DETAILED ACTION
This is a Non-final office action on the merits. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the Office) has received claims 1-20 in application number 19/105,250. Claims 1-20 are pending and have been examined on the merits.
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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: Applicant illustrates in Fig 1 the reference numbers “21” and “22” within the box labelled “10”. Applicant does not appear to recite these reference numbers in the specification. From context it appears that they should appear in [0050] with “21” referring to “historical data of the second machine 4” and [0022] referring to “historical data of the third machine 7”. 37 CFR 1.84 (p)(5) states “Reference characters not mentioned in the description shall not appear in the drawings. Reference characters mentioned in the description must appear in the drawings”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Examiner is using the “step” annotation from the flowchart of MPEP 2106 (III), and MPEP 2106.04 and MPEP 2106.05 for clarity.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Step 1:
Independent Claim 1 and dependent claims 2-14 recite a method (process) and Independent Claim 15 and dependent claims 16-20 recite an apparatus (Manufacture) thereby falling into one of the four statutory categories of invention.
Step 2A, prong 1:
Applicant recites the following elements in Claim 1:
(Currently amended) A method for automatically determining consumption data of at least one medium in a filling line, comprising at least one media-consuming machine, wherein the consumption data comprises an actual amount and a remaining operation time of a medium, wherein the method comprises: determining the actual amount of the medium of the at least one machine; transferring the actual amount in a predefined format to an external storage via an edge device; transferring context information relating to the filling line and the at least one machine to the external storage via an edge device; creating a consumption monitor comprising the consumption data of the media within the external storage; determining the remaining operation time of the medium based on the actual amount of the medium and on the context information relating to the filling line and the at least one machine; transferring the consumption monitor to a display apparatus; displaying the consumption monitor by the display apparatus; and using the consumption data when operating the filling line.
Examiner has bolded the elements that are part of the abstract idea.
These elements recite: obtaining data of a quantity of consumable material and data of “context” (which can be used to calculate an expected demand for the consumable material) and transferring the data to a computer, performing calculations on the data with the computer and displaying the data results of the calculations. These elements represent an abstract idea in the category of Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity in the subcategory of Commercial or Legal interactions because it is a common commercial practice for a manufacturer to calculate and output usage of consumable materials.
Claims 1 and 15 thus recite an abstract idea. Dependent Claims 2-14 and 16-20 contain the same abstract idea by virtue of their dependency on Claims 1 or 15, respectively. Accordingly Claims 1-20 recite an abstract idea.
Step 2A, prong 2:
In addition to the abstract idea discussed above, Claim 1 (and similarly Claim 15) also recites the following additional elements:
filling line/ media-consuming machine - Applicant refers to filling line in their specification multiple times but does not define it other than to describe it in [0044] as comprising three media-consuming machines. Applicant names media-consuming machines in at least [0006] but does not define these in their specification. Applicant does not include a detailed technical disclosure of any special features or technologies relating to a “filling line” nor a “media-consuming machine”. Examiner is interpreting a “filling line” as a general purpose production line that contains machines that nominally fill objects and is interpreting “media-consuming machines” as general purpose production machines that fills an object and consumes media.
external storage (memory) /edge device - Applicant defines “external storage” in [0013] as data storage (memory) and refers to “edge device” in [0006] but does not define it other than stating that data is transferred to “external storage” by the “edge device”. Applicant does not include a detailed technical disclosure of any special features or technologies relating to an “external storage” nor to an “edge device”. Examiner is interpreting an “external storage” as a general purpose memory that is not part of a media-consuming machine and is interpreting “edge device” as general purpose computer that is not part of a media-consuming machine.
display apparatus – Applicant describes a display in at least [0036] “ The consumption monitor can be displayed by a central control station, for example a dashboard, and/or by a mobile terminal, for example a smartphone, laptop, and/or tablet”. Applicant does not include a detailed technical disclosure of any special features or technologies relating to a “display apparatus”. Examiner is interpreting a “display apparatus” as a general purpose display that can be part of a media-consuming machine or be a separate device.
MPEP 2106.05(f)(2) states “Use of a computer or other machinery in its ordinary capacity for economic or other tasks (e.g., to receive, store, or transmit data) or simply adding a general purpose computer or computer components after the fact to an abstract idea (e.g., a fundamental economic practice or mathematical equation) does not integrate a judicial exception into a practical application”.
