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 .
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1, 10, 16 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim(s) 1, 10, 20 recite a phrase “off sensor” in last line/paragraph and Claim(s) 16 recite a phrase “off sensor” in line 13. Examiner suggests amending the phrase to recite “off the sensor” to restore antecedent clarity.
Claim 20 recite a phrase “disposed as” in paragraph 2. Examiner suggests amending the phrase to recite “disposed at” to restore clarity.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), fourth paragraph:
Subject to the [fifth paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA )], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Regarding Claim 11, it depends on both claim(s) 1 and 10, but does not follow alternative format. See MPEP 37 C.F.R. 1.75 “(c) One or more claims may be presented in dependent form, referring back to and further limiting another claim or claims in the same application. Any dependent claim which refers to more than one other claim ("multiple dependent claim") shall refer to such other claims in the alternative only”. Additionally, claim 11 is for a method claim that depend on a method claim 10 including one structure of the soil moisture sensor, but also depends on an apparatus claim 1 including alternative structure of the soil moisture sensor, thereby does not conform to clarity and unity of invention (MPEP 1850(II)) and failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. This constitutes an improper dependent claim. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7-11 and 13-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Pruessner et al. (US 20190271656; hereinafter Pruessner).
Regarding claim 1, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 a soil moisture sensor (100; figs. 1,3,6-7,21), comprising:
a power source (200,vcc fig. 18; para. 6 - operate for a substantial time using a single battery);
a parallel plate capacitance sensing element (100, 400,410 figs. 1,3 17-18; para. 59 - a parallel plate capacitance) powered by the power source and
adapted for ground insertion (para. 56 - moisture sensing unit is inserted into soil with top of the protective cover 114 substantially even with the surface level of the soil) to generate and transmit capacitance data (para. 94 - MCU controls the analog multiplexer 410 to perform the capacitance measurements and transmits the measurements to the master controller); and
an electronics unit (500,570; fig. 18) powered by the power source to:
receive the capacitance data transmitted from the parallel plate capacitance
sensing element (400,410 figs. 1,3,17-18; para. 59 - Each capacitive element has a parallel plate capacitance and a coplanar capacitance formed between the adjacent signal and ground elements. The nine capacitive elements are electrically connected in parallel);
process the received capacitance data (abs. - A processor generates a respective data value for the frequency corresponding to each sensor); and
communicate (574/570) the processed capacitance data off sensor (abs. - transmits the data values for the sensors via a radio frequency transceiver; para. 1 - moisture sensors that provide soil condition information to irrigation controllers; para. 6 - wirelessly transmit the moisture information to a base station; fig. 21).
Regarding claim 2, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the soil moisture sensor of claim 1, wherein the parallel plate capacitance sensing element comprises a pair of sensor probes (para. 53 - first sensing capacitor 220 comprises an array of interleaved conductive elements comprising a plurality of respective signal elements 222A-D and a plurality of respective ground elements 224A-D; fig. 15), each sensor probe comprising:
a printed circuit board (pcb 150; figs. 8-9);
at least one electrically conductive plate mounted thereon paired with another
electrically conductive plate mounted to the other sensor probe to define a
parallel plate capacitor (para. 59 - Each capacitive element has a parallel plate capacitance and a coplanar capacitance formed between the adjacent signal and ground elements. The nine capacitive elements are electrically connected in parallel, which results in a total nominal capacitance); and
an electrical trace formed in or on the printed circuit board and extending from the electrically conductive plate to the electronics unit (para. 48 - Front conductive traces 172 are formed on the front surface and rear conductive traces 174 are formed on the rear surface. The PCB may also include a plurality of electrically conductive circuit interconnect vias 176 between certain conductive traces).
Regarding claim 3, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the soil moisture sensor of claim 2, wherein:
the electrically conductive plate is one of a plurality of electrically conductive plates separately mounted on the printed circuit board (para. 48 - PCB is a two-sided printed circuit board, which initially has a suitable electrically conductive material fixed to the front surface 152 and the rear surface 154 of the insulating material);
the electrical trace is one of a plurality of electrical traces, each electrical trace
extending from a respective one of the electrically conductive plates to the
electronics unit (para. 48 - Front conductive traces 172 are formed on the front surface and rear conductive traces 174 are formed on the rear surface. The PCB may also include a plurality of electrically conductive circuit interconnect vias); and
the plurality of electrically conductive plates defining a plurality of parallel plate
capacitors (para. 54 - Each capacitive element includes a relatively small parallel plate capacitance between the 0.035-millimeter edges of adjacent signal and ground elements and a relatively large coplanar capacitance between the 1.78-millimeter wide traces through the PCB material).
Regarding claim 4, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the soil moisture sensor of claim 3, wherein the electrically conductive plates are diametrically disposed on the facing sides (capacitance areas 15,16,17; figs. 3,6) of the sensor probes.
