DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is taken in response to Applicant’s Amendment and Remarks filed on 2/27/2026
regarding Application No. 18/128,348 originally filed on 03/30/2023. Claims 1-5, 11-15, and 21-30 as filed are currently pending and have been considered as follows:
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 .
Response to Arguments
The applicant argues "Sik fails to disclose, teach, or suggest the element of Applicant's claims 1 and 11 of, '... the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position rotates in a clockwise direction.' In contrast, Sik is entirely silent as to the rotational direction of the cleaning pad." [Remarks, p. 10].
The examiner agrees that Sik is silent as to rotational direction. However, this is precisely why Thorne is relied upon in combination - to supply the teaching that a cleaning element in a robotic vacuum may rotate clockwise to direct debris toward the robot body. Sik's silence on rotational direction does not teach away from clockwise rotation; it simply leaves the direction unspecified.
The applicant argues "Luo fails to disclose, teach, or suggest the element of Applicant's claims 1 and 11 of, '... the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position rotates in a clockwise direction.' In contrast, Luo is entirely silent as to a rotating cleaning pad at all. Therefore, Luo fails to remedy the defects present in the disclosure of Sik." [Remarks, p. 11-12].
The examiner agrees that Luo does not address the clockwise rotation limitation. Luo is not relied upon for this limitation - Luo is relied upon for the obstacle-based arm extension and trajectory planning teachings. The clockwise rotation limitation is addressed by Thorne.
The applicant argues "modifying the rotational direction of the brush pad of Sik with the rotational direction of the roller brush of Thorne to form Applicant's claimed invention would change the principle of operation of Sik" because "the axis of rotation of Thorne is perpendicular to that of Sik" and "if the brush pads of Sik were modified to rotate in a clockwise direction along the same axis of rotation disclosed by Thorne, then the brush pads of Sik would, at best, rotate in an ineffective direction." [Remarks, p. 12-13]. The examiner respectfully disagrees.
The applicant's argument mischaracterizes the proposed modification. The rejection does not propose replacing Sik's rotational axis with Thorne's rotational axis, nor does it propose substituting Thorne's roller brush structure into Sik. Thorne is relied upon only for the narrower teaching that a cleaning element in a robotic vacuum may rotate clockwise to sweep debris toward the robot's travel path (¶55). The proposed modification is simply to specify that Sik's already-rotating circular pad - which rotates about its existing vertical axis - rotates in a clockwise direction. This does not require any change to Sik's axis of rotation, brush geometry, or cleaning assembly architecture.
Furthermore, choosing clockwise versus counterclockwise rotation for Sik's already-rotating pad is a binary design choice with a finite number of identified, predictable solutions. Under KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007), a POSITA choosing between two possible rotational directions for an already-rotating cleaning element would find it obvious to try either direction to achieve a predictable debris-sweeping result. Thorne confirms that selecting a particular rotational direction for debris management is a known design consideration in robotic cleaning (¶55). Sik does not disclose that a particular rotational direction is required or that clockwise rotation would be incompatible with its cleaning function. Specifying a rotational direction on an existing rotational axis does not constitute a change in principle of operation under MPEP § 2143.01(VI).
The applicant argues "Romanov also fails to remedy the defects present in the disclosures of Sik, Luo, and Thorne as Romanov is merely relied upon for its recitation of controlling the moving assembly of the driving robot assembly… and is entirely silent as to the clockwise rotational direction of the cleaning pads." [Remarks, p. 13-14]. The examiner agrees that Romanov does not address the clockwise rotation limitation. Romanov is not relied upon for that limitation - Romanov is relied upon for the movement alignment and edge-following teachings in certain dependent claims. Since the clockwise rotation limitation is addressed by Thorne as discussed above, Romanov need not cure this limitation. Applicant's traversal is therefore unpersuasive, and the obviousness rejections of the claims should be maintained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 3-4, 11, 13-14, 22-25, 27-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sik (KR Pub. No. 20130042423) in view of Luo (US Pub. No. 20220125265) in further view of Thorne (US Pub. No. 20190090705).
