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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species A of Claims 1, 2-6, 9, 11-13, & 17-20 in the reply filed on 7-20-26 is acknowledged.
-Note that all non-elected Species B & C of claims 7-8, 10 & 14-16 had been canceled in this election.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application, DIV 17/400,454 filed 8-12-21, U.S. Patent No. 12,069,538, under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 7-18-24. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 7-18-24. These drawings are acceptable.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Double Patenting
A rejection based on double patenting of the “same invention” type finds its support in the language of 35 U.S.C. 101 which states that “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process... may obtain a patent therefor...” (Emphasis added). Thus, the term “same invention,” in this context, means an invention drawn to identical subject matter. See Miller v. Eagle Mfg. Co., 151 U.S. 186 (1894); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Ockert, 245 F.2d 467, 114 USPQ 330 (CCPA 1957).
A statutory type (35 U.S.C. 101) double patenting rejection can be overcome by canceling or amending the claims that are directed to the same invention so they are no longer coextensive in scope. The filing of a terminal disclaimer cannot overcome a double patenting rejection based upon 35 U.S.C. 101.
Claims 1, 11 & 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as claiming the same invention as that of claims 14, 21 & 1, respectively, of prior U.S. Patent No. 12,069,538 B2. This is a statutory double patenting rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6, 9, 12-13 & 17-22 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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Volkerink (US 20220374826 A1) discloses a tracking system configured to track a group of assets detect violations of rules associated with the group of assets. The tracking system includes a control system on a server and a plurality of tracking devices. Each tracking device of the plurality of tracking devices associated with an asset of a group of assets, each tracking device comprising a first type of wireless communication system. The plurality of tracking devices determine that a violation of a rule for the group of assets has occurred based on wireless communications between the tracking devices using the respective first wireless communication systems {Figs.1-18}.
Klatt (US 10560863 B1) discloses a process in which the acquisition of parameters of a mobile radio system, in particular a cellular mobile radio network, carried out in particular according to GSM, UMTS, E-UTRAN/LTE or WiMAX standards. Parameters of the mobile radio system, in particular the cellular mobile radio network, are acquired by the mobile radio terminals, in particular by serial subscriber terminals of users of this network, without additional external devices for determination of position, such as in particular external GPS receivers or a storage and processing module, and are forwarded to a centralized or decentralized/distributed acquisition, analysis and processing unit in the network {Figs.1-4}.
Moraru (US 20180249295 A1) discloses a method and apparatus for tracking a person in a group of people. An example method includes establishing an ad-hoc network between mobile devices for each of the people in the group. A distance from a mobile device for a person in the group is determined to a mobile device for a group leader, based at least in part, on a number of hops between the mobile device for the person and mobile devices for other people in the group to reach the mobile device for the group leader. A direction to the mobile device for the group leader is determined, based at least in part, on the number of hops to reach the mobile device for the group leader by a number of paths {Figs.1-7}.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHUONGCHAU BA NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571) 272-3148. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:30 AM -5:30 PM.
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/PHUONGCHAU BA NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464
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