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 .
Amended claims 1 thru 5, 7 thru 17, 19 and 20 have been entered into the record. Claims 6 and 18 have been cancelled.
Response to Amendment
The amendments to the specification overcome the drawing and specification objections from the previous office action (1/8/2026). The drawing and specification objections are withdrawn.
The amendments to the claims overcome the claim objections from the previous office action (1/8/2026). The claim objections are withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 thru 5, 7 thru 17, 19 and 20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 thru 5, 7 thru 17, 19 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Elyashiv et al Patent Application Publication Number 2018/0319486 A1 in view of Becker et al Patent Application Publication Number 2020/0234562 A1 and Hayashi Japanese Patent Application Publication Number JP-H0828378-A (translation cited).
Regarding claim 1 Elyashiv et al teach the claimed method, a method for enhancing autorotation performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in emergency events (abstract and Figure 2), comprising:
the claimed determining occurrence of multiple different emergency events of a vehicle traversing through an environment, “A method may include an action to receive 101 a request for emergency thrust, such as from a pilot of a rotary-wing aircraft whose main engine has failed.” (P[0074] and Figure 2), “Depending on available helicopter sensors and avionics, including other aircraft parameters, such as altitude, airspeed, attitude, climb rate, and the like, may be used for determining the need of an emergency thrust rocket engine operation.” P[0121], and “aircraft emergency events are a result of a main-engine failure” P[0065], the aircraft emergency events equate to the claimed multiple different emergency events;
the claimed notifying a user of the vehicle of the selected emergency event, “The pilot may also receive some indications or system recommendations for activating the rocket engine. For example, inputs received from other alarm and/or warning systems on the aircraft, such as helicopter engines indicators and Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System (H-TAWS), may recommend using the emergency engine.” P[0122];
the claimed identifying corrective actions associated with the selected emergency event that includes a user action and a non-user action, “the emergency thrust is provided automatically by pilot 221 pressing arming button 202A which also starts (103 in FIG. 2) emergency engine 205 combustion” (P[0084] and Figure 2), the pilot pressing the arming button equates to the claimed user action, and the automatic emergency thrust equates to the claimed non-user action;
the claimed automatically performing the non-user action of the identified corrective actions without input or guidance from the user of the vehicle, “When emergency engine 205 thrust 211 is initiated, controller 206 provides propellant(s) 207 to combustion chamber assembly 208, such as by selectively opening valves, and the propellant may be ignited in combustion chamber assembly 208 to produce thrust 211. Forward thrust (104 in FIG. 2) acting on aircraft 200 increases the aircraft safe landing distance, and pilot 221 may raise the pitch of the aircraft thereby enhancing (105 in FIG. 2) an autorotation state of flight, such as without losing substantial altitude.” (P[0084] and Figure 2), and “An emergency thrust rocket may be activated by a human pilot, an automatic algorithm-based control method performed by a controller, a combination of both, and the like. For example, when an engine failure occurs, the rotor rotation speed starts to decrease, and the like, the collective may be lowered manually and/or automatically. Next, the emergency rocket engine may fire manually or automatically, and the pilot operates the cyclic to maintain flight speed in AFM, optionally using pedals to control yaw, optionally using an automatic pilot, while collective may be used to maintain rotor rotation speed.” P[0123]; and
the claimed notifying the user of the vehicle of the user action, “When a main rotor 231 of aircraft 200 stops receiving power from main engine 230, or when tail rotor 241 fails, or the like, pilot 221 may press an arming button 202A to arm (102 in FIG. 2) emergency engine 205” P[0084], the indication of a failure equates to the claimed notifying the user.
Elyashiv et al do not teach the claimed ranking the emergency events of the vehicle according to importance level of each event, and the claimed selecting an emergency event based associated with the highest importance level in the ranking. Generally, a pilot or crew are trained to prioritize emergency events (first aviate, then navigate, and then communicate), and they are informed of the various problems or failures through warning lights and alarms which are prioritized by the pilot/aircraft commander.
