Prior art

Prior Art Analysis for U.S. Patent No. 9,182,231

A review of the prior art cited during the prosecution of U.S. Patent No. 9,182,231, titled "Hierarchical sensor network for a grouped set of packages being shipped using elements of a wireless node network," reveals several key documents that were considered by the patent examiner. This analysis focuses on the most relevant of these references and their potential impact on the patentability of the claims under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2005/0285741 A1 (Loda)

• Publication Date: December 29, 2005
• Filing Date: June 24, 2004
• Description: Loda discloses a system for tracking and monitoring a group of items, such as packages in a shipment. The system uses a master unit and several slave units. The slave units are attached to individual items and collect data, which is then transmitted to the master unit. The master unit, in turn, can communicate this data to a remote computer system. This architecture is described as a way to efficiently manage and monitor the status of multiple items in a consolidated shipment.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: Loda's disclosure of a master/slave-like architecture for monitoring a group of items presents a potential anticipation argument against the core concepts of the independent claims of the '231 patent, particularly Claim 1 and Claim 12. These claims describe a hierarchical sensor network with a mobile master node and an ID node, where the master node communicates with a server and the ID node communicates with the master node. Loda's system of a master unit communicating with slave units and a remote computer mirrors this hierarchical structure and function. The distinction may lie in the specific communication protocols or the dynamic nature of the node associations described in the '231 patent.

U.S. Patent No. 7,495,556 B2 (Amir) [Also published as US 2007/0013518 A1]

• Issue Date: February 24, 2009
• Filing Date: May 19, 2006
• Description: Amir describes a system and method for tracking and monitoring the status of assets using a wireless mesh network. The system includes a plurality of tags attached to assets, which communicate with each other and with gateway devices. The tags can form ad-hoc networks to relay information, and the system can determine the location of assets based on their proximity to other known devices.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: This reference is relevant to the broader concept of a wireless network of nodes for tracking items, as claimed in the '231 patent. Specifically, Claim 15, which describes a hierarchical sensor system with a mobile master node and a plurality of ID nodes, could be considered anticipated by Amir's disclosure of a mesh network of tags. The concept of nodes communicating with each other and relaying information to a central point is a core element of both inventions.

U.S. Patent No. 8,274,383 B2 (Kates) [Also published as US 2011/0215923 A1]

• Issue Date: September 25, 2012
• Filing Date: March 2, 2011
• Description: Kates discloses a system for monitoring the condition of perishable goods during transport. The system uses a plurality of wireless sensors that monitor environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. These sensors communicate with a central unit, which can then transmit the data to a remote server. The system allows for real-time monitoring of the goods' condition.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: This patent is particularly relevant to the dependent claims of the '231 patent that involve sensor data. For example, Claim 18, which specifies that "one or more of the ID nodes further comprises a sensor that collects shipment condition information about its associated package," appears to be directly addressed by the teachings of Kates. The core idea of using sensors in a networked system to monitor shipment conditions is well-established in this prior art.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2013/0257606 A1 (Moughty et al.)

• Publication Date: October 3, 2013
• Filing Date: March 28, 2013
• Description: Moughty et al. describe a system for tracking and managing assets using a combination of active and passive RFID tags. The system utilizes a hierarchical structure where some devices act as gateways or aggregators for data from other tags. This allows for efficient data collection and management in a large-scale tracking system.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: Similar to Loda, Moughty et al. disclose a hierarchical network structure for asset tracking. This could be seen as anticipating the fundamental system architecture described in Claim 1 and Claim 15 of the '231 patent. The use of different types of tags with varying communication capabilities (active vs. passive) also touches upon the concept of a "hierarchy of complexity, function, and expense" mentioned in the '231 patent's detailed description, which could be relevant to the interpretation of the claims.

Summary of Prior Art Impact:

The cited prior art, particularly Loda and Moughty et al., establishes the concept of a hierarchical wireless network for tracking and monitoring a group of items, with a central or master device communicating with multiple secondary devices. Amir further reinforces the use of wireless networks for asset tracking. Kates specifically addresses the use of environmental sensors within such a network for monitoring shipment conditions.

While these references describe systems with similar high-level architectures and functionalities, the patentability of the claims of US 9,182,231 would likely depend on the specific and novel details of the communication protocols, the dynamic association and disassociation of nodes, and the particular methods for managing the hierarchical network as claimed, which may not be explicitly taught by these prior art documents. A thorough analysis would require a detailed comparison of the claim language against the specific teachings of each reference.