Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. This communication is in response to the Application No. 18/855,991 filed on 10/10/24. Claims 1 – 13 has been examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. 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.
4. 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)(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.
5. Claim(s) 1 – 3, 7 – 9, 11 – 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Simon et al. (US 9,472,075, Simon hereafter).
Regarding claim 1, An inventory management system for a mine, the system comprising:
beacons, each beacon being functionalized as follows:
selectively actuable;
has a unique identifier;
when active, adapted to receive a type;
when active and in motion, emits a signal including identifier and received type;
when active, periodically emits the signal (One conventional indoor proximity system is known as iBeacon®. iBeacon® employs Bluetooth communication technology to connect to mobile communication devices (e.g., cellular phones). Upon establishment of such connection, the iBeacon® requests and receives first information from each Mobile Communication Device (“MCD”), Col 1, lines 46 – 50; In the beacon scenarios, each beacon transmits a unique identifier and has a known directional emission pattern. A beacon receiver reads the identifiers of the fixed beacons while also reading tags coupled to items; col 4, lines 35 – 38; Beacons are well known in the art, and therefore will not be described herein. Still, it should be understood that the beacons are generally configured to facilitate a periodic or continuous determination of locations of the objects within the RSF 128; col 5; lines 25 – 28; The handheld reader 200 may also comprise an optional beacon receiver 260. The beacon receiver 260 is generally configured to: receive a command signal from the RF enabled device 250 to obtain unique IDs from beacons; send signals to the beacons (e.g., beacons 106.sub.1, . . . , 106.sub.M of FIG. 1) requesting that unique IDs be transmitted therefrom; and receiving signals transmitted from the beacons, col 10, lines 42 - 50);
readers, each reader being functionalized as follows:
receives signals emitted by beacons;
identifies beacons that are determined to have attained a proximity to the reader based upon signals received (The handheld reader 200 may also comprise an optional beacon receiver 260. The beacon receiver 260 is generally configured to: receive a command signal from the RF enabled device 250 to obtain unique IDs from beacons; send signals to the beacons (e.g., beacons 106.sub.1, . . . , 106.sub.M of FIG. 1) requesting that unique IDs be transmitted therefrom; and receiving signals transmitted from the beacons; parsing unique IDs from the received signals; and communicating the unique IDs to the RF enabled device 250, col 10, lines 42 - 50);
controllers, each controller being functionalized as follows:
receives signals emitted by beacons;
identifies beacons that are determined to have attained a proximity to the controller based upon signals received;
has a programmable logic;
has a relay responsive to the logic and the signals received (The RF enabled device 250 comprises an antenna 202 for allowing data to be exchanged with the external device via RF technology (The external device may comprise locator tags 108.sub.1, . . . , 108.sub.M, and/or RFID tags 112.sub.1, . . . , 112.sub.N, 118.sub.1, . . . , 118.sub.N of FIG. 1. In this case, the antenna 202 is configured to transmit RF carrier signals (e.g., interrogation signals) to the listed external devices, and/or transmit data response signals (e.g., authentication reply signals) generated by the RF enabled device 250. In this regard, the RF enabled device 250 comprises an RF transceiver 208. RFID transceivers are well known in the art, and therefore will not be described herein. However, it should be understood that the RF transceiver 208 receives RF signals including information from the transmitting device, and forwards the same to a logic controller 210 for extracting the information therefrom; Accordingly, the logic controller 210 can store the extracted information in memory 204, and execute algorithms using the extracted information. For example, the logic controller 210 can perform correlate tag reads with beacon reads to determine the location of the RFID tags within the facility.col 9, lines 63 – col 10 line 20);
a display system (handheld reader and/or other electronic device) functionalized as follows:
displays zones, each zone being associated with a reader or a controller;
displays active beacons in each zone, the entry of a beacon into a zone being associated with that beacon having been determined to have attained the proximity to the reader or controller associated with that zone;
displays active beacons not in a zone (A three dimensional map is generated in step 448 which shows the locations of the RFID tags in a three dimensional space. The location of the handheld reader, beacons, locator tags, and/or beacon receiver may also be shown in the three dimensional map. The three dimensional map is then presented to an operator of the handheld reader and/or other electronic device; col 13, lines 51 – 54; zone of interest; throughout the specification); and
a connectivity system (server and data store 124, 126) functionalized as follows:
adapted to receive from the controller and the readers the identifiers of the beacons determined to have attained proximity thereto and deliver same to the display;
adapted to permit user to associate a type and location to an identifier; and
adapted to write a type to a beacon (First information specifying the beacons' locations with the facility is stored in a data store (e.g., data store 126 of FIG. 1) for later use in an RFID tag locating process; col 12, line 12 – 15; Second information specifying the locator tags' locations within the facility is stored in the data store for later use in an RFID tag locating process; col 12, line 21 – 24; In step 432, third information is stored in the data store. The third information includes the location identifier of the beacon, the first time stamp indicating when the location identifier was received at the beacon receiver, unique identifiers of the RFID tags, second timestamps indicating when the RFID tags were respectively read by the handheld reader, a location identifier of the optional locator tag, and/or a third timestamp indicating when the optional locator tag was read by the handheld reader, a location identifier of the optional locator tag, and/or a third timestamp indicating when the optional locator tag was read by the handheld reader. The third information is then processed in step 434 to identify RFID tags which were read by the handheld reader in time proximity with the beacon receiver's reception of a signal from a given beacon.; col 13, lines 22 - 30).