Becker et al teach,
the claimed determining occurrence of emergency events of a vehicle traversing through an environment, “The method 300 begins in step 302 in which the event panel controller 102 receives present information of the environment of the structure 114 (i.e., environment information) from at least one of the environment monitoring devices 104. As described previously, the environment monitoring devices 104 can include a number of different types of sensors, switches, and/or manually operated devices. As such, the environment information may include any data capable of being captured by the respective environment monitoring devices 104 from which the environment information is received.” (P[0038] and Figure 3), and “In step 304, the event panel controller 102 analyzes the present information to determine whether an emergency event should be triggered. In an illustrative example, the event panel controller 102 may compare one or more present environment values received with the environment information against a corresponding threshold (e.g., a minimum threshold value, a maximum threshold value, a threshold value range, etc.). Accordingly, based on the comparison, the event panel controller 102 can make the determination whether one or more of the present environment values are indicative of an emergency event.” (P[0039] and Figure 3);
the claimed ranking the emergency events according to importance level of each event, “In step 308, the event panel controller 102 inserts the triggered emergency event, or a reference thereto, into a queue of active emergency events.” (P[0040] and Figure 3), “In step 310, the event panel controller 102 transmits a notification command to one or more event notification devices 106. The notification command may be any type of message the receiving event notification device 106 can receive, interpret, and perform an operation associated with the event. For example, in an embodiment in which the receiving event notification device 106 is an alarm, the notification command may include an indication that the alarm is to be active (e.g., emit an audible noise, a visible light, etc.). In another example, the notification command may include text that is usable by the receiving event notification device 106 to read audibly and/or display textually, depending on the capability of that event notification device 106.” (P[0041] and Figure 3), “In step 312, the event panel controller 102 displays an event indication corresponding to the triggered emergency event in an event indicator region of an emergency event GUI.” (P[0042] and Figure 3), and “in step 314, the event panel controller 102 shifts any previously displayed indications (i.e., displayed indications of previously triggered emergency event presently in the queue of active emergency events) in a snake-like pattern along the event indicator region 402. For example, referring again to FIG. 4B, a previously triggered emergency event displayed in the first event element (i.e., event element (1)) of the event elements 404 is shifted to the right for display in the second event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, while the previously triggered emergency event displayed in the second event element is shifted down a row and to the far-left location of the third event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, and so on.” (P[0047], Figure 3 and Figure 4B);
the claimed selecting the emergency event with the highest importance level in the ranking, “Referring again to FIG. 4A, the characteristics (e.g., fill color, font type, etc.) of the event elements 404 may be based on the type of event (e.g., classified as alarm, emergency, suppressant, security, ground fault, building, call in, etc.) being represented by the respective event element 404. In an illustrative embodiment, the event types alarm and emergency may be higher priority event types, such that a background color (e.g., red) is applied to the respective GUI element to denote their level of importance.” (P[0046] and Figure 4A), and “Referring back to the method 300 of FIG. 3, to display the event indication, in step 314, the event panel controller 102 shifts any previously displayed indications (i.e., displayed indications of previously triggered emergency event presently in the queue of active emergency events) in a snake-like pattern along the event indicator region 402. For example, referring again to FIG. 4B, a previously triggered emergency event displayed in the first event element (i.e., event element (1)) of the event elements 404 is shifted to the right for display in the second event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, while the previously triggered emergency event displayed in the second event element is shifted down a row and to the far-left location of the third event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, and so on.” (P[0047] and Figures 3 and 4B). “in step 318, the event panel controller 102 updates an event queue region of the emergency event GUI 400 to display the queue of active emergency events to include the presently triggered emergency event inserted into the queue of active emergency events in step 308” (P[0049] and Figure 3), and “In step 322, the event panel controller 102 updates an options menu region of the emergency event GUI 400 to display one or more options associated with the presently triggered emergency event. Each of the options may be mapped to an actionable option associated with the selected active emergency event, such as may be selected via a respective one of the queue elements 412.” (P[0053] and Figure 3).
The placing of emergency events in a queue equates to the claimed ranking the emergency events, and the updating the order of the emergency events to queue #1 equates to the claimed selecting the emergency event based on the ranking. The position at event element 1 (First in queue) equates to the claimed highest importance level. The display of emergency events in a queue of Becker et al would be provided on the interface to the pilot of Elyashiv et al. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method for enhancing autorotation performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in emergency events of Elyashiv et al with the placement and display of emergency events in a queue of Becker et al in order to, with a reasonable expectation of success, improve user response to detected emergency events in times of emergency (Becker et al P[0004] and P[0005]).
Elyashiv et al and Becker et al do not explicitly teach the claimed ranking of multiple different emergency events, but Becker et al do prioritize the emergency events in a queue. Hayashi teach, “a plurality of types of expected emergency events are set in advance in the priority event setting table 12, and the events to be prioritized are set to be switchable” (translation page 3 P[0011]). The prioritized display of the emergency events of Hayashi would be provided to the system of Elyashiv et al and Becker et al embodied in the queue display of emergency events of Becker et al. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method for enhancing autorotation performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in emergency events of Elyashiv et al and the placement and display of emergency events in a queue of Becker et al with the plurality of types of expected emergency events are set in advance in the priority event setting table of Hayashi in order to, with a reasonable expectation of success, cope with an emergency or an abnormality (Hayashi translation page 1 P[0001]).
Regarding claim 2 Elyashiv et al teach the claimed monitoring sensor data from a sensor of the vehicle, “the control unit receives sensor values from at least one of the aircraft and at least one dedicated engine sensors for activating the at least one emergency engine” P[0038], wherein
the claimed determining the occurrence of the emergency events is based on the monitoring, “Depending on available helicopter sensors and avionics, including other aircraft parameters, such as altitude, airspeed, attitude, climb rate, and the like, may be used for determining the need of an emergency thrust rocket engine operation.” P[0121].
Regarding claim 3 Elyashiv et al teach the claimed vehicle is an air vehicle, aircraft 400 (Figure 1), and the claimed user is a pilot of the air vehicle, a pilot of the helicopter P[0044].
