DETAILED ACTION
This Final Office action is in response to Claims on 11/25/2025. Claims 1, 4-5, and 8-18 are pending. The effective filing date is 03/16/2022.
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 08/30/2022, 06/28/2023, and 08/14/2023 was filed. The submission 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.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(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.
Claims 1, 4-5, and 8-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2017/0313516 A1 Kazama et al. (hereinafter Kazama).
Regarding claim 1, Kazama teaches an information processing device for a rack transfer system, the information processing device (Kazama Abstract, order management) comprising:
one or more processors (Kazama [0060-0063] controller is a computer including a CPU (processor) and memory) configured to:
receive a plurality of pieces of rack data including first identification information of one or more kinds of products to be housed in a plurality of racks, and a plurality of pieces of order data including second identification information of one or more kinds of products to be picked from at least part of the plurality of racks (Kazama [0071-0073] when an order is placed, an order creates an ID, and the location of the item within the storage rack is included in the order; Fig. 4A-C);
calculate a priority for each of the plurality of racks (Kazama [0182-0183] shelves are given priority number, and the order of picking is given based on the higher priority shelf, specific articles are assigned to specific shelves, and therefore, higher priority items are placed on shelves with higher priority to increase the likelihood of a higher picking number in a sequence), wherein the priority for a given rack increases based on:
a number of products housed in the rack having identification information that matches identification information of the products specified in the order data; or a number of pieces of order data that include identification information matching identification information of the products housed in the rack (Kazama [0072-0075] as seen in Fig. 4C, the different articles have been assigned a rack ID, and then are grouped based on the rack ID, and the transport ID groups the articles on the same rack together, therefore, D1, which is the first transport, has three articles on one rack, and showcases that the number of products on a rack are identified and grouped to prioritize pickup in the least amount of trips);
generate, based on the calculated priorities, an index for each piece of the order data, the index indicating one or more racks selected based on the calculated priorities, and the index associating each product in the order data with a rack having a higher priority among candidate racks housing the product (Kazama [0182-0184] each shelf is given a priority number, and therefore when an order is received, and the rack is identified, the specific order is given a number based on the total number of racks needed);
calculate distances between the indexes generated for the plurality of pieces of order data (Kazama [0190-0191] the plurality of storage racks are assigned numbers and the numbers create a priority order, in order to be efficient, the smallest distance between carts leads to a shorter pick time, and therefore shorter distance has higher priority);
based on the rack data and the calculated distances, determine a processing sequence of the plurality of pieces of order data such that a ratio of picking products assigned to pieces of the order data from a single rack is increased and that sequence numbers are closer as a distance is smaller (Kazama [0097-0100] the controller (order management) determines where the products are located, and groups orders together for picking when the products are on the same storage rack, and then sends picking instructions to the workers; Fig. 5), and
cause a transfer device to move the plurality of racks to a work station where housing containers corresponding to at least part of the plurality of pieces of order data are disposed, in accordance with the determined processing sequence (Kazama Fig. 1 and [0095-0098] the storage racks (102) hold items, the picker (103) is given instructions to place items on the moveable racks (105) for order fulfillment).
Regarding claim 4, Kazama teaches the device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the processing sequence by executing hierarchical clustering that repeats processing of merging the order data corresponding to the indexes with the small distance into a cluster and performing recursive expansion such that child clusters having a common parent cluster are adjacent to each other (Kazama [0073-0078] the clustering of order occurs on a continuous basis, which is showcased in Fig. 4C, in which order 1, contains article A, and order 9 also contains article A, therefore, the first order (parent) then clusters a later order (child) together in the same group ID B1, and transport D1, to improve efficiency, and to stop the transport vehicle from early departure from rack S1 without completing all linked picks) .
Regarding claim 5, Kazama teaches the device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to preferentially select a rack with the priority higher than other racks as a rack to pick a product, and generate the index indicating the selected rack (Kazama [0182-0183] shelves are given priority number, and the order of picking is given based on the higher priority shelf).
Regarding claim 8, Kazama teaches the device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to divide the plurality of pieces of order data into a plurality of data groups each including the order data close to each other in the determined processing sequence, and output the plurality of data groups as data groups to be allocated to a plurality of work stations where picking is performed (Kazama [0074-0076] the different articles are given group ID number, that would link article on different shelves that are in close proximity together in the same group, each group being picked together).