As per Claim 1, Sik discloses of a robot cleaner comprising:
a moving assembly; (as per "The driving wheels (41, 42) enable the robot cleaner (1) to move forward, backward, and rotate during the cleaning process." in ¶53)
a cleaning assembly including a holder to which a cleaning pad is fixable, the holder being movable (as per "A side arm (102) is coupled to the lower part of the front side of the main body (10), and an arm motor (not shown) that drives the side arm (102) is accommodated in the upper part thereof… when the arm motor is driven, the rotation shaft rotates and the side arm (102) rotates based on the joining groove (101)." in ¶58-¶59, Fig. 2-3) between a first position and a second position at which the cleaning pad fixed to the holder protrudes further outward from the driving robot apparatus than when the holder is at the first position; (as per “an obstacle detection unit that detects an obstacle approaching the main body, an auxiliary cleaning unit that is mounted on a lower portion of the main body so as to be able to protrude and converge, and a control unit that controls the auxiliary cleaning unit to protrude or converge by adjusting the degree of protrusion or convergence of the auxiliary cleaning unit when the obstacle is detected” in ¶5, as per “At this time, as the side arm (102) rotates outwardly of the main body (10), the edge cover (103) no longer covers the opening of the main body (10) and no longer forms a side edge of the main body (10)” in ¶59)
a sensor configured to detect an obstacle located on a traveling path of the driving robot apparatus; (as per "the obstacle detection unit (220) detects an obstacle approaching the main body (10)" in ¶90)
at least one processor configured to, with the cleaning pad fixed to the holder and the holder being at the first position while the driving robot apparatus cleans an area:
control the cleaning assembly to rotate the cleaning pad, (as per “A joining groove (104) is formed at the other end of the side arm (102) to which an auxiliary cleaning tool is joined... A rotary motor (not shown) that drives an auxiliary cleaning tool is accommodated in the upper part, and the auxiliary cleaning tool rotates relative to the coupling groove (104) by the driving force of the rotary motor” in ¶59-¶60, as per “during the cleaning operation of the robot cleaner (1), the auxiliary cleaning tool (110) rotates to clean the adjacent area of the wall or the corner of the floor” in ¶73)’
Sik fails to expressly disclose:
based on the detection of the obstacle by the sensor:
control the cleaning assembly to move the holder from the first position to the second position and control the moving assembly to change a traveling direction of the driving robot apparatus- so that the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position moves along an outer edge of the obstacle.
wherein the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position rotates in a clockwise direction
Luo discloses of an intelligent vacuum device with extendable and deformable suction arm, comprising:
based on the detection of the obstacle by the sensor:
control the cleaning assembly to move the holder from the first position to the second position and control the moving assembly (as per “a controller disposed in the main body and communicatively connected to the at least one detection sensor and the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm; wherein when the extendable suction arm is in the at least one second position, the arm vacuum port is located outside the main body, and the vacuum device performs vacuum cleaning through the arm vacuum port; and wherein the controller is configured to: receive the sensing signals from the at least one detection sensor and control movement of the vacuum device based on the sensing signals; and control the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm to switch the extendable suction arm between the first position and the at least one second position” in ¶6) to change a traveling direction of the driving robot apparatus - so that the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position moves along an outer edge of the obstacle. (as per “planning, based on the objects detected in the surrounding environment, a robot trajectory and an arm trajectory of the extendable suction arm; and controlling the vacuum device to move along the robot trajectory to ensure the extendable suction arm moving through the arm trajectory” in ¶13, as per “an extendable and deformable suction arm, in which the suction arm allows implementation for the vacuum device to intelligently change the shape, size, direction, location and vacuum power of its suction ports based on different tasks to correspondingly handle different environments and different cleaning needs. For example, the vacuum device may be used to deep clean corners, edges and small spaces effectively without the need of rotating side brushes” in ¶65, as per Fig. 9)
In this way, Luo operates to reduce complexity of path planning and improve the cleaning effectiveness, especially along the walls, corners and small spaces (¶65). Like Sik, Luo is concerned with robotic vacuums.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the system of Sik with the intelligent robot vacuum device as taught by Luo to enable another standard means of moving an arm from a first position to a second position and path planning accordingly (¶6, ¶13).
