DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to Applicants Request for Continued Examination received on August 12, 2026. Claim(s) 1-3, 5 and 8 is/are currently pending in the instant application. The application claims priority to PCT/JP2022/040298 filed on October 28, 2022, and claims priority to Japan 2021-178037 filed on October 29, 2021.
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 Amendment
The Examiner acknowledges the Applicants amendments to claims 1 in the response on August 12, 2026. Claims 4, 6 and 7 were previously canceled.
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, 5 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Claims 1-3, 5 and 8 are directed to one of the four statutory classes of invention (e.g. process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter). The claims include a system or “apparatus”, method or “process”, or product or “article of manufacture” and is a system for mine management which is an apparatus (Step 1: YES).
The Examiner has identified independent system Claim 1 as the claim that represents the claimed invention for analysis. Claim 1 recites the limitations of (abstract ideas highlighted in italics and additional elements highlighted in bold)
a server device that accumulates and processes working data of a mining machine transmitted from the mining machine; and
a determination device that performs determination processing of determining whether or not a working condition of the mining machine in which the productivity falls out of a plan has occurred, based on the working data; and
a terminal device including a display,
wherein the server device includes:
an extracting section that extracts cycle data as the working data for each work cycle of the mining machine, from the accumulated working data;
a computing section that computes a plurality of indicators representing an occurrence factor of the working condition in which the productivity falls out of a plan, in the cycle data; and
a learning section that uses the plurality of computed indicators to perform machine learning of allowing the determination device to learn a relationship between the plurality of indicators that identify the cycle data in which the productivity falls within a plan, and
wherein the determination device performs the determination processing based on the relationship between the plurality of indicators learned by the learning section,
wherein the learning section performs the machine learning by clustering a plurality of the cycle data in which the productivity falls within a plan,
wherein the determination device computes a score represented according to a distance between the cycle data extracted from the accumulated working data and a cluster center of a cluster to which the cycle data is classified, determines that the working condition in which the productivity falls out of the plan has occurred when the score is larger than a threshold, and transmits the determination result to the server device, and
wherein the server device totals a frequency of occurrence of the out-of-plan working condition, a frequency of appearance of the occurrence factor of the out-of- plan working condition, or the score for each period or for each of the mining machine, creates a graph illustrating the totaled result, a chart illustrating transition of the working data of the mining machine in which the out-of-plan working condition has occurred, or a map of work areas identified from the working data, and
wherein the server device causes display of the graph, the chart, or the map to be presented in real time at the mining machine to provide direct notification of an improvement instruction at the mining machine for enabling an immediate improvement in operation of the mining machine.
These limitations, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, cover performance of the limitation as “Mental Processes”. Accumulating working data of a machine, determining the productivity falls out of a plan based on indicators in the cycle data and determining the relationship between the indicators and the decrease in productivity, clustering the data, determining a score based on the data, clusters, and determining productivity is above a threshold, and sending instruction to display corrections to the machine operator recites a concept performed in the human mind. But for the “server”, “machine learning”, and “display” language, the claim encompasses reviewing data from the mining machines, determining that productivity has gone down, calculating using indicators and learning the patterns and relationships in the cycle data of the machines clustering and scoring the data and displaying an instruction using his/her mind and/or pen and paper. The mere nominal recitation of a generic server, machine learning, and display does not take the claim out of the mental processes grouping. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea. (Step 2A-Prong 1: YES. The claims are abstract)
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, the claims only recite a server, machine learning, and the mining machine (Claim 1). The computer hardware is recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as a generic processor performing a generic computer function) such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Accordingly, these additional elements, when considered separately and as an ordered combination, do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Therefore claim 1 is directed to an abstract idea without a practical application. (Step 2A-Prong 2: NO. The additional claimed elements are not integrated into a practical application)
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, when considered separately and as an ordered combination, they do not add significantly more (also known as an “inventive concept”) to the exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional element of using a computer hardware amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. See Applicant’s specification para. [0121] about implantation using general purpose or special purpose computing devices [Server device 211] and MPEP 2106.05(f) where applying a computer as a tool is not indicative of significantly more. Accordingly, these additional elements, when considered separately and as an ordered combination, do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Thus claim 1 is not patent eligible. (Step 2B: NO. The claims do not provide significantly more)
Dependent claims 2-3, 5, and 8 further define the abstract idea that is present in their respective independent claim 1 and thus correspond to Mental Processes and hence are abstract for the reasons presented above. The dependent claims do not include any additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception when considered both individually and as an ordered combination. The dependent claims include steps or processes which are similar to that disclosed in MPEP 2106.05(d), (f), (g), and/or (h) which include activities and functions the courts have determined to be well-understood, routine, and conventional when claimed in a generic manner, or as insignificant extra solution activity, or as merely indicating a field of use or technological environment in which to apply the judicial exception.
For instance, Claims 2 and 3 involve collection and analysis of data related to different machines which is covered as part of MPEP 2106.05(g)(3) iii. Selecting information, based on types of information and availability of information in a power-grid environment, for collection, analysis and display, Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1354-55, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1742 (Fed. Cir. 2016); and MPEP 2106.05(f)(2) i. A commonplace business method or mathematical algorithm being applied on a general purpose computer, Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. V. CLS Bank Int’l, 573 U.S. 208, 223, 110 USPQ2d 1976, 1983 (2014); Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 U.S. 63, 64, 175 USPQ 673, 674 (1972); Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015);
Claim 5 involves MPEP 2106.05(f)(2) i. A commonplace business method or mathematical algorithm being applied on a general purpose computer, Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. V. CLS Bank Int’l, 573 U.S. 208, 223, 110 USPQ2d 1976, 1983 (2014); Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 U.S. 63, 64, 175 USPQ 673, 674 (1972); Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015);
Claim 8 includes a display device which is used to display analyzed or calculated data (Claim 8; message to a concerned party.) which is a step covered in Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom S.A. -Selecting information, based on type of information and availability [in a power grid environment], for collection, analysis, and display.
