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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in GB on 03/29/2018. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the GB1805323.1 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in GB on 04/17/2018. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the GB1805323.1 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in GB on 04/24/2018. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the GB1806697.7 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in GB on 08/28/2018. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the GB1813975.8 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in GB on 10/26/2018. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the GB1817474.8 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in GB on 03/18/2019. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the GB1903656.5 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 1/31/2025, 3/19/2025, 7/10/2025, 10/1/2025 and 4/1/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered if signed and initialed 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 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); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
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 nonstatutory 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 § 2146 et seq. 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 filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual 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/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 19-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 14 of U.S. Patent No. 11,079,464, in view of RICE, II et al. (US 2017/0351923 A1). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because:
Current application 19/043,349
Patent (US 11,079,464)
(16/659,366)
19. A location system for locating workers comprising:
a plurality of Infrared light detectors mounted at known locations and configured to detect Infrared light from one or more workers and/or equipment;1
one or more illuminating light sources outputting light,
the light reflected from the workers and/or equipment2 being light from the one or more illuminating light sources,
wherein the one or more illuminating light sources emit Infrared light;
at least one reflective element to be mounted on respective workers and/or equipment3,
the light reflected from the workers and/or equipment 4being light reflected from the reflective element; and
a processing system configured to:
determine locations of the workers and/or equipment using the light detected by the light detectors; and
control the activity of machinery and/or output a warning signal based on the determined locations of workers and/or equipment.
20. The location system according to claim 19, wherein:
the at least one reflective element is configured to further modulate the light to encode a unique identifier; and
the processing system is further configured to
determine permissions of the workers and/or equipment using the unique identifiers encoded by the modulated light from the reflective elements; and
control the activity of machinery and/or output a warning signal5 based on the determined permissions of the workers and/or equipment as well as the determined locations of workers and/or equipment.
A location system for locating workers comprising:
a plurality of light detectors mounted at known locations and configured to detect light reflected from one or more workers;
one or more illuminating light sources outputting temporally modulated light,
the light reflected from the workers being light from the illuminating light source,
wherein the light detectors are synchronized with the illuminating light sources;
at least one reflective element to be mounted on respective workers,
the light reflected from the workers being light reflected from the reflective element,
the reflective elements configured to further modulate the light to encode a unique identifier; and
a processing system configured to:
determine locations of the workers using the light detected by the light detectors;
determine permissions of the workers using the unique identifiers encoded by the modulated light from the reflective elements; and
control the activity of machinery based on the determined permissions and the determined locations of the workers.
Claims 19 and 20 (combined) of the current application (‘349) is disclosed by Claim 1 of US patent #11,079,464, in view of RICE, II et al. (US 2017/0351923 A1).
Claim 14 of the reference patent (‘464) discloses al the limitations of claim 19 of instant application, except for “the one or more illuminating light sources emit Infrared light.”
RICE, II et al. (‘923) relates to monitoring in a confined space. RICE, II et al. (‘923) teaches “the one or more illuminating light sources emit Infrared light (paragraph 27: verify that no unauthorized entry or exit of the confined space 102 occurred… movement, recording, and other imaging characteristics of the camera(s) 118(2) may be controlled via the monitoring station 110 including, without limitation, the characteristics described with regard to the camera(s) 118(1) external to the confined space 102…one or more cameras 118 may include infrared or acoustic capabilities….one or more of the cameras 118 or additional sensors associated with the confined space 102 may utilize three-dimensional (3D) sensing…a camera 118 may include a depth camera, a coded aperture camera, a time-of-flight system, an ultrasonic positioning system, a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) system, and so forth).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill-in-the-art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Patent (US 11,079,464) with the teaching of RICE, II et al. (‘923) for securing safety of worksite (RICE, II et al. (‘923) – paragraph 67).
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 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.
For applicant’s benefit portions of the cited reference(s) have been cited to aid in the review of the rejection(s). While every attempt has been made to be thorough and consistent within the rejection it is noted that the PRIOR ART MUST BE CONSIDERED IN ITS ENTIRETY, INCLUDING DISCLOSURES THAT TEACH AWAY FROM THE CLAIMS. See MPEP 2141.02 VI.
