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 § 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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2005/0066563 to Juhan et al. (Juhan) in view of Instrument Identification Tags, 2017, available at https://instrumentationtools.com/instrument-identi%ef%ac%81cation-tags/ (Tags).
Regarding claim 1, Juhan discloses a property band that is mountable to the property band comprising:
a body that is configured to be mounted to and
wherein the body comprises a coupling and wherein, in a first configuration of the coupling, the body is mountable to, or removable from, and, in a second configuration of the coupling, removal of the body from is prevented (Juhan, e.g., Figs. 1-2, coupling in the form of extremities 68, 69 of the tubular body 44 for engaging corresponding extremities 67 of connector 61; in a first configuration with the connector 61 un-engaged with the band 44, or with the connector 61 only engaged with one of the extremities 68, 69 or the band 44, the coupling is in a first configuration such that the band 44 is mountable to, or removable from the article; in a second configuration with the connector 61 engaged with both extremities 68, 69, removal of the band 44 from the article is prevented; also see paragraph 40).
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Juhan, Figs. 1-2
Juhan discloses that the property band is securable to an article, but is not relied upon as explicitly disclosing that the article is in the form of a measurement sensor, the measurement sensor being for determining one or more characteristics of a conductor and comprising a housing and a cable. The examiner takes Official notice of the fact that measurement sensors, e.g., Rogowski coils comprising a housing and a cable, were well-known and conventional before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Additionally, it is generally known in connection with electrical instrumentation installed in the field that each instrument within an instrumented facility should have its own unique identifying tag consisting of a series of letters describing that instrument’s function, as well as a number identifying the particular loop it belongs to (see, e.g., Tags). For example, in the case of a Rogowskil coil or other current measuring instrumentation, one of ordinary skill would understand that a suitable tag would first comprise the letters “IT” (with “I” indicating that the process variable is current, and with “T” indicating the transmitting function performed relative to the process variable), followed by a number indicating the relevant loop associated with the process variable. It 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 to utilize the property band of Juhan in connection with an electrical instrumentation device, e.g., a Rogowski coil, for the purpose of providing identifying information about the instrumentation. In this way, in the manner disclosed by Tags, field instrumentation such as a Rogowski coil and its associated loop can be identified using, for example, the ISA 5.1 standard by attachment of the property band of Juhan in view of Tags to the field instrumentation.
Regarding claim 2, Juhan in view of Tags discloses a coupling member, and wherein, in the second configuration, the coupling is configured to receive the coupling member to prevent removal of the body from the housing (see Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 1, coupling member in the form of connector 61; in the second configuration with the connector 61 engaged with both extremities 68, 69, removal of the band 44 from the article is prevented).
Regarding claim 3, Juhan in view of Tags discloses wherein the coupling member is configured to secure the body to the conductor (see Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 2, noting that in modified Juhan the connector 61 is engaged with both extremities 68, 69 when in the second configuration such that removal of the band 44 from the measurement sensor (and therefore the conductor) is prevented).
Regarding claim 4, Juhan in view of Tags discloses wherein the coupling member and coupling together define a poka-yoke mechanism (see Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 1; with reference to Fig. 1 of Juhan, note that extremities 67 of connector 61 are oval-shaped to mate with correspondingly oval-shaped extremities 68, 69 of the body 44; also see Juhan, e.g., paragraph 43, in cases where an antenna 66 is used, it is located in one extremity 68, 69 of the chamber 46 and that extremity 68, 69 is marked to indicate the location of the extremity 68, 69 of the band or body 44 which incorporates the antenna 66; such features taken alone or collectively constitute poka-yoke mechanism(s) that prevent incorrect insertion of the connector 61 into extremities 68, 69 of the body 44).
Regarding claim 5, Juhan in view of Tags discloses wherein the body comprises a base portion, a first arm that extends from the base portion, and a second arm that extends from the base portion (see Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 1, in Fig. 1 of Juhan, base portion in the form of central/middle portion of body 44, with first and second arms extending from central/middle portion of body 44 to respective extremities 68, 69 of body 44).
Regarding claim 6, Juhan in view of Tags discloses wherein the coupling comprises a first coupling portion and a second coupling portion (see Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 1, in Fig. 1 of Juhan, first and second coupling portions in the form of extremities 68, 69 of the tubular body 44 for engaging corresponding extremities 67 of connector 61).
