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 .
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 5-12 and 18-19 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.
Regarding claims 5-12 and 18-19, the phrase " preferably" renders the claims indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Regarding claims 6, 12 and 19, the phrase "for example" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Regarding claim 9, the phrase "e.g." renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-12 and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Weiss et al. (“A Power-Efficient Wireless Sensor Network for Continuously Monitoring Seismic Vibrations”, published in 2011, see attached publication).
Regarding claim 1, Weiss teaches a vibration monitoring system comprising a plurality of sensor units, each sensor unit comprising at least one vibration sensor (Fig.1, wireless nodes with vibration-sensing capabilities) and being locatable on an apparatus to be monitored at a respective different location (Pages 38-39, under subtitle “III. OVERALL NETWORK ARCHITECTURE”), wherein each sensor unit is operable to take measurements using the respective at least one vibration sensor (Pages 39-40, under subtitle “IV. SENSOR NODE ARCHITECTURE”), the system being configured to cause each sensor unit to take a respective measurement simultaneously, and wherein the sensor units are configured to synchronize with each other before taking the respective measurement (Pages 41-42, under subtitle “C. Medium access strategy and TDMA superframe structure”).
Regarding claim 2, Weiss teaches wherein the system is configured to generate an activation request and to communicate the activation request to each of the sensor units, and wherein, in response to receiving the activation request, each sensor unit is configured to synchronize with the, or each, other sensor unit (Pages 41-42, under subtitle “1) Synchronization frame”).
Regarding claim 3, Weiss teaches wherein the system is configured to generate a measurement time and to communicate the measurement time to each of the sensor units, and wherein each sensor unit is configured to take the respective measurement at the measurement time (Pages 41-42, under subtitle “2) Collection frame”).
Regarding claim 4, Weiss teaches wherein the system is configured to generate an activation request and to communicate the activation request to each of the sensor units, and wherein, in response to receiving the activation request, each sensor unit is configured to synchronize with the, or each, other sensor unit, and wherein the system is configured to set the measurement time to occur after the generation of said activation request by a period of time that allows the sensor units to synchronize with each other before taking the respective measurement, wherein, optionally, the system is configured to generate the measurement time in response to generation of the activation request, or in response to receipt of the activation request by one or more of the sensor units (Pages 41-42, under subtitle “C. Medium access strategy and TDMA superframe structure”).
Regarding claim 5, Weiss teaches wherein said measurement time is generated by one of the sensor units (Pages 39-40, under subtitle “IV. SENSOR NODE ARCHITECTURE”), and preferably communicated to the, or each, other sensor unit directly or indirectly by said one of the sensor units, wherein, optionally, said activation request is received by said one of the sensor units and communicated to the, or each, other sensor unit directly or indirectly by said one of the sensor units.
Regarding claim 6, Weiss teaches a controller, the controller being configured for communication, preferably wireless communication, with at least one of, and preferably all of, the sensor units, and wherein the controller is preferably separate from the sensor units, for example comprising a separate computing device (Fig.1, “backend server”), preferably a separate portable computing device, for example a smartphone, a tablet computer or a laptop computer.
Regarding claim 7, Weiss teaches wherein the controller is configured for wireless communication with at least one of, and preferably all of, the sensor units via a direct wireless communication link, preferably a WiFi link or other wireless LAN link (Pages 38-39, under subtitle “III. OVERALL NETWORK ARCHITECTURE”).
Regarding claim 8, Weiss teaches wherein the system is configured to generate an activation request and to communicate the activation request to each of the sensor units, and wherein, in response to receiving the activation request, each sensor unit is configured to synchronize with the, or each, other sensor unit, and wherein the controller is configured to generate said activation request and to communicate said activation request to at least one of said sensor units (Pages 41-42, under subtitle “C. Medium access strategy and TDMA superframe structure”), preferably to all of said sensor units, and wherein, typically, the controller is configured to generate said activation request in response to user input.
Regarding claim 9, Weiss teaches wherein the sensor units are configured to synchronize with each other by synchronizing with an external reference time source, and wherein each sensor unit preferably includes means for communicating with the external reference time source (Pages 38-39, under subtitle “III. OVERALL NETWORK ARCHITECTURE”), e.g. a GPS receiver, and wherein, preferably, each sensor unit has an internal clock, and is configured to synchronize with the, or each, other sensor unit by synchronizing the internal clock with the external time reference source.
Regarding claim 10, Weiss teaches wherein each sensor unit is configured to take the respective measurement within a sampling window, the sampling window being the same for each sensor unit, and/or at the same sampling frequency, and wherein, preferably the sampling window is defined with respect to a measurement time, preferably beginning at said measurement time (Pages 41-42, under subtitle “2) Collection frame”).
