Prior art

Most Relevant Prior Art for US Patent 12359958

To identify the most relevant prior art, we will examine the "Citations" section of US Patent 12359958. This section lists patents and other publications considered by the examiner during the prosecution of the patent.

Here are the patent citations listed, along with a brief description and potential anticipation of claims:

1. US4037527A

• Full Citation: US4037527A, Steffen Vincent B., "Grain drying apparatus", published July 26, 1977.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 1977-07-26; Filed: 1975-10-15.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a grain drying apparatus that includes a moisture sensing probe and a control system for automatically controlling the drying process based on the sensed moisture. While it deals with grain and sensing, it focuses on moisture and drying, not volumetric level sensing or the specific mounting and enclosure features of US12359958.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Unlikely to directly anticipate the specific volumetric sensing and mounting/enclosure features of claims 1, 11, or 15. Its scope is more limited to moisture control in a drying system.

2. US20040031335A1

• Full Citation: US20040031335A1, Fromme Guy A., "Bulk materials management apparatus and method", published February 19, 2004.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2004-02-19; Filed: 2000-02-17.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a system and method for managing bulk materials, including monitoring levels in storage containers. It may involve sensors and data transmission. However, the specific details of the sensor type, mounting bracket with a collar, magnetic enclosure mounting, and power solutions like solar and MPPT, as claimed in US12359958, would need to be thoroughly compared.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is potentially more relevant due to its focus on bulk material management and level monitoring. It could potentially anticipate the broader concepts of sensing a bin level, processing data, and transmitting it, as found in the opening clauses of claims 1, 11, and 15. However, the specific structural elements like the "volumetric level sensor," the detailed sensor-mounting bracket (collar, vertical, angled, horizontal portions), and the magnetic mounting for the enclosure to a sloped portion of the roof are distinguishing features that would require careful analysis to determine direct anticipation.

3. CA2418521C

• Full Citation: CA2418521C, Anthony M. Uzzo, "System for remotely managing bulk product storage", published September 8, 2009.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2009-09-08; Filed: 2002-02-06.
• Brief Description: This Canadian patent describes a system for remotely managing bulk product storage, which likely involves sensors for monitoring product levels and remote communication. Similar to US20040031335A1, its relevance would depend on the specificity of its disclosed sensor technology, mounting mechanisms, and power solutions compared to the detailed claims of US12359958.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent could potentially anticipate the general system architecture for remote bulk product storage management, including sensing and transmitting level data. A detailed comparison would be needed to see if it discloses a "volumetric level sensor" or the specific mounting bracket and magnetic enclosure features of claims 1, 11, and 15.

4. US20110003542A1

• Full Citation: US20110003542A1, Robin Halland, "Roof Ventilation System", published January 6, 2011.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2011-01-06; Filed: 2009-07-06.
• Brief Description: This patent application is directed to a roof ventilation system. Its primary focus is on ventilation, not bin level monitoring or related sensor technology and mounting.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Unlikely to anticipate any claims of US12359958, as its subject matter is entirely different.

5. US20120248267A1

• Full Citation: US20120248267A1, Thomas Spinelli, "Device for attaching electronic components to flat-screen television", published October 4, 2012.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2012-10-04; Filed: 2011-03-28.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a device for attaching electronic components to flat-screen televisions, which focuses on mounting brackets for consumer electronics.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Unlikely to anticipate any claims of US12359958, as its subject matter is entirely different and not related to bin level monitoring or the specific structural elements of the sensor-mounting bracket or enclosure.

6. US8350411B2

• Full Citation: US8350411B2, Solarbridge Technologies, Inc., "Modular system for unattended energy generation and storage", published January 8, 2013.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2013-01-08; Filed: 2006-12-22.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a modular system for unattended energy generation and storage, likely involving solar panels and batteries. This could be relevant to the power aspects of US12359958, specifically the use of a solar panel and battery for self-sufficient operation, as mentioned in the specification and method claim 14, and implicitly in apparatus claims 1 and 5.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent could potentially anticipate the use of solar power and batteries for self-sufficient operation (e.g., elements of claim 5 and claim 14). However, it does not appear to address the specific bin level monitoring system, sensor type, or unique mounting mechanisms of US12359958.

7. US20130293388A1

• Full Citation: US20130293388A1, Daryl Ingalsbe, "Cellular tank monitoring technology", published November 7, 2013.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2013-11-07; Filed: 2012-04-10.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes cellular tank monitoring technology, which would involve sensing tank levels and transmitting data via cellular networks. This is highly relevant to the radio transmitter aspect (cellular, LTE Category M1) and the overall system for transmitting bin level data in US12359958.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is highly relevant to the concept of remotely monitoring tank levels using cellular technology and transmitting data. It could potentially anticipate the "radio transmitter for transmitting the bin level data" of claims 1, 11, and 15, especially if it describes cellular communication as the primary method. The specificity of the volumetric sensor, mounting bracket, and magnetic enclosure mounting would still be distinguishing features for US12359958.

8. US20160292990A1

• Full Citation: US20160292990A1, Hankscraft, Inc., "Low Salt Alert System", published October 6, 2016.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2016-10-06; Filed: 2015-03-31.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a low salt alert system, likely involving sensors for detecting low salt levels and generating alerts. Its focus is on a specific material and alerting, not general volumetric bin level monitoring.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Unlikely to anticipate the specific volumetric sensing or mounting/enclosure features of US12359958, as its subject matter is different.

9. WO2017137832A1

• Full Citation: WO2017137832A1, Ubikwa Systems, Slu, "A method and a system for assessing the amount of content stored within a container", published August 17, 2017.
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2017-08-17; Filed: 2016-02-11.
• Brief Description: This international patent application describes a method and system for assessing the amount of content in a container. This is directly relevant to the core concept of bin level monitoring and could disclose various sensing technologies and data processing.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is highly relevant as it describes a system and method for assessing content in a container, directly aligning with the purpose of US12359958. It could potentially anticipate the core aspects of optically sensing a feed level, processing the signal, and transmitting data (claims 1, 11, 15). The distinguishing features of US12359958 would likely reside in the specific type of volumetric sensor (LIDAR/ToF), the detailed design of the sensor-mounting bracket, and the magnetic mounting of the enclosure to a sloped roof portion, which would require a thorough comparison of the specific disclosures in WO2017137832A1.