Therefore, the claims 2-3, 5, and 8 are directed to an abstract idea. Thus, the claims 1-3, 5, and 8 are not patent-eligible.
Response to Arguments
The remarks begins on page 6 of the response on August 12, 2026. The Applicant starts with a summary of the claims. The argument begin (remarks page 6) with the rejection under 35 U.S.C § 101. The Applicant disagrees with the rejection and takes the position that the claims are not directed to an abstract idea and constitute significantly more than the exception.
The arguments point to Step 2A, and recites the process of step one and step two, as well as Step 2B. Applicant argues Step 2A, Prong 1 and 2 (remarks page 9-10) with the position that the claim is an improvement to mine management to accurately detect productivity falling out of plan in connection to factors of the mine. The Applicants present [0004] as the technical problem related to lack of consideration of unknown routes and other factors which cause productivity to fall and the difficulty to accurately detect such change. Further the difficulty to present information to improve productivity to the concerned party.
Applicant also provides a solution [0006] (remarks pages 10-11) in that a determination processing of working condition of the mine which has caused the decrease in productivity based on the working data. Applicants cites the advantages as detecting the decrease in productivity and providing guidance for correction.
The argument includes that the claim is integrated into a practical application that improves operation of the mining machine by providing direct instruction in real time to the machine for immediate improvement in the operation of the machine. Applicant cites [0017] (remarks pages 11-12) in that “determination device 250 can notify operators of the mining machines 101 to 103 of the determination result without communication delay” and that the determination device 250 can “transmit the determination result in real time” to processing device 202 and cause a terminal 300 to display the result without delay. Applicant further argues (remarks page 12) [0108] that “the terminal device 300 displays… a message to a concerned party… indicated by the information associated with the out of plan factor” and [0109] “where the message, such as improvement instructions, may be a direct notification to an operator”. Applicant argues this shows integration into a practical application.
The Examiner does not agree. The use of a computer or sever device to collect, ingest, and perform data analysis to make one or more determinations, and provide a text or picture display to an operator is not sufficient to integrate to a practical application. The computer is used as a tool to perform the human function of a person ingesting the same information once collected, making a determination or judgement that the productivity has been decreased and provide feedback to the machine operators to correct the issue. The mere application is the computer or server as the technological field is not indicative of practical application. The underlying data collection, analysis, and display of results is the abstract concept. It’s encapsulated in the This is the same fact pattern and conclusion is seen in MPEP 2106.05(g)(3) iii. Selecting information, based on types of information and availability of information in a power-grid environment, for collection, analysis and display, Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1354-55, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1742 (Fed. Cir. 2016); The argument that it happens in real time is not conclusive for practical application. Additionally, the data is displayed to the human operating the machine. Application of a computer to handle the computation to determine that the productivity has fallen below a threshold and transmit a proposed solution to the machine operator is a technical solution to a non-technical problem.
Applicants argue that the claims recite a technical solution to a technical problem for improvement of mine management. This includes a specific technique in which servers are receiving working data from mining machines, determining a result, performing data processing for visualizing the result, creating a graph, chart, or map for display (remarks pages 13-14).
The Examiner disagrees. Receiving data and using it to determine results to create at least one visualization is not a technical solution to a technical problem. In this case it’s mere application of technology or a technological field to a judicial exception. Also, the Examiner does not find data analysis to be a technical problem, nor is the analysis of data and presentation of a results a technical solution. A human can interpret the data and create a graph or a map using pen and paper. The Examiner finds this to be a solution to a business problem provided in a field of technology which is based on optimization or correction of out of plan situations which is rooted in mathematical concepts.
The arguments move to Step 2B where the Applicant argues that the claims recite unconventional elements that are significantly more than an abstract idea (remarks page 15). Arguments are that the inventive concept is non-conventional and non-generic features similar to BASCOM where the elements are an ordered combination. Arguments specifically point to claim 1 where a server device accumulates and processing working data of a mining machine and determination device to perform the processing and determination of working conditions of the mining machine where productivity has decreased or fallen out of plan, and a terminal device with display. The argument further explains the determination and presentation of the data at the mining machine indicating the working data is out of plan and a chart, graph, or map is presented in real time to provide notification of an improvement instructions at the mining machine to enable improvement.
The Examiner is not convinced. The Examiner does not find the claims to be similar to BASCOM in the non-conventional and non-generic arrangement. Specifically, the claimed limitations are simply a server, execution of a machine learning algorithm, and a display device. These elements are not a non-conventional arrangement. They are being used in their ordinary intended capacity in well know and predictable ways. Using computer algorithms to perform human functions in a quicker and more accurate manner is not indicative of practical application or significantly more. The courts have been clear on use of a computer to achieve results more quickly and accurately is not sufficient for eligibility (PTAB citing OIP Technologies, Inc., v. Amazon.com). In this instance, analyzing working data for mining equipment and determining data that falls outside the plan, or indicating data scores that do not fit into clusters is not more than data collection and analysis using a computer (see Electric Power Group). Additionally, the collection and analysis is merely used for display of a result. The displayed notification, chart, graph, or map is simply directing the human machine operator to perform the correction. The system is not directing the machine itself to perform the correction. This is not more than managing personal behavior under certain methods of organizing human activity.
In summary, the arguments and amendments are not persuasive to overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C § 101. The claims are not in condition for allowance.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DYLAN C WHITE whose telephone number is (571)272-1406. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:00 EST.
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/DYLAN C WHITE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3625 September 18, 2026
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