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.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wiliams et al. (2013/0038856 A1), in view of Self et al. (US 2006/0271263 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Wiliams et al. (‘856) discloses “a location system (Figure 1; paragraph 14: determination of a sensor device location in a sensor network) for locating workers (paragraph 23: track a location of a worker in the field) comprising:
a plurality of Infrared light detectors (paragraph 20: Figure 2, multiple detectors 210; paragraph 12: the phrases "optical beam" or "optical beam" can refer to optical rays of light in the infrared, near-infrared) mounted at known locations (paragraph 14: determination of a sensor device location in a sensor network) and configured to detect Infrared light from one or more workers and/or equipment (paragraph 26: the reflector may be physically attached to the sensor device, removable or otherwise, or may be on a worker or an article of clothing worn by the worker or on a device carried by the worker);
one or more illuminating light sources outputting light, the light reflected from the workers and/or equipment being light from the one or more illuminating light sources, wherein the one or more illuminating light sources emit Infrared light (paragraph 15: he system includes a plurality of rotating optical beams emitted from a light source having a known location; paragraph 20: The detector can be configured to detect the light emitted from the light source. Thus, for example, if the light source emits an infrared optical beam, a detector may be used which is configured to detect the infrared optical beam);
at least one reflective element to be mounted on respective workers and/or equipment (paragraph 26: the reflector may be physically attached to the sensor device, removable or otherwise, or may be on a worker or an article of clothing worn by the worker or on a device carried by the worker),
the light reflected from the workers and/or equipment being light reflected from the reflective element (paragraph 43: the laser light scatter by these devices will suffer a slight change in the wavelength and each device will be identified by the wavelength shift it imparts; paragraph 43: distinguish among sensors or workers by distinguishing a reflected wavelength, the different inelastic wavelength shifts that the reflectors impart result in a wavelength of light reflected from one reflector being different than a wavelength of light reflected from a different reflector); and
a processing system (paragraph 37: one or more of the base stations can include a processing station…the processing station can include a processor 250) configured to:
determine locations of the workers and/or equipment using the light detected by the light detectors (paragraph 32: where the system has determined a location of the sensor or the worker (using the reflector) with respect to a desired location for placing the sensor device, the system can provide guidance signals to guide the worker from the current location to the desired location, the guidance signals may comprise audio or visual signals, tactile signals may be transmitted to a handheld device used by the worker).”.
Wiliams et al. (‘856) does not explicitly disclose “control the activity of machinery and/or output a warning signal based on the determined locations of workers and/or equipment”.
Self et al. (‘263) relates to controlling operation and movement of the work machine based upon the position of an operator .Self et al. (‘263) teaches “control the activity of machinery and/or output a warning signal based on the determined locations of workers and/or equipment (paragraph 57: First, the operator/worker location calculation module 76 determines whether the operator is positioned a proper distance R from the machine 10 and its work tool 16 (Steps 1070-1090)…if the operator 30 and thus the remote controller 12 or ID tag 38 are within the operational boundary of the work tool 16 and work machine 10, the operator is notified by a warning light or sound activated at the remote controller 12 and certain pre-designed machine functions are disabled or able to function only at a reduced level]; [paragraph 58: If the operator 30 moves into or is already in a favorable location, the control logic moves to 1300 shown in FIG. 9. Here, at step 1510, the directional antenna assembly 44 is interrogated by the controller 22 to determine the presence of other authorized workers or observers… alternately, the operator 30 may manually enter their presence and number at step 1500. If no workers or observers are present, the full range of machine functions subject to the control parameters stored in the memory module 66 (FIG. 7) are enabled at step 1520 and program control repeatedly cycles back through an updating loop by returning to 1200 (FIG. 8). When worker or observers are present…their location relative to the work machine 10 may already be known from the determination at step 1070…. at steps 1540-1550 the operator/worker location calculation module 76 determines whether each of the workers or operators are positioned a proper distance R from the real-time operational boundary of the machine 10..if so, all machine functions are enabled at step 1520…if not, time "T" is set to zero at step 1560 and program control reverts to step 1400 (FIG. 8) where operation of certain machine functions may be inhibited…the operator 30 is made aware of the intrusion and given time "T" to correct it--or the engine shuts down (or certain operational functions are temporarily reduced until the intrusion is corrected). In this way, the operator 30 and tag wearing authorized worker or observer are prevented from being too close to an operating work machine 10)”.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill-in-the-art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Wiliams et al. (‘856) with the teaching of Self et al. (‘263) reducing worksite accidents (Self et al. (‘263) – paragraph 20). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Wiliams et al. (‘856) and Self et al. (‘263) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, using sensor to detect position information for reliable operation of the work machine and mitigate worker safety.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-11 are allowed.
Allowable Subject Matter:
“comparing the first location to each of the second locations to identify a match between the first location and the second locations, the match indicating that the human is authorized to be within the hazardous environment; and send a signal to an alert device associated with the hazardous environment such that the alert device issues an alert in response to the first location failing to match the second locations.”
Claims 12-14, 16-18 and 21 are allowed.
Allowable Subject Matter:
“conduct image analytics on the image(s) to detect a human and a movable machine equipment within the hazardous environment; receive first position data from a first ranging sensor, the first position data being representative of a position of the human within the hazardous environment; receive second position data from the first ranging sensor or a second ranging sensor, the second position data being representative of a position of the movable machine equipment within the hazardous environment; compare the first position data with the second position data; and send a signal to an alert device associated with the hazardous environment such that the alert device issues an alert in dependence on the comparison of the first position data with the second position data.”