Regarding claim 11, Weiss teaches wherein each sensor unit is configured for wireless communication with at least one other sensor unit, preferably via a direct wireless communication link, and wherein the wireless communication is preferably WiFi communication or other wireless LAN communication, and/or wherein the controller is configured for wireless communication with at least one of, and preferably all of, the sensor units via a direct wireless communication link, and wherein the wireless communication is preferably WiFi communication or other wireless LAN communication (Pages 38-39, under subtitle “III. OVERALL NETWORK ARCHITECTURE”).
Regarding claim 12, Weiss teaches wherein the system is configured to use the respective measurements from at least one of, preferably at least two of, and optionally all of, the sensor units to analyse the operation and/or condition of the apparatus being monitored, for example to determine if the apparatus is operating at or near to a designated critical frequency, and/or to identify an operational mode of the apparatus (Page 38, under subtitle “II. RELATED WORK”).
Regarding claim 16, Weiss teaches a monitoring method using a vibration monitoring system comprising a plurality of sensor units, each sensor unit comprising at least one vibration sensor (Fig.1, wireless nodes with vibration-sensing capabilities) and being operable to take measurements using the respective at least one vibration sensor, the method comprising: locating each sensor unit at a respective different location on an apparatus to be monitored (Pages 39-40, under subtitle “IV. SENSOR NODE ARCHITECTURE”); causing each sensor unit to take a respective measurement simultaneously; and causing the sensor units to synchronize with each other before taking the respective measurement (Pages 41-42, under subtitle “C. Medium access strategy and TDMA superframe structure”).
Regarding claim 17, Weiss teaches wherein said causing the sensor units to synchronize with each other involves causing the sensor units to synchronise with an external reference time source (Pages 38-39, under subtitle “III. OVERALL NETWORK ARCHITECTURE”).
Regarding claim 18, Weiss teaches including in response to an activation request, communicating to each sensor unit a measurement time at which the sensor units are to simultaneously take the respective measurement (Pages 41-42, under subtitle “C. Medium access strategy and TDMA superframe structure”), and preferably, calculating said measurement time such that the sensor units are able to synchronise with each other before the measurement time.
Regarding claim 19, Weiss teaches including using the respective measurements from at least one of, preferably at least two of, and optionally all of, the sensor units to analyse the operation and/or condition of the apparatus being monitored (Page 38, under subtitle “II. RELATED WORK”), for example to determine if the apparatus is operating at or near to a designated critical frequency, and/or to identify an operational mode of the apparatus.
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 13 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weiss et al. (“A Power-Efficient Wireless Sensor Network for Continuously Monitoring Seismic Vibrations”, published in 2011, see attached publication) in view of Zakrzewski et al. (U.S. Publication No. 20120263165).
Regarding claim 13, Weiss teaches all the features of claim 1 as outlined above, Weiss is silent about wherein the system is configured to use the respective simultaneously taken measurements from two or more of the sensor units to determine one or more phase relationship between movement of the apparatus at the respective sensor unit locations.
Zakrzewski teaches wherein the system is configured to use the respective simultaneously taken measurements from two or more of the sensor units to determine one or more phase relationship between movement of the apparatus at the respective sensor unit locations (Paragraph 5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to determine one or more phase relationship in Weiss’ system because determining the phase relationship between sensors in a vibration network allows you to pinpoint the exact source of mechanical faults (like unbalance or misalignment) and map structural movement.
Regarding claim 20, Weiss teaches all the features of claim 16 as outlined above, Weiss is silent about including using the respective simultaneously taken measurements from two or more of the sensor units to determine one or more phase relationship between movement of the apparatus at the respective sensor unit locations.
Zakrzewski teaches using the respective simultaneously taken measurements from two or more of the sensor units to determine one or more phase relationship between movement of the apparatus at the respective sensor unit locations (Paragraph 5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to determine one or more phase relationship in Weiss’ system because determining the phase relationship between sensors in a vibration network allows you to pinpoint the exact source of mechanical faults (like unbalance or misalignment) and map structural movement.
Claims 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weiss et al. (“A Power-Efficient Wireless Sensor Network for Continuously Monitoring Seismic Vibrations”, published in 2011, see attached publication) in view of Rothwell et al. (U.S. Publication No. 20180216990).
Regarding claim 14, Weiss teaches all the features of claim 1 as outlined above, Weiss is silent about installed on an apparatus to be monitored, wherein each sensor unit is removably mounted on the apparatus at a respective different location.
Rothwell teaches installed on an apparatus to be monitored, wherein each sensor unit is removably mounted on the apparatus at a respective different location (Paragraph 58).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to make Weiss’s sensor unit removably mounted on the apparatus because it would be easier to do maintenance or change battery.
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Weiss and Rothwell teaches all the features of claim 14 as outlined above, Weiss further teaches wherein the apparatus is a screening apparatus or other vibratory apparatus (Page 37, under subtitle “I. INTRODUCTION”).
Conclusion
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/XIN Y ZHONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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