DETAILED ACTION
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 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.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/15/2025 follows the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1, 4, 8, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Schultz et al. hereinafter Schultz (US 5159315 A).
With respect to claim 1, Schultz discloses an emissions detector for monitoring methane emissions at one or more industrial facilities (a sensor means such an environmental condition detector 120 which can sense the environmental condition level present, col. 2 lines 25-27), the emissions detector comprising:
a gas sensor that is configurable or configured to measure concentration of methane in atmospheric gas (methane gas detector, col. 2 lines 31-32); and
an RF communication modem (Transmitter 108), operably coupled to the gas sensor, that is configurable or configured for direct RF communication with a radio access network (Transmitter 108 is preferably, a conventional radio frequency transmitter as known in the art. Transmitter 108 is selectively coupled to antenna 112 via antenna switch 110, which switches the antenna 112 between the transmitter 108, and receiver 114, col. 3 lines 25-30).
With respect to claim 4, Schultz discloses an emissions detector according to claim 1, further comprising: at least one atmospheric sensor that is configurable or configured to measure properties of atmospheric gas, wherein the RF communication modem is operably coupled to the at least one atmospheric sensor (the communication device, such as a portable radio 100, includes a sensor means such an environmental condition detector 120 which can sense the environmental condition level present, and send a corresponding signal to a controller 102 using radio frequency transmitter. The environmental condition detector 120 can be anyone of a number of different environmental condition detectors/monitors available such as a; smoke detector, carbon-monoxide detector, methane gas detector, oxygen detector, hazardous/toxic gas detector, hazardous chemicals, or other types of environmental condition detector, col. 2 lines 22-34).
With respect to claim 8, Schultz discloses an emissions detector according to claim 1, further comprising: at least one environmental sensor that is configurable or configured to measure environmental conditions, wherein the RF communication modem is operably coupled to the at least one environmental sensor (see Fig. 1 and col. 1 lines 56-66 that states the communication device comprises a sensor means for determining an environmental condition level, The communication device also includes a transmitting means for transmitting an information signal and a receiver means for receiving response signals from other communication devices).
With respect to claim 12, Schultz discloses an emissions detector according to claim 1, wherein: the RF communication modem is part of acquisition and communication electronics of the emissions detector (Transmitter 108 is preferably, a conventional radio frequency transmitter as known in the art. Transmitter 108 is selectively coupled to antenna 112 via antenna switch 110, which switches the antenna 112 between the transmitter 108, and receiver 114, col. 3 lines 25-30).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schultz as applied to claim 1, 4 and 8, and further in view of KHANDELWAL et al. hereinafter KHANDELWAL (US 20240133856 A1).
With respect to claim 2, Schultz discloses an emissions detector according to claim 1 above. Schultz is silent about the RF communication modem is configurable or configured to wirelessly communicate time-series data based on methane concentration measurements of the gas sensor directly to the radio access network for delivery to a cloud computing environment.
KHANDELWAL invention related to determining properties of an aquatic resource discloses the RF communication modem is configurable or configured to wirelessly communicate time-series data based on methane concentration measurements of the gas sensor directly to the radio access network for delivery to a cloud computing environment (Wireless communication methods via telemetry transmitters and time-series data sent, pars. [0034] – [0035]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to modify Schultz to include the wireless telemetry communication taught by KHANDELWAL in order to transmit time-series data to a remote network or cloud environment for monitoring and analysis, as this represents a predictable use of known wireless communication techniques for remote sensor system.
With respect to claim 5, Schultz discloses an emissions detector according to claim 4 above. Schultz is silent about the RF communication modem is configurable or configured to wirelessly communicate time-series data based on measurements of the at least one atmospheric sensor directly to the radio access network for delivery to the cloud computing environment.