Claim 20 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims and if corresponding double patenting rejection is overcome.
Allowable subject matter:
“the at least one reflective element is configured to further modulate the light to encode a unique identifier; and the processing system is further configured to determine permissions of the workers and/or equipment using the unique identifiers encoded by the modulated light from the reflective elements; and control the activity of machinery and/or output a warning signal based on the determined permissions of the workers and/or equipment as well as the determined locations of workers and/or equipment.”
Closest Prior Art found to be:
Wiliams et al. (‘856) describes determination of a sensor device location in a sensor network… track a location of a worker in the field (para 14, 23, Fig. 1); multiple detectors 210, laser 215… determination of a sensor device location in a sensor network…the reflector may be physically attached to the sensor device, removable or otherwise, or may be on a worker or an article of clothing worn by the worker or on a device carried by the worker] (para14, 20: Fig. 2); the reflector may be physically attached to the sensor device, removable or otherwise, or may be on a worker or an article of clothing worn by the worker or on a device carried by the worker (para 26); the laser light scatter by these devices will suffer a slight change in the wavelength and each device will be identified by the wavelength shift it imparts…distinguish among sensors or workers by distinguishing a reflected wavelength, the different inelastic wavelength shifts that the reflectors impart result in a wavelength of light reflected from one reflector being different than a wavelength of light reflected from a different reflector (para 43); one or more of the base stations can include a processing station…the processing station can include a processor 250…triangulation module can then triangulate a position of the reflector, and thus the sensor, based on the reflected optical beams…the triangulation module can he used to determine a location of a worker in the field (para 14, 31, 37); the tracking module can thus be configured to identify and track multiple reflectors associated with multiple workers and/or sensors substantially simultaneously using a continuity of reflector position and/or the difference in wavelength of reflected laser beams from different reflectors (para 44).
smith et al. (‘862) describes “the carrier signal emitted by the TX 120… the light is reflected by the reflector 260 back into the transmission line 201… during the reflection process the modulator 250 can imprint a data stream onto the reflected light…the information encoded into the data stream may include the id of station B, id of an operator at station B, the power level of the received signal, etc. …the modulator 250 may also rewrite data already coded onto the stream]; [paragraph 86: the scheduling unit 850 is responsible for the emission and reception schedules]; [paragraph 6: an optical communication system includes a first optical communication node to output a first optical signal (para 40).
Self et al. (‘263) describes that the operator/worker location calculation module 76 determines whether the operator is positioned a proper distance R from the machine 10 and its work tool 16 (Steps 1070-1090)… if the operator 30 and thus the remote controller 12 or ID tag 38 are within the operational boundary of the work tool 16 and work machine 10, the operator is notified by a warning light or sound activated at the remote controller 12 and certain pre-designed machine functions are disabled or able to function only at a reduced level (para 57); if the operator 30 moves into or is already in a favorable location, the control logic moves to 1300 shown in FIG. 9. Here, at step 1510, the directional antenna assembly 44 is interrogated by the controller 22 to determine the presence of other authorized workers or observers… alternately, the operator 30 may manually enter their presence and number at step 1500. If no workers or observers are present, the full range of machine functions subject to the control parameters stored in the memory module 66 (FIG. 7) are enabled at step 1520 and program control repeatedly cycles back through an updating loop by returning to 1200 (FIG. 8). When worker or observers are present…their location relative to the work machine 10 may already be known from the determination at step 1070…. at steps 1540-1550 the operator/worker location calculation module 76 determines whether each of the workers or operators are positioned a proper distance R from the real-time operational boundary of the machine 10...if so, all machine functions are enabled at step 1520…if not, time "T" is set to zero at step 1560 and program control reverts to step 1400 (FIG. 8) where operation of certain machine functions may be inhibited…the operator 30 is made aware of the intrusion and given time "T" to correct it--or the engine shuts down (or certain operational functions are temporarily reduced until the intrusion is corrected). In this way, the operator 30 and tag wearing authorized worker or observer are prevented from being too close to an operating work machine 10 (para 58).
