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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority based on application filed in Federal Republic of Germany on 07/01/2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/04/2026 and 12/19/2024 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 10-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Crawford er al (2018/0341952) and further in view of Beshears (U.S. 2007/0067141).
5. As per claims 10,18 HAN disclosed a method for detecting lost goods transported by a vehicle, comprising:
A method for detecting lost goods transported by a vehicle, comprising:
deploying a control unit at each of a plurality of transition points separating a route travelled by the vehicle into sections [the inventors have considered a non-abstract improvement to a computer technology via a technical solution to the technical problem in which a system can leverage analytics detected via mobile devices and/or OBD data in vehicles to detect changes in vehicle weight along with location detection and determination to detect fraudulent activity] (Paragraph. 0005);
measuring a first weight of the vehicle at a first transition point by a first control unit located at the first transition point [the present invention can a vehicle weight detection system, including a first weight calculating circuit configured to calculate a first difference between a first expected weight of a vehicle and a first current weight of the vehicle based on On-Board Dash (OBD) input data] (Paragraph. 0006);
measuring a second weight of the vehicle at a second transition point by a second control unit located at the second transition point [a second weight calculating circuit configured to calculate a second difference between a second expected weight of the vehicle and a second current weight of the vehicle based on a spring-mass-damper mechanical algorithm using vehicle data received from a user device] (Paragraph. 0006);
determining, by the vehicle at the second transition point, an operating weight that is the weight of operating materials consumed by the vehicle between the first transition point and the second transition point [a comparing circuit configured to compare each of the first difference and the second difference to a predetermined weight difference threshold value] (Paragraph. 0006);
and
detecting a loss of cargo when the difference is greater than a predetermined threshold [Each of Step 201 and Step 202 calculates the current weight and expected weight over time and Step 203 compares the current weight and the expected weight and determines if the calculated weight from either of the algorithms deviates above a threshold weight difference from the detected weight (e.g., compares a difference between the expected weight and the current weight is greater than a threshold value). That is, Step 203 compares each calculated weight from both algorithms to the expected weight that the vehicle should be operating at based on normal operating and weight loss over time (i.e., via operational use of fuel)] (Paragraph. 0060).
However Crawford did not explicitly disclose, “wherein calculating a difference between: the first weight, and the second weight plus the operating material weight (GVL) is formed from a vehicle weight (FGA) of a preceding route transition point (A, B, C, D), a vehicle weight (FGB) of a current route transition point (A, B, C, D), and the weight of the operating materials (GBS) used by the vehicle”.
In the same field of endeavor Beshears disclosed by monitoring the individual weight sensors on each pad, the Pad uC system calculates the moment of the tire rolling over as well as the total weight of the tire. From this information, the system determines when the tire is over the center of the pad for precise location information. f) The system accurately determines the vehicle speed with direction of travel indicated by the sign of the speed. (Negative speed for right side) g) The number of pad pairs is unlimited. The more pairs used, the greater the accuracy obtainable. Results indicate that overall accuracy is much greater than expected from pure statistical averaging. This is due to the coupling of the weight measurements in a single weighing process of multiple sensors (Paragraph. 0123-0126).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing was made to have incorporated by monitoring the individual weight sensors on each pad, the Pad uC system calculates the moment of the tire rolling over as well as the total weight of the tire. From this information, the system determines when the tire is over the center of the pad for precise location information. f) The system accurately determines the vehicle speed with direction of travel indicated by the sign of the speed. (Negative speed for right side) g) The number of pad pairs is unlimited. The more pairs used, the greater the accuracy obtainable. Results indicate that overall accuracy is much greater than expected from pure statistical averaging. This is due to the coupling of the weight measurements in a single weighing process of multiple sensors as taught by Beshears in the method and system of Crawford to reduce latency and by making weighing system more efficient.
6. As per claim 11 Crawford-Beshears disclosed wherein a classification into the sections is performed manually by a driver or a fleet manager or by a backend equipped with a logistics program or by a frontend (Crawford Paragraph. 0083).
7. As per claim 12 Crawford-Beshears disclosed wherein the backend or the frontend communicates with the control unit (SCX, SCY, SCZ) to determine the respective weights (FGA, FGB, GBS) (Crawford Paragraph. 0048).
8. As per claim 13 Crawford-Beshears disclosed wherein a classification into the sections takes place depending on a topography, a route, and/or a current traffic situation (Crawford Paragraph. 0053).
9. As per claim 14 Crawford-Beshears disclosed wherein the respective vehicle weights are determined in respective external stations or by a vehicle-specific measurement (Crawford Paragraph. 0052).
10. As per claim 15 Crawford-Beshears disclosed wherein the loss of cargo and the associated section are reported to a higher-level control center and/or to a driver of the vehicle (Crawford Paragraph. 0060).
11. As per claim 16 Crawford-Beshears disclosed wherein measures for regulating traffic on the identified associated section and for recovering the cargo are initiated by the higher-level control center (Beshears, Paragraph. 0140). Claim 16 has the same motivation as to claim 1.
12. As per claim 17 Crawford-Beshears disclosed wherein traffic lights on the identified associated section are controlled to regulate the traffic and/or vehicles passing through the identified associated section are warned of a danger of the cargo (Beshears, Paragraph. 0059-0060). Claim 17 has the same motivation as to claim 1.
Response to Arguments
13. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 10-18 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
14. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
15. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communication from the
examiner should be directed to Adnan Mirza whose telephone number is (571)-272-3885.
16. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday during normal
business hours. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the
examiner’s supervisor, Faris Almatrahi can be reached on (313)-446-4821.
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/ADNAN M MIRZA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3667
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