KHANDELWAL further discloses the RF communication modem is configurable or configured to wirelessly communicate time-series data based on measurements of the at least one atmospheric sensor directly to the radio access network for delivery to the cloud computing environment (Wireless communication methods via telemetry transmitters and time-series data sent, pars. [0034] – [0035]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to modify Schultz to include the wireless telemetry communication taught by KHANDELWAL in order to transmit time-series data to a remote network or cloud environment for monitoring and analysis, as this represents a predictable use of known wireless communication techniques for remote sensor system.
With respect to claim 7, Schultz discloses an emissions detector according to claim 4 above. Schultz is silent about the properties of atmospheric gas measured by the at least one atmospheric sensor is selected from the group including: temperature, atmospheric pressure, and humidity.
KHANDELWAL further discloses the properties of atmospheric gas measured by the at least one atmospheric sensor is selected from the group including: temperature, atmospheric pressure, and humidity (The environmental condition detector 120 can be anyone of a number of different environmental condition detectors/monitors available such as partial pressure of carbon dioxide sensor, para. [0007]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to modify Schultz to include atmospheric sensors for atmospheric pressure as taught by KHANDELWAL in order to improve gas detection accuracy and environmental monitoring, since such atmospheric sensors were commonly used in environmental monitoring and gas detection systems and represents a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions.
With respect to claim 9, Schultz discloses an emissions detector according to claim 8 above. Schultz is silent about the RF communication modem is configurable or configured to wirelessly communicate time-series data based on measurements of the at least one environmental sensor directly to the radio access network for delivery to the cloud computing environment.
KHANDELWAL further discloses the RF communication modem is configurable or configured to wirelessly communicate time-series data based on measurements of the at least one atmospheric sensor directly to the radio access network for delivery to the cloud computing environment (Wireless communication methods via telemetry transmitters and time-series data sent, pars. [0034] – [0035]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to modify Schultz to include the wireless telemetry communication taught by KHANDELWAL in order to transmit time-series data to a remote network or cloud environment for monitoring and analysis, as this represents a predictable use of known wireless communication techniques for remote sensor system.
With respect to claim 11, Schultz discloses an emissions detector according to claim 8 above. Schultz is silent about the environmental conditions measured by the at least one environmental sensor is selected from the group including: wind speed, wind direction, and solar radiation.
KHANDELWAL further discloses the environmental conditions measured by the at least one environmental sensor is selected from the group including: wind speed, wind direction, and solar radiation (the sensor may include photosynthetically active radiation sensor, para. [0007]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to modify Schultz to include environmental sensors for measuring solar radiation as taught by KHANDELWAL in order to improve environmental monitoring and emissions analysis, as the use of environmental sensors in monitoring systems was well known and represents a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions.
With respect to claim 13, Schultz discloses an emissions detector according to claim 1 above. Schultz is silent about the emissions detector comprising at least one solar panel; an anemometer; an accelerometer; or a camera or LIDAR device.
KHANDELWAL further discloses the emissions detector comprising at least one solar panel; an anemometer; an accelerometer; or a camera or LIDAR device (The system may include a camera communicatively coupled to the electronic controller, para. [0005]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to modify Schultz to include a camera as taught by KHANDELWAL in order to provide additional environmental and imaging data for emission monitoring, as the use of imaging sensor in remote monitoring systems was well known and represents a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schultz and KHANDELWAL as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of KOVÁCS et al. hereinafter KOVÁCS (US 20240056836 A1).
With respect to claim 3, Schultz and KHANDELWAL disclose an emissions detector according to claim 2 above. Schultz as modified by KHANDELWAL is silent about the RF communication modem and the radio access network are configured to support wireless data communication of et the time-series data over at least one direct RF communication link between the RF communication modem and the radio access network, wherein the at least one direct RF communication link implements at least one predefined wireless communication protocol having a range of ten kilometers or less (preferably the LTE-M protocol or the Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) protocol).
