DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-13, 15-20, and 23 are pending.
Claims 14 and 21-22 are canceled.
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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 1, 4-7, 11, 20 and 23 provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2-5, 7, 12, and 15, respectively of copending Application No. 18/166,205. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the examined application claims are anticipated by the reference claims. This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
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.
Claim(s) 1-13, 15-20, and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zaizen et al., US Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0161969 (hereinafter Zaizen).
1. A production asset monitoring system, for automatically monitoring current
operating states of one or more production assets, where the production asset monitoring system comprises at least one control unit arranged to associate a respective state machine which each asset in the one or more production assets, where each state machine implements a plurality of operating states, out of which operating states at least one state can be categorized as a productive state and at least one state can be categorized as an unproductive state, where the production asset monitoring system further comprises a sensor system configured to detect a current operating state for each state machine, and where the control unit is configured to aggregate the states of a plurality of assets
into a report indicative of production asset utilization (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
2. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is arranged to categorize the operating state of at least one state machine as productive or as unproductive based on the current operating state of at least one other state machine (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
3. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is configured to generate the report indicative of production asset utilization based at least in part on the categorization of the operating states of the state machines over a time period (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
4. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where one or more state machines are implemented on respective portable wireless devices (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
5. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where one or more state machines are implemented on respective on-board vehicle control (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
6. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the production asset monitoring system is at least partly implemented on a remote server accessible via wireless link from the production assets and/or from associated wireless devices (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
7. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where a transition between two states of a first state machine in the production asset monitoring system is conditioned on a current state of an associated second state machine (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
8. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the current operating state of at least one of the state machines is determined by the control unit in dependence of an operating state of at least one other state machine (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
9. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the current operating state of at least one of the state machines is categorized as productive or an unproductive by the control unit in dependence of an operating state of at least one other state machine (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
10. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is configured to aggregate the states of a plurality of assets into a report indicative of production asset utilization by categorizing the states as productive or an unproductive over time based on a predetermined set of categorization rules (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
11. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the states in at least one of the state machines comprises a transporting state, a loading state, an unloading state, and a waiting state, where the transporting state, the loading state, and the unloading state are categorized as productive states and the waiting state is categorized as an unproductive state (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
12. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is further arranged to determine a correlation between the occupied states in one of the state machines with respect to the occupied states of another state machine, and to detect a dependency between two production assets based on the correlation (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
13. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the sensor system comprises one or more positioning systems associated with respective state machines (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
15. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the sensor system comprises one or more on-board vehicle sensor systems associated with respective state machines (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
16. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the operating states can be categorized as productive state, unproductive state, and set-up state (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
17. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where an operating state categorized as productive is also associated with a degree of productivity (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
18. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is arranged to control at least one production asset based on the report indicative of production asset utilization (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
19. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is arranged to determine a resource allocation parameter associated with the one or more production assets based on the report indicative of production asset utilization (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
20. A computer implemented method executed in a production asset monitoring system, for monitoring current operating states of one or more production assets, the method comprising:
associating a respective state machine which each asset in the one or more production assets,
where each state machine implements a plurality of operating states, out of which operating states at
least one state can be categorized as a productive state and at least one state can be categorized as an
unproductive state, detecting a current operating state for each state machine based on output data from a sensor system configured to detect the current operating state for each state machine, and
aggregating the states of a plurality of assets into a report indicative of production asset
utilization (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
23. A wireless device comprising processing circuitry arranged to execute the method according to claim 20 (Para 0021 and 0027-0032 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
Claim(s) 1-13, 15-20, and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sprock et al., US Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0292846 (hereinafter Sprock).
