DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to the Application filed on September 25, 2024, which is a continuation application of Application No. 18/217823, filed on July 3, 2023, now abandoned, which is a continuation pf Application No. 16/568104, filed on September 11, 2019, now US Patent No. 11741703, which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/729982 filed on September 11, 2018. An action on the merits follows. Claims 1-20 are pending on the application.
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 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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “generating information in response to user queries associated with a physical asset or collection of physical assets of interest… receiving from a user one or more queries associated with a physical asset or collection of physical assets of interest… identifying a first user information goal associated with the physical asset or collection of physical assets of interest” in lines 1-6 of the claim.
However, it is not clear if the claimed “one or more queries associated with a physical asset or collection of physical assets of interest” received from “a user” recited in lines 2-3 of the claim encompass embodiments corresponding to the claimed “user queries associated with a physical asset or collection of physical assets of interest” previously recited in lines 1-2 of the claim, or if the claimed “one or more queries associated with a physical asset or collection of physical assets of interest” received from “a user” recited in lines 2-3 of the claim encompass embodiments corresponding to “one or more queries associated with a physical asset or collection of physical assets of interest” different from the claimed “user queries associated with a physical asset or collection of physical assets of interest” previously recited in lines 1-2 of the claim, for example.
Additionally, it is not clear if, or how, the claimed “queries associated with a physical asset or collection of physical assets of interest” recited in lines 1-4 apply to the claim because there is no further recitation in the claim corresponding to the claimed “queries associated with a physical asset or collection of physical assets of interest” recited in lines 1-4 of the claim. In particular, it is not clear if, or how, the claimed “queries associated with a physical asset or collection of physical assets of interest” recited in lines 1-4 applies to the claimed “first user information goal associated with the physical asset or collection of physical assets of interest” recited in lines 5-6 of the claim because there is no further recitation in the claim corresponding to the claimed “queries associated with a physical asset or collection of physical assets of interest” recited in lines 1-4 of the claim.
Furthermore, it is not clear if the claimed “a first user information goal” recited in line 5 of the claim encompass embodiments corresponding to a “first user information goal” of the claimed “user” previously recited in line 3 of the claim, or if the claimed “a first user information goal” recited in line 5 of the claim encompass embodiments corresponding to “user information goal” of “ a first user” different from the claimed “user” previously recited in line 3 of the claim, for example.
Therefore, based on above, the metes and bounds of the claim are not clearly set forth and the examiner cannot clearly determine which elements are encompassed by the claim language, which renders the claim indefinite.
Claims 2-20 are rejected by virtue of being dependent upon rejected base claim 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record cited in PTO-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. In particular US 2012/0173300 A1 (Davenport), Applicant cited prior art, discloses “infrastructure asset maintenance management. This approach comprises an end-to-end solution that can take data about physical assets (e.g., maintenance records, usage records) and additional external data (e.g., weather, demographics), and apply advanced analytics to the data to generate business insight, foresight and planning information. Specifically, this approach uses a maintenance analysis tool to improve work management, reduce down time through preventive maintenance, and provide effective demand management. In one embodiment, the maintenance analysis tool is configured to: receive data about a set of physical assets of an infrastructure; and analyze the data about the set of physical assets to predict maintenance requirements for each of the set of physical assets. The maintenance analysis tool further comprises an output component configured to: generate a maintenance plan based on the predicted maintenance requirements for each of the set of physical assets… computer system 104 includes a processing unit 106 capable of receiving data regarding a set of physical assets 115 of an infrastructure 119, and sending the data to a maintenance analysis tool 153… computer system 104 could also include I/O interfaces that communicate with one or more external devices 118 that enable a user to interact with computer system… an output is generated by maintenance analysis tool 153 to prioritize the dispatch of preventive maintenance personnel. The output may display key performance indicators of infrastructure 119, including but not limited to: comprehensive query and reporting, dashboarding/reporting, score carding, temporal analysis reporting, spatial analysis reporting, and mapping displays to help you understand and visualize data… maintenance analysis tool 153 comprises an analysis component 155 configured to receive data about set of physical assets 115 of infrastructure 119. Specifically, analysis component 155 receives data from sensor devices 122, as well as data about physical assets 115 gathered from other sources and stored within storage system 116. In this embodiment, analysis component receives failure data 131, maintenance data 132, usage data 133, weather data 134, graphical information system (GIS) data 135, and demographic data 136… Analysis component 155 is configured to analyze the data about set of physical assets 115 to predict maintenance requirements for each of set of physical assets 115. To accomplish this, in one embodiment, analysis component 155 performs at least one of the following analytics: predictive modeling (e.g., predictive analytics and data mining), optimization (e.g., failure-risk optimization), and spatio-temporal analysis” in Par. [0015-23], for example.
US 2013/0138606 A1 (Kahle), Applicant cited prior art, discloses “an information management system 101, comprising computer 102 and database 103, receives asset information (e.g., asset report 111) from a reporting source 110. In response to user requests, in response to the occurrence of a defined event, or automatically based upon a pre-determined time interval, information management system 101 generates reports 150 to positioning infrastructure 140. Similarly, reporting source 110 can generate asset report 111 in response to user requests, in response to the occurrence of a defined event, or automatically based upon a pre-determined time interval… task data 131 comprises data describing events, conditions, and parameters which are recorded at a site… handheld tool 120 can record the condition of an item such as a structure, a tool, etc. back to information management system 101. It is noted that the recording, and reporting, of this information can occur in real-time, and can include conditions before, during, and after a task have been performed. This information can be used to verify that operations performed by handheld tool 120 were performed in accordance with pre-determined parameters and can show the condition of the finished task. In general, reports 150 comprise data, warnings, or other messages which assist in the completion of a task. In one embodiment, positioning infrastructure 140 can generate position data 141 in response to report 150 which is used to assist an operator in positioning and orienting handheld tool 120 at the correct location to perform a particular task… asset report 111 can not only report what actions have been performed at the construction site, but can also report what materials were used or applied to complete a particular task… For example, handheld tool 120, positioning infrastructure 140, or reporting source 110 can be configured to report the completion of tasks, including parameters implemented in the completion of those tasks, to information management system 101” in Par. [0025-40], for example.
Above cited prior part, as a whole, appears to teach a similar inventive concept as claimed by Applicant’s invention.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GUILLERMO M RIVERA-MARTINEZ whose telephone number is (571) 272-4979. The examiner can normally be reached on 9 am to 5 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrew Bee can be reached on 571-270-5183. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GUILLERMO M RIVERA-MARTINEZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2677
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