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 . 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 9-11 and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Campbell (US 2016/0161299 A1).
Referring to Claim 1: Campbell discloses a device (12) for monitoring rail bogie, the device comprising:
a printed circuit board (16) (Para. [0053]) (Fig. 4),
sensing means (22a, 22b) configured to measure at least one physical parameter of the rail bogie (Para. [0046] and [0051]), and
a planar antenna (18) embedded in the printed circuit board (16), the planar antenna being configured to transmit measurements delivered by the sensing means (Para. [0049]) (Fig. 3).
Campbell’s wireless transmitter 18, including an antenna arranged under the housing cover 14b, may be reasonably interpreted as a “planar antenna” since the thin profile is oriented along a plane parallel to the circuit board and fits within the housing.
Referring to Claim 2: Campbell discloses a device, comprising a casing (14) and fixing means (20) arranged at a first end of the casing on an external surface of the casing, the printed circuit board (16) being arranged inside the casing so that the planar antenna (18) is at a second end of the casing, the second end of the casing being opposed to the first end of the casing (Fig. 3) (Para. [0049-0050]).
Referring to Claim 3: Campbell discloses a device, wherein the least one physical parameter comprises one physical parameter of the temperature of the rail bogie and vibrations of the rail bogie (Para. [0046] and [0051]).
Referring to Claim 4: Campbell discloses a device, wherein the printed circuit board (16) supports the sensing means (22a, 22b) (Para. [0051]).
Referring to Claim 9: Campbell discloses a device, further comprising a battery (28a, 28b) configured to supply the planar antenna (18) and the sensing means (22a, 22b) (Para. [0052]) (Fig. 3).
Referring to Claim 10: Campbell discloses a device, wherein the least one physical parameter comprises one physical parameter of the temperature of the rail bogie and vibrations of the rail bogie (Para. [0046] and [0051]).
Referring to Claim 11: Campbell discloses a device, wherein the printed circuit board (16) supports the sensing means (22a, 22b) (Para. [0051]).
Referring to Claim 19: Campbell discloses a rail bogie comprising a device according to claim 1 (Para. [0004]).
Referring to Claim 20: Campbell discloses the rail bogie according to claim 19, further comprising an axle box (10), the device (12) being fixed on the axle box so that the device is on an external side of the rail bogie (Para. [0046]) (Fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-8 and 12-18 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 5, Campbell fails to teach the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna, as recited in claim 5. While planar antennae, having rectangular loop elements and L-shaped elements, are known in the art (e.g., US-20220021118-A1, US-20210167501-A1, US-20200091595-A1, US-20140187178-A1, US-20200161769-A1, and EP-3766755-A1), Examiner finds that it would require an improper degree of hindsight reasoning to modify Campbell’s antenna to meet the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna recited in claim 5.
Regarding claim 6, Campbell fails to teach the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna, as recited in claim 6. Examiner finds that it would require an improper degree of hindsight reasoning to modify Campbell’s antenna to meet the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna recited in claim 6.
Regarding claim 7, Campbell fails to teach the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna, as recited in claim 6. Examiner finds that it would require an improper degree of hindsight reasoning to modify Campbell’s antenna to meet the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna recited in claim 6.
Regarding claim 8, Campbell fails to teach the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna, as recited in claim 8. Examiner finds that it would require an improper degree of hindsight reasoning to modify Campbell’s antenna to meet the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna recited in claim 8.
Regarding claim 12, Campbell fails to teach the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna, as recited in claim 12. Examiner finds that it would require an improper degree of hindsight reasoning to modify Campbell’s antenna to meet the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna recited in claim 12.
Regarding claim 13, Campbell fails to teach the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna, as recited in claim 13. Examiner finds that it would require an improper degree of hindsight reasoning to modify Campbell’s antenna to meet the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna recited in claim 13.
Regarding claim 14, Campbell fails to teach the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna, as recited in claim 14. Examiner finds that it would require an improper degree of hindsight reasoning to modify Campbell’s antenna to meet the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna recited in claim 14.
Regarding claim 15 and depending claims 16-18, Campbell fails to teach the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna, as recited in claim 15. Examiner finds that it would require an improper degree of hindsight reasoning to modify Campbell’s antenna to meet the specific structural limitations of the planar antenna recited in claim 15.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZACHARY L KUHFUSS whose telephone number is (571)270-7858. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10:00am to 6:00 pm CDT.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Samuel (Joe) Morano can be reached on (571)272-6682. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ZACHARY L KUHFUSS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615A
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