Regarding claim 4 Elyashiv et al teach the claimed vehicle is a helicopter, aircraft 400 is a helicopter (Figure 1).
Regarding claim 5 Elyashiv et al teach the claimed determined emergency event is a component of the vehicle failing or becoming inoperable, “the emergency event is an engine failure, a vortex ring state, a tail rotor failure, and a loss of tail-rotor effectiveness” P[0024].
Regarding claim 7 Elyashiv et al and Becker et al teach the claimed method of claim 1 (see above), Elyashiv et al do not explicitly teach the claimed multiple emergency events are selected based on the ranking and the user of the vehicle is notified of the multiple selected emergency events, but does reference actions for emergency events (abstract). Becker et al teach, a queue of active emergency events (abstract and Figure 4B), and “Referring back to the method 300 of FIG. 3, to display the event indication, in step 314, the event panel controller 102 shifts any previously displayed indications (i.e., displayed indications of previously triggered emergency event presently in the queue of active emergency events) in a snake-like pattern along the event indicator region 402. For example, referring again to FIG. 4B, a previously triggered emergency event displayed in the first event element (i.e., event element (1)) of the event elements 404 is shifted to the right for display in the second event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, while the previously triggered emergency event displayed in the second event element is shifted down a row and to the far-left location of the third event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, and so on.” (P[0047] and Figure 4B). The queue of active emergency events equates to the claimed multiple emergency events and the display of active emergency events equates to the claimed user of the vehicle is notified of the multiple selected emergency events. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method for enhancing autorotation performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in emergency events of Elyashiv et al and the plurality of types of expected emergency events are set in advance in the priority event setting table of Hayashi with the placement and display of emergency events in a queue of Becker et al in order to, with a reasonable expectation of success, improve user response to detected emergency events in times of emergency (Becker et al P[0004] and P[0005]).
Regarding claim 8 Elyashiv et al and Becker et al teach the claimed method of claims 1 and 7 (see above), Elyashiv et al do not teach the claimed multiple selected emergency events are limited to a threshold number of emergency events from the ranking. Becker et al teach, “The illustrative event elements 404 include a first event element, designated as event element (1), a second event element, designated as event element (2), and so on to a tenth element, designated as event element (10).” (P[0044] and Figure 4B), and “The illustrative event queue region 408 contains four queue elements 412, including a first queue element, designated as queue element (1), a second queue element, designated as queue element (2), a third queue element, designated as queue element (3), and a fourth queue element, designated as queue element (4).” (P[0049] and Figure 4C). The event elements displayed equate to the claimed limited to a threshold number of emergency events. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method for enhancing autorotation performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in emergency events of Elyashiv et al and the plurality of types of expected emergency events are set in advance in the priority event setting table of Hayashi with the placement and display of emergency events in a queue having a certain number of elements of Becker et al in order to, with a reasonable expectation of success, improve user response to detected emergency events in times of emergency (Becker et al P[0004] and P[0005]).
Regarding claim 9 Elyashiv et al and Becker et al teach the claimed method of claims 1 and 7 (see above), Elyashiv et al do not teach the claimed multiple selected emergency events are limited to emergency events from the ranking with at least a threshold importance level. Becker et al teach, “the event types alarm and emergency may be higher priority event types, such that a background color (e.g., red) is applied to the respective GUI element to denote their level of importance” P[0046], the background color of red equates to the claimed threshold importance level (only high priority emergency events are turned red). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method for enhancing autorotation performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in emergency events of Elyashiv et al and the plurality of types of expected emergency events are set in advance in the priority event setting table of Hayashi with the placement and display of emergency events in a queue having an indication of a level of importance of Becker et al in order to, with a reasonable expectation of success, improve user response to detected emergency events in times of emergency (Becker et al P[0004] and P[0005]).
Regarding claim 10 Elyashiv et al teach the claimed user of the vehicle is notified of multiple user actions, “When a main rotor 231 of aircraft 200 stops receiving power from main engine 230, or when tail rotor 241 fails, or the like, pilot 221 may press an arming button 202A to arm (102 in FIG. 2) emergency engine 205, and pilot 221 may start (103 in FIG. 2) and/or modulate the emergency thrust by selectively activating an emergency thrust level control 202B.” (P[0084] and Figures 2 and 3A). The pilot pressing the arming button, and the pilot modulating the emergency thrust equates to the claimed multiple user actions. Elyashiv et al do not explicitly teach the notifying of the actions, but such notifications would be included in the user interface 203 (Figure 3A). Becker et al teach the claimed notifying of the actions, “The illustrative event elements 404 include a first event element, designated as event element (1), a second event element, designated as event element (2), and so on to a tenth element, designated as event element (10).” (P[0044] and Figure 4B), and “The illustrative event queue region 408 contains four queue elements 412, including a first queue element, designated as queue element (1), a second queue element, designated as queue element (2), a third queue element, designated as queue element (3), and a fourth queue element, designated as queue element (4).” (P[0049] and Figure 4C). The queue elements of Becker et al would be combined with Elyashiv et al as the actions that are performed for the emergency event, and the queue elements displayed equate to the claimed notifying of the actions. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method for enhancing autorotation performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in emergency events of Elyashiv et al with the placement and display of emergency events with queue elements of Becker et al in order to, with a reasonable expectation of success, improve user response to detected emergency events in times of emergency (Becker et al P[0004] and P[0005]).