Regarding claim 2, The system according to claim 1, further comprising handhelds, each handheld being functionalized as follows:
receives signals emitted by beacons;
identifies beacons that are determined to have attained a proximity to the handheld based upon signal received (The handheld reader 200 may also comprise an optional beacon receiver 260. The beacon receiver 260 is generally configured to: receive a command signal from the RF enabled device 250 to obtain unique IDs from beacons; send signals to the beacons (e.g., beacons 106.sub.1, . . . , 106.sub.M of FIG. 1) requesting that unique IDs be transmitted therefrom; and receiving signals transmitted from the beacons; parsing unique IDs from the received signals; and communicating the unique IDs to the RF enabled device 250, col 10, lines 42 – 50; The location mode can also be triggered by detecting the proximity of items or obstacles. In this case, the handheld reader is equipped with a proximity sensor 152 (e.g., an acoustic sensor or infrared sensor). The proximity sensor 152 detects the distance from the handheld reader to the RFID tags being read; col 8, lines 16 - 20).
Regarding claim 3, The system according to claim 2, wherein the connectivity system includes:
an app, the app in use functionalizing phones (RF enabled device, it should be understood that the electronic circuit can access and run a location determining application 324 installed on the server 300. The software application 324 is generally operative to facilitate: the determination of RFID tag locations within a facility; and the mapping of the RFID tag locations in a virtual three dimensional space, col 11, lines 54 - 60).
Regarding claim 7, The system according to claim 3, wherein the app functionalizes phones to adapt a phone to receive from a hand held details of the beacons identified to have attained proximity thereto; display the details of the beacon on the phone; permit a user to store an updated location of the beacon; and deliver the updated location of the beacon to the display system (A three dimensional map is generated in step 448 which shows the locations of the RFID tags in a three dimensional space. The location of the handheld reader, beacons, locator tags, and/or beacon receiver may also be shown in the three dimensional map. The three dimensional map is then presented to an operator of the handheld reader and/or other electronic device, as shown by step 450. Subsequently, step 452 is performed where method 400 ends or other processing is performed, Fig. 4 A-B).
Regarding claim 9, The system according to claim 1, wherein the beacon is actuable by a magnet (The present disclosure concerns systems and methods for locating objects or items (e.g., tags) within a facility using one or more different types of technology (e.g., Radio Frequency Identifier (“RFID”) technology, infrared technology, proximity sensor technology, gyroscope technology, accelerometer technology and/or magnetometer technology), col 3, lines 58 - 61).
Regarding claim 9, The system according to claim 1, wherein the beacon has a low power state, an active state and a magnet switch and is adapted such that, when a magnet attains proximity to the magnet switch when beacon is in the low power state, the beacon converts to the active state (automatically transitioning a mode of the handheld reader from a default mode in which the handheld reader performs tag reads at high power to a location mode in which the handheld reader toggles between tag reads at high power and tag reads at low power. A power level of the handheld reader may be adjusted based on a density of RFID tags being read. Additionally or alternatively, a beacon receiver's detector is aligned with a beacon's emitter based on sensor data generated by inertial sensors located internal to the beacon receive, Summary).
Regarding claim 11, Simon teaces The system according to claim 1, Simon further teaches wherein the readers and controllers are further functionalized to filter and control the flow of received beacon data (The higher the RSSI, the wider the time window and vice versa. As a result, a tag locator read having higher RSSI takes priority while a tag locator read occurring at lower RSSI would have their time window reduced or filtered, col 8, lines 50 - 55).