Sik and Luo fail to expressly disclose:
wherein the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position rotates in a clockwise direction
Thorne discloses of a robotic vacuum, comprising:
wherein the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position rotates in a clockwise direction (as per “The robotic cleaning apparatus may further include one or more extendable cleaning devices 5-1 and 5-2” in ¶47, as per “each of antenna brushes 5-1 and 5-2 may be rotatably coupled to the body 2 and may allow for rotational movement along path F1. For example, each of the antenna brushes 5-1 and 5-2 may have a retracted position, such as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and an extended position, such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2” in ¶52, as per “Thus, dirt and debris may be swept towards the agitator chamber 6 or at least in the path of the robotic vacuum apparatus 1 as the same travels along movement direction F. In this example, antenna brush 5-1 may rotate clockwise” in ¶55)
In this way, Thorne operates to use at least one brush assembly capable of cleaning edges and corners while eliminating or otherwise reducing the risk of getting “stuck” during cleaning operations (¶41). Like Sik and Luo, Thorne is concerned with robotics vacuums.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the system of Sik and the intelligent robot vacuum device of Luo with the robotic vacuum of Thorne to enable another standard means of rotating a brush on a vacuum cleaner in clockwise or counterclockwise direction (¶55-¶56). Such modification also allows debris to be swept in the path along movement the robotic vacuum’s travel direction (¶55).
As per Claim 3, the combination of Sik, Luo, and Thorne teaches or suggests all limitations of Claim 1. Sik further discloses wherein when the cleaning assembly is controlled to move the holder from the first position to the second position based on the detection of the obstacle by the sensor, the cleaning pad fixed to the holder protrudes from a right side of the driving robot apparatus relative to the traveling direction of the driving robot apparatus. (as per “at least two auxiliary cleaning units are mounted on the lower part of the main body, and the control unit controls only the auxiliary cleaning units in the direction of the obstacle to protrude or converge when the obstacle is detected only on the side of the main body” in ¶14, as per “the cleaning control unit (241) controls the left auxiliary cleaning unit (22) and the right auxiliary cleaning unit (21) to protrude or converge independently, and when an obstacle is located only on the left or right side of the main body (10), it controls only the left or right auxiliary cleaning unit (21, 22) to protrude or converge” in ¶120)
As per Claim 4, the combination of Sik, Luo, and Thorne teaches or suggests all limitations of Claim 1. Sik fails to expressly disclose wherein the control of the moving assembly controls the moving assembly to change the traveling direction of the driving robot apparatus so that the obstacle is on a right side of the driving robot apparatus relative to the traveling direction of the driving robot apparatus.
See Claim 1 for teachings of Luo. Luo further discloses wherein the control of the moving assembly controls the moving assembly to change the traveling direction of the driving robot apparatus (as per “Once the planning is complete, at step 640, the controller may control the vacuum device to move along the robot trajectory,” in ¶85) so that the obstacle is on a right side of the driving robot apparatus relative to the traveling direction of the driving robot apparatus. (as per Fig. 9)
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In this way, Luo operates to reduce complexity of path planning and improve the cleaning effectiveness, especially along the walls, corners and small spaces (¶65). Like Sik and Thorne, Luo is concerned with robotic vacuums.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the system of Sik and the robotic vacuum of Thorne with the intelligent robot vacuum device as taught by Luo to enable another standard means of moving an arm from a first position to a second position and path planning accordingly (¶6, ¶13).