Regarding claim 11 Elyashiv et al and Becker et al teach the claimed method of claims 1 and 10 (see above), Elyashiv et al do not teach the claimed multiple user actions are limited to a threshold number of user actions. Becker et al teach, “The illustrative event elements 404 include a first event element, designated as event element (1), a second event element, designated as event element (2), and so on to a tenth element, designated as event element (10).” (P[0044] and Figure 4B), and “The illustrative event queue region 408 contains four queue elements 412, including a first queue element, designated as queue element (1), a second queue element, designated as queue element (2), a third queue element, designated as queue element (3), and a fourth queue element, designated as queue element (4).” (P[0049] and Figure 4C). The queue elements displayed equate to the claimed limited to a threshold number of user actions. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method for enhancing autorotation performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in emergency events of Elyashiv et al and the plurality of types of expected emergency events are set in advance in the priority event setting table of Hayashi with the placement and display of emergency events in a queue having a certain number of elements of Becker et al in order to, with a reasonable expectation of success, improve user response to detected emergency events in times of emergency (Becker et al P[0004] and P[0005]).
Regarding claim 12 Elyashiv et al teach the claimed responsive to an indication that the user performed the user action, notifying the user of another action of the identified corrective actions, “When a main rotor 231 of aircraft 200 stops receiving power from main engine 230, or when tail rotor 241 fails, or the like, pilot 221 may press an arming button 202A to arm (102 in FIG. 2) emergency engine 205, and pilot 221 may start (103 in FIG. 2) and/or modulate the emergency thrust by selectively activating an emergency thrust level control 202B.” (P[0084] and Figures 2 and 3A), “a pilot first arms an emergency engine with a first control and then activates an emergency engine with second control” P[0114], and “the pilot presses the lever to arm the emergency engine and then rotates the lever to modulate the emergency engine thrust” P[0115]. Elyashiv et al do not explicitly teach the notifying of the actions, but such notifications would be included in the user interface 203 (Figure 3A). Becker et al teach the claimed notifying of the actions, “The illustrative event elements 404 include a first event element, designated as event element (1), a second event element, designated as event element (2), and so on to a tenth element, designated as event element (10).” (P[0044] and Figure 4B), and “The illustrative event queue region 408 contains four queue elements 412, including a first queue element, designated as queue element (1), a second queue element, designated as queue element (2), a third queue element, designated as queue element (3), and a fourth queue element, designated as queue element (4).” (P[0049] and Figure 4C). The queue elements of Becker et al would be combined with Elyashiv et al as the actions that are performed for the emergency event, and the queue elements displayed equate to the claimed notifying of the actions. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method for enhancing autorotation performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in emergency events of Elyashiv et al with the placement and display of emergency events with queue elements of Becker et al in order to, with a reasonable expectation of success, improve user response to detected emergency events in times of emergency (Becker et al P[0004] and P[0005]).
Regarding claim 13 Elyashiv et al teach the claimed computing system to perform operations, “User interface 203 may optionally incorporate electronics to convert the operation of the user controls to a medium suitable for transfer by communication interface 209 to controller 206 of an emergency engine 205. For example, user interface 203 electronics converts the action of a button 202A to an electronic signal, a digital signal, an analog signal, an electromagnetic signal, a fiber optic signal, a wireless signal, and/or the like.” (P[0082] and Figure 3A), comprising;
the claimed determining occurrence of multiple different emergency events of a vehicle traversing through an environment, “A method may include an action to receive 101 a request for emergency thrust, such as from a pilot of a rotary-wing aircraft whose main engine has failed.” (P[0074] and Figure 2), “Depending on available helicopter sensors and avionics, including other aircraft parameters, such as altitude, airspeed, attitude, climb rate, and the like, may be used for determining the need of an emergency thrust rocket engine operation.” P[0121], and “aircraft emergency events are a result of a main-engine failure” P[0065], the aircraft emergency events equate to the claimed multiple different emergency events;
the claimed notifying a user of the vehicle of the selected emergency event, “The pilot may also receive some indications or system recommendations for activating the rocket engine. For example, inputs received from other alarm and/or warning systems on the aircraft, such as helicopter engines indicators and Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System (H-TAWS), may recommend using the emergency engine.” P[0122];
the claimed identifying corrective actions associated with the selected emergency event that includes a user action and a non-user action, “the emergency thrust is provided automatically by pilot 221 pressing arming button 202A which also starts (103 in FIG. 2) emergency engine 205 combustion” (P[0084] and Figure 2), the pilot pressing the arming button equates to the claimed user action, and the automatic emergency thrust equates to the claimed non-user action;
the claimed automatically performing the non-user action of the identified corrective actions without input or guidance from the user of the vehicle, “When emergency engine 205 thrust 211 is initiated, controller 206 provides propellant(s) 207 to combustion chamber assembly 208, such as by selectively opening valves, and the propellant may be ignited in combustion chamber assembly 208 to produce thrust 211. Forward thrust (104 in FIG. 2) acting on aircraft 200 increases the aircraft safe landing distance, and pilot 221 may raise the pitch of the aircraft thereby enhancing (105 in FIG. 2) an autorotation state of flight, such as without losing substantial altitude.” (P[0084] and Figure 2), and “An emergency thrust rocket may be activated by a human pilot, an automatic algorithm-based control method performed by a controller, a combination of both, and the like. For example, when an engine failure occurs, the rotor rotation speed starts to decrease, and the like, the collective may be lowered manually and/or automatically. Next, the emergency rocket engine may fire manually or automatically, and the pilot operates the cyclic to maintain flight speed in AFM, optionally using pedals to control yaw, optionally using an automatic pilot, while collective may be used to maintain rotor rotation speed.” P[0123]; and
