Prior art

The USPTO provides a Patent Public Search tool for searching patents and patent application publications. To search for a specific patent number like 8766797, one would typically use the "Patent/Application Publication number" field.

For US Patent 8766797, the patent document itself is the authoritative source for prior art citations. The "Prior Art Citations (Referenced By)" section on the Google Patents page for US8766797B2 lists both U.S. Patent Documents and Foreign Patent Documents, as well as Other References. For prior art under 35 U.S.C. § 102, relevant prior art must predate the effective filing date of the claimed invention. The filing date for US8766797 is 2012-09-14, and its priority date is 2009-09-25.

Here are some of the most relevant prior art documents cited by US8766797:

U.S. Patent Documents

• US 6,944,530 B2
  • Full Citation: US 6,944,530 B2 to Nordstrom et al.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Granted September 13, 2005. The application number is 10/681,399, filed October 8, 2003.
  • Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for monitoring the environment of a shipment container. It includes sensors that measure conditions like temperature and humidity, and a communication system to transmit this data.
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent could potentially anticipate elements of claims related to periodically detecting and transmitting sensor information from an item, as described in independent claim 1. It also appears relevant to the system described in independent claim 13, particularly regarding the use of sensor devices for environmental monitoring and a system for receiving and storing sensor data.
• US 7,209,036 B2
  • Full Citation: US 7,209,036 B2 to Wildman et al.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Granted April 24, 2007. The application number is 10/893,028, filed July 16, 2004.
  • Brief Description: This patent focuses on a system and method for tracking and monitoring articles, particularly using RFID tags and sensors to collect data about the articles and their environment. It discusses data collection, storage, and access for various parties.
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent may anticipate aspects of independent claims 1, 13, and 19 concerning the use of sensor devices to track items, collect environmental data, and make that data available. The concept of various parties accessing information about tracked items is also present.
• US 2007/0073531 A1
  • Full Citation: US 2007/0073531 A1 to White et al.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Published March 29, 2007. The application number is 11/501,006, filed August 8, 2006.
  • Brief Description: This patent application describes a system and method for managing information flow and access in a supply chain, including the use of sensor data. It emphasizes configurable access controls for different parties.
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This publication is highly relevant to the core concept of managed access to sensor information based on permissions, as detailed in independent claims 1, 13, and 19. The idea of restricting parties from accessing certain sensor data based on rules is a direct overlap.

Foreign Patent Documents

• EP 1705607 A1
  • Full Citation: EP 1705607 A1 to International Business Machines Corporation
  • Publication/Filing Date: Published September 27, 2006. The filing date for the European application is March 23, 2005.
  • Brief Description: This European patent application discusses a system for managing and tracking assets, including the use of sensor data and rules-based access control for different users in a supply chain.
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to US 2007/0073531 A1, this European publication directly addresses the concepts of using sensor data for tracking and implementing permission-based access for various parties, which are central to independent claims 1, 13, and 19.

Other References

• Wireless Sensor Networks for Supply Chain Management by Yu et al. (2006)
  • Full Citation: Yu, H., et al. "Wireless Sensor Networks for Supply Chain Management." Proceedings of the 2006 International Conference on Wireless Communications, Networking and Mobile Computing, WiCOM 2006.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Published September 22-24, 2006 (conference dates).
  • Brief Description: This paper explores the application of wireless sensor networks in supply chain management, covering aspects of data collection from sensors, communication within the network, and the potential for improved tracking and logistics.
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This academic publication may anticipate the general concept of using sensor devices and a network for tracking items and collecting sensor information, particularly relevant to the broader scope of independent claim 1 and 13's system architecture, though perhaps less directly on the specific authorization rules.

It's important to note that a definitive determination of anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 would require a detailed claim-by-claim analysis against the full disclosure of each prior art reference, considering all limitations of the claims and the exact teachings of the prior art. The descriptions above highlight potential areas of overlap based on the provided summaries.