Regarding claim 5, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the soil moisture sensor of claim 3, wherein the plurality of parallel plate capacitors are vertically stacked (vertical stacked capacitance 15,16,17 figs 3,6), each parallel plate capacitor acquiring the capacitance data at a respective depth when in use (para. 98 - percentage increases are used to determine the approximate moisture content at each of the three depths of the moisture sensing unit 100).
Regarding claim 7, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the soil moisture sensor of claim 1, further comprising a chassis, the chassis
including:
a chassis cap (@540; fig. 7) in which the electronics unit (500) is disposed; and
a chassis body (114) in which the power source (200; fig. 3) is disposed;
the chassis (152/112/110/100; para. 45 - rectangular upper body portion 110) being sealed against fluid penetration (para. 52 - first sensing capacitor is exposed through an opening 222 in the upper protective cover 114. The edges of the opening are sealed by a suitable sealing material (not shown) to inhibit moisture and other contaminants from reaching the other circuitry protected by the upper protective cover).
Regarding claim 8, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the soil moisture sensor of claim 1, wherein the electronics unit comprises:
a communications interface (570);
a sensor interface (410); and
a processor-based resource (500) that receives the capacitance data through the sensor interface and transmits the received capacitance data off sensor through the communications interface.
Regarding claim 9, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the soil moisture sensor of claim 8, wherein the processor-based resource is a microprocessor (para. 73 – microcontroller 500).
Regarding claim 10, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 a method for monitoring soil moisture, comprising:
disposing a soil moisture sensor in the ground (para. 56 - moisture sensing unit is inserted into soil with top of the protective cover 114 substantially even with the surface level of the soil; abs. - sensing unit includes at least three capacitive sensors positioned at three spaced apart levels with respect to the surface of the soil), the soil moisture sensor comprising a parallel plate capacitance sensing element including a parallel plate capacitor (400,410 figs. 1,3,17-18; para. 59 - Each capacitive element has a parallel plate capacitance and a coplanar capacitance formed between the adjacent signal and ground elements. The nine capacitive elements are electrically connected in parallel);
cyclically charging and discharging the parallel plate capacitor of the parallel plate capacitance sensing element (abs. - multiplexer selectively routes each sensor to an input to a capacitively-controlled oscillator to cause the oscillator to generate a clock signal having a frequency responsive to the capacitance of the currently connected sensor);
determining the soil moisture from the capacitance characteristics of the parallel
plate capacitor as the parallel plate capacitor is cyclically charged and discharged (abs. - and thus responsive to the moisture content proximate to the currently selected sensor. A processor generates a respective data value for the frequency corresponding to each sensor); and
transmitting the determined soil moisture off sensor (574/570; abs. - and transmits the data values for the sensors via a radio frequency transceiver).
Regarding claim 11, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the method of claim 10, wherein the soil moisture sensor is the soil moisture sensor of claim 1 (100; figs. 1,3,6-7,21).
Regarding claim 13, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the method of claim 10, wherein disposing the soil moisture sensor in the ground includes disposing a power source for the soil moisture sensor housed in a chassis body thereof below the ground surface (para. 51 - A substantial portion of the front surface beneath the battery forms a first front ungrounded area 206, which is juxtaposed with the second rear ungrounded area 186; figs. 2-3).
Regarding claim 14, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the method of claim 10, wherein:
the parallel plate capacitor is one of a plurality of parallel plate capacitors (plurality of sensing capacitors 220, 250, 300);
the plurality of parallel plate capacitors are disposed vertically on the sensor
probes (100) such that, when the soil moisture sensor is disposed in the ground, the parallel plate capacitors are disposed at different depths (@15,16,17) in the soil (para. 98 - The percentage increases are used to determine the approximate moisture content at each of the three depths of the moisture sensing unit 100); and
the method further comprises.
cyclically charging and discharging each of the parallel plate capacitors (abs. - multiplexer selectively routes each sensor to an input to a capacitively-controlled oscillator to cause the oscillator to generate a clock signal having a frequency responsive to the capacitance of the currently connected sensor); and
determining the soil moisture at the different depths from the capacitance
characteristics of the parallel plate capacitors as the parallel plate
capacitors are cyclically charged and discharged (abs. - and thus responsive to the moisture content proximate to the currently selected sensor. A processor generates a respective data value for the frequency corresponding to each sensor).
Regarding claim 15, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the method of claim 10, wherein transmitting the determined soil moisture off
sensor includes transmitting the determined soil moisture wirelessly (para. 6 - wirelessly transmit the moisture information to a base station; fig. 21).