Regarding claim 9, Kazama teaches the device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine, based on the rack data, the processing sequence such that a ratio of simultaneously picking products assigned to the pieces of order data from the single rack is increased (Kazama [0074-0076] the different articles are given group ID number, that would link article on different shelves that are in close proximity together in the same group, each group being picked together; by grouping all article A items from different order to the same group, it would therefore increase the number of simultaneously picked items from a single rack).
Regarding claim 10, Kazama teaches an information processing method executed by an information processing device for a rack transfer system (Kazama Abstract, order management), the information processing method comprising:
receiving a plurality of pieces of rack data including first identification information of one or more kinds of products to be housed in a plurality of racks, and a plurality of pieces of order data including second identification information of one or more kinds of products to be picked from at least part of the plurality of racks (Kazama [0071-0073] when an order is placed, an order creates an ID, and the location of the item within the storage rack is included in the order; Fig. 4A-C);
calculating a priority for each of the plurality of racks (Kazama [0182-0183] shelves are given priority number, and the order of picking is given based on the higher priority shelf, specific articles are assigned to specific shelves, and therefore, higher priority items are placed on shelves with higher priority to increase the likelihood of a higher picking number in a sequence), wherein the priority for a given rack increases based on:
a number of products housed in the rack having identification information that matches identification information of the products specified in the order data; or a number of pieces of order data that include identification information matching identification information of the products housed in the rack (Kazama [0072-0075] as seen in Fig. 4C, the different articles have been assigned a rack ID, and then are grouped based on the rack ID, and the transport ID groups the articles on the same rack together, therefore, D1, which is the first transport, has three articles on one rack, and showcases that the number of products on a rack are identified and grouped to prioritize pickup in the least amount of trips);
generating, based on the calculated priorities, an index for each piece of the order data, the index indicating one or more racks selected based on the calculated priorities, and the index associating each product in the order data with a rack having a higher priority among candidate racks housing the product (Kazama [0182-0184] each shelf is given a priority number, and therefore when an order is received, and the rack is identified, the specific order is given a number based on the total number of racks needed);
calculating distances between the indexes generated for the plurality of pieces of order data (Kazama [0190-0191] the plurality of storage racks are assigned numbers and the numbers create a priority order, in order to be efficient, the smallest distance between carts leads to a shorter pick time, and therefore shorter distance has higher priority);
based on the rack data and the calculated distance, determining a processing sequence of the plurality of pieces of order data such that a ratio of picking products assigned to pieces of the order data from a single rack is increased and that sequence numbers are closer as a distance is smaller(Kazama [0097-0100] the controller (order management) determines where the products are located, and groups orders together for picking when the products are on the same storage rack, and then sends picking instructions to the workers; Fig. 5);
and causing a transfer device to move the plurality of racks to a work station where housing containers corresponding to at least part of the plurality of pieces of order data are disposed, in accordance with the determined processing sequence (Kazama Fig. 1 and [0095-0098] the storage racks (102) hold items, the picker (103) is given instructions to place items on the moveable racks (105) for order fulfillment).
Regarding claim 11, Kazama teaches a computer program product (Kazama Abstract, order management) comprising
a computer- readable medium including programmed instructions for a rack transfer system (Kazama [0060-0063] controller is a computer including a CPU (processor) and memory), the instructions causing a computer to execute:
receiving a plurality of pieces of rack data including first identification information of one or more kinds of products to be housed in each of a plurality of racks, and a plurality of pieces of order data including second identification information of one or more kinds of products to be picked from at least part of the plurality of racks (Kazama [0071-0073] when an order is placed, an order creates an ID, and the location of the item within the storage rack is included in the order; Fig. 4A-C);
calculating a priority for each of the plurality of racks (Kazama [0182-0183] shelves are given priority number, and the order of picking is given based on the higher priority shelf, specific articles are assigned to specific shelves, and therefore, higher priority items are placed on shelves with higher priority to increase the likelihood of a higher picking number in a sequence), wherein the priority for a given rack increases based on:
a number of products housed in the rack having identification information that matches identification information of the products specified in the order data; or a number of pieces of order data that include identification information matching identification information of the products housed in the rack (Kazama [0072-0075] as seen in Fig. 4C, the different articles have been assigned a rack ID, and then are grouped based on the rack ID, and the transport ID groups the articles on the same rack together, therefore, D1, which is the first transport, has three articles on one rack, and showcases that the number of products on a rack are identified and grouped to prioritize pickup in the least amount of trips);
generating, based on the calculated priorities, an index for each piece of the order data, the index indicating one or more racks selected based on the calculated priorities, and the index associating each product in the order data with a rack having a higher priority among candidate racks housing the product (Kazama [0182-0184] each shelf is given a priority number, and therefore when an order is received, and the rack is identified, the specific order is given a number based on the total number of racks needed);
calculating distances between the indexes generated for the plurality of pieces of order data (Kazama [0190-0191] the plurality of storage racks are assigned numbers and the numbers create a priority order, in order to be efficient, the smallest distance between carts leads to a shorter pick time, and therefore shorter distance has higher priority);
based on the rack data and the calculated distances, determining a processing sequence of the plurality of pieces of order data such that a ratio of picking products assigned to pieces of the order data from a single rack is increased and that sequence numbers are closer as a distance is smaller (Kazama [0097-0100] the controller (order management) determines where the products are located, and groups orders together for picking when the products are on the same storage rack, and then sends picking instructions to the workers; Fig. 5); and causing a transfer device to move the plurality of racks to a work station where housing containers corresponding to at least part of the plurality of pieces of order data are disposed, in accordance with the determined processing sequence (Kazama Fig. 1 and [0095-0098] the storage racks (102) hold items, the picker (103) is given instructions to place items on the moveable racks (105) for order fulfillment).
