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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This communication is responsive to the application filed on 06/04/2024.
Claims 1-16 are presented for examination.
References in applicant's IDS form 1449 received on 06/26/2026 have been 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 –
Claims 1-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Samarthyam et al. “US 2022/0169258 A1” (Samarthyam).
Regarding Claims 1 and 12-16: A field device for detecting a process parameter and being configured as a level measuring device for detecting a level of a medium, the field device comprising:
a sensor arrangement configured to detect a measurement signal correlating with a process parameter (at least see Samarthyam Abstract; Figs. 1-2; [0015]); and
a computing arrangement configured to determine a measured value of the process parameter based on the measurement signal, the computing arrangement having a deterministic computing module and an artificial intelligence (AI) computing module based on AI (at least see Samarthyam Abstract; Fig. 1; [0066]),
wherein the field device is further configured to train the AI computing module during operation thereof (at least see Samarthyam Abstract; Fig. 4; [0023]).
Regarding Claim 2: The field device according to claim 1, wherein training data of the Al computing module is based at least on measurement signals of the sensor arrangement (at least see Samarthyam [0147]).
Regarding Claim 3: The field device according to claim 1, wherein the field device is further configured to execute a training operation in parallel to a deterministic computing operation using the deterministic computing module, in which training data is collected and the Al computing module is trained with the training data (at least see Samarthyam [0035]).
Regarding Claim 4: The field device according to claim 3, wherein the field device is further configured to execute an Al-based computing operation of the AI computing module after a switch-on criterion based on the training operation has been met (at least see Samarthyam [0062]).
Regarding Claim 5: The field device according to claim 4, wherein the field device is further configured such that the execution of the Al-based computing operation terminates the deterministic computing operation, and/or the deterministic computing operation and the Al-based computing operation are executed in parallel (at least see Samarthyam [0016]).
Regarding Claim 6: The field device according to claim 5, wherein the field device is further configured to determine the measured value on the basis of a combination of the deterministic computing operation with the Al-based computing operation executed in parallel thereto (at least see Samarthyam [0067]).
Regarding Claim 7: The field device according to claim 1, wherein the field device is further configured so that the AI computing module is validated at least on the basis of determined measured values of the deterministic computing module (at least see Samarthyam Abstract; [0037]).
Regarding Claim 8: The field device according to claim 1, wherein the field device is further configured to retrain the Al computing module if at least one parameter influencing detection of the process measured variable changes (at least see Samarthyam [0024]).
Regarding Claim 9: The field device according to claim 1, wherein the deterministic computing module is implemented in a first computing unit and the AI computing module is implemented in a second computing unit (at least see Samarthyam Abstract; Fig. 1; [0027]).
Regarding Claim 10: The field device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor arrangement comprises a sensor in a form of an acceleration sensor and/or an actuator of the field device (at least see Samarthyam [0074]).
Regarding Claim 11: The field device according to claim 10, wherein the field device is further configured as a vibronic point level measuring device (at least see Samarthyam [0128]).
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon, which is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, are cited in the Notice of Reference Cited form (PT0-892).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FATEH M OBAID whose telephone number is (571)270-7121. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 A.M to 4:30 P.M.
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, Ryan Zeender can be reached at (571) 272-6790. 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.
/FATEH M OBAID/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
Prosecution Insights