Regarding claim 16, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 a system for monitoring soil moisture in a preselected area, the system comprising:
a plurality of soil moisture sensors (100, 220,250, 300 figs. 1,3,17-18) disposed in the ground (para. 56 - moisture sensing unit is inserted into soil with top of the protective cover 114 substantially even with the surface level of the soil) in the preselected area (para. 91 - A plurality of the moisture sensing units 100 are deployed in a landscaped area 770 having a plurality of watering devices), each of the soil moisture sensors further comprising:
a power source (200,vcc fig. 18; para. 6 - operate for a substantial time using a single battery);
a parallel plate capacitance sensing element (100, 400,410 figs. 1,3 17-18; para. 59 - a parallel plate capacitance) powered by the power source
and adapted for ground insertion (para. 56 - moisture sensing unit is inserted into soil with top of the protective cover 114 substantially even with the surface level of the soil) to generate and transmit capacitance data (para. 94 - MCU controls the analog multiplexer 410 to perform the capacitance measurements and transmits the measurements to the master controller) from a plurality of depths at the respective location of the soil moisture sensor (paras. 5-6 - can sense moisture content at two or more discrete depths; para. 98 - moisture content at each of the three depths of the moisture sensing unit 100); and
an electronics unit (500,570; fig. 18) powered by the power source to:
receive the capacitance data transmitted from the parallel plate capacitance sensing element (400,410 figs. 1,3,17-18; para. 59 - Each capacitive element has a parallel plate capacitance and a coplanar capacitance formed between the adjacent signal and ground elements. The nine capacitive elements are electrically connected in parallel);
process the received capacitance data (abs. - A processor generates a respective data value for the frequency corresponding to each sensor); and
communicate the processed capacitance data off sensor (abs. - transmits the data values for the sensors via a radio frequency transceiver);
a communications system (574/570) over which each soil moisture sensor transmits the
respective soil moisture data (transceiver 574/570); and
a remote computing system receiving the transmitted soil moisture data over the
communications system and monitoring the soil moisture condition of the
preselected area (para. 1 - moisture sensors that provide soil condition information to irrigation controllers; para. 6 - wirelessly transmit the moisture information to a base station).
Regarding claim 17, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the system of claim 16, wherein the parallel plate capacitance sensing element of each soil moisture comprises a pair of sensor probes, each sensor probe comprising:
a printed circuit board (pcb 150);
a plurality of electrically conductive plates mounted thereon, each electrically
conductive plate forming a parallel plate capacitor with a respective electrically conductive plate disposed on the paired sensor probe such that the parallel plate capacitors (para. 55 - nominal total capacitance of the first sensing capacitor 220 can be changed modifying one or more of the number of sensing element pairs, the spacing between sensing elements, the widths of the traces, and the distance of juxtaposition e.g., the lengths of the sensing elements in each pair) are disposed at different depths in the soil (@15,16,17);
a plurality of electrical traces formed in or on the printed circuit board and extending from a respective one of the electrically conductive plates to the electronics
unit (para. 48 - Front conductive traces 172 are formed on the front surface and rear conductive traces 174 are formed on the rear surface. The PCB may also include a plurality of electrically conductive circuit interconnect vias); and
the electrically conductive plates defining a parallel plate capacitor (para. 54 - Each capacitive element includes a relatively small parallel plate capacitance between the 0.035-millimeter edges of adjacent signal and ground elements and a relatively large coplanar capacitance between the 1.78-millimeter wide traces through the PCB material).
Regarding claim 18, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the system of claim 16, wherein the communications system is a public network or a private network (para. 79 - 100-milliwatts long range spread spectrum wireless transceiver module, which is commercially available).
Regarding claim 19, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the system of claim 16, wherein the remote computing system is a plurality of cloud-based resources (para. 91 - master controller may also communicate with a user interface on a smartphone 796 or other computer system via a Wi-Fi connection 798 or via the Internet connection and the Cloud).
Regarding claim 20, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 a method for monitoring soil moisture, comprising:
disposing a plurality of soil moisture sensors in the ground (para. 56 - moisture sensing unit is inserted into soil with top of the protective cover 114 substantially even with the surface level of the soil; abs. - sensing unit includes at least three capacitive sensors positioned at three spaced apart levels with respect to the surface of the soil) in a preselected area (para. 91 - A plurality of the moisture sensing units 100 are deployed in a landscaped area 770 having a plurality of watering devices),
each of the soil moisture sensor comprising a parallel plate capacitance sensing element including a plurality of parallel plate capacitors (para. 59 - Each capacitive element has a parallel plate capacitance and a coplanar capacitance formed between the adjacent signal and ground elements. The nine capacitive elements are electrically connected in parallel, which results in a total nominal capacitance) disposed as different depths in the soil (para. 98 - moisture content at each of the three depths of the moisture sensing unit 100);
cyclically charging and discharging the parallel plate capacitors of the parallel plate capacitance sensing elements (abs. - multiplexer selectively routes each sensor to an input to a capacitively-controlled oscillator to cause the oscillator to generate a clock signal having a frequency responsive to the capacitance of the currently connected sensor);
determining the soil moisture from the capacitance characteristics of the parallel
plate capacitors as the parallel plate capacitors are cyclically charged and discharged (abs. - and thus responsive to the moisture content proximate to the currently selected sensor. A processor generates a respective data value for the frequency corresponding to each sensor); and
transmitting the determined soil moisture off sensor over a communications system (574/570; abs. - and transmits the data values for the sensors via a radio frequency transceiver) to a remote computing system for monitoring (para. 1 - moisture sensors that provide soil condition information to irrigation controllers; para. 6 - wirelessly transmit the moisture information to a base station).
