DETAILED ACTION
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 .
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 – 4 and 6 – 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Claims 1 and 6 recite “determining whether the humidity is less than a reference value by using the measurement values”, which is considered a mathematical concept and/or a mental process. This step can be performed by basic math, such as subtracting a measured value for a baseline value, or by simply observing whether value is higher or lower than another value.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because claims 1 and 6 do not recite additional elements that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application. The use of a processor to execute operations amounts to nothing more than an instruction to apply the abstract idea using a generic computer. The step of “acquiring a plurality of measurement values at predetermined time intervals of humidity in a structure, the structure including an oxygen concentration measurement device” is merely a data gathering step that amounts to insignificant extra-solution activity. Similarly, the step of “generating a signal, the signal instructing removal of dirt on the oxygen concentration measurement device according to the determination” amounts to an insignificant application of abstract idea. The signal can merely be a “yes” or “no” signal to a user to alert them whether a task should be performed.
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the processor is a generic computing device, a humidity sensor is routine and conventional sensor for measuring humidity values, and oxygen concentration measurement devices are routine and conventional devices for measuring oxygen concentration. Thus, the claim uses well-known, routine, and conventional structures to perform the insignificant extra-solution steps and provide the data for performing the determining in the abstract idea.
Claims 2 – 4 and 7 – 13 recite further “acquiring” seps that are similarly directed to an insignificant extra-solution data gathering activity. The further “acquiring” steps do not recite additional elements that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application. Claims 2 – 4 and 7 – 13 also recite further “calculating” and “determining” steps that further define the abstract idea. These steps are similarly directed to an abstract idea and involve mathematical concepts and/or a mental processes. Calculating percentage values and standard deviations amount to performing mathematical calculations. The determining steps are further steps can be done by mere observation and/or simple math.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 210442298 (hereinafter referred to as CN ‘298).
In regard to claim 5, CN ‘298 discloses a dust removal device having a PLC controller (11), as discussed in paragraphs [0022] and [0032] of the machine translation. The PLC controller forms a processor configured to execute operations. As discussed in paragraph [0032], the processor acquires a signal from a temperature and humidity sensor (61) which instructs the removal of dirt. The signal is used to determine operation of dust removal unit (4) that applies vibration to a filter (2). The vibration of the filter (2) removes dust on a filter part of an oxygen centration measurement device, as the device of CN ‘298 is a zirconia probe used to measure oxygen concentration as discussed in paragraph [0004].
Conclusion
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/ROBERT CLEMENTE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1773