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 .
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s amendment and request for continued examination filed 06/08/2026. Claims 40, 43-46, 49-57, and 60-62 are currently pending in this application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 40, 43-46, and 49-53 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bass (U.S. 2019/0101452 A1) in view of GUILLAUME et al. (WO 9010861 A1) in view of O’Neal et al. (U.S. 2009/0140872 A1).
Claim 40, Bass teaches:
A system for monitoring a state of excessive heat in one or more components of an electrical system (Bass, Paragraph [0008]), comprising:
at least one detection unit (Bass, Fig. 1: 202, 204), each detection unit mounted with respect to a component of the electrical system to be monitored so as to be in thermal contact with the component to be monitored (Bass, Paragraph [0010], The circuitry of Fig. 1 is enclosed in a case which is in thermal communication with the case (see Bass, Paragraph [0033]).), each detection unit comprising a controller (Bass, Fig. 1: 202, Bass, Paragraph [0022], The wireless transmitter 214 is a preferably a Wi-Fi transmitter and effectively controls how and when to transmit the temperature detected. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the wireless transmitter 214 to have a controller for controlling the signal transmission.) and a power source (Bass, Fig. 1: 204), wherein the power source supplies constant power to the controller (Bass, Paragraph [0026], Power is supplied from the battery 204 to the sensor module 202 when the thermostatic switch 206 is closed. Therefore, when the thermostatic switch 206 is closed, constant power, i.e. continuous power over a period of time, is provided to the sensor module 202, which includes wireless transmitter 214. Additionally, “constant” power may also be interpreted as the power source being readily available when the transmitter 214 needs to transmit, and only requires the closing of a switch 206 or 208 to connect the power source.); and
at least one repeater unit remotely located with respect to each detection unit, the repeater unit being configured to receive a signal from at least one of the detection units representative of a state of excessive heat present at the associated component of the electrical system (Bass, Paragraph [0003], The central location is functionally equivalent to a repeater unit for receiving signals transmitted by the wireless temperature sensors.) and a warning signal associated therewith is emitted (Bass, Paragraph [0040], An alert is observed by a user regarding a rising temperature that is sensed by the sensor module.):
wherein the at least one detection unit further comprises a passive temperature operated contact closure that is triggered when any heat generated at the component to be monitored exceeds a predetermined temperature (Bass, Paragraphs [0026-0027], When the temperature of the switch reaches a predetermined threshold temperature, the thermostatic switch 206 closes. The thermostatic switch 206 is functionally equivalent to a passive temperature operated contact closure.), wherein the triggered passive temperature operated contact closure causes the controller to control a transmitter mounted within the detection unit to transmit the signal to the repeater unit (Bass, Paragraph [0040], When the thermostatic switch is closed, current from the battery flows to the sensor module and the sensing device transmits temperature data.) and
wherein the controller is configured to transmit a periodic OK signal from the transmitter to the repeater unit (Bass, Paragraph [0029], An override switch 208 may be used to connect the sensor module to the battery, effectively causing the power supply to provide constant power instead of relying on the closing of the thermostatic switch 206. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the sensing device to be capable of transmitting when the power is provided (see Bass, Paragraph [0040]). The transmitted signal is thus functionally equivalent to an OK signal because it effectively allows the user to manually connect the battery 204 and test/maintain the sensor module, wherein the transmission from the transmitter 214 is indicative that the detection unit is “OK”.).
Bass does not explicitly teach:
The controller is permanently powered by the power source;
the at least one repeater unit to emit the warning signal; and
transmit the periodic OK signal from the transmitter to the repeater unit at periodic intervals such that failure of the repeater unit to receive an OK signal from the controller of a detection unit of the at least one detection unit over said periodic interval will cause said repeater unit to transmit a fault signal to a maintenance provider for attention.
With respect to the at least one repeater unit to emit the warning signal, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the alert that is observed by the user to be located at the repeater unit, as a matter of engineering choice. Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would yield predictable results. See MPEP 2144.04.
GUILLAUME teaches:
The controller is permanently powered by the power source (GUILLAUME, Page 56, Lines 10-17, The entire electronic circuitry is permanently turned on at a low power consumption mode, in which the temperature sensor and the electronic circuitry connected thereto are permanently supplied with power.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the temperature sensing device in Bass by integrating the teaching of a permanently turned on electronic circuitry including a temperature sensor, as taught by GUILLAUME.
The motivation would be to determine whether the sensor electrodes are exposed to excessively low or high temperatures in order to ensure the sensor electrodes are not damaged due to exposure to the low or high temperatures (see GUILLAUME, Page 56, Lines 4-10).
Bass in view of GUILLAUME does not specifically teach:
Transmit the periodic OK signal from the transmitter to the repeater unit at periodic intervals such that failure of the repeater unit to receive an OK signal from the controller of a detection unit of the at least one detection unit over said periodic interval will cause said repeater unit to transmit a fault signal to a maintenance provider for attention.
