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 18 October 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
The non-statutory 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 non-statutory obviousness-type 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); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
Claims 1 -14 of U.S. Patent Application No. 18/916,087 (‘087 application) are non-provisionally rejected on the grounds of non-statutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-14 of U.S. Patent No. 12,125,046 (‘046 patent). A comparison of the conflicting claims is shown in the table below.
U.S. Patent No. 12,125,046
Reference Claim
U.S. Patent Application No. 18/916,087 Conflicting Claim
Claim 1. A system comprising:
at least one processor; and
memory, operatively connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to perform a set of operations, the set of operations comprising:
receiving, from a client device,
an issue indication for
telecommunications equipment;
generating, based on the issue indication, a set of image capture instructions to capture image data associated with the telecommunications equipment;
providing, in response to the issue indication, the set of image capture instructions to the client device;
receiving, from the client device, the image data associated with telecommunications equipment;
processing the image data using a machine learning model to generate an equipment classification for the telecommunications equipment;
determining, based at least in part on the image data, an equipment configuration and an operational state for the telecommunications equipment;
evaluating the equipment configuration and the operational state to generate a predicted issue for the telecommunications equipment; determining an action for the predicted issue; and
providing an indication of the determined action to the client device.
Claim 1. A system comprising:
at least one processor; and
memory, operatively connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to perform a set of operations, the
set of operations comprising:
receiving, from a client device,
image data associated with
telecommunications equipment;
processing the image data using a machine learning model to generate an
equipment classification for the telecommunications equipment;
determining, based at least in part on the image data, an equipment configuration and an operational state for the telecommunications equipment;
evaluating the equipment configuration and the operational state to generate a predicted issue for the telecommunications equipment;
determining an action for the predicted issue; and
providing an indication of the determined action to the client device.
Claim 2. The system of claim 4, wherein generating
the inventory record further comprises:
determining an external data source associated with the telecommunications equipment;
accessing supplemental information
from the external data source; and
storing at least a part of the supplemental
information as part of the inventory
record.
Claim 2. The system of claim 4, wherein generating
the inventory record further comprises:
determining an external data source associated with the telecommunications equipment;
accessing supplemental information
from the external data source; and
storing at least a part of the supplemental
information as part of the inventory
record.
Claim 3. The system of claim 1, wherein
the set of operations further comprises:
comparing a confidence score of the
machine learning model to a predetermined threshold to determine
whether to request additional information;
and
based on determining to request
additional information, generating a
request for additional information from
the client device, wherein the request
comprises a set of image capture
instructions.
Claim 3. The system of claim 1, wherein
the set of operations further comprises:
comparing a confidence score of the
machine learning model to a predetermined threshold to determine
whether to request additional information;
and
based on determining to request
additional information, generating a
request for additional information from
the client device, wherein the request
comprises a set of image capture
instructions.
Claim 4. The system of claim 1, wherein
the set of operations further comprises:
generating an inventory record for the
telecommunications equipment, the
inventory record comprising at least one
of the equipment configuration or the
operational state.
Claim 4. The system of claim 1, wherein
the set of operations further comprises:
generating an inventory record for the
telecommunications equipment, the
inventory record comprising at least one
of the equipment configuration or the
operational state.
Claim 5. The system of claim 4, wherein
generating the inventory record further
comprises:
determining an external data source
associated with the telecommunications
equipment;
accessing supplemental information
from the external data source; and
storing at least a part of the
supplemental information as part of the
inventory record.
Claim 5. The system of claim 4, wherein
generating the inventory record further
comprises:
determining an external data source
associated with the telecommunications
equipment;
accessing supplemental information
from the external data source; and
storing at least a part of the
supplemental information as part of the
inventory record.
Claim 6. A method for updating an
inventory associated with a customer in a
data store, the method comprising:
receiving, from a client device,
an issue indication for
telecommunications equipment;
generating, based on the issue indication,
a set of image capture instructions to capture
image data associated with the
telecommunications equipment;
providing, in response to the issue
indication, the set of image capture
instructions to the client device;
receiving, from the client device, the
image data associated with
telecommunications equipment;
processing the image data using a
machine learning model to generate an
equipment classification for the
telecommunications equipment;
determining, based at least in part on
the equipment classification, whether the
inventory associated with the customer
comprises an inventory record that relates
to the telecommunications equipment;
based on determining that the
inventory does not comprise an inventory
record that relates to the
telecommunications equipment,
generating a new inventory record in
the inventory, the new inventory record
comprising the equipment classification
for the telecommunications equipment.
Claim 6. A method for updating an
inventory associated with a customer in a
data store, the method comprising:
receiving, from a client device,
image data associated with
telecommunications equipment;
processing the image data using a
machine learning model to generate an
equipment classification for the
telecommunications equipment;
determining, based at least in part on
the equipment classification, whether the
inventory associated with the customer
comprises an inventory record that relates
to the telecommunications equipment;
based on determining that the
inventory does not comprise an inventory
record that relates to the
telecommunications equipment,
generating a new inventory record in the
inventory, the new inventory record
comprising the equipment classification
for the telecommunications equipment.
Claim 7. The method of claim 6, further
comprising:
based on determining that the
inventory comprises an inventory record
that relates to the telecommunications
equipment, updating the inventory record
based on the equipment classification for
the telecommunications equipment.
