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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/28/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 (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.
(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.
Claim(s) 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by INNES et al. (WO 2021237267 A1).
Regarding claim 1,
INNES teaches:
A control apparatus of a mobile mining vehicle, the apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
(INNES – Paragraph [0068] states “The general purpose computer 310 includes a plurality of components, including: a processor 312, a memory 314, a storage medium 316...” Paragraph [0075] further states “software for implementing the control system is stored in one or both of the memory 314 and storage 316 for execution on the processor 312.”)
determine information on a first state of a plurality of predefined states of the mobile mining vehicle;
(INNES – Paragraph [0042-46] states “During operation on a mine site, the drill control module on a drill rig determines a behaviour state for a given time while autonomous operations are in progress… In some embodiments, the drill control module implements a blending of track controls between different behaviour states, in order to ensure smooth control transitions and predictable behaviour of the drill rig under control.”)
determine, based on the first state, a plurality of state transition options for transitioning the mobile mining vehicle from the first state to a second state of the plurality of predefined states of the mobile mining vehicle;
(INNES – Paragraph [0045] states “The Follow Path, Terminal Approach, Fast Turn, and Anti-Stall states are behaviour states that control tracks of a drill rig during tramming in order to mitigate stalling. The Terminal Approach, Match Collar, and Match Angle are behaviour states that relate to tramming in order to improve hole accuracy. Each of said Terminal Approach, Fast Turn, Anti-Stall, Match Collar, and Match Angle states may be referred to as corrective states, as behavioural controls associated with each of those states are configured to improving functionality of the drill rig.”)
determine contextual information associated with the plurality of state transition options;
(INNES – Paragraph [0042-0045] states “During operation on a mine site, the drill control module on a drill rig determines a behaviour state for a given time while autonomous operations are in progress… The Follow Path, Terminal Approach, Fast Turn, and Anti-Stall states are behaviour states that control tracks of a drill rig during tramming in order to mitigate stalling. The Terminal Approach, Match Collar, and Match Angle are behaviour states that relate to tramming in order to improve hole accuracy. Each of said Terminal Approach, Fast Turn, Anti-Stall, Match Collar, and Match Angle states may be referred to as corrective states, as behavioural controls associated with each of those states are configured to improving functionality of the drill rig.”)
control, based on the plurality of state transition options and the contextual information associated with the plurality of state transitions options, provision of, on a user interface, at least one control element enabling interaction with the mobile mining vehicle for controlling the mobile mining vehicle; and
control a transition of the mobile mining vehicle from the first state to the second state based on a user input received via the at least one control element.
(INNES – Paragraph [0060] gives an example of this as it states “The Terminal Approach 220 state can adapt to local ground conditions, with maximum benefit on angle holes. The Terminal Approach 220 state still honours authorised face approach distance. Drill patterns can have holes placed very close to open faces having steep drops. To safely manage the approach of autonomous drills to these holes, the drill control module requests authorisation from a drill operator prior to approaching these holes. The operator will designate if the hole is safe to tram. In this instance, it is desirable to prevent the drill rig from attempting to tram beyond the terminal (this is the point the operator authorises, if safe), even if the drill control module determines that is required to minimise the post-level ground intercept to terminal position error.” Paragraph [0071] further states “The display 330 may receive information from the computer 310 in a conventional manner, wherein the information is presented on the display device 330 for viewing by a user... In the example in which the general purpose computer 310 is utilised to implement the drill control station 120 of Fig. 1 , the display device 310 may display a user interface for receiving inputs from the drill controller 115 and displaying information relating to the operation and control of the drill rigs 170a... n. Further, in the example in which the general purpose computer 310 is utilised to implement the drill control module 175a... n, the display 310 may be an onboard display for displaying a current behaviour state or tracking parameters.”)
Regarding claim 2,
INNES teaches the limitations of claim 1.
INNES further teaches:
wherein the contextual information includes at least one of the following: information on a state of at least one subsystem of the mobile mining vehicle or at least one state transition condition to be fulfilled for transitioning the mobile mining vehicle from the first state to the second state.