KOVÁCS invention related to the area of communications including mobile or wireless telecommunication systems, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or fifth generation (5G) radio access technology or new radio (NR) access technology, or other communications systems (Para. [0001] discloses the RF communication modem and the radio access network are configured to support wireless data communication of the time-series data over at least one direct RF communication link between the RF communication modem and the radio access network (transceiver 18 configured to wirelessly transmit and receive information on RF frequency using a time-series of input, pars. [0034], [0069], [0075]), wherein the at least one direct RF communication link implements at least one predefined wireless communication protocol having a range of ten kilometers or less (preferably the LTE-M protocol or the Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) protocol) (entirety of para. [0075]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to modify Schultz to implement the LTE-M or NB-IoT wireless communication protocol taught by KOVÁCS for transmitting time-series sensor data over a radio access network because such cellular IoT communication protocols were known and commonly used for remote monitoring and telemetry systems, representing a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions.
Claims 6 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schultz and KHANDELWAL as applied to claims 5 and 9 above, and further in view of KOVÁCS.
With respect to claim 6, Schultz and KHANDELWAL disclose an emissions detector according to claim 5 above. Schultz as modified by KHANDELWAL is silent about the RF communication modem and the radio access network are configured to support wireless data communication of the time-series data over at least one direct RF communication link between the RF communication modem and the radio access network, wherein the at least one direct RF communication link implements at least one predefined wireless communication protocol having a range of ten kilometers or less (preferably the LTE-M protocol or the Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) protocol).
KOVÁCS further discloses the RF communication modem and the radio access network are configured to support wireless data communication of the time-series data over at least one direct RF communication link between the RF communication modem and the radio access network (transceiver 18 configured to wirelessly transmit and receive information on RF frequency using a time-series of input, pars. [0034], [0069], [0075]), wherein the at least one direct RF communication link implements at least one predefined wireless communication protocol having a range of ten kilometers or less (preferably the LTE-M protocol or the Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) protocol) (entirety of para. [0075]).
With respect to claim 10, Schultz and KHANDELWAL disclose an emissions detector according to claim 9 above. Schultz as modified by KHANDELWAL is silent about the RF communication modem and the radio access network are configured to support wireless data communication of the time-series data over at least one direct RF communication link between the RF communication modem and the radio access network, wherein the at least one direct RF communication link implements at least one predefined wireless communication protocol having a range of ten kilometers or less (preferably the LTE-M protocol or the Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) protocol).
KOVÁCS further discloses the RF communication modem and the radio access network are configured to support wireless data communication of the time-series data over at least one direct RF communication link between the RF communication modem and the radio access network (transceiver 18 configured to wirelessly transmit and receive information on RF frequency using a time-series of input, pars. [0034], [0069], [0075]), wherein the at least one direct RF communication link implements at least one predefined wireless communication protocol having a range of ten kilometers or less (preferably the LTE-M protocol or the Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) protocol) (entirety of para. [0075]).
Claims 14-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schultz, KHANDELWAL and further in view of Gadot et al. hereinafter Gadot (US 20220065834 A1).
With respect to claim 14, Schultz discloses a system for monitoring methane emissions at one or more industrial facilities (a sensor means such an environmental condition detector 120 which can sense the environmental condition level present, col. 2 lines 25-27), the system comprising:
each emissions detector of the network includes a gas sensor that is configurable or configured to measure concentration of methane in atmospheric gas (methane gas detector, col. 2 lines 31-32), and an RF communication modem (Transmitter 108), operably coupled to the gas sensor, that is configurable or configured for direct RF communication with a radio access network (Transmitter 108 is preferably, a conventional radio frequency transmitter as known in the art. Transmitter 108 is selectively coupled to antenna 112 via antenna switch 110, which switches the antenna 112 between the transmitter 108, and receiver 114, col. 3 lines 25-30).