As discussed, the additional elements filling line/ media-consuming machine, external storage (memory) /edge device, and display apparatus are broadly claimed and used in their ordinary capacity with no detailed technical disclosure of any special features or technologies and, thus, they do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
The claims as a whole do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limitations on practicing the abstract idea. Claims 1- 20 are therefore directed to an abstract idea.
Step 2B:
As discussed above, Applicant claims the abstract idea of obtaining data of a quantity of consumable material and data of “context” (which can be used to calculate an expected demand for the consumable material) and transferring the data to a computer, performing calculations on the data with a computer and displaying the data results of the calculations. As discussed above, Applicant also recites the additional elements of: filling line/ media-consuming machine, external storage (memory) /edge device, and display apparatus. As discussed above with respect to Step 2A, the claimed filling line/ media-consuming machine, external storage (memory) /edge device, and display apparatus are hardware or software constructs recited at a high level of generality and amount to no more than instructions to apply the exception using general purpose computer systems. MPEP 2106.05(f) states that merely adding a general purpose computer or computer components to an abstract idea does not amount to significantly more, thus filling line/ media-consuming machine, external storage (memory) /edge device, and display apparatus are not significantly more.
The additional elements alone or in combination do not improve the functioning of a computer or any other technology or technological field. The additional elements alone or in combination do not apply the judicial exception to a particular (non-general purpose) machine. The additional elements alone or in combination do not effect a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing. Applicant does not claim or teach in their specification any special purpose hardware or improvements thereof. Therefore, the claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception.
Dependent Claims 2-4, 9-14 and 16-18 contain the same abstract idea by virtue of their dependency on Claim 1 or 15, respectively, and further limit the abstract idea by further describing the data. Dependent Claims 5-8 and 19-20 contain the same abstract idea by virtue of their dependency on Claim 1 or 15, respectively, and further limit the abstract idea by further describing the display of the data.
Claims 1-20 are not patent eligible.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication 2015/0027315 (Lussi) in view of U.S. Patent Publication 2019/0064787 (Maturana).
Regarding Claims 1 and 15:
Lussi teaches a beverage preparation machine that has several refillable ingredient containers and sends the data relating to the status and fill level of the refillable ingredient containers to a separate central computer which analyzes, monitors and reports the ingredient status and notifies humans if refilling is needed before the next use of the machine. Lussi teaches: (Currently amended) A method for automatically determining consumption data of at least one medium in a filling line, comprising at least one media-consuming machine, ([0014] “self-service beverage vending machine”).
wherein the consumption data comprises an actual amount and a remaining operation time of a medium, wherein the method comprises: determining the actual amount of the medium of the at least one machine; transferring the actual amount in a predefined format to an external storage via an edge device; ([0022] “a monitoring interface for data transmission using a remote data transmission device, such as a computer center, for monitoring beverage preparation modules. Operating data such as… filling level of ingredient containers of the additional modules and of the beverage preparation module, etc., may be centrally monitored in this way”).
transferring context information relating to the filling line and the at least one machine to the external storage…; ([0023] “an operating history of the beverage preparation module may be compiled which, for example, may be evaluated in case of malfunctions, or which may be used to make projections concerning the future availability of the beverage preparation module”).
creating a consumption monitor comprising the consumption data of the media within the external storage; ([0028] “the assistance software module displays to the operating personnel which ingredients need to be refilled or exchanged. If ingredients are present only in small quantities, this may be explicitly indicated by the assistance software module. The operating personnel may then independently decide whether refilling or exchange should be carried out immediately or at a later time. In addition to displaying the filling level, the assistance software module may also make a projection and display when the future refilling or exchange of ingredients is to be expected. The operating personnel may take these data and use them for coordinating work plans”).
determining the remaining operation time of the medium based on the actual amount of the medium and on the context information relating to the filling line and the at least one machine; transferring the consumption monitor to a display apparatus; displaying the consumption monitor by the display apparatus; ([0090] “The assistance software module is activated upon the first refilling of ingredients, for example via sensors which monitor the refilling of ingredients. If other ingredients likewise have a low filling level, the assistance software module generates an appropriate message which appears on a display, for example on the display of the operating element of the beverage preparation module 1, on the display of the beverage vending machine, on the display of a mobile device, or on some other display. The assistance software module may additionally include a projection module which determines, based on the filling level of ingredient containers and the expected future consumption determined in the past, time information concerning when the exchange of a particular ingredient container is to be expected”).
and using the consumption data when operating the filling line. ([0087] “a notification for maintenance may be transmitted via the monitoring interface, so that the syrup container may be replaced as needed by the service personnel”).
