FIRST NON-FINAL REJECTION
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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6, and 9-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gong et al. CN 111530203 (citations from translation) in view of Nakai et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0255086.
With respect to claims 1, 4, 10, 12, and 13, Gong teaches at least one memory storing a computer program and at least one processor (dust intelligent measuring and controlling system that comprises a computer having a sensing module, a vision module, a decision module, a control module and an executing module, page 8) configured to execute the computer program to acquire, based on reflected light of light emitted to each position within a raw material yard target space (page 1) containing a dust-generating object and generate concentration information relating to a concentration of the dust within the target space (a multi view image is obtained of each position in a view and an environmental parameter and dust concentration value of the measuring point is of the area is obtained, pages 10 and 11), positional information relating to each of the positions and intensity information relating to intensity of the reflected light reflected at each of the position according to each piece of the positional information (interpreted as the obtained measured dust concentration and measuring point, pages 10 and 11); and identify, based on the positional information and the intensity information, an area to which a suppressant for suppressing generation of the dust is to be sprayed within the target space and output area information indicating the area identified by the identification means (obtaining the control strategy of each dust suppression device based on the concentration distribution of the control area to be detected and controlling each dust suppression device operation based on the control strategy of each dust suppression device, performing dust treatment, page 11).
Gong fails to teach acquiring based on reflected light of laser light emitted to each position within a target space containing a dust-generating object.
Nakai teaches a particle detection device that includes a first light source to emit first irradiation light; a first light-collection member; a second light-collection member facing the first reflection surface; a second light source to emit second irradiation light; and a first light-reception element (abstract), and where The first light source 11 is a laser light source for emitting laser light or an LED light source for emitting LED light (paragraph 31).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the light detection method of Gong with the laser light source for particle detection as taught by Nakai in order to provide a particle detection device capable of detecting the degree of dirt on the light-collection member (paragraph 5, Nakai).
With respect to claim 2, Gong teaches wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer program to generate a three-dimensional model indicating a shape of the object within the target space by using the positional information (A three-dimensional grid view of the dust concentration is obtained, page 11. A geometric shaped of the moving object is determined, page 12. The control module utilizes algorithms and a model, page 9.).
With respect to claims 3 and 6, Gong teaches wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer program to identify, as the area to which the suppressant is to be sprayed, a position from which the reflected light having intensity equal to or greater than a threshold is reflected, from among positions according to the positional information (a strategy generating sub-module that is connected with the concentration distribution generating sub-module for obtaining the control strategy of each dust suppression device in the execution module through the concentration distribution of the control area detected and when the dust concentration of a position in the control area detected reaches a first concentration threshold, generating the control strategy of cloud fog machine operation dust suppression, page 10).
With respect to claim 9, Gong teaches wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer program to instruct spraying means for spraying the suppressant to spray the suppressant to the area identified by the identification means (obtaining the control strategy of each dust suppression device based on the concentration distribution of the control area to be detected and controlling a fog gun machine that can realize the omnidirectional spraying of space operation based on the control strategy of each dust suppression device and performing dust treatment, pages 9 and 11).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gong et al. CN 111530203 (citations from translation) in view of Nakai et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0255086 and further in view of Choi et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0090814.
With respect to claim 5, Gong as modified by Nakai teaches the claimed invention except wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer program to, acquire the intensity information a plurality of times, and generate the concentration information, based on an average value acquired by dividing a sum of intensity being indicated by the intensity information acquired a plurality of times, by a number of times the intensity information is acquired.
Choi teaches an air cleaning system that can rapidly senses occurrence of local pollution, caused by fine dust, through a remote sensor hub and supplies purified air to a polluted area in a concentrated manner, thereby quickly purifying indoor air (abstract) wherein the air cleaner system includes a controller configured to average of each of the first local dust concentration data and the second local dust concentration data that are received for the second time period (paragraph 20).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to further modify the invention of Gong as modified by Nakai with the method of determining a dust concentration value from averaging the concentration values as taught by Choi in order to provide a more accurate dust concentration value.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7 and 8 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.
Conclusion
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FREDDIE KIRKLAND III
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2855
/Freddie Kirkland III/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855 4/15/2026
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