DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 6-12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 04/02/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al (US2020/0050922) in view of Gitschel et al (US2014/0134694).
Referring to claim 1. Wu et al (herein “Wu”) discloses a “Recycling System Based On Deep Learning and Computer Vision Technology”. See Figs. 1-7 and respective portions of the specification. Wu further discloses a sorting device (100) comprising a transfer mechanism (2, conveyor belt) that receives and conveys trash, wherein the transfer mechanism receives objects including different types of trash through the arraying mechanism (Sect. 0028). Thus, Wu teaches a sorting receptacle configured to receive a food wase input stream containing mixed waste including different material types. Wu further discloses an identification unit (660) comprising a first video camera (71) configured to photograph objects vertically and a second video camera (72) configured to obliquely photograph objects on the transfer mechanism, wherein images from both cameras are inputted int the sorting algorithm module (See Sect. 0031). Thus, Wu teaches an imaging system configured to capture a plurality of images of material received in the sorting receptacle. Additionally, Wu discloses a controller (600) comprising an identification module (630) having at least two convolutional neural networks (CNN) modules, each trained to identify images taken by different cameras (Sect. 0041), the identification module can identify multiple types of waste from the images (Sect. 0042). The convolutional neural network-based image identification result is then combined with a metal detecting signal from metal sensor (73) via algorithm (640) to generated a final determination used in sorting (Sects. 0031, 0043, 0045). Thus, Chen discloses a processing system using a CNN to identify plastic waste and metal waste from captured images. Furthermore, Chen discloses a sorting mechanism (8) comprising sorting gates (82) driven by sorting gate drive motors (81), wherein controller (600) controls the sorting gates to rotate according to the identification result, directing each object to the corresponding channel (83) (See Sects.0032, 0034, 0045). Thus, Chen discloses a sorting system that acts on instructions received from the processing system to route identified waste types. Wu does not explicitly disclose theat the input stream comprising food waste and non-biodegradable material, or wherein the sorted output constitutes a biodegradable stream as an input to an anaerobic digester. Gitschel et al (herein “Gitschel”) discloses a “System and Method For Processing Mixed Solid Waste”. See Figs. 1-7 and respective portions of the specification. It should be noted that Gitschel is analogs art as it is in the same field of endeavor (automated separation of mixed solid waste streams) and is directed to the same problem (separating food waste from non-biodegradable contaminants). Gitschel discloses a mixed solid waste stream comprising wet organic material defined as food waste, animal waste, and green waste, and inorganic material comprising plastic and metal (See Sects. 0009, 0039, 0044, 0049). It should further be noted that the applicant’s specification defined ‘biodegradable’ as capable of decomposition by bacteria or other living organisms, to which Gitschel wet organic materials satisfy this definition. Likewise, Gitschel discloses that mechanically seprating wet organic material (food waste) from inorganic material (plastic, metal) produces a wet organic stream suitable for anerobic digestion to produce biogas, and that removing non-digestible inorganic material prior to loading an anerobic digester increases conversion efficiency (See at least Sect. 0009-0011). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings from Gitschel to Wu’s convolutional neural network based soring system, so that a system could be automated to precisely identify, separate, and remove plastic and metal waste from a food waste input stream to create a biodegradable stream for an anerobic digester.
Referring to claim 2. Wu in view of Gitschel disclose the combination as set forth above in claim 1. Wu further discloses a waste arraying mechanism (3) having an open entrance (31), the inlet, through which trash objects are introduced, and a control gate (33) at the lower side, and further an outlet panel which is in a closed state (first position, sealing the outlet) to retain objects and in an open state (second position) to release them onto the transfer mechanism (See Sect. 0028). The arraying mechanism is configured to receive and hold trash objects in batch (See Sect. 0028). Thus, Wu discloses a storage receptacle having an inlet and an outlet, and a panel sealing the outlet in a first position configured to receive the food waste input stream material.
Referring to claim 3. Wu in view of Gitschel disclose the combination as set forth above in claim 1. Wu further discloses a control gate motor (32) connected to the control gate (33), wherein the controller controls the control gate according to detector signals to batch process trash objects and open the gate to release controlled amounts of trash/objects onto the transfer mechanism and re-closing it upon passage of objects past the third trash detector (5) (See at least Sects. 0028-0029, 0034), wherein the control gate motor is the actuator, the control gate is the panel, and during the operation it releases a set amount of material to the sorting receptacle (transfer mechanism).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al (US2020/0050922) in view of Gitschel et al (US2014/0134694) and in further view of Valpola (US2014/0088765).
Referring to claim 4. . Wu in view of Gitschel disclose the combination as set forth above in claim 1. Wu does not disclose wherein the sorting system includes a robotic arm configured to located, remove, and deposit non-biodegradable material for disposal, the robotic arm guided, at least in part by information provide with the processing of the plurality of images by the CNN, and wherein a sorted food waste stream is generated with the removal of the non-biodegradable material from the sorting receptacle. Valpola et al (herein “Valpola”) discloses a “Method For Invalidating Sensor Measurements After A Picking Action In A Robot System”. See Figs. 1-5 and respective portions of the specification. Valpola further teaches that robot systems are commonly used in sorting and classifying material to be recycled, wherein sorted groups typically comprise glass, plastic, metal, paper and biological waste and that objects on a conveyor belt are sorted by a robot system comprising at least one robot arm to a number of target bins (See Sect. 0004). Valpola further discloses a robot (110) with a robot arm (112) and a gripper (114) capable of moving within the conveyor operating area, driven by servo motors, and actuators that control rotation, elevation, and gripping (See Sect. 0063), wherein a computer unit translates target coordinates derived from sensor measurements and image data into actuator control signals for the robot arm and gripper, thereby automatically locating and removing target objects guided by image processing (See Sects. 0063, 0069). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Valpola’s robotic arm into the combination system of Wu and Gitschel to physically pick and remove neural network identified non-biodegradable objects and deposit them in target bins.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al (US2020/0050922) in view of Gitschel et al (US2014/0134694) in view of Valpola (US2014/0088765) and in further view of Krishnamurthy (US2018/0016096).
Referring to claim 5. Wu in view of Gitschel disclose the combination as set forth above in claim 1. Wu doesn’t disclose wherein the actuator is a first actuator, the system further comprising a second actuator configured to articulate the sorting receptacle to discharge the sorted food waste stream from the sorting receptacle. Krishnamurthy et al (herein “Krishnamurthy”) discloses a “Method for Automatically Sorting Waste”. See Figs. 1-9 and respective portions of the specification. Krishnamurthy discloses an actuated sorting compartment (405) with a pivot (430) driven by a motor, wherein the motor causes the compartment to rotate about a horizontal or a vertical axis, or move linearly, to position actuated exit doors (410, 420) above the appropriate waste bin after the exit door motors (440, 450) and beam assemblies (460, 470) then open to release waste into the selected bin. (See Sects. 0040-0042). Likewise, Krishnamurthy discloses wherein the processor activates the motor to cause the actuated sorting compartment to release waste into the appropriate bin based on the identified waste type (See Sect. 0044). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Krishnamurthy’s motor driven articulating discharge mechanism as a second actuator to discharge the sorted food waste stream from the sorting receptacle after the robotic arm has removed non-biodegradable contaminants, so that waste objects and non-biodegradable products could be discharged into targeted/specific bins.
Conclusion
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/TERRELL H MATTHEWS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653
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