As per Claim 11, Sik discloses of a robot cleaner comprising:
controlling a driving robot apparatus including a moving assembly, (as per "The driving wheels (41, 42) enable the robot cleaner (1) to move forward, backward, and rotate during the cleaning process." in ¶53)
a cleaning assembly including a holder to which a cleaning pad is fixable, (as per "A side arm (102) is coupled to the lower part of the front side of the main body (10), and an arm motor (not shown) that drives the side arm (102) is accommodated in the upper part thereof… when the arm motor is driven, the rotation shaft rotates and the side arm (102) rotates based on the joining groove (101)." in ¶58-¶59, Fig. 2-3)
the holder being movable between a first position and a second position at which the cleaning pad fixed to the holder protrudes further outward from the driving robot apparatus than when the holder is at the first position, (as per “an obstacle detection unit that detects an obstacle approaching the main body, an auxiliary cleaning unit that is mounted on a lower portion of the main body so as to be able to protrude and converge, and a control unit that controls the auxiliary cleaning unit to protrude or converge by adjusting the degree of protrusion or convergence of the auxiliary cleaning unit when the obstacle is detected” in ¶5, as per “At this time, as the side arm (102) rotates outwardly of the main body (10), the edge cover (103) no longer covers the opening of the main body (10) and no longer forms a side edge of the main body (10)” in ¶59)
a sensor configured to detect an obstacle located on a traveling path of the driving robot apparatus, (as per "the obstacle detection unit (220) detects an obstacle approaching the main body (10)" in ¶90) the method comprising:
with the cleaning pad fixed to the holder and the holder being at the first position while the driving robot apparatus cleans an area:
controlling the cleaning assembly to rotate the cleaning pad, (as per “A joining groove (104) is formed at the other end of the side arm (102) to which an auxiliary cleaning tool is joined... A rotary motor (not shown) that drives an auxiliary cleaning tool is accommodated in the upper part, and the auxiliary cleaning tool rotates relative to the coupling groove (104) by the driving force of the rotary motor” in ¶59-¶60, as per “during the cleaning operation of the robot cleaner (1), the auxiliary cleaning tool (110) rotates to clean the adjacent area of the wall or the corner of the floor” in ¶73)’
detecting, with the sensor, an obstacle located on the traveling path of the driving robot apparatus; (as per "the obstacle detection unit (220) detects an obstacle approaching the main body (10)" in ¶90)
Sik fails to expressly disclose:
based on the detecting of the obstacle:
controlling the cleaning assembly to move the holder from the first position to the second position and controlling the moving assembly to change a traveling direction of the driving robot apparatus so that the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position moves along an outer edge of the obstacle.
wherein the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position rotates in a clockwise direction
Luo discloses of an intelligent vacuum device with extendable and deformable suction arm, comprising:
based on the detecting of the obstacle:
controlling the cleaning assembly to move the holder from the first position to the second position and controlling the moving assembly (as per “a controller disposed in the main body and communicatively connected to the at least one detection sensor and the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm; wherein when the extendable suction arm is in the at least one second position, the arm vacuum port is located outside the main body, and the vacuum device performs vacuum cleaning through the arm vacuum port; and wherein the controller is configured to: receive the sensing signals from the at least one detection sensor and control movement of the vacuum device based on the sensing signals; and control the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm to switch the extendable suction arm between the first position and the at least one second position” in ¶6) to change a traveling direction of the driving robot apparatus so that the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position moves along an outer edge of the obstacle. (as per “planning, based on the objects detected in the surrounding environment, a robot trajectory and an arm trajectory of the extendable suction arm; and controlling the vacuum device to move along the robot trajectory to ensure the extendable suction arm moving through the arm trajectory” in ¶13, as per “an extendable and deformable suction arm, in which the suction arm allows implementation for the vacuum device to intelligently change the shape, size, direction, location and vacuum power of its suction ports based on different tasks to correspondingly handle different environments and different cleaning needs. For example, the vacuum device may be used to deep clean corners, edges and small spaces effectively without the need of rotating side brushes” in ¶65, as per Fig. 9)
In this way, Luo operates to reduce complexity of path planning and improve the cleaning effectiveness, especially along the walls, corners and small spaces (¶65). Like Sik, Luo is concerned with robotic vacuums.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the system of Sik with the intelligent robot vacuum device as taught by Luo to enable another standard means of moving an arm from a first position to a second position and path planning accordingly (¶6, ¶13).
