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 (IDS) submitted on 10/07/2024, 07/31/2025, and 02/25/2026 was considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jinno JP2005273180 in view of Zhao CN202041182.
Claim 1. Jinno discloses a reuse method for precast members of a building, wherein the precast members configure a frame of the building having a rigid frame structure and contain precast concrete (3), the reuse method comprising: a step of, when constructing the building provided with the multiple precast members including multiple pillar (2) members and multiple beam members (1), the at least one of the precast members being joined to another one of the precast members by an unbonded tendon (5); and a step of reusing the precast member determined to be reusable in another building to be constructed (Abstract – machine translate).
Jinno however is silent on attaching a sensor for detecting a predetermined physical quantity to at least one of the precast members, a step of monitoring the physical quantity of the precast member detected by the sensor during use of the building; a step of, when dismantling the building, determining reusability of the precast member based on a detection result of the sensor. Zhao before the filing date of the instant invention discloses a monitoring sensor for detecting strain and crack in precast concrete (Abstract and P.0001). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant invention to modify the system of Jinno with the sensor of Zhao to quickly identify cracks in precast members before being reused as intended by Jinno. Besides a person with ordinary skill has good reason to pursue known options within his or her technical grasp.
Claim 2. Jinno as modified suggests the sensor is attached to the beam member (Fig.1-2 of Zhao) when the building in which the beam members are joined to the pillar members by the unbonded tendons is constructed, and in the step of determining the reusability of the precast member, reusability of the beam member is determined when dismantling the building.
Claim 4. Jinno as modified suggests the reuse method further comprises a step of determining, by visual inspection, whether there is an abnormality in appearance on the beam member determined to be reusable, and the beam member is determined to be reusable only when there is no abnormality in appearance. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant invention to visually determine reusable and non-usable beam member for a rigid sound structure.
Claim 5. Jinno as modified suggests the reuse method further comprises: a step of performing, after the building is dismantled, prescribed inspection on the precast member and determining a degree of damage of the precast member based on the detection result of the sensor and a result of the prescribed inspection; and a step of repairing the precast member depending on the degree of damage to bring the precast member into a reusable state. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant invention to visually determine reusable and/or repair damaged beam member for a rigid sound structure.
Claim 6 Jinno discloses a reuse method for a building including precast members that configure a frame having a rigid frame structure and that contain precast concrete (3) and multiple interior units disposed in the frame (building – Abstract), the reuse method comprising: a step of, when constructing the frame provided with multiple precast members including multiple pillar members (2) and multiple beam members (1), the at least one of the precast members being joined to another one of the precast members by an unbonded tendon (5); a step of reusing the precast member in another building to be constructed; and a step of reusing the interior units in the other building (Abstract).
Jinno however is silent on attaching a sensor for detecting a predetermined physical quantity to at least one of the precast members, a step of, during use of the building, monitoring the physical quantity of the precast member detected by the sensor; a step of performing prescribed inspection on the precast member after dismantling the building and determining a degree of damage of the precast member based on a detection result of the sensor and a result of the prescribed inspection; a step of repairing the precast member according to the degree of damage; a step of checking up matters related to whether to permit reuse of the interior units.
Zhao before the filing date of the instant invention discloses a sensor for monitoring and detecting strain and crack in precast concrete (Abstract and P.0001). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant invention to modify the system of Jinno with the sensor of Zhao to quickly identify cracks in precast members before being reused as intended by Jinno. Besides a person with ordinary skill has good reason to pursue known options within his or her technical grasp. It would also have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant invention to visually determine reusable and/or repair damaged beam member for a rigid sound structure.
Claim 7. Jinno as modified suggests a step of providing a predetermined section of the building for limited time use (Abstract).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-10 are allowed.
Claim 3 is 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: the closest prior art of record fails to teach or adequately suggest the combination of characteristics specified in the independent claim, especially the requirement of a substance concerning pillar members each have a hollow structure, and when the building is constructed, cast-in-place concrete is casted in a hollow part of each pillar member after the pillar members are erected at predetermined positions.; and a storage device for storing a detection result of the sensor, the monitoring device being configured to make the storage device store the physical quantity of the precast member during use of the building and to monitor the physical quantity, hence there is no cogent reasoning that is unequivocally independent of hindsight that would have led one of ordinary skill in the art at the time.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to attached NOTICE OF REFERENCE CITED.
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BABAJIDE A. DEMUREN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3633
/BABAJIDE A DEMUREN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3633
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