the claimed notifying the user of the vehicle of the user action, “When a main rotor 231 of aircraft 200 stops receiving power from main engine 230, or when tail rotor 241 fails, or the like, pilot 221 may press an arming button 202A to arm (102 in FIG. 2) emergency engine 205” P[0084], the indication of a failure equates to the claimed notifying the user.
Elyashiv et al do not teach the claimed ranking the emergency events of the vehicle according to importance level of each event, and the claimed selecting an emergency event based associated with the highest importance level in the ranking. Generally, a pilot or crew are trained to prioritize emergency events (first aviate, then navigate, and then communicate), and they are informed of the various problems or failures through warning lights and alarms which are prioritized by the pilot/aircraft commander.
Becker et al teach,
the claimed determining occurrence of emergency events of a vehicle traversing through an environment, “The method 300 begins in step 302 in which the event panel controller 102 receives present information of the environment of the structure 114 (i.e., environment information) from at least one of the environment monitoring devices 104. As described previously, the environment monitoring devices 104 can include a number of different types of sensors, switches, and/or manually operated devices. As such, the environment information may include any data capable of being captured by the respective environment monitoring devices 104 from which the environment information is received.” (P[0038] and Figure 3), and “In step 304, the event panel controller 102 analyzes the present information to determine whether an emergency event should be triggered. In an illustrative example, the event panel controller 102 may compare one or more present environment values received with the environment information against a corresponding threshold (e.g., a minimum threshold value, a maximum threshold value, a threshold value range, etc.). Accordingly, based on the comparison, the event panel controller 102 can make the determination whether one or more of the present environment values are indicative of an emergency event.” (P[0039] and Figure 3);
the claimed ranking the emergency events according to importance level of each event, “In step 308, the event panel controller 102 inserts the triggered emergency event, or a reference thereto, into a queue of active emergency events.” (P[0040] and Figure 3), “In step 310, the event panel controller 102 transmits a notification command to one or more event notification devices 106. The notification command may be any type of message the receiving event notification device 106 can receive, interpret, and perform an operation associated with the event. For example, in an embodiment in which the receiving event notification device 106 is an alarm, the notification command may include an indication that the alarm is to be active (e.g., emit an audible noise, a visible light, etc.). In another example, the notification command may include text that is usable by the receiving event notification device 106 to read audibly and/or display textually, depending on the capability of that event notification device 106.” (P[0041] and Figure 3), “In step 312, the event panel controller 102 displays an event indication corresponding to the triggered emergency event in an event indicator region of an emergency event GUI.” (P[0042] and Figure 3), and “in step 314, the event panel controller 102 shifts any previously displayed indications (i.e., displayed indications of previously triggered emergency event presently in the queue of active emergency events) in a snake-like pattern along the event indicator region 402. For example, referring again to FIG. 4B, a previously triggered emergency event displayed in the first event element (i.e., event element (1)) of the event elements 404 is shifted to the right for display in the second event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, while the previously triggered emergency event displayed in the second event element is shifted down a row and to the far-left location of the third event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, and so on.” (P[0047], Figure 3 and Figure 4B);
the claimed selecting the emergency event with the highest importance level in the ranking, “Referring again to FIG. 4A, the characteristics (e.g., fill color, font type, etc.) of the event elements 404 may be based on the type of event (e.g., classified as alarm, emergency, suppressant, security, ground fault, building, call in, etc.) being represented by the respective event element 404. In an illustrative embodiment, the event types alarm and emergency may be higher priority event types, such that a background color (e.g., red) is applied to the respective GUI element to denote their level of importance.” (P[0046] and Figure 4A), and “Referring back to the method 300 of FIG. 3, to display the event indication, in step 314, the event panel controller 102 shifts any previously displayed indications (i.e., displayed indications of previously triggered emergency event presently in the queue of active emergency events) in a snake-like pattern along the event indicator region 402. For example, referring again to FIG. 4B, a previously triggered emergency event displayed in the first event element (i.e., event element (1)) of the event elements 404 is shifted to the right for display in the second event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, while the previously triggered emergency event displayed in the second event element is shifted down a row and to the far-left location of the third event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, and so on.” (P[0047] and Figures 3 and 4B). “in step 318, the event panel controller 102 updates an event queue region of the emergency event GUI 400 to display the queue of active emergency events to include the presently triggered emergency event inserted into the queue of active emergency events in step 308” (P[0049] and Figure 3), and “In step 322, the event panel controller 102 updates an options menu region of the emergency event GUI 400 to display one or more options associated with the presently triggered emergency event. Each of the options may be mapped to an actionable option associated with the selected active emergency event, such as may be selected via a respective one of the queue elements 412.” (P[0053] and Figure 3).