Claim 7. The method of claim 6, further
comprising:
based on determining that the
inventory comprises an inventory record
that relates to the telecommunications
equipment, updating the inventory record
based on the equipment classification for
the telecommunications equipment.
Claim 8. The method of claim 6, wherein
the method further comprises
determining, based at least in part on
the image data, an equipment
configuration and an operational state for
the telecommunications equipment, and
wherein the new inventory record
comprises the equipment configuration
and the operational state.
Claim 8. The method of claim 6, wherein
the method further comprises
determining, based at least in part on the
image data, an equipment
configuration and an operational state for
the telecommunications equipment, and
wherein the new inventory record
comprises the equipment configuration
and the operational state.
Claim 9. The method of claim 6, further
comprising:
determining, based at least in part on
the image data, an equipment
configuration and an operational state for
the telecommunications equipment;
evaluating the equipment
configuration and the operational state to
generate a predicted issue for the
telecommunications equipment;
determining an action for the
predicted issue; and
providing an indication of the
determined action to the client device.
Claim 9. The method of claim 6, further
comprising:
determining, based at least in part on
the image data, an equipment
configuration and an operational state for
the telecommunications equipment;
evaluating the equipment
configuration and the operational state to
generate a predicted issue for the
telecommunications equipment;
determining an action for the
predicted issue; and
providing an indication of the
determined action to the client device.
Claim 10. The method of claim 6, further
comprising: providing an indication of the
equipment classification to the client
device.
Claim 10. The method of claim 6, further
comprising: providing an indication of the
equipment classification to the client
device.
Claim 11. A method for determining an
additional issue associated with a
telecommunications device, comprising:
receiving, from a client device,
an issue indication
for a telecommunications device,
wherein the first telecommunications
device is associated with a first issue;
generating, based on the issue
indication, a set of image capture
instructions to capture image data
associated with the telecommunications
equipment;
providing, in response to the issue
indication, the set of image capture
instructions to the client device;
receiving, from the client device, the
image data associated with the first
telecommunications device;
processing the image data using a
machine learning model to generate an
equipment classification for the first
telecommunications device and a second
telecommunications device;
determining a second issue for the
second telecommunications device;
determining an action for the second
issue; and
providing an indication of the
determined action for the second issue to
the client device.
Claim 11. A method for determining an
additional issue associated with a
telecommunications device, comprising:
receiving, from a client device,
image data associated with
a first telecommunications device,
wherein the first telecommunications
device is associated with a first issue;
processing the image data using a
machine learning model to generate an
equipment classification for the first
telecommunications device and a second
telecommunications device;
determining a second issue for the
second telecommunications device;
determining an action for the second
issue; and
providing an indication of the
determined action for the second issue to
the client device.
Claim 12. The method of claim 11,
wherein the second issue is determined
according to a proactive rule.
Claim 12. The method of claim 11,
wherein the second issue is determined
according to a proactive rule.
Claim 13. The method of claim 11,
wherein the second issue is excess
capacity associated with the second
telecommunications device, and wherein
the determined action is to replace the
second telecommunications device with a
third telecommunications device.
Claim 13. The method of claim 11,
wherein the second issue is excess
capacity associated with the second
telecommunications device, and wherein
the determined action is to replace the
second telecommunications device with a
third telecommunications device.
Claim 14. The method of claim 11,
wherein the second issue is excess
capacity associated with the second
telecommunications device, and wherein
the determined action is to provide an
indication of one or more potential
services associated with the excess
capacity.
Claim 14. The method of claim 11,
wherein the second issue is excess
capacity associated with the second
telecommunications device, and wherein
the determined action is to provide an
indication of one or more potential
services associated with the excess
capacity.
Though the conflicting claims are not entirely identical, it is obvious from the side-by-side comparisons of the claim language in the table above that the terms in bold print portions are entirely identical in each claim; and the italicized-underlined bold print portions of the claims are obvious variations of one another. With that in mind and in view of the discussion below, it is respectfully submitted that the claims are not patentably distinct.
It is settled that the disclosure of the patent may not be used as prior art. General Foods Corp. v. Studiengesellschaft Kohle mbH, 972 F.2d 1272, 1279, 23 USPQ2d 1839, 1846 (Fed. Cir. 1992). However, this does not mean that one is precluded from all use of the patent disclosure (emphasis added). Those portions of the specification which provide support for the patent claims may also be examined and considered when addressing the issue of whether a claim in the application defines an obvious variation of an invention claimed in the patent. In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 441-42, 164 USPQ 619, 622 (CCPA 1970). The court in Vogel recognized: “that it is most difficult, if not meaningless, to try to say what is or is not an obvious variation of a claim.
Thus, in view of the table shown above and the findings of In re Vogel discussed above in mind, it is respectfully submitted that disclosures of '046 patent that provide support for the patent claims also provide support for the minor differences in the limitations of the claims of the ‘087 application. As a result, the present obviousness type double patenting rejection has been made.
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 non-statutory 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 §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MYRON K WYCHE whose telephone number is (571)272-3390. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 am - 3:30 pm.
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/Myron Wyche/ 17 June 2026
Primary Examiner AU2644
Prosecution Insights