Regarding claim 12, The system according to claim 1, wherein the display system is further functionalized to display beacon detail change history (The RFID tags (identified in previous step 434) are assigned to the approximate same location as the beacon's location (e.g., a particular piece of display equipment within the facility), as shown by step 438, Fig. 4A-B, col 13, lines 35 - 40).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
7. 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
8. Claim(s) 4 – 6, 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Simon et al. (US 9,472,075, Simon hereafter) in further view of He et al. (CN 113709219, He hereafter).
Regarding claim 4, Simon teaches claim 1, however, does not specifically teach permit user to write type to the beacon as aforesaid.
In the same field of endeavor, He further teaches wherein the app functionalizes phones to adapt the phone to permit a user to write the type of the beacon as aforesaid (Through operations such as adding, deleting, editing, you can change the IoT card information, tag management, and view the number, name, type, etc. of the RFID tag Information, enter the tag number to quickly retrieve the above information, and change the tag information by adding, deleting, editing and other operations, page 3).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art at the time of the filing to combine the teachings of He’s allowing user to write type of beacon with the system of Simon. One would be motivated to combine these teachings because in doing so it can identify or separate tags based on the type; so user can visualize them; making the system more user friendly.
Regarding claim 5, Simon with He teaches The system according to claim 3,
He further teaches wherein the app functionalizes phones to adapt the phone to permit a permit a user to associate a type, a location and notes to an identifier (Through operations such as adding, deleting, editing, you can change the IoT card information, tag management, and view the number, name, type, etc. of the RFID tag Information, enter the tag number to quickly retrieve the above information, and change the tag information by adding, deleting, editing and other operations, page 3; location information, page 2, 5).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art at the time of the filing to combine the teachings of He’s allowing user to write type of beacon with the system of Simon. One would be motivated to combine these teachings because in doing so it can identify or separate tags based on the type; so user can visualize them; making the system more user friendly.
Regarding claim 6, Simon with He teaches The system according to claim 3,
He further teaches wherein the app functionalizes phones to adapt the phone to permit a permit a user to associate a type, a location and notes to an identifier via manual entry to the phone and subsequent transmission by internet to the display system (Through operations such as adding, deleting, editing, you can change the IoT card information, tag management, and view the number, name, type, etc. of the RFID tag Information, enter the tag number to quickly retrieve the above information, and change the tag information by adding, deleting, editing and other operations, page 3; location information, page 2, 5).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art at the time of the filing to combine the teachings of He’s allowing user to write type of beacon with the system of Simon. One would be motivated to combine these teachings because in doing so it can identify or separate tags based on the type; so user can visualize them; making the system more user friendly.
Regarding claim 13, Simon teaches The system according to claim 1, however, does not specifically teach and/or suggest wherein the connectivity system is further functionalized to permit an authorized user to change beacon details are association.
He teaches wherein the connectivity system is further functionalized to permit an authorized user to change beacon details are association (Through operations such as adding, deleting, editing, you can change the IoT card information, tag management, and view the number, name, type, etc. of the RFID tag Information, enter the tag number to quickly retrieve the above information, and change the tag information by adding, deleting, editing and other operations, page 3).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art at the time of the filing to combine the teachings of He’s allowing user to write type of beacon with the system of Simon. One would be motivated to combine these teachings because in doing so it can identify or separate tags based on the type; so user can visualize them; making the system more user friendly.
9. Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Simon et al. (US 9,472,075, Simon hereafter) in further view of Biffert et al. (US 2022/0200519).
Regarding claim 10, Simon teaches The system according to claim 1, however, does not specifically teach wherein the signal further includes a battery strength.
In the same field of endeavor, Biffert teaches wherein the signal further includes a battery strength (The data can include, e.g., signal strength, battery power, and external conditions and based on such data, each tag in the network can autonomously determine the tag, paragraph 9).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art at the time of the filing to combine the teachings of Biffert’s signal strength data with the system of Simon. One would be motivated to combine these teachings because in doing so it can determine the signal strength and can automatically determine best condition to communicate with the management system.
Conclusion
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TANMAY K SHAH whose telephone number is (571)270-3624. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri - 8:00 - 5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chieh Fan can be reached at 571-272-3042. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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TANMAY K. SHAH
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2632
/TANMAY K SHAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2632
Prosecution Insights