the drilling unit.
Suvanen further teaches: to use information on position of the carrier joint as an input (9 sensors, Fig. 1; [0041, 0068]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the drilling rig of Eilo in view of Launis, Tuunanen, and Roki by including the angle sensors as taught by Suvanen to determine the joint position of the carriers with a reasonable expectation of success as taught Suvanen ([0041]).
Claim 12. Eilo in view of Launis, Tuunanen, Rokbi and Suvanen teach: The method of claim 8, wherein the carrier includes a first carrier portion and a second carrier portion interconnected by a carrier joint, wherein the carrier pose information is indicative of orientation of the first carrier portion, and information on position of the carrier joint from joint position sensors is used as an input for defining the orientation of the drilling unit (see previously rejected claim 5).
Conclusion
Examiner finds claims 5 and 12 to be eligible under 35 U.S.C. 101 as the claims add a particular machine, specifically “carrier includes a first carrier portion and a second carrier portion interconnected by a carrier joint “ which integrates the abstract idea into a practical solution and may amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. While the claims may be eligible under 35 U.S.C. 101, the claims depend on an ineligible claim and therefore also rejected as instantly claimed.
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/DANIEL T CRAIG/Examiner, Art Unit 3676
/TARA SCHIMPF/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3676
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