KHANDELWAL further discloses a cloud computing environment operably coupled to the network of emissions detectors via the radio access network (see Fig. 2 and 3); wherein the network of emissions detectors is configured to perform time-series measurements at different locations within the industrial facility and wirelessly communicate time-series data based on such measurements directly to the radio access network for delivery to the cloud computing environment (Wireless communication methods via telemetry transmitters and time-series data sent, pars. [0034] – [0035]); and wherein the cloud computing environment is configured to receive and process the time-series data to detect and characterize methane emission at the industrial facility (The reduction to practice had an LTE modem with a cellular SIM card (C18), a ZTE MF833V, connected to the Raspberry Pi (C14) to transfer real-time data that can be shared worldwide. The LTE modem provided a mobile internet connection to the Raspberry Pi and real-time data transfer, para. [0032]; The data sent to the website included sonde readings, camera status, and GPS locations. Data were displayed as time-series plots with colored ranges and a map with pinpoints. The data were sent through the onboard USB LTE modem (C18), para. [0035]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to modify Schultz to include a cloud computing environment operably coupled to the network of emissions detectors via a radio access network of emissions detectors via a radio access network of emissions detectors via a radio access network as taught by KHANDELWAL in order to enable centralized processing and analysis of time-series emissions data, as cloud-based data processing and wireless telemetry were well known in remote monitoring systems and represent a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions.
Schultz as modified by KHANDELWAL does not explicitly discloses a network of emissions detectors spaced from one another at different locations within an industrial facility, a cloud computing environment operably coupled to the network of emissions detectors via the radio access network.
Gadot invention related to greenhouse gas emission monitoring workflow using various different types of sensors discloses a network of emissions detectors spaced from one another at different locations within an industrial facility (a greenhouse gas emission analysis system, sensor data from a plurality of sensors located within an oil and gas worksite, para. [0006], see also Figs. 1 and 3), a cloud computing environment operably coupled to the network of emissions detectors via the radio access network (the greenhouse gas emission analysis system 24 may be implemented as an edge device that is part of a cloud-based computing environment, and the gateway 28 may facilitate communication of sensor data from the sensors 12 to the greenhouse gas emission analysis system 24 via the cloud., para. [0038]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to modify Schultz, as modified by KHANDELWAL, to include a network of emissions detectors at multiple locations and a cloud computing environment operably coupled via a radio access network as taught by Gadot in order to enable distributed monitoring and centralized processing of emissions data, as such distributed sensor networks and cloud-based monitoring systems were well known and represent a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions.
With respect to claim 15, Schultz, KHANDELWAL and Gadot disclose a system according to claim 14 above. KHANDELWAL further discloses the cloud computing environment is configured to process the time-series data in conjunction with a computational model to determine the location of the methane emission at the industrial facility and the associated rate of methane emission at the industrial facility(The reduction to practice had an LTE modem with a cellular SIM card (C18), a ZTE MF833V, connected to the Raspberry Pi (C14) to transfer real-time data that can be shared worldwide. The LTE modem provided a mobile internet connection to the Raspberry Pi and real-time data transfer, para. [0032]; The data sent to the website included sonde readings, camera status, and GPS locations. Data were displayed as time-series plots with colored ranges and a map with pinpoints. The data were sent through the onboard USB LTE modem (C18), para. [0035]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to modify Schultz to include a cloud computing environment operably coupled to the network of emissions detectors via a radio access network of emissions detectors via a radio access network of emissions detectors via a radio access network as taught by KHANDELWAL in order to enable centralized processing and analysis of time-series emissions data, as cloud-based data processing and wireless telemetry were well known in remote monitoring systems and represent a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions.
With respect to claim 16, Schultz, KHANDELWAL and Gadot disclose a system according to claim 15 above. Gadot further discloses the computational model comprises a Gaussian plume dispersion model (the algorithms may include Gaussian plume models, para. [0033]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to incorporate the Gaussian plume dispersion model of Gadot into the system of Schultz as modified by KHANDELWAL in order to model gas dispersion and determine emission source characteristics, since Gaussian plume models were well known for atmospheric gas dispersion analysis and represent a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions.