While Lussi teaches transferring data relating to consumable levels to a central management computer that contains a memory, Lussi does not specifically teach: (transferring data to an external storage) via an edge device; Maturana, also in the tracking and analysis of production consumables art, teaches this: ([0032] “edge devices located on-premise at one or more plant facilities can collect data from multiple industrial devices on the plant floor and perform local edge-level analytics on the collected data. In addition, the edge devices maintain a communication channel to a cloud platform executing cloud-level data collection and analytic services” and [0077] “In some embodiments, servers, controllers, switches, etc., can be monitored using a number of protocols, and at a certain point (e.g., at the end of a monitoring cycle) alarms can be queued and edge device 106 can send the alarms to the cloud. Alarms can be reactive (e.g., alarms that trigger when a motor fails, when a CPU crashes, when an interlock is tripped, etc.) or proactive (e.g., a monitoring system may track consumables on a machine and generate an alarm when time to reorder”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the transfer of the consumable and context data to a central computer, as taught by Lussi, could be done using an edge device computer, as taught by Maturana, due to the predictable benefits of additional data analysis and filtering performed at the edge computer that would predictably reduce overall response time by preparing data for the central computer, as suggested by Lussi.
Regarding Claims 2 and 16:
Lussi in view of Maturana teach all of the elements of Claims 1 and 15. Lussi also teaches: (Currently amended) The method according to claim 1, wherein the context information comprises at least one of the following: temporal progress of a production order in the filling line; at least one of historical filling line performance and/or machine performance for the production order; at least one of planned filling line performance and/or machine performance for the production order; prioritization of one or more of the at least one machine and/or the medium for the production order; time required to at least one of top up or empty the medium; or type of production order indicative of at least one of media required and/or machines used in the filling line. ([0090] “expected future consumption determined in the past, time information concerning when the exchange of a particular ingredient container is to be expected”).
Regarding Claims 3 and 17:
Lussi in view of Maturana teach all of the elements of Claims 1 and 15. Lussi also teaches: (Currently amended) The method according to claim 1, wherein the media comprises at least one of the following: preforms, labels, glue, clips, closures, film, cardboard, pallets, or capacity in waste containers. ([0063] “waste container situated beneath the beverage preparation module”).
Regarding Claims 4 and 18:
Lussi in view of Maturana teach all of the elements of Claims 1 and 15. Lussi also teaches: (Currently amended) The method according to claim 1, wherein the consumption monitor further comprises at least one of the following: specification of the at least one machine; specification of the medium consumed by the machine; specification of a production order carried out in the filling line; specification of a production order planned in the filling line; specification of whether or not at least one of topping up or emptying of medium is required while the production order is executed; or specification of a time at which the consumption monitor was last updated. ([0090] “The assistance software module may additionally include a projection module which determines, based on the filling level of ingredient containers and the expected future consumption determined in the past, time information concerning when the exchange of a particular ingredient container is to be expected. The operating personnel may thus decide whether it is worthwhile to immediately replace an ingredient container which is only partially empty, or whether the replacement may be postponed to a later time”).
Regarding Claims 5 and 19:
Lussi in view of Maturana teach all of the elements of Claims 1 and 15. Lussi also teaches: (Currently amended) The method according to claim 1, wherein the consumption monitor for each medium comprises a particular display region for the consumption data of the medium. ([0090] “display of the operating element of the beverage preparation module 1, on the display of the beverage vending machine, on the display of a mobile device, or on some other display”).
Regarding Claims 6 and 20:
Lussi in view of Maturana teach all of the elements of Claims 1 and 15. Lussi also teaches: (Currently amended) The method according to claim 1, wherein the consumption monitor is displayed by at least one of a central control station or by a mobile terminal. ([0090] “display of the operating element of the beverage preparation module 1, on the display of the beverage vending machine, on the display of a mobile device, or on some other display”).