O’Neal teaches:
Transmit the periodic OK signal from the transmitter to the repeater unit at periodic intervals such that failure of the repeater unit to receive an OK signal from the controller of a detection unit of the at least one detection unit over said periodic interval will cause said repeater unit to transmit a fault signal to a maintenance provider for attention.
O’Neal teaches:
Transmit the periodic OK signal from the transmitter to the repeater unit at periodic intervals (O’Neal, Paragraphs [0042-0044], Under normal operating conditions, the condition monitoring system 140 receives operational data from the machines 110, which are functionally equivalent to OK signals because the operation data does not exceed historic trend data, e.g. the current engine temperature is OK. In the example of temperature data, the current temperature data may be in real-time, thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the current temperature data to be transmitted at periodic intervals in order for the temperature data to be in “real-time”.) such that failure of the repeater unit to receive an OK signal from the controller of a detection unit of the at least one detection unit over said periodic interval (O’Neal, Paragraphs [0042-0044], When the received data, e.g. temperature data, exceeds the historic trend data by a predetermined acceptable amount, the condition monitoring system 140 effective fails to receive an OK signal from the machine 110.) will cause said repeater unit to transmit a fault signal to a maintenance provider for attention (O’Neal, Paragraphs [0042-0044], The subscriber 150 may instead receive an alarm signal from condition monitoring system 140 and schedules a maintenance accordingly.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Bass by integrating the teaching of the condition monitoring system, as taught by O’Neal.
The motivation would be to service a machine prior to the manifestation of a failure condition (see O’Neal, Paragraph [0044]).
Claim 43, Bass in view of GUILLAUME in view of O’Neal further teaches:
A system according to claim 40, wherein the signal transmitted by the detection unit is the form of an electromagnetic radiation signal (Bass, Paragraph [0022], Example signals include radio and infrared.).
Claim 44, Bass in view of GUILLAUME in view of O’Neal further teaches:
A system according to claim 40, wherein the signal transmitted by the detection unit is in the form of an electromagnetic optical or non-radio frequency signal (Bass, Paragraph [0022], Example signals include LASER and infrared.).
Claim 45, Bass in view of GUILLAUME in view of O’Neal further teaches:
A system according to claim 40, wherein the detection unit comprises a body configured to be mounted to a surface of the component to be monitored such that a rise in temperature of the component to be monitored will result in a rise in temperature of the body (Bass, Paragraphs [0033] and [0039-0040], The circuitry is mounted to a case so that the temperature of the case is transferred to the circuitry.).
Claim 46, Bass in view of GUILLAUME in view of O’Neal further teaches:
A system according to claim 45, wherein the body is formed from a heat conductive material to conduct heat generated in the component to be monitored to the passive temperature operated contact closure (Bass, Paragraphs [0033] and [0039-0040], The circuitry is mounted to a case, which conducts the heat, so that the temperature of the case is transferred to the circuitry.).
Claim 49, Bass in view of GUILLAUME in view of O’Neal further teaches:
A system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to encode the signal transmitted by the transmitter (Bass, Paragraph [0022], The wireless transmitter 214 is preferably a Wi-Fi transmitter. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the Wi-Fi transmitter to effectively encode, i.e. modulate, the temperature data from the temperature sensor into a form that is transmittable via the Wi-Fi signal. Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would yield predictable results.).
Claim 50, Bass in view of GUILLAUME in view of O’Neal further teaches:
A system according to claim 49, wherein the encoded signal generated by the controller comprises an ID code that is received by the repeater unit and which identifies the detection unit transmitting the encoded signal (Bass, Paragraph [0003], It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the transmitting sensing device to include an ID in its transmission. Such a modification would ensure the system’s ability to report temperatures sensed by the temperature sensing device and the ability for the user to interpret said reported temperatures. For example, if a sensing device does not identify itself to the user, the user would not be able to determine which one of the attached components, e.g. bearing 302, is experiencing the excessive temperature.).
Claim 51, Bass in view of GUILLAUME in view of O’Neal further teaches:
A system according to claim 50, wherein the repeater unit, upon receiving the encoded signal emits a warning signal that identifies the detection unit that generated the signal (Bass, Paragraph [0003], It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the transmitting sensing device to include an ID in its transmission. Such a modification would ensure the system’s ability to report temperatures sensed by the temperature sensing device and the ability for the user to interpret said reported temperatures. For example, if a sensing device does not identify itself to the user, the user would not be able to determine which one of the attached components, e.g. bearing 302, is experiencing the excessive temperature.).