The placing of emergency events in a queue equates to the claimed ranking the emergency events, and the updating the order of the emergency events to queue #1 equates to the claimed selecting the emergency event based on the ranking. The position at event element 1 (First in queue) equates to the claimed highest importance level. The display of emergency events in a queue of Becker et al would be provided on the interface to the pilot of Elyashiv et al. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method for enhancing autorotation performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in emergency events of Elyashiv et al with the placement and display of emergency events in a queue of Becker et al in order to, with a reasonable expectation of success, improve user response to detected emergency events in times of emergency (Becker et al P[0004] and P[0005]).
Elyashiv et al and Becker et al do not explicitly teach the claimed ranking of multiple different emergency events, but Becker et al do prioritize the emergency events in a queue. Hayashi teach, “a plurality of types of expected emergency events are set in advance in the priority event setting table 12, and the events to be prioritized are set to be switchable” (translation page 3 P[0011]). The prioritized display of the emergency events of Hayashi would be provided to the system of Elyashiv et al and Becker et al embodied in the queue display of emergency events of Becker et al. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method for enhancing autorotation performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in emergency events of Elyashiv et al and the placement and display of emergency events in a queue of Becker et al with the plurality of types of expected emergency events are set in advance in the priority event setting table of Hayashi in order to, with a reasonable expectation of success, cope with an emergency or an abnormality (Hayashi translation page 1 P[0001]).
Regarding claim 14 Elyashiv et al teach the claimed monitoring sensor data from a sensor of the vehicle, “the control unit receives sensor values from at least one of the aircraft and at least one dedicated engine sensors for activating the at least one emergency engine” P[0038], wherein
the claimed determining the occurrence of the emergency events is based on the monitoring, “Depending on available helicopter sensors and avionics, including other aircraft parameters, such as altitude, airspeed, attitude, climb rate, and the like, may be used for determining the need of an emergency thrust rocket engine operation.” P[0121].
Regarding claim 15 Elyashiv et al teach the claimed vehicle is an air vehicle, aircraft 400 (Figure 1), and the claimed user is a pilot of the air vehicle, a pilot of the helicopter P[0044].
Regarding claim 16 Elyashiv et al teach the claimed vehicle is a helicopter, aircraft 400 is a helicopter (Figure 1).
Regarding claim 17 Elyashiv et al teach the claimed determined emergency event is a component of the vehicle failing or becoming inoperable, “the emergency event is an engine failure, a vortex ring state, a tail rotor failure, and a loss of tail-rotor effectiveness” P[0024].
Regarding claim 19 Elyashiv et al and Becker et al teach the claimed storage medium of claim 13 (see above), Elyashiv et al do not explicitly teach the claimed multiple emergency events are selected based on the ranking and the user of the vehicle is notified of the multiple selected emergency events, but does reference actions for emergency events (abstract). Becker et al teach, a queue of active emergency events (abstract and Figure 4B), and “Referring back to the method 300 of FIG. 3, to display the event indication, in step 314, the event panel controller 102 shifts any previously displayed indications (i.e., displayed indications of previously triggered emergency event presently in the queue of active emergency events) in a snake-like pattern along the event indicator region 402. For example, referring again to FIG. 4B, a previously triggered emergency event displayed in the first event element (i.e., event element (1)) of the event elements 404 is shifted to the right for display in the second event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, while the previously triggered emergency event displayed in the second event element is shifted down a row and to the far-left location of the third event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, and so on.” (P[0047] and Figure 4B). The queue of active emergency events equates to the claimed multiple emergency events and the display of active emergency events equates to the claimed user of the vehicle is notified of the multiple selected emergency events. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method for enhancing autorotation performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in emergency events of Elyashiv et al and the plurality of types of expected emergency events are set in advance in the priority event setting table of Hayashi with the placement and display of emergency events in a queue of Becker et al in order to, with a reasonable expectation of success, improve user response to detected emergency events in times of emergency (Becker et al P[0004] and P[0005]).