(INNES – Paragraph [0055] states “The Fast Turn 210 state controls tracks of the drill rig to reduce the yaw error to an acceptable level, being below the predefined turn error ratio limit… Once the maximum time is reached, the state machine transitions from the Fast Turn 210 state to a preceding behaviour state.”)
Regarding claim 3,
INNES teaches the limitations of claim 2.
INNES further teaches:
wherein the at least one state transition condition includes completion of one or more required actions before exiting the first state or completion of one or more required actions before entering the second state.
(INNES – Paragraph [0055] states “The Fast Turn 210 state controls tracks of the drill rig to reduce the yaw error to an acceptable level, being below the predefined turn error ratio limit… Once the maximum time is reached, the state machine transitions from the Fast Turn 210 state to a preceding behaviour state.” Note: The examiner interprets the return to an acceptable level as an action required before transitioning to another state.)
Regarding claim 4,
INNES teaches the limitations of claim 2.
INNES further teaches:
wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to prompt an operator to perform an action to fulfil at least one state transition condition or to perform an action to fulfil the at least one state transition condition.
(INNES – Paragraph [0060] states “To safely manage the approach of autonomous drills to these holes, the drill control module requests authorisation from a drill operator prior to approaching these holes. The operator will designate if the hole is safe to tram.”)
Regarding claim 5,
INNES teaches the limitations of claim 1.
INNES further teaches:
wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to store information on the user input received via the at least one control element.
(INNES – Paragraph [0038] states “The example of Fig. 1 also shows an optional configuration database 190, which can be used to store data relating to the configuration of each mine site 160 in relation to drill rigs operating at the mine site 160 and any associated operating parameters. In particular, the configuration database 190 can be used to store drill patterns that lay out the locations of blast holes to be drilled in a region of the mine site 160, as well as drilling production, activity, and production time accounting data.” Paragraph [0060] states “To safely manage the approach of autonomous drills to these holes, the drill control module requests authorisation from a drill operator prior to approaching these holes. The operator will designate if the hole is safe to tram. In this instance, it is desirable to prevent the drill rig from attempting to tram beyond the terminal (this is the point the operator authorises, if safe), even if the drill control module determines that is required to minimise the post-level ground intercept to terminal position error.” Note: The examiner interprets the approval of a certain distance and the vehicle not going beyond that distance as stored data used in operation of the vehicle.)
Regarding claim 6,
INNES teaches the limitations of claim 1.
INNES further teaches:
wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to control provision of at least one information element on the user interface based on at least one of the plurality of predefined states of the mobile mining vehicle and store information on the at least one information element provided on the user interface.
(INNES – Paragraph [0071] further states “The display 330 may receive information from the computer 310 in a conventional manner, wherein the information is presented on the display device 330 for viewing by a user... In the example in which the general purpose computer 310 is utilised to implement the drill control station 120 of Fig. 1 , the display device 310 may display a user interface for receiving inputs from the drill controller 115 and displaying information relating to the operation and control of the drill rigs 170a... n. Further, in the example in which the general purpose computer 310 is utilised to implement the drill control module 175a... n, the display 310 may be an onboard display for displaying a current behaviour state or tracking parameters.”)
Regarding claim 7,
INNES teaches the limitations of claim 6.
INNES further teaches:
wherein the at least one information element includes at least one of the following: a request for a user, a status update relating to the mobile mining vehicle or an instruction for the user.
(INNES – Paragraph [0060] states “To safely manage the approach of autonomous drills to these holes, the drill control module requests authorisation from a drill operator prior to approaching these holes. The operator will designate if the hole is safe to tram. In this instance, it is desirable to prevent the drill rig from attempting to tram beyond the terminal (this is the point the operator authorises, if safe), even if the drill control module determines that is required to minimise the post-level ground intercept to terminal position error.” Note: The vehicle is controlled based on the response from a request from the user.)
Regarding claim 8,
INNES teaches the limitations of claim 1.
INNES further teaches:
wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to present information about the at least one user input received via the at least one control element and information about at least one information element provided on the user interface as a dialogue.