Claim 52, Bass in view of GUILLAUME in view of O’Neal further teaches:
A system according to claim 50, wherein upon triggering of the passive temperature operated contact closure, the controller controls the transmitter of the detection unit to transmit the signal multiple times over a predetermined period to ensure the signal is received by the repeater unit (Bass, Paragraph [0040], When the thermostatic switch is closed, current from the battery flows to the sensor module and the sensing device transmits temperature data. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for sensing device to be capable of being activated and deactivated repeatedly based on the temperature of the thermostatic switch (see Bass, Paragraph [0026]). Therefore, it is within the scope of the teachings of Bass for the step of transmitting to repeat over a predetermined period of time, e.g. the operating life of the sensing device.).
Claim 53, Bass in view of GUILLAUME in view of O’Neal further teaches:
A system according to claim 49, wherein the detection unit comprises a light source (Bass, Fig. 1: 210) mounted on a surface thereof (Bass, Fig. 2: 210) and upon triggering of the passive temperature operated contact closure, the controller controls the light source to become illuminated to identify the detection unit (Bass, Paragraph [0030], The LED is powered when power is applied to the sensor module, and power is applied when the thermostatic switch closes (see Bass, Paragraph [0026]).).
Claim 54 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bass (U.S. 2019/0101452 A1) in view of GUILLAUME et al. (WO 9010861 A1) in view of O’Neal et al. (U.S. 2009/0140872 A1) in view of Berger et al. (U.S. 2010/0150122 A1).
Claim 54, Bass in view of GUILLAUME in view of O’Neal teaches:
A system according to claim 40.
Bass in view of GUILLAUME in view of O’Neal does not specifically teach:
Further comprising an interrogation device for interrogating the status of each detection unit when in a passive state.
Berger teaches:
An interrogation device (Berger, Fig. 4: “Wake-Up or Trigger Event”, C31) for interrogating the status of each detection unit (Berger, Fig. 4: C32) when in a passive state (Berger, Paragraph [0297], The passive transceiver is woken up similarly to a passive RFID tag.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to incorporate the teaching of a system, as taught by Berger.
The motivation would be to further utilize power saving techniques of the system in Berger to improve battery life (see Berger, Paragraph [0298]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 55-57 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 60-62 are allowed.
As per claims 55-57 and 60-62, the closest related prior art to the Applicant’s claimed invention is Bass (U.S. 2019/0101452 A1). Bass discloses a sensing device having a thermostatic switch that, when exposed to a predetermined threshold temperature, closes, thus connecting a battery for powering a sensor (see Bass, Paragraphs [0039-0040]). Bass, however, does not disclose the use of a magnet member to close a reed switch that is connected to the power supply, as is required in claims 55-57 and 60-62 of the present invention. Berger discloses an RSN (remote sensor node) that is capable of determining whether a magnetic reed switch changes state (see Berger, Paragraph [0323]). The RSN in Berger, however, does not further teach the additional limitations of Applicant’s claimed 55-57 and 60-62, and it would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the teachings of Bass and Berger to conclude at the Applicant’s claimed invention, without using improper hindsight reasoning.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06/08/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
As per the Applicant’s argument regarding “the controller is permanently powered by the power source”, the arguments are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection, necessitated by the Applicant’s amendment.
As per the Applicant’s arguments of including the “OK signal” in conjunction with the permanently powered controller, the Examiner respectfully disagrees. Applicant’s argument regarding the transmission of an “OK signal” with respect to a permanently powered controller is based on previously presented claims. Therefore, the new grounds of rejection reads on the Applicant’s claim 40, as amended, by further teaching the required permanently powered controller. Additionally, it appears that the Applicant intends for the “OK signal” to be interpreted different from the sited references, however, although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
In response to the Applicant's argument with respect to the "at least one repeater unit", the Examiner respectfully disagrees. Although the claim recites the word "repeater", the limitations only define the repeater to receive a signal and emit a warning signal, wherein the warning signal is not defined to be a transmitted signal, i.e. repeated/forwarded signal. Thus, the broadest reasonable interpretation of the Applicant's claimed "repeater unit" is a unit that receives a signal and emits a warning. In response to the Applicant's argument that because an indicator LED 210 is present on the device, a repeater unit is not required, the Examiner respectfully disagrees. If the system of Bass only relied on the LED 210 to generate a warning, then one of ordinary skill in the art would reasonably conclude that the wireless transmitter 214 (see Bass, Fig. 1, Paragraph [0022]) would be unnecessary. Thus, the presence of the transmitter 214, which is used to "transmit a signal corresponding to a temperature detected by the temperature sensing component 212" indicates to one of ordinary skill in the art that the system of Bass intends to utilize both transmitter 214 and LED 210 for generating signals corresponding to detected temperatures.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES J YANG whose telephone number is (571)270-5170. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30am-6:00p M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, BRIAN ZIMMERMAN can be reached at (571) 272-3059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMES J YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686
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