Sik and Luo fail to expressly disclose:
wherein the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position rotates in a clockwise direction
Thorne discloses of a robotic vacuum, comprising:
wherein the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position rotates in a clockwise direction (as per “The robotic cleaning apparatus may further include one or more extendable cleaning devices 5-1 and 5-2” in ¶47, as per “each of antenna brushes 5-1 and 5-2 may be rotatably coupled to the body 2 and may allow for rotational movement along path F1. For example, each of the antenna brushes 5-1 and 5-2 may have a retracted position, such as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and an extended position, such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2” in ¶52, as per “Thus, dirt and debris may be swept towards the agitator chamber 6 or at least in the path of the robotic vacuum apparatus 1 as the same travels along movement direction F. In this example, antenna brush 5-1 may rotate clockwise” in ¶55)
In this way, Thorne operates to use at least one brush assembly capable of cleaning edges and corners while eliminating or otherwise reducing the risk of getting “stuck” during cleaning operations (¶41). Like Sik and Luo, Thorne is concerned with robotics vacuums.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the system of Sik and the intelligent robot vacuum device of Luo with the robotic vacuum of Thorne to enable another standard means of rotating a brush on a vacuum cleaner in clockwise or counterclockwise direction (¶55-¶56). Such modification also allows debris to be swept in the path along movement the robotic vacuum’s travel direction (¶55).
Claim 13 is rejecting using the same rationale, mutatis mutandis, applied to Claim 3 above, respectively.
Claim 14 is rejecting using the same rationale, mutatis mutandis, applied to Claim 4 above, respectively.
As per Claim 22, the combination of Sik, Luo, and Thorne teaches or suggests all limitations of Claim 1. Sik further discloses wherein the cleaning pad attached to the holder has a diameter greater than a diameter of the holder. (as per Fig. 5 & Fig. 6, as per Fig. 3 & Fig. 4)
As per Claim 23, the combination of Sik, Luo, and Thorne teaches or suggests all limitations of Claim 1. Sik further discloses:
a rotational shaft connected to the holder, (as per “An auxiliary brush (112) is coupled to the brush arm (113), and a rotation shaft (111) formed by protruding from the brush arm (113) is coupled to a side arm (102) or an extension arm (106) through a coupling groove” in ¶68)
a motor to rotate the rotational shaft, (as per “when the auxiliary cleaning tool (110) rotates, the auxiliary brush (112) sweeps away dust accumulated near the wall surface and the like to the central area of the main body (10)” in ¶68)
wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
control a position of the rotational shaft so that the rotational shaft does not exceed an outer edge of the driving robot apparatus. (as per Fig. 3 & Fig. 4)
As per Claim 24, the combination of Sik, Luo, and Thorne teaches or suggests all limitations of Claim 1. Sik further discloses wherein the detected obstacle is a wall or a furniture leg. (as per “controls the auxiliary cleaning units on both sides to protrude or converge when the shape of the obstacle is a corner wall” in ¶16, as per Fig. 9)
As per Claim 25, the combination of Sik, Luo, and Thorne teaches or suggests all limitations of Claim 1. Sik further discloses wherein the control of the cleaning assembly controls the holder to move from the first position to the second position before the driving robot apparatus moves alongside the detected obstacle. (as per “Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the obstacle detection unit (220) detects an obstacle approaching the main body (10) (410)… Next, the cleaning control unit (241) calculates the distance D2 at which the auxiliary cleaning unit (21) can protrude (430). Based on the driving direction of the main body (10), the distance D2 by which the auxiliary cleaning unit (21) can protrude can be calculated based on the rotation radius R of the side arm (102) and the rotation radius r of the auxiliary cleaning tool (110)” in ¶91, as per “the control unit controls the auxiliary cleaning unit to converge before
and after the main body rotates, or before and after moving backward” in ¶19)
Claim 27 is rejecting using the same rationale, mutatis mutandis, applied to Claim 22 above, respectively.