(INNES – Paragraph [0039] states “The drill control station 120 provides the drill controller 115 with a user interface by which the drill controller 115 is able to monitor operation of the drills 170a... n and send commands to the drill rigs 170a... n. The drill controller 115 is able to access the drill control station 120 to send information and commands, via the communications network 150, to one or more of the drill rigs 170a... n at the mine site 160. The information and commands may relate, for example, to a drilling plan. Thus, the drill controller 115 is able to utilise the drill control station 120 to prepare and allocate tasks to each of the autonomous drill rigs 170a...n.”)
Regarding claim 9,
INNES teaches the limitations of claim 1.
INNES further teaches:
wherein at least one of the first state or the second state comprises an operation state of the mobile mining vehicle.
(INNES – Paragraph [0045] states “The Follow Path, Terminal Approach, Fast Turn, and Anti-Stall states are behaviour states that control tracks of a drill rig during tramming in order to mitigate stalling. The Terminal Approach, Match Collar, and Match Angle are behaviour states that relate to tramming in order to improve hole accuracy.”)
Regarding claim 10,
INNES teaches the limitations of claim 9.
INNES further teaches:
wherein the operation state includes at least one of the following: autonomous driving, automatic set up, autonomous drilling, teleoperation of booms, or teleoperated driving.
(INNES – Paragraph [0046] states “The relationships among the behaviour states in this example are depicted in Fig. 2. The default starting behaviour state is Start 200, which is linked directly to Follow Path 200. When an autonomous drill rig is tramming on a mine site, there is a risk of the drill rig stalling. In this example, the Follow Path 200 state has an associated behaviour control that controls tracks of the drill rig to operate only in the same direction. Operating the tracks of a drill rig in the same direction minimises the risk of stalling.” Note: The follow path state is run while the vehicle is autonomous.)
Regarding claim 11,
INNES teaches the limitations of claim 1.
INNES further teaches:
wherein the at least one control element includes at least one multiple choice element.
(INNES – Paragraph [0039] states “The drill control station 120 provides the drill controller 115 with a user interface by which the drill controller 115 is able to monitor operation of the drills 170a... n and send commands to the drill rigs 170a... n. The drill controller 115 is able to access the drill control station 120 to send information and commands, via the communications network 150, to one or more of the drill rigs 170a... n at the mine site 160. The information and commands may relate, for example, to a drilling plan. Thus, the drill controller 115 is able to utilise the drill control station 120 to prepare and allocate tasks to each of the autonomous drill rigs 170a...n.”)
Regarding claim 12,
INNES teaches the limitations of claim 1.
INNES further teaches:
wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to control the user interface based on the plurality of predefined states of the mobile mining vehicle.
(INNES – Paragraph [0071] further states “The display 330 may receive information from the computer 310 in a conventional manner, wherein the information is presented on the display device 330 for viewing by a user... In the example in which the general purpose computer 310 is utilised to implement the drill control station 120 of Fig. 1 , the display device 310 may display a user interface for receiving inputs from the drill controller 115 and displaying information relating to the operation and control of the drill rigs 170a... n. Further, in the example in which the general purpose computer 310 is utilised to implement the drill control module 175a... n, the display 310 may be an onboard display for displaying a current behaviour state or tracking parameters.” Paragraph [0060] further states “To safely manage the approach of autonomous drills to these holes, the drill control module requests authorisation from a drill operator prior to approaching these holes. The operator will designate if the hole is safe to tram.” Note: The examiner interprets the request for authorization from the operator as interaction with the interface based on the state of the vehicle.)
Regarding claim 13,
INNES teaches the limitations of claim 1.
INNES further teaches:
A mobile mining vehicle comprising an apparatus according to claim 1.
(INNES – Paragraph [0024] states “Embodiments will be described herein in relation to autonomous drill rigs suitable for use in surface mining applications.”)
Regarding claim 14, it recites a method with limitations substantially the same as claim 1 above, therefore it is rejected on the same basis.
Regarding claim 15, it recites a non-transitory computer readable medium with limitations substantially the same as claim 1 above, therefore it is rejected on the same basis.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH GALYN MARTINEZ whose telephone number is (703)756-1537. The examiner can normally be reached MON-THURS 9-2.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James Lee can be reached at (571)270-5965. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/E.G.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3668 /JAMES J LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3668