Regarding claim 20 Elyashiv et al teach the claimed system, an emergency engine system 201 attached to an aircraft 200 for enhancing autorotation state of flight (P[0082] and Figure 3A), comprising:
the claimed processors, “emergency engine includes a controller, for controlling the operation of emergency engine. As used herein the term controller means a unit, sub-unit, component, and the like, that controls other components of emergency engine and/or emergency engine system, such as an Engine Controller (EC), control unit, programmable controller, computerized controller, programmable logic controller, electronics circuit, and the like. For example, a micro-computer with various inputs and outputs (I/Os) interfaces with the different emergency rocket engine sensors to determine various parameters such as flow rates, temperature levels, pressure levels, pressurization system status, and the like.” P[0105]; and
the claimed processors to perform operations, “User interface 203 may optionally incorporate electronics to convert the operation of the user controls to a medium suitable for transfer by communication interface 209 to controller 206 of an emergency engine 205. For example, user interface 203 electronics converts the action of a button 202A to an electronic signal, a digital signal, an analog signal, an electromagnetic signal, a fiber optic signal, a wireless signal, and/or the like.” (P[0082] and Figure 3A), operations comprising;
the claimed determining occurrence of multiple different emergency events of a vehicle traversing through an environment, “A method may include an action to receive 101 a request for emergency thrust, such as from a pilot of a rotary-wing aircraft whose main engine has failed.” (P[0074] and Figure 2), “Depending on available helicopter sensors and avionics, including other aircraft parameters, such as altitude, airspeed, attitude, climb rate, and the like, may be used for determining the need of an emergency thrust rocket engine operation.” P[0121], and “aircraft emergency events are a result of a main-engine failure” P[0065], the aircraft emergency events equate to the claimed multiple different emergency events;
the claimed notifying a user of the vehicle of the selected emergency event, “The pilot may also receive some indications or system recommendations for activating the rocket engine. For example, inputs received from other alarm and/or warning systems on the aircraft, such as helicopter engines indicators and Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System (H-TAWS), may recommend using the emergency engine.” P[0122];
the claimed identifying corrective actions associated with the selected emergency event that includes a user action and a non-user action, “the emergency thrust is provided automatically by pilot 221 pressing arming button 202A which also starts (103 in FIG. 2) emergency engine 205 combustion” (P[0084] and Figure 2), the pilot pressing the arming button equates to the claimed user action, and the automatic emergency thrust equates to the claimed non-user action;
the claimed automatically performing the non-user action of the identified corrective actions without input or guidance from the user of the vehicle, “When emergency engine 205 thrust 211 is initiated, controller 206 provides propellant(s) 207 to combustion chamber assembly 208, such as by selectively opening valves, and the propellant may be ignited in combustion chamber assembly 208 to produce thrust 211. Forward thrust (104 in FIG. 2) acting on aircraft 200 increases the aircraft safe landing distance, and pilot 221 may raise the pitch of the aircraft thereby enhancing (105 in FIG. 2) an autorotation state of flight, such as without losing substantial altitude.” (P[0084] and Figure 2), and “An emergency thrust rocket may be activated by a human pilot, an automatic algorithm-based control method performed by a controller, a combination of both, and the like. For example, when an engine failure occurs, the rotor rotation speed starts to decrease, and the like, the collective may be lowered manually and/or automatically. Next, the emergency rocket engine may fire manually or automatically, and the pilot operates the cyclic to maintain flight speed in AFM, optionally using pedals to control yaw, optionally using an automatic pilot, while collective may be used to maintain rotor rotation speed.” P[0123]; and
the claimed notifying the user of the vehicle of the user action, “When a main rotor 231 of aircraft 200 stops receiving power from main engine 230, or when tail rotor 241 fails, or the like, pilot 221 may press an arming button 202A to arm (102 in FIG. 2) emergency engine 205” P[0084], the indication of a failure equates to the claimed notifying the user.
Elyashiv et al do not teach the claimed ranking the emergency events of the vehicle according to importance level of each event, and the claimed selecting an emergency event based associated with the highest importance level in the ranking. Generally, a pilot or crew are trained to prioritize emergency events (first aviate, then navigate, and then communicate), and they are informed of the various problems or failures through warning lights and alarms which are prioritized by the pilot/aircraft commander.