Regarding claim 7, Juhan in view of Tags discloses wherein the body comprises a base portion, a first arm that extends from the base portion, and a second arm that extends from the base portion, wherein the coupling comprises a first coupling portion and a second coupling portion, and wherein the first coupling portion is disposed at a first arm distal end and the second coupling portion is disposed at a second arm distal end (see Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 1, in Fig. 1 of Juhan, base portion in the form of central/middle portion of body 44, with first and second arms extending from central/middle portion of body 44 to respective extremities 68, 69 of body 44, with the extremities 68, 69 constituting first and second coupling portions disposed at distal ends of the first and second arms).
Regarding claim 8, Juhan in view of Tags discloses wherein the first coupling portion comprises a first channel and the second coupling portion defines a second channel; optionally wherein the first coupling portion defines a first end and a second end, wherein the first channel tapers between the first end and the second end (see Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 6, extremities 68, 69 of the tubular body 44 for engaging corresponding extremities 67 of connector 61, with extremities 68, 69 each defining a channel to receive corresponding extremity 67 of connector 61).
Regarding claim 9, Juhan in view of Tags discloses a coupling member, and wherein, in the second configuration, the coupling is configured to receive the coupling member to prevent removal of the body from the housing, wherein the coupling comprises a first coupling portion and a second coupling portion and wherein the coupling member is in the form of a plug, a first end of the plug being receivable by the first coupling portion and a second end of the plug being receivable by the second coupling portion (see Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 1, Juhan, e.g., Fig. 1, coupling member in the form of connector 61; in the second configuration with the extremities 67 of connector 61 engaged with corresponding extremities 68, 69 of the band 44, removal of the band 44 from the article is prevented; note that extremities 68, 69 of the band 44 respectively define a first coupling portion and a second coupling portion; note that connector 61 is in the form of a plug, with extremities 67 defining first and second ends of the plug that are respectively received by extremities 68, 69 of the band 44).
Regarding claim 10, Juhan in view of Tags discloses wherein the first coupling portion comprises a first channel and the second coupling portion defines a second channel and wherein a shape of the first end of the plug corresponds to a shape of the first channel (see Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 9, Juhan, e.g., Fig. 1, extremities 68, 69 of the band 44 respectively define a first coupling portion having a first channel and a second coupling portion having a second channel; note that extremities 67 defining first and second ends of the plug (connector 61) have shapes corresponding to shapes of the first and second channels, e.g., oval shapes).
Regarding claim 11, Juhan in view of Tags discloses wherein the plug comprises a central portion that comprises a protrusion, a thickness of the plug at the protrusion being equal to or greater than a thickness of the second opening of the first coupling portion (see Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 9, Juhan, e.g., Fig. 1, note that connector 61 is in the form of a plug, with connector 61 including a central portion that includes a protrusion in the form of an abutment 65, with a thickness of the connector 61 at the abutment 65 being equal to or greater than a thickness of a second opening of first coupling portion in the form of extremity 68 of band 44; also see Fig. 2 of Juhan in which the abutment of Fig. 1 is clearly visible and has a thickness greater than the opening defined by extremity 68).
Regarding claim 12, Juhan in view of Tags discloses wherein, when received by the coupling, the protrusion is disposed between the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion (see Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 11, Juhan, e.g., Figs. 1-2, noting that abutment 65 is disposed between extremities 68, 69 of the band 44 that respectively define the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion).
Regarding claim 13, Juhan in view of Tags discloses wherein, in the second configuration of the coupling, a first channel central axis is generally coaxial a second channel central axis (see Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 8, Juhan, e.g., Figs. 1-2, extremities 68, 69 of the tubular body 44 for engaging corresponding extremities 67 of connector 61, with extremities 68, 69 each defining a channel to receive corresponding extremity 67 of connector 61; as best seen in Fig. 2 of Juhan, in the second configuration the axes of the channels receiving extremities 67 are generally coaxial).
Regarding claim 14, Juhan in view of Tags discloses wherein the body is formed from a resilient material (see Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 1, e.g., Juhan, paragraph 36, elongated tubular body 44 fabricated from a synthetic plastic material (e.g., polyvinyl chloride, high density polyethylene, polystyrene, a transparent plastic, a non-transparent plastic or the like).