1. A production asset monitoring system, for automatically monitoring current operating states of one or more production assets, where the production asset monitoring system comprises at least one control unit arranged to associate a respective state machine which each asset in the one or more production assets, where each state machine implements a plurality of operating states, out of which operating states at least one state can be categorized as a productive state and at least one state can be categorized as an unproductive state, where the production asset monitoring system further comprises a sensor system configured to detect a current operating state for each state machine, and where the control unit is configured to aggregate the states of a plurality of assets into a report indicative of production asset utilization (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
2. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is arranged to categorize the operating state of at least one state machine as productive or as unproductive based on the current operating state of at least one other state machine (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
3. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is configured to generate the report indicative of production asset utilization based at least in part on the categorization of the operating states of the state machines over a time period (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
4. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where one or more state machines are implemented on respective portable wireless devices (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
5. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where one or more state machines are implemented on respective on-board vehicle control (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
6. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the production asset monitoring system is at least partly implemented on a remote server accessible via wireless link from the production assets and/or from associated wireless devices (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
7. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where a transition between two states of a first state machine in the production asset monitoring system is conditioned on a current state of an associated second state machine (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
8. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the current operating state of at least one of the state machines is determined by the control unit in dependence of an operating state of at least one other state machine (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
9. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the current operating state of at least one of the state machines is categorized as productive or an unproductive by the control unit in dependence of an operating state of at least one other state machine (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
10. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is configured to aggregate the states of a plurality of assets into a report indicative of production asset utilization by categorizing the states as productive or an unproductive over time based on a predetermined set of categorization rules (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
11. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the states in at least one of the state machines comprises a transporting state, a loading state, an unloading state, and a waiting state, where the transporting state, the loading state, and the unloading state are categorized as productive states and the waiting state is categorized as an unproductive state (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
12. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is further arranged to determine a correlation between the occupied states in one of the state machines with respect to the occupied states of another state machine, and to detect a dependency between two production assets based on the correlation (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
13. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the sensor system comprises one or more positioning systems associated with respective state machines (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
15. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the sensor system comprises one or more on-board vehicle sensor systems associated with respective state machines (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
16. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the operating states can be categorized as productive state, unproductive state, and set-up state (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
17. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where an operating state categorized as productive is also associated with a degree of productivity (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
18. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is arranged to control at least one production asset based on the report indicative of production asset utilization (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
19. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is arranged to determine a resource allocation parameter associated with the one or more production assets based on the report indicative of production asset utilization (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
20. A computer implemented method executed in a production asset monitoring system, for monitoring current operating states of one or more production assets, the method comprising: associating a respective state machine which each asset in the one or more production assets,
where each state machine implements a plurality of operating states, out of which operating states at
least one state can be categorized as a productive state and at least one state can be categorized as an
unproductive state, detecting a current operating state for each state machine based on output data from a sensor system configured to detect the current operating state for each state machine, and
aggregating the states of a plurality of assets into a report indicative of production asset
utilization (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
23. A wireless device comprising processing circuitry arranged to execute the method according to claim 20 (Para 0016-0018 and 0044 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
Claim(s) 1-10, 12-13, 15-20, and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ali et al., US Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0046525 (hereinafter Ali).
1. A production asset monitoring system, for automatically monitoring current operating states of one or more production assets, where the production asset monitoring system comprises at least one control unit arranged to associate a respective state machine which each asset in the one or more production assets, where each state machine implements a plurality of operating states, out of which operating states at least one state can be categorized as a productive state and at least one state can be categorized as an unproductive state, where the production asset monitoring system further comprises a sensor system configured to detect a current operating state for each state machine, and where the control unit is configured to aggregate the states of a plurality of assets into a report indicative of production asset utilization (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
2. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is arranged to categorize the operating state of at least one state machine as productive or as unproductive based on the current operating state of at least one other state machine (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
3. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is configured to generate the report indicative of production asset utilization based at least in part on the categorization of the operating states of the state machines over a time period (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
4. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where one or more state machines are implemented on respective portable wireless devices (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
5. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where one or more state machines are implemented on respective on-board vehicle control (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
6. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the production asset monitoring system is at least partly implemented on a remote server accessible via wireless link from the production assets and/or from associated wireless devices (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
7. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where a transition between two states of a first state machine in the production asset monitoring system is conditioned on a current state of an associated second state machine (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
8. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the current operating state of at least one of the state machines is determined by the control unit in dependence of an operating state of at least one other state machine (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
9. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the current operating state of at least one of the state machines is categorized as productive or an unproductive by the control unit in dependence of an operating state of at least one other state machine (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
10. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is configured to aggregate the states of a plurality of assets into a report indicative of production asset utilization by categorizing the states as productive or an unproductive over time based on a predetermined set of categorization rules (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
12. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is further arranged to determine a correlation between the occupied states in one of the state machines with respect to the occupied states of another state machine, and to detect a dependency between two production assets based on the correlation (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
13. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the sensor system comprises one or more positioning systems associated with respective state machines (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
15. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the sensor system comprises one or more on-board vehicle sensor systems associated with respective state machines (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
16. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the operating states can be categorized as productive state, unproductive state, and set-up state (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
17. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where an operating state categorized as productive is also associated with a degree of productivity (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
18. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is arranged to control at least one production asset based on the report indicative of production asset utilization (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
19. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is arranged to determine a resource allocation parameter associated with the one or more production assets based on the report indicative of production asset utilization (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
20. A computer implemented method executed in a production asset monitoring system, for monitoring current operating states of one or more production assets, the method comprising: associating a respective state machine which each asset in the one or more production assets,
where each state machine implements a plurality of operating states, out of which operating states at
least one state can be categorized as a productive state and at least one state can be categorized as an
unproductive state, detecting a current operating state for each state machine based on output data from a sensor system configured to detect the current operating state for each state machine, and
aggregating the states of a plurality of assets into a report indicative of production asset
utilization (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
23. A wireless device comprising processing circuitry arranged to execute the method according to claim 20 (Para 0067, 0069, and 0108-0109 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
Claim(s) 1-10, 12-13, 15-20, and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zeiler et al., US Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0109375 (hereinafter Zeiler).
