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 § 102
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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 8, 9 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Arensmeier et al. (US 2014/0266755).
Regarding claims 1 and 8: Arensmeier discloses a remote monitoring of equipment in order to predict parts failures, repair scheduling, safety, operational efficiency comprising:
monitoring signals created by a PLC associated with a piece of equipment using a monitoring device (316, 322) comprising hardware communicatively coupled to a PLC and operative to transmit information over a communications network (334);
transmitting signals from the monitoring device over the communications network to one or more databases (330, 372) stored on a server system comprising hardware and software communicatively coupled to the network;
a processor analyzing signals created by the PLC to determine the nature of the signals; and
the processor using the analyzed signals to send alerts to one or more mobile service devices operated by technicians when emergency maintenance is required for the piece of equipment [0072, 0073, 0085, 0087].
Regarding claims 2 and 9: Arensmeier discloses monitoring the piece of equipment with a pressure sensor [0071].
Regarding claims 4 and 11: Arensmeier discloses monitoring the piece of equipment with a temperature sensor [0084, 0110-0112].
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.
Claims 3, 5-7, 10 and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Arensmeier et al. (US 2014/0266755) in view of Leblond (US 2009/0289788).
Regarding claims 3, 5-7, 10 and 12-14: Arensmeier does not disclose the motion sensor, light sensor or camera. Leblond discloses a remote monitoring system comprising the utilization of motion sensor, light sensor and cameras [0066, 0058, 0061, 0068-0070]. At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to utilize different type of sensor to effectively monitor a particular environment condition from the plurality of environmental conditions associated with the equipment being monitored.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
-Furem et al. (US 7,689,394) discloses system and method for remotely analyzing machine performance.
-O’Neal et al. (US 2009/0140872) discloses system and method for maintaining machine operation.
-Furem et al. (US 7,406,399) discloses system and method for distributed reportingof machine performance.
-Thouin et al. (US2006/0132321) disclose a universal equipment process monitor.
-Miyasaka et al. (US 2007/0118333) discloses a machinery facility condition monitoring method and system and abnormality diagnosis system.
-Twerdochlib et al. (US 2007/0063859) discloses a power generator and power generator auxiliary monitoring.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TOAN NGOC PHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-2967. The examiner can normally be reached on M - F (7 AM - 3:30 PM).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Quan-Zhen Wang can be reached on (571) 272-3114. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TOAN N PHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2684 5/1/26
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