Claim 28 is rejecting using the same rationale, mutatis mutandis, applied to Claim 23 above, respectively.
Claim 29 is rejecting using the same rationale, mutatis mutandis, applied to Claim 24 above, respectively.
Claim 30 is rejecting using the same rationale, mutatis mutandis, applied to Claim 25 above, respectively.
Claim(s) 2, 5, 12, 15, 21, and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sik (KR Pub. No. 20130042423) in view of Luo (US Pub. No. 20220125265) in view of Thorne (US Pub. No. 20190090705) in further view of Romanov (US Pub. No. 20150158174).
As per Claim 2, the combination of Sik, Luo, and Thorne teaches or suggests all limitations of Claim 1. Sik, Luo, and Thorne fail to expressly disclose wherein the control of the moving assembly controls the moving assembly to change the traveling direction of the driving robot apparatus so that the driving robot apparatus is aligned with the obstacle based on an angular velocity of the driving robot apparatus with respect to the obstacle.
Romanov discloses of a mobile robot for cleaning, wherein the control of the moving assembly controls the moving assembly to change the traveling direction of the driving robot apparatus (as per “a gyroscope may be used to help perform this function, whereby when the cleaning robot makes contact with the wall, turns in one direction, and then drives with slightly more speed on the wheel opposite the wall, causing the side of the cleaning pad near the wall to plow in toward the wall and drive along it while cleaning” in ¶143) so that the driving robot apparatus is aligned with the obstacle based on an angular velocity of the driving robot apparatus with respect to the obstacle. (as per “During the alignment step, the robotic cleaner is first driven toward the wall or border to be cleaned until the entire front edge of the cleaning pad makes contact with the wall. The robot then rotates 90 degrees so that the longitudinal robot axis is parallel to the wall or border to be cleaned at the point where they make contact” in ¶147, as per “information from a gyroscope mounted on the robot can be used to detect the robot rotation” in ¶151, as per “At steady state, the robot ends up sliding along the wall with the wheel axes rotated slightly (between 0 and 5 degrees) away from the direction orthogonal to the wall. When the wheel axis is not parallel to the wall, there is a small component of the robot velocity parallel to the wheel axes which causes the wheels to slip sideways as the robot slides along the wall” in ¶150)
In this way, Romanov operates to improve coverage of the regions and or entire area. (¶401). Like Sik, Luo, and Thorne, Romanov is concerned with robotic vacuums.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the systems of Sik, Luo, and Thorne with the mobile cleaning robot as taught by Romanov to enable another standard means of aligning a robot with an obstacle based on angular quantities of the robot (¶147, ¶151).
As per Claim 5, the combination of Sik, Luo, and Thorne teaches or suggests all limitations of Claim 1. Sik fails to expressly disclose wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
identify a position of the detected obstacle, and
the control of the moving assembly controls the moving assembly so that, with the cleaning pad fixed to the holder and the holder in the second position the cleaning pad moves along at least a portion of the outer edge of the obstacle, based on the position of the detected obstacle.
See Claim 1 for teachings of Luo. Luo further discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
identify a position of the detected obstacle, (as per “; at least one detection sensor disposed in the main body, configured to detect a surrounding environment of the vacuum device and generate corresponding sensing signals” in ¶6)
with the cleaning pad fixed to the holder and the holder in the second position (