Becker et al teach,
the claimed determining occurrence of emergency events of a vehicle traversing through an environment, “The method 300 begins in step 302 in which the event panel controller 102 receives present information of the environment of the structure 114 (i.e., environment information) from at least one of the environment monitoring devices 104. As described previously, the environment monitoring devices 104 can include a number of different types of sensors, switches, and/or manually operated devices. As such, the environment information may include any data capable of being captured by the respective environment monitoring devices 104 from which the environment information is received.” (P[0038] and Figure 3), and “In step 304, the event panel controller 102 analyzes the present information to determine whether an emergency event should be triggered. In an illustrative example, the event panel controller 102 may compare one or more present environment values received with the environment information against a corresponding threshold (e.g., a minimum threshold value, a maximum threshold value, a threshold value range, etc.). Accordingly, based on the comparison, the event panel controller 102 can make the determination whether one or more of the present environment values are indicative of an emergency event.” (P[0039] and Figure 3);
the claimed ranking the emergency events according to importance level of each event, “In step 308, the event panel controller 102 inserts the triggered emergency event, or a reference thereto, into a queue of active emergency events.” (P[0040] and Figure 3), “In step 310, the event panel controller 102 transmits a notification command to one or more event notification devices 106. The notification command may be any type of message the receiving event notification device 106 can receive, interpret, and perform an operation associated with the event. For example, in an embodiment in which the receiving event notification device 106 is an alarm, the notification command may include an indication that the alarm is to be active (e.g., emit an audible noise, a visible light, etc.). In another example, the notification command may include text that is usable by the receiving event notification device 106 to read audibly and/or display textually, depending on the capability of that event notification device 106.” (P[0041] and Figure 3), “In step 312, the event panel controller 102 displays an event indication corresponding to the triggered emergency event in an event indicator region of an emergency event GUI.” (P[0042] and Figure 3), and “in step 314, the event panel controller 102 shifts any previously displayed indications (i.e., displayed indications of previously triggered emergency event presently in the queue of active emergency events) in a snake-like pattern along the event indicator region 402. For example, referring again to FIG. 4B, a previously triggered emergency event displayed in the first event element (i.e., event element (1)) of the event elements 404 is shifted to the right for display in the second event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, while the previously triggered emergency event displayed in the second event element is shifted down a row and to the far-left location of the third event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, and so on.” (P[0047], Figure 3 and Figure 4B);
the claimed selecting the emergency event with the highest importance level in the ranking, “Referring again to FIG. 4A, the characteristics (e.g., fill color, font type, etc.) of the event elements 404 may be based on the type of event (e.g., classified as alarm, emergency, suppressant, security, ground fault, building, call in, etc.) being represented by the respective event element 404. In an illustrative embodiment, the event types alarm and emergency may be higher priority event types, such that a background color (e.g., red) is applied to the respective GUI element to denote their level of importance.” (P[0046] and Figure 4A), and “Referring back to the method 300 of FIG. 3, to display the event indication, in step 314, the event panel controller 102 shifts any previously displayed indications (i.e., displayed indications of previously triggered emergency event presently in the queue of active emergency events) in a snake-like pattern along the event indicator region 402. For example, referring again to FIG. 4B, a previously triggered emergency event displayed in the first event element (i.e., event element (1)) of the event elements 404 is shifted to the right for display in the second event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, while the previously triggered emergency event displayed in the second event element is shifted down a row and to the far-left location of the third event element (i.e., event element (2)) of the event elements 404, and so on.” (P[0047] and Figures 3 and 4B). “in step 318, the event panel controller 102 updates an event queue region of the emergency event GUI 400 to display the queue of active emergency events to include the presently triggered emergency event inserted into the queue of active emergency events in step 308” (P[0049] and Figure 3), and “In step 322, the event panel controller 102 updates an options menu region of the emergency event GUI 400 to display one or more options associated with the presently triggered emergency event. Each of the options may be mapped to an actionable option associated with the selected active emergency event, such as may be selected via a respective one of the queue elements 412.” (P[0053] and Figure 3).
The placing of emergency events in a queue equates to the claimed ranking the emergency events, and the updating the order of the emergency events to queue #1 equates to the claimed selecting the emergency event based on the ranking. The position at event element 1 (First in queue) equates to the claimed highest importance level. The display of emergency events in a queue of Becker et al would be provided on the interface to the pilot of Elyashiv et al. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method for enhancing autorotation performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in emergency events of Elyashiv et al with the placement and display of emergency events in a queue of Becker et al in order to, with a reasonable expectation of success, improve user response to detected emergency events in times of emergency (Becker et al P[0004] and P[0005]).
Elyashiv et al and Becker et al do not explicitly teach the claimed ranking of multiple different emergency events, but Becker et al do prioritize the emergency events in a queue. Hayashi teach, “a plurality of types of expected emergency events are set in advance in the priority event setting table 12, and the events to be prioritized are set to be switchable” (translation page 3 P[0011]). The prioritized display of the emergency events of Hayashi would be provided to the system of Elyashiv et al and Becker et al embodied in the queue display of emergency events of Becker et al. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method for enhancing autorotation performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in emergency events of Elyashiv et al and the placement and display of emergency events in a queue of Becker et al with the plurality of types of expected emergency events are set in advance in the priority event setting table of Hayashi in order to, with a reasonable expectation of success, cope with an emergency or an abnormality (Hayashi translation page 1 P[0001]).
Related Art
The examiner points to Kumar PGPub 2023/0025154 A1 as related art, but not relied upon for any rejection. Kumar is directed to prioritizing the sequence of possible actions directed to the aircraft having an event of an emergency P[0031], and performing both pilot actions and autonomous actions be the aircraft P[0063].
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DALE W HILGENDORF whose telephone number is (571)272-9635. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9-5:30.
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/DALE W HILGENDORF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3662
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