Regarding claim 21, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the method of claim 20, wherein the communications system is a public network or a private network (para. 79 - 100-milliwatts long range spread spectrum wireless transceiver module, which is commercially available).
Regarding claim 22, Pruessner discloses in figure(s) 1-25 the method of claim 20, wherein the remote computing system is a plurality of cloud-based resources (para. 91 - master controller may also communicate with a user interface on a smartphone 796 or other computer system via a Wi-Fi connection 798 or via the Internet connection and the Cloud).
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Richings et al. (US 20160183484).
Regarding claim 1, Richings discloses in figure(s) 1-12 a soil moisture sensor (110, 200; figs. 4,8a), comprising:
a power source (clm. 1 – power source);
a parallel plate capacitance sensing element (104, 106 of probe 107 fig. 4 201 in fig. 8a; para. 34 - first trace 104 and second trace 106 form two plates of a capacitor with the soil immediately surrounding the traces 104, 106 forming the dielectric) powered by the power source and
adapted for ground insertion (para. 34 - sensor is inserted into the soil) to generate and transmit capacitance data (204 fig. 8a; para. 38 - A back side 202 of the probe 200 comprises a power/data connection 203 in the form of a cable 204 that is directed to a wireless transmitter or wired to a data logger); and
an electronics unit (103, 208; figs. 4,8a) powered by the power source to:
receive the capacitance data transmitted from the parallel plate capacitance
sensing element (@104,201; para. 32 - comprising a capacitive to digital signal converter that measures the capacitance in the soil);
process the received capacitance data (para. 32 - comprising a capacitive to digital signal converter that measures the capacitance in the soil); and
communicate the processed capacitance data off sensor (20, 204; figs. 1,8a; para. 5 - each probe is tethered to a wireless transmitter configured to send a wireless signal to an irrigation control box).
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 of this title, 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) 6 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pruessner in view of Richings.
Regarding claim 6, Pruessner teaches in figure(s) 1-25 the soil moisture sensor of claim 3,
Pruessner does not teach explicitly wherein the electrically conductive plates are disposed on the sides of the sensor probes opposite the facing sides of the sensor probes.
However, Richings teaches in figure(s) 1-12 wherein the electrically conductive plates are disposed on the sides of the sensor probes opposite the facing sides of the sensor probes (opposite facing plates of probe arms of 40 or 104,107; figs. 1,4).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Pruessner by having wherein the electrically conductive plates are disposed on the sides of the sensor probes opposite the facing sides of the sensor probes as taught by Richings in order to provide combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results as evidenced by "improved apparatus and systems for monitoring and controlling subsurface soil moisture …seeks to optimize the use of soil moisture sensors that interface with irrigation controllers to overcome deficiencies …slow response" (paras. 2-3).
Regarding claim 12, Pruessner teaches in figure(s) 1-25 the method of claim 10,
Pruessner does not teach explicitly wherein disposing the soil moisture sensor in the ground includes positioning the parallel plate capacitor at least 0.5” to 4" beneath the ground surface.
However, Richings teaches in figure(s) 1-12 wherein disposing the soil moisture sensor in the ground includes positioning the parallel plate capacitor at least 0.5” to 4" beneath the ground surface (para. 45 - read soil moisture measurements taken from probes that detect soil moisture from zero to 12 inches below the soil surface).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Pruessner by having wherein disposing the soil moisture sensor in the ground includes positioning the parallel plate capacitor at least 0.5” to 4" beneath the ground surface as taught by Richings in order to provide combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results as evidenced by "improved apparatus and systems for monitoring and controlling subsurface soil moisture …seeks to optimize the use of soil moisture sensors that interface with irrigation controllers to overcome deficiencies …slow response" (paras. 2-3).
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
See the List of References cited in the US PT0-892.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AKM ZAKARIA whose telephone number is (571)270-0664. The examiner can normally be reached on 8-5 PM (PST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Judy Nguyen can be reached on (571) 272-2258. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AKM ZAKARIA/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858