1. A production asset monitoring system, for automatically monitoring current
operating states of one or more production assets, where the production asset monitoring system comprises at least one control unit arranged to associate a respective state machine which each asset in the one or more production assets, where each state machine implements a plurality of operating states, out of which operating states at least one state can be categorized as a productive state and at least one state can be categorized as an unproductive state, where the production asset monitoring system further comprises a sensor system configured to detect a current operating state for each state machine, and where the control unit is configured to aggregate the states of a plurality of assets
into a report indicative of production asset utilization (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
2. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is arranged to categorize the operating state of at least one state machine as productive or as unproductive based on the current operating state of at least one other state machine (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
3. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is configured to generate the report indicative of production asset utilization based at least in part on the categorization of the operating states of the state machines over a time period (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
4. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where one or more state machines are implemented on respective portable wireless devices (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
5. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where one or more state machines are implemented on respective on-board vehicle control (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
6. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the production asset monitoring system is at least partly implemented on a remote server accessible via wireless link from the production assets and/or from associated wireless devices (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
7. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where a transition between two states of a first state machine in the production asset monitoring system is conditioned on a current state of an associated second state machine (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
8. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the current operating state of at least one of the state machines is determined by the control unit in dependence of an operating state of at least one other state machine (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
9. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the current operating state of at least one of the state machines is categorized as productive or an unproductive by the control unit in dependence of an operating state of at least one other state machine (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
10. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is configured to aggregate the states of a plurality of assets into a report indicative of production asset utilization by categorizing the states as productive or an unproductive over time based on a predetermined set of categorization rules (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
12. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is further arranged to determine a correlation between the occupied states in one of the state machines with respect to the occupied states of another state machine, and to detect a dependency between two production assets based on the correlation (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
13. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the sensor system comprises one or more positioning systems associated with respective state machines (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
15. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the sensor system comprises one or more on-board vehicle sensor systems associated with respective state machines (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
16. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the operating states can be categorized as productive state, unproductive state, and set-up state (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
17. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where an operating state categorized as productive is also associated with a degree of productivity (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
18. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is arranged to control at least one production asset based on the report indicative of production asset utilization (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
19. The production asset monitoring system according to claim 1, where the control unit is arranged to determine a resource allocation parameter associated with the one or more production assets based on the report indicative of production asset utilization (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
20. A computer implemented method executed in a production asset monitoring system, for monitoring current operating states of one or more production assets, the method comprising: associating a respective state machine which each asset in the one or more production assets,
where each state machine implements a plurality of operating states, out of which operating states at
least one state can be categorized as a productive state and at least one state can be categorized as an
unproductive state, detecting a current operating state for each state machine based on output data from a sensor system configured to detect the current operating state for each state machine, and
aggregating the states of a plurality of assets into a report indicative of production asset
utilization (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
23. A wireless device comprising processing circuitry arranged to execute the method according to claim 20 (Para 0091, 0102, 0107, 0109, and 0117-0018 - - Machinery/tools are monitored and the corresponding state of operation is determined via sensors. Operational states include: usage, idle, working, etc. Reports/messages corresponding to the operational state is transmitted wirelessly).
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Shike et al., US Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0074134 – relates to monitoring construction objects via GPS.
Esenwein et al., US Patent No. 10,631,130 – relates to mobile tool tracking system.
Conclusion
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/CARLOS R ORTIZ RODRIGUEZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2119
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