Regarding claims 15-17, Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 1 is not relied upon as explicitly disclosing wherein the property band provides an indication of a phase of the conductor, preferably a visual indication of the phase of the conductor (claim 15), wherein a colour of the body of the property band provides an indication of the phase of the conductor (claim 16), and wherein the property band provides a visual indication of a polarity of a conductor (claim 17). The examiner nonetheless takes Official notice of the fact that the use of different colors for indicating different properties/roles of conductors in electrical systems, e.g., phase A, black, phase B, red, phase C blue, neutral, white/gray, was well known and conventional before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Phase and polarity are well-known and conventional examples of conductor properties/roles. It 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 to modify Juhan in view of Tags such that the property band provides an indication of a phase of the conductor, and/or a colour of the body of the property band provides an indication of the phase of the conductor and/or the property band provides a visual indication of a polarity of a conductor. In this way, service personnel and the like can be apprised of a conductor’s property/role simply by visual inspection of modified Juhan’s property band.
Claim 19 recites a method comprising:
providing an electricity supply that comprises a plurality of conductors;
providing a measurement sensor that comprises a housing and a cable; determining one or more properties of a conductor of the plurality of conductors;
mounting a property band to the housing of the measurement sensor, the property band being associated with the one or more properties of the conductor; and securing the property band to the housing,
and is rejected over Juhan in view of Tags for reasons analogous to those discussed above in connection with claims 1 and claims 15-16, noting that use of the arrangement of Juhan in view of Tags to indicate a conductor property such as phase necessarily requires determining one or more properties of a conductor of the plurality of conductors.
Regarding claim 20, Juhan in view of Tags discloses wherein securing the property band to the housing also secures the property band to the conductor (see Juhan in view of Tags as applied to claim 19, noting in the case of a Rogowski current sensor the property band will be attached to the sensor housing and therefore also attached to the measured conductor because the Rogowski current sensor is attached to the measured conductor.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Juhan in view of Tags, and further in view of US 2017/0199230 to Bannister et al. (Bannister).
Regarding claim 18, for reasons analogous to those discussed above in connection with claim 1, Juhan in view of Tags discloses a measurement sensor for measuring one or more characteristics of a conductor, the measurement sensor comprising:
a Rogowski coil comprising a housing and a cable;
a property band disposed about the housing, the property band comprising:
a body that is configured to be mounted to the housing of the measurement sensor; and
wherein the body comprises a coupling and wherein, in a first configuration of the coupling, the body is mountable to, or removable from, the housing, and, in a second configuration of the coupling, removal of the body from the housing is prevented.
Although Juhan in view of Tags is not relied upon as explicitly disclosing that the Rogowski coil is configured such that the cable has a first end that extends from the housing and a free second end, and the housing includes a socket, the first end of the cable extending from the housing and the free second end of the cable being receivable by the socket, such features are generally known in the field of Rogowski sensors for enabling the cable of the Rogowski sensor to be easily placed around a conductor to be measured (see, e.g., Bannister, e.g., Figs. 1-2, Rogowski coil sensor 200; also see paragraph 24, technician opens the loop 210 by removing end 212b from the pendant 230, positioning the loop around a conductor, and reclosing the loop by inserting the cap 232 into bushing 234). The prior art included each element claimed, although not necessarily in a single prior art reference, with the only difference between the claimed invention and the prior art being the lack of actual combination of the elements in a single prior art reference. One of ordinary skill in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods, and that in combination, each element merely performs the same function as it does separately. Moreover, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. For these reasons, the recitations that that the cable has a first end that extends from the housing and a free second end, and that the housing includes a socket, the first end of the cable extending from the housing and the free second end of the cable being receivable by the socket do not patentably define over Juhan in view of Tags when considered in light of Bannister’s teachings.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 8,166,685 to Mouille relates to an identifying device suitable for use with animals, luggage or golf bags, or any other object; see, e.g., Fig. 2 and Figs. 6-7.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL R MILLER whose telephone number is (571)270-1964. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lee Rodak, can be reached at 571-270-5628. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL R MILLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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