Jones (US 2017/0270761 A1) describes safety apparatus and apparel, in particular to an integrated computerized safety method and system to track in real time the positions of mining, construction and other industrial personnel, plant and equipment both above and below the ground or their movement therebetween…a proximity warning system to alert personnel who may be within a predetermined unsafe distance of any plant or equipment including the real time detection and sensing of impact motion or movement and location data which can be compiled or logged (paragraph 1); the wireless communication protocols include a mesh network of radio frequency identification (RFID) chips embedded in safety equipment worn by personnel and incorporated in plant and machinery detected by nodes/beacons to enable communication and facilitate location by triangulation between the RFID chips (paragraph 12); the computerized safety tracking and proximity warning system for personnel, plant and equipment operating both above and below ground level…there is a central computer 10 adapted to receive and process wireless position information from transponders carried or worn by the personnel 12-20 in helmets and transponders attached to the plant or equipment…the wireless position information is communicated to the computer via one or more wireless communication protocols (paragraph 37: Figure 1); the central computer 10 receives wireless position information from the transponders 32-46 which in turn communicates with GPS satellite 48 wherein wireless position data of personnel and plant or equipment above or underground and moving therebetween can be monitored and displayed on a visual display in a seamless manner…the combined visual display can be a real time three dimensional grid using icons or symbols representing the relative and real time positions arid movements of the personnel and plant or equipment both above and below ground or moving between levels as well as adjacent to one another (paragraph 38).
Smith et al. (US 2011/0170862 A1) describes he carrier signal emitted by the TX 120… the light is reflected by the reflector 260 back into the transmission line 201… during the reflection process the modulator 250 can imprint a data stream onto the reflected light…the information encoded into the data stream may include the id of station B, id of an operator at station B, the power level of the received signal, etc. …the modulator 250 may also rewrite data already coded onto the stream (paragraph 40); the scheduling unit 850 is responsible for the emission and reception schedules (paragraph 86); an optical communication system includes a first optical communication node to output a first optical signal (paragraph 6).
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Rice, II et al. (US 2017/0351923 A1) relates to monitor and control access to a specified space. Rice, II et al. (‘923) discloses determining the presence, absence, and movements of personnel...sensor may utilize a time-of-flight system...light detection and ranging LIDAR system (paragraph 27).
Wampler, II et al. (US 2012/0062725 A1) describes detection vision system 70 that employs time-of-flight emission pulses to detect a location from which a worker selects a part.... a controller 76 controls the emission of pulses from the laser 72 and the images received from the detector 74, and may include a time-of-flight ranger (paragraph 28- Figure 3).
Anderson et al. (US 2011/0153349 A1) describes RF reflection is a technique in which a Radio Frequency (RF) signal is emitted from an emitter…health care worker credentials entering a patient zone are detected if they reflect the RF signal back to a detector….RFID detection is performed by transmitting an initiating RF signal within the patient zone and detecting a predetermined return RF signal emitted by an RFID tag (associated with, e.g., health care worker credential) that receives the initiating RF signal because it is located within the patient zone…optical techniques for zone entry detection may include, e.g., disruption of a light beam and LIDAR (which is another reflection technique relying on an emitter and detector combination)--in some embodiments, LIDAR can also be used for detection through optical imaging…optical image processing can be used to capture images, with the images used for zone detection…the zone detection techniques described herein are not meant to be exhaustive; virtually any technology that can be used to detect entry into and/or exit from a zone can be used in connection with the systems and methods described herein (paragraph 105); RFID detection is performed by transmitting an initiating RF signal within the patient zone and detecting a predetermined return RF signal emitted by an RFID tag (associated with, e.g., health care worker credential) that receives the initiating RF signal because it is located within the patient zone… the zone detection techniques described herein are not meant to be exhaustive; virtually any technology that can be used to detect entry into and/or exit from a zone can be used in connection with the systems and methods described herein (paragraph 105); the various components in the systems described herein may communicate information to each other using any suitable technology or combinations of two or more technologies…in some embodiments the different components may communicate with each other wirelessly using any suitable wireless communication mode such as RF signals (e.g., RFID-based systems, etc.), optical energy (e.g., infrared, etc.) (paragraph 153).
Yanson et al. (US 2018/0197052 A1) describes tag forms an angle or orientation sensor and said at least one optical element is a retro-reflector, said at least one photonic structure being disposed on a surface of said retro-reflector (claim 26).
Smith et al. (US 2016/0231426 A1) describes Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging; also referred to as light radar) positioning systems may be used to track the location of a machine with respect to a worksite (paragraph 3).
James (US 2015/0153160) discloses indoor location signaling via light fittings.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NUZHAT PERVIN whose telephone number is (571)272-9795. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00AM-5:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, William J Kelleher can be reached at 571-272-7753. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NUZHAT PERVIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3648
1 Claim recites “workers and/or equipment.” Since there is and/or, the examiner considered on “workers.”
2 Claim recites “workers and/or equipment.” Since there is and/or, the examiner considered on “workers
3 Claim recites “workers and/or equipment.” Since there is and/or, the examiner considered on “workers
4 Claim recites “workers and/or equipment.” Since there is and/or, the examiner considered on “workers
5 Claim recites “control the activity of machinery and/or output a warning signal.” Sinced there is and/or, the examiner considers only “activity of the machinery.”
Prosecution Insights