With respect to claim 17, Schultz, KHANDELWAL and Gadot disclose a system according to claim 14 above. KHANDELWAL further discloses the time-series data represents methane concentration at specific locations within the industrial facility and environmental conditions at specific location(s) within the industrial facility as a function of time (Wireless communication methods via telemetry transmitters and time-series data sent, pars. [0034] – [0035]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to modify Schultz to include the wireless telemetry communication taught by KHANDELWAL in order to transmit time-series data to a remote network or cloud environment for monitoring and analysis, as this represents a predictable use of known wireless communication techniques for remote sensor system.
Gadot further discloses the cloud computing environment is configured to process such time-series data in conjunction with a computation model that simulates methane emission at the industrial facility based on environmental conditions within the industrial facility (the algorithms may include Gaussian plume models, para. [0033]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to incorporate the Gaussian plume dispersion model of Gadot into the system of Schultz as modified by KHANDELWAL in order to model gas dispersion and determine emission source characteristics, since Gaussian plume models were well known for atmospheric gas dispersion analysis and represent a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions.
With respect to claim 18, Schultz, KHANDELWAL and Gadot disclose a system according to claim 14 above. Schultz further discloses the cloud computing environment is further configured to generate data related to the methane emission and process such data to automatically generate an alert characterizing the methane emission at the industrial facility (a communication system having communication devices which can detect the presence of dangerous environmental conditions and can automatically alert other communication devices of the condition, col. 3 lines 30-38).
With respect to claim 19, Schultz, KHANDELWAL and Gadot disclose a system according to claim 14 above. Gadot further discloses the industrial facility comprises an oil and gas facility such as a well site, compressor station, or processing facility (receiving, via a greenhouse gas emission analysis system, sensor data from a plurality of sensors located within an oil and gas worksite. , para. [0006]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to apply the emissions monitoring system of Schultz and KHANDELWAL to an oil and gas facility as taught by Gadot because methane emissions monitoring is commonly performed in oil and gas operations, and using the system in such an environment would have been a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schultz, KHANDELWAL and Gadot as applied to claim 14 above, and further in view of KOVÁCS.
With respect to claim 20, Schultz, KHANDELWAL and Gadot disclose a system according to claim 14 above. KOVÁCS further discloses the RF communication modems of the respective emissions detectors of the network and the radio access network are each configured to support wireless data communication of the time-series data over at least one direct RF communication link between the RF communication modem and the radio access network (transceiver 18 configured to wirelessly transmit and receive information on RF frequency using a time-series of input, pars. [0034], [0069], [0075]), wherein the at least one direct RF communication link implements at least one predefined wireless communication protocol having a range of ten kilometers or less (preferably the LTE-M protocol or the Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) protocol) (entirety of para. [0075]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to modify Schultz to implement the LTE-M or NB-IoT wireless communication protocol taught by KOVÁCS for transmitting time-series sensor data over a radio access network because such cellular IoT communication protocols were known and commonly used for remote monitoring and telemetry systems, representing a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20230290239 A1 discloses a gas detection system, comprising; a gas valve configured for remote actuation; a gas valve communication module configured to communicate with at least one of an authentication server and a monitoring server over a communication network; a gas detector comprising: a gas sensor configured to detect a level of a gas that exceeds a predetermined threshold level; a gas detector power source; a gas detector user interface; and a gas detector communication module configured to communicate with the at least one of the authentication server and the monitoring server over the communication network in response to detection by the gas sensor of the predetermined threshold level of the gas being exceeded; wherein the gas valve is configured to be remotely actuated to a closed position in response to a signal received by the gas valve communication module from at least one of the authentication server and the monitoring server in response to a prior communication from the gas valve communication module that the predetermined threshold level of the gas is exceeded.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GEDEON M KIDANU whose telephone number is (571)270-0591. The examiner can normally be reached 8-4.
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/GEDEON M KIDANU/ Examiner, Art Unit 2855
/KRISTINA M DEHERRERA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2855 3/30/26