Regarding claim 12, Kazama teaches an information processing system for a rack transfer system, the information processing system (Kazama Abstract, order management) comprising:
a transfer device (Kazama [0087] storage racks and moveable racks are used to transport items based on picking; Fig. 1); and
an information processing device (Kazama [0060-0063] controller is a computer including a CPU (processor) and memory),
wherein the transfer device transfers a plurality of racks housing products (Kazama [0087] storage racks and moveable racks are used to transport items based on picking; Fig. 1), and
the information processing device comprises:
one or more processors (Kazama [0060-0063] controller is a computer including a CPU (processor) and memory) configured to:
receive a plurality of pieces of rack data including first identification information of one or more kinds of products to be housed in the plurality of racks, and a plurality of pieces of order data including second identification information of one or more kinds of products to be picked from at least part of the plurality of racks (Kazama [0071-0073] when an order is placed, an order creates an ID, and the location of the item within the storage rack is included in the order; Fig. 4A-C);
calculate a priority for each of the plurality of racks (Kazama [0182-0183] shelves are given priority number, and the order of picking is given based on the higher priority shelf, specific articles are assigned to specific shelves, and therefore, higher priority items are placed on shelves with higher priority to increase the likelihood of a higher picking number in a sequence), wherein the priority for a given rack increases based on:
a number of products housed in the rack having identification information that matches identification information of the products specified in the order data; or a number of pieces of order data that include identification information matching identification information of the products housed in the rack (Kazama [0072-0075] as seen in Fig. 4C, the different articles have been assigned a rack ID, and then are grouped based on the rack ID, and the transport ID groups the articles on the same rack together, therefore, D1, which is the first transport, has three articles on one rack, and showcases that the number of products on a rack are identified and grouped to prioritize pickup in the least amount of trips);
generate, based on the calculated priorities, an index for each piece of the order data, the index indicating one or more racks selected based on the calculated priorities, and the index associating each product in the order data with a rack having a higher priority among candidate racks housing the product (Kazama [0182-0184] each shelf is given a priority number, and therefore when an order is received, and the rack is identified, the specific order is given a number based on the total number of racks needed);
calculate distances between the indexes generated for the plurality of pieces of order data (Kazama [0190-0191] the plurality of storage racks are assigned numbers and the numbers create a priority order, in order to be efficient, the smallest distance between carts leads to a shorter pick time, and therefore shorter distance has higher priority);
based on the rack data and the calculated distances, determine a processing sequence of the plurality of pieces of order data such that a ratio of picking products assigned to pieces of the order data from a single rack is increased and that sequence numbers are closer as a distance is smaller (Kazama [0097-0100] the controller (order management) determines where the products are located, and groups orders together for picking when the products are on the same storage rack, and then sends picking instructions to the workers; Fig. 5), and cause a transfer device to move the plurality of racks to a work station where housing containers corresponding to at least part of the plurality of pieces of order data are disposed, in accordance with the determined processing sequence (Kazama Fig. 1 and [0095-0098] the storage racks (102) hold items, the picker (103) is given instructions to place items on the moveable racks (105) for order fulfillment).