Regarding Claims 7 and 8:
Lussi in view of Maturana teach all of the elements of Claim 1. Lussi also teaches: (Currently amended) The method according to claim 1, wherein a notification is sent to a mobile terminal if at least one of the actual amount or the remaining operation time fall below a relevant minimum value. (Currently amended) The method according to claim 7, wherein the notification comprises instructions for at least one of topping up or emptying the medium. ([0087] “a notification for maintenance may be transmitted via the monitoring interface, so that the syrup container may be replaced as needed by the service personnel” and [0090] “If other ingredients likewise have a low filling level, the assistance software module generates an appropriate message which appears on a display”).
Regarding Claims 9 and 10:
Lussi in view of Maturana teach all of the elements of Claims 1, 7 and 8. Lussi also teaches: (Currently amended) The method according to claim 7, wherein the minimum value is a dynamic minimum value. (Currently amended) The method according to claim 9, wherein at least one of the following is taken into account for the dynamic minimum value: a position of an operator of the filling line or positions of a plurality of operators of the filling line, wherein, the position of each operator can be determined by at least one of a mobile terminal or identification (ID) token, a tablet, or a smartwatch assigned to the operator; a number of operators of the filling line; an availability of one or more operators of the filling line; the actual amount of the medium is of such an amount that the remaining operation time for topping up or emptying ensures continuous operation of the filling line; or an average topping up or emptying time. ([0090] “The assistance software module may additionally include a projection module which determines, based on the filling level of ingredient containers and the expected future consumption determined in the past, time information concerning when the exchange of a particular ingredient container is to be expected. The operating personnel may thus decide whether it is worthwhile to immediately replace an ingredient container which is only partially empty, or whether the replacement may be postponed to a later time”).
Regarding Claim 11:
Lussi in view of Maturana teach all of the elements of Claims 1, 7, and 9. Lussi also teaches: (Currently amended) The method according to claim 9, further comprising calculating the minimum value or the dynamic minimum value, wherein calculating is carried out in the external storage. ([0022] “The beverage preparation module preferably includes a monitoring interface for data transmission using a remote data transmission device, such as a computer center, for monitoring beverage preparation modules. Operating data such as the number of beverages dispensed, status of the components of the beverage preparation module, number and type of additional modules, filling level of ingredient containers of the additional modules and of the beverage preparation module, etc., may be centrally monitored in this way”).
Regarding Claims 12-14:
Lussi in view of Maturana teach all of the elements of Claim 1. While Lussi also teaches: ([0087] “a notification for maintenance may be transmitted via the monitoring interface, so that the syrup container may be replaced as needed by the service personnel” and [0064] “"service personnel" refers to persons who conduct fairly complex, technically skilled operations such as the repair, adjustment, or replacement of complicated modules. On the other hand, the term "operating personnel" refers to persons who conduct simpler, routine operations such as refilling ingredients, exchanging ingredient containers, or simple cleaning activities”), Lussi does not specifically teach: (Currently amended) The method according to claim 1, wherein the consumption monitor is created for selecting the at least one machine based on responsibility data. (Currently amended) The method according to claim 12, wherein the responsibility data comprises a responsibility of an operator. (Currently amended) The method according to claim 12, wherein recording data from a time clock is used to determine the responsibility data based on an identity of an operator. Maturana teaches this: ([0052] “The action may be a notification delivered to one or more client devices associated with appropriate plant personnel” and [0074] “ time indicator specifying a time at which the data was generated… a personnel identifier specifying an employee on duty at the time the data was generated” and [0098] “can send an alarm message to client devices associated with selected plant personnel determined to be qualified to address the detected issue”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the current consumable quantity information, usage projections and need for refilling, as taught by Lussi, while available to everyone, should be timely provided especially to the individual who is currently on duty and has the responsibility and the expertise to correct any anomaly and take an action, as taught by Maturana to predictably ensure prompt service.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIMBERLY S BURSUM whose telephone number is (571)272-8213. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30 AM - 6:30 PM.
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/KIMBERLY S. BURSUM/ Examiner, Art Unit 3627
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