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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 8/1/24 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(1), which requires the following: (1) a list of all patents, publications, applications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office; (2) U.S. patents and U.S. patent application publications listed in a section separately from citations of other documents; (3) the application number of the application in which the information disclosure statement is being submitted on each page of the list; (4) a column that provides a blank space next to each document to be considered, for the examiner’s initials; and (5) a heading that clearly indicates that the list is an information disclosure statement. The information disclosure statement has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
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 (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 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) 1,13, 2-6, 10-12, 14-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by EP2237120 to Rockwell, supplied by applicant.
1,13. A controller for a process control system, wherein the controller is configured (paragraphs 10-34), in use:
to detect an adapter type of at least one adapter communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the at least one adapter is for coupling at least one field device of an automation system to the process control system (for "adaptors" see par. [0012], "set of adapter interfaces", par. [0040], "integration appliance holds a set of proprietary network interface cards", par. [0041], "slots each accepting a different proprietary network interface card"; "detecting" is implied from the next feature "selecting ... according to the detected adapter type", see below; for "field device" see par. [0003], "1/0 modules, ... providing communication with various switches and sensors" and par. [0037], "Foundation Field Bus"; It is noted that the terms "detect" and "select" are broad and that, strictly speaking, the programmable controller 12 of D1 even without the integration appliance 26 and with a single network module 14a or 14b shows all features of claim 1. In this case the "detection" of the adapter is implied by its usage and the automatic selection is a selection of one out of one. This may appear as an overly academic interpretation of the claim, however, it is noted that in the first paragraph of the detailed description of the present application it is stated that "the fieldbus adapter may be integrated into the controller unit, as in the case of controller 108, in which case no configuration by the engineering tool is required but no flexibility to add or change the fieldbus is afforded". In this case the controller 108 "detects" the only available adapter and "selects" the only available communications protocol. Separate adaptor units 102 and 104 are only given as an alternative);
to automatically select a communications protocol according to the detected adapter type, wherein the communications protocol is for communicating with the at least one field device (see par. [0043], "one script for each different proprietary network interface card and one configuration file for each of the networks associated different proprietary network interface cards" and par. [0045], " a scanner that coordinates a reception of messages on networks ... In a first phase ... , the scanner selects the appropriate script"; It is noted that the terms "detect" and "select" are broad and that, strictly speaking, the programmable controller 12 of D1 even without the integration appliance 26 and with a single network module 14a or 14b shows all features of claim 1. In this case the "detection" of the adapter is implied by its usage and the automatic selection is a selection of one out of one. This may appear as an overly academic interpretation of the claim, however, it is noted that in the first paragraph of the detailed description of the present application it is stated that "the fieldbus adapter may be integrated into the controller unit, as in the case of controller 108, in which case no configuration by the engineering tool is required but no flexibility to add or change the fieldbus is afforded". In this case the controller 108 "detects" the only available adapter and "selects" the only available communications protocol. Separate adaptor units 102 and 104 are only given as an alternative); and
to communicate with the at least one field device using the selected communications protocol to control an industrial process carried out by the automation system (see par. [0046], "forwards this data on networks using the appropriate script").
2, 14. The controller of claim 1, further comprising a universal communications interface configured to serve as a communications interface in communications between the controller and the at least one field device, wherein the universal communications interface is configured to implement a plurality of communications protocols, and wherein the controller configures the universal communications interface to operate using the communications protocol that is selected according to the detected adapter type (title, “universal network adapter”, claims 1-14; the integration of appliance, which may be part of the controller as mentioned in par. [0049]) may be considered as the "universal communications interface").
3, 15. The controller of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to detect the adapter type by obtaining an identifier of the coupled adapter or an identifier of an inlay for the coupled adapter (for "adaptors" see par. [0012], "set of adapter interfaces", par. [0040], "integration appliance holds a set of proprietary network interface cards", par. [0041], "slots each accepting a different proprietary network interface card"; "detecting" is implied from the next feature "selecting ... according to the detected adapter type", see below; for "field device" see par. [0003], "1/0 modules, ... providing communication with various switches and sensors" and par. [0037], "Foundation Field Bus"; It is noted that the terms "detect" and "select" are broad and that, strictly speaking, the programmable controller 12 of D1 even without the integration appliance 26 and with a single network module 14a or 14b shows all features of claim 1. In this case the "detection" of the adapter is implied by its usage and the automatic selection is a selection of one out of one. This may appear as an overly academic interpretation of the claim, however, it is noted that in the first paragraph of the detailed description of the present application it is stated that "the fieldbus adapter may be integrated into the controller unit, as in the case of controller 108, in which case no configuration by the engineering tool is required but no flexibility to add or change the fieldbus is afforded". In this case the controller 108 "detects" the only available adapter and "selects" the only available communications protocol. Separate adaptor units 102 and 104 are only given as an alternative).
