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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-15 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 6-10, 12-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bartschat et al. (US2020/0191122) in view of Huh (US2020/0242799).
To claim 1, Bartschat teach a system for monitoring technical installations (paragraphs 0009, 0014), comprising:
symbols (1) that are provided on parts of technical installations to be monitored in a surrounding area (paragraphs 0018-0019, 0022-0023, position markers);
at least one camera (2) that acquires image data of the surrounding area and applies spatial coordinates and a recording point in time thereto (paragraphs 0026, 0028, the times of the acquisition of optical images can thus be coordinated with specific operating parameters of the installation and/or with the occurrence of specific framework conditions… as a result of such a coordination in the capturing of images, images and parameters that are currently captured can be compared with reference data recorded under similar framework conditions);
an image database (4) in which the image data are archived (paragraph 0016, images and parameters detected in previous measurements are stored in a storage device and are retained for comparison);
a symbol library (5) in which a plurality of symbols (1) and rules assigned thereto are stored (paragraphs 0011-0013); and
an object recognition unit (3), which is designed to recognize symbols (1) in the image data and compare these to the symbols (1) stored in the symbol library (4), wherein a spatial coordinate is assigned to a symbol (1) when the symbol (1) is recognized in the image data (Figs. 3-6, object recognition would be an obvious implementation in identifying markers and respective positions for comparison with stored reference),
a comparison of recognized symbols (1) to earlier image data of the surrounding area is carried out (paragraphs 0028, symbol is under broadest reasonable interpretation, as any recognizable framework condition), and
an alarm is triggered when a rule that is assigned to the recognized symbol (1) is not adhered to (paragraph 0009, generating an error signal relating to the connection point reproduced in an image as soon the deviations of the image from a reference image or of a parameter from a reference parameter exceed a specified threshold during imaging).
But, Bartschat do not expressly disclose wherein the rules pertain the rotational state or the visibility of the symbol (1) and provide information about a state of the technical installation.
Huh teach a system for monitoring installation of prefabricated parts at a construction site includes retrieving an installation plan for a room which a plurality of parts are installed (abstract, Fig. 2, Figs. 3A-B), wherein symbols that are provided on parts of technical installations to be monitored in a surrounding area (paragraphs 0019, 0032, 0042-0043, 0058-0062, visual indicators); at least one camera that acquires image data of the surrounding area and applies spatial coordinates and a recording point in time thereto (104 of Fig. 1A, paragraphs 0020-0021, 0046, 0050-0051); an image database in which the image data are archived (paragraphs 0042, 0091); a symbol library in which a plurality of symbols and rules assigned thereto are stored, wherein the rules pertain the rotational state or the visibility of the symbol and provide information about a state of the technical installation (214 of Fig. 2, track and analyze installation process; paragraphs 0049-0054, installation graphics operate as an installation guide for a user to install a prefab part, allows a user to align the actual prefab part at the installation location to ensure proper installation of the prefab part; Figs. 3A-B); and an object recognition unit, which is designed to recognize symbols in the image data and compare these to the symbols stored in the symbol library, wherein a spatial coordinate is assigned to a symbol when the symbol is recognized in the image data, a comparison of recognized symbols to earlier image data of the surrounding area is carried out (paragraphs 0042-0043, entire part or a portion of the part is scanned such as by a camera, and the part is recognized based on object recognition, may be performed by a machine learning algorithm by comparison of the image of the part to a stored database of parts or by a machine learning classifier… record and track the prefab parts that have been installed and the current position in the installation order).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate teaching of Huh into the system of Bartschat, in order to implement object recognition and analysis.
To claim 10, Bartschat and Huh teach a method for monitoring technical installations (as explained in response to claim 1 above, wherein both Bartschat and Huh teach saving captured character/symbol in earlier captured images for referencing).
To claim 2, Bartschat and Huh teach claim 1.
Bartschat teach characterized in that the at least one camera (2) is fixedly installed (paragraph 0022, imaging device can be fixedly mounted).
To claim 3, Bartschat and Huh teach claim 1.
Bartschat and Huh teach characterized in that the at least one camera (2) is mobile (obvious for having a mobile monitoring camera, which is well-known in the art, hence Official Notice is taken).
To claims 6 and 13, Bartschat and Huh teach claims 1 and 10.
Bartschat and Huh teach characterized in that the symbols (1) can be distinguished well from the surrounding area as a result of the coloring and reflective properties thereof (Bartschat, paragraphs 0019, 0049, shape markers, colour markers, fluorescent).
To claims 7 and 14, Bartschat and Huh teach claims 1 and 10.
Bartschat and Huh teach characterized in that the symbol library assigns rules to symbols (1) which relate a plurality of symbols (1) to one another (Glaser, paragraphs 0089-0093, 0196, 0203, association).
To claims 8 and 15, Bartschat and Huh teach claims 1 and 10.
Bartschat and Huh teach characterized in that the object recognition unit (3) utilizes a machine learning-based model for recognizing the symbols (1) in the image data (Huh, paragraph 0158).
To claim 9, Bartschat and Huh teach claim 1.
Bartschat and Huh teach characterized in that the image database (4), the symbol library (5) and the object recognition unit (3) are parts of a processor (9) that is connected via a network to the at least one camera (2) (Huh, Fig. 8).
To claim 12, Bartschat and Huh teach claim 10.
Bartschat and Huh teach characterized in that the step of preparing the image data (S2) additionally comprises a preprocessing and a filtering of the image data (despite lack of disclosure, but preprocessing and filtering are well-known techniques in preprocessing and manipulating raw image data into a usable, consistent format to enhance computer vision model performance, hence Official Notice is taken).
Claim(s) 4-5, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bartschat et al. (US2020/0191122) in view of Huh (US2020/0242799) and Glaser et al. (US2018/0014382).
To claims 4 and 11, Bartschat and Huh teach claims 1 and 10.
Bartschat and Huh teach characterized in that the at least one camera (2) comprises a device for position determination (6), a device for determining the recording angle (7), and a device for distance measurement (8) so as to determine the spatial coordinates of the image data (obvious in Huh, paragraphs 0028, 0040-0041).
Glaser teach at least one camera comprises a device for position determination, a device for determining the recording angle, and a device for distance measurement so as to determine the spatial coordinates of the image data (paragraphs 0072, 0087, 0113, 0115, 0139), which would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate into the system of Bartschat and Huh, in order to further implementation of spatial analysis.
To claim 5, Bartschat, Huh and Glaser teach claim 4.
Bartschat, Huh and Glaser teach characterized in that the distance measurement (8) is carried out by a laser range finder or by setting a focus of the at least one camera (Glaser, paragraph 0139, distance estimation; measuring distance by laser range finder or by setting a focus of the camera is well-known technique in the art, which would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate for distance estimation, hence Official Notice is taken).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHIYU LU whose telephone number is (571)272-2837. The examiner can normally be reached Weekdays: 8:30AM - 5:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Stephen R Koziol can be reached at (408) 918-7630. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
ZHIYU . LU
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2669
/ZHIYU LU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2665 May 25, 2026
Prosecution Insights