Regarding claim 13, Kazama teaches the device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: preferentially select one or more racks with the priority higher than other racks as one or more racks to pick a product (Kazama [0182-0183] shelves are given priority number, and the order of picking is given based on the higher priority shelf, specific articles are assigned to specific shelves, and therefore, higher priority items are placed on shelves with higher priority to increase the likelihood of a higher picking number in a sequence), generate, when one rack is selected, the index indicating the selected one rack (Kazama [0182-0184] each shelf is given a priority number, and therefore when an order is received, and the rack is identified, the specific order is given a number based on the total number of racks needed, that given number is a generated index), and generate, when a plurality of racks is selected, the index indicating the selected plurality of racks (Kazama [0182-0184] each shelf is given a priority number, and therefore when an order is received, and the rack is identified, the specific order is given a number based on the total number of racks needed, that given number is a generated index).
Regarding claim 14, Kazama teaches the device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: select, among the plurality of racks, one or more racks to be moved according to the determined processing sequence (Kazama [0182-0183] shelves are given priority number, and the order of picking is given based on the higher priority shelf, specific articles are assigned to specific shelves, and therefore, higher priority items are placed on shelves with higher priority to increase the likelihood of a higher picking number in a sequence).
Regarding claim 15, Kazama teaches the device according to claim 1, wherein the information processing device and the plurality of racks are included in the rack transfer system in which products are picked in the work station (Kazama [0095-0098] the storage racks (102) hold items, the picker (103) is given instructions to place items on the moveable racks (105) for order fulfillment).
Regarding claim 16, Kazama teaches the method of claim 10, further comprising: dividing the plurality of pieces of order data into a plurality of data groups each including the order data close to each other in the determined processing sequence (Kazama [0049-0050] the order creation unit will group items together based on efficiency, this include minimum number of trips, and grouping items on the same storage rack together), and outputting the plurality of data groups as data groups to be allocated to a plurality of work stations where picking is performed (Kazama [0074-0076] the different articles are given group ID number, that would link article on different shelves that are in close proximity together in the same group, each group being picked together).
Regarding claim 17, Kazama teaches the computer program product of claim 11, wherein the instructions further cause the computer to execute: dividing the plurality of pieces of order data into a plurality of data groups each including the order data close to each other in the determined processing sequence (Kazama [0049-0050] the order creation unit will group items together based on efficiency, this include minimum number of trips, and grouping items on the same storage rack together), and outputting the plurality of data groups as data groups to be allocated to a plurality of work stations where picking is performed (Kazama [0074-0076] the different articles are given group ID number, that would link article on different shelves that are in close proximity together in the same group, each group being picked together).
Regarding claim 18, Kazama teaches the system of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: divide the plurality of pieces of order data into a plurality of data groups each including the order data close to each other in the determined processing sequence (Kazama [0049-0050] the order creation unit will group items together based on efficiency, this include minimum number of trips, and grouping items on the same storage rack together), and output the plurality of data groups as data groups to be allocated to a plurality of work stations where picking is performed (Kazama [0074-0076] the different articles are given group ID number, that would link article on different shelves that are in close proximity together in the same group, each group being picked together).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/25/2025 have been fully considered.
Regarding 101, Examiner agrees that the amended claim language includes the use of a transfer device to move the plurality of rack to work stations, this showcases an additional element that is beyond using an electronic element as a tool under MPEP 2106.05(f). Therefore, the independent claims are able to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
Regarding 102,
“Priority” calculation is described in the claim as being based on the number of matching products. Kazama creates order groups, and it is further shown in Fig. 4C, that the articles on a single shelf are all grouped together, and then the group with the largest amount of product sis given group 1, and then proceeds to create a pickup order based on the group ID (which is based on products grouped on the same shelf), by the higher number of products.
“index” in the claims are described as being the rack with the highest priority, which claim language describes the process of ordering the racks for pickup, and therefore, in addition to Kazama teaching the shortest distance, to decide between group 1-5, since sometimes the groups have the same number of items per rack, there needs to be additional elements to decide between going to group 3 or 4 first if they both have the same priority based on the number of items being the same, the distance will be additional terms to determine the overall order. This teaches the final element that based on the information on the rack, the distances between the racks, and the combination is what is used to determine the sequence of the order pickup.
Therefore, the claims are taught by Kazama.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2023/0028034 A1 Gravelle et al. teaches a multi-zoned storage and retrieval system (Abstract) and US 11,182,743 B2 Li et al. teaches a process to manage orders (Abstract) and US 2017/0278055 A1 Winkler teaches a picking system using progressive picking (Abstract); US 2020/0198892 A1 Ahmann et al. teaches automatic picking of items from racks (Abstract).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/JESSICA E SULLIVAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3627
/FAHD A OBEID/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3627