4, 16. The controller of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to detect coupling of the adapter to the process control system and to select the communications protocol in response to the detection of the coupling of the adapter (for "adaptors" see par. [0012], "set of adapter interfaces", par. [0040], "integration appliance holds a set of proprietary network interface cards", par. [0041], "slots each accepting a different proprietary network interface card"; "detecting" is implied from the next feature "selecting ... according to the detected adapter type", see below; for "field device" see par. [0003], "1/0 modules, ... providing communication with various switches and sensors" and par. [0037], "Foundation Field Bus"; It is noted that the terms "detect" and "select" are broad and that, strictly speaking, the programmable controller 12 of D1 even without the integration appliance 26 and with a single network module 14a or 14b shows all features of claim 1. In this case the "detection" of the adapter is implied by its usage and the automatic selection is a selection of one out of one. This may appear as an overly academic interpretation of the claim, however, it is noted that in the first paragraph of the detailed description of the present application it is stated that "the fieldbus adapter may be integrated into the controller unit, as in the case of controller 108, in which case no configuration by the engineering tool is required but no flexibility to add or change the fieldbus is afforded". In this case the controller 108 "detects" the only available adapter and "selects" the only available communications protocol. Separate adaptor units 102 and 104 are only given as an alternative).
5, 17. The controller of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to detect the at least one field device that is communicatively coupled to the process control system via the adapter (paragraphs 12-17, 31, 40-44, 50-57, 63-64, 67-69, ).
6, 18. The controller of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to obtain field device information from the at least one field device (claim 13, paragraph 12-14, 29-33).
10. The controller of claim 1, wherein the selection of the communications protocol according to the detected adapter type takes place before the controller receives any configuration or topology information from an engineering tool, or independently of any such configuration or topology information received prior to the selection (see par. [0043], "one script for each different proprietary network interface card and one configuration file for each of the networks associated different proprietary network interface cards" and par. [0045], " a scanner that coordinates a reception of messages on networks ... In a first phase ... , the scanner selects the appropriate script"; It is noted that the terms "detect" and "select" are broad and that, strictly speaking, the programmable controller 12 of D1 even without the integration appliance 26 and with a single network module 14a or 14b shows all features of claim 1. In this case the "detection" of the adapter is implied by its usage and the automatic selection is a selection of one out of one. This may appear as an overly academic interpretation of the claim, however, it is noted that in the first paragraph of the detailed description of the present application it is stated that "the fieldbus adapter may be integrated into the controller unit, as in the case of controller 108, in which case no configuration by the engineering tool is required but no flexibility to add or change the fieldbus is afforded". In this case the controller 108 "detects" the only available adapter and "selects" the only available communications protocol. Separate adaptor units 102 and 104 are only given as an alternative).
11. The controller of claim 1, further comprising logic circuitry configured to execute a control application for controlling the industrial process carried out by the automation system (par. [0001], "controlling machinery and processes").
12. The controller of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to be communicatively coupled to the at least one adapter via a mounting termination unit of the process control system (Fig. 4, paragraph 41-42).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 7,19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rockwell as applied above, and further in view of U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0319062 to Codewrights.
Rockwell fails to teach
7, 19. The controller of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to determine a topology of at least part of the automation system based on the obtained field device information.
Codewrights teaches
7, 19. The controller of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to determine a topology of at least part of the automation system based on the obtained field device information (claims 1, 15).
Codewrights and Rockwell are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor or similar problem solving area, process automation.
Since Codewrights teaches automation that enables provide a ‘plug and play’ solution for the configuration of field devices in a process installation; further enables that the communication adds the device objects and, on occasion, other communication, device objects to the project in accordance with the topology-relevant information (paragraph 10-16), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the technique of automation as taught by Codewrights to improve the automation of Rockwell for the predictable results of enabling provide a ‘plug and play’ solution for the configuration of field devices in a process installation; further enables that the communication adds the device objects and, on occasion, other communication, device objects to the project in accordance with the topology-relevant information (paragraph 10-16).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8-9,20 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAN P SHECHTMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-3754. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30am-6:00pm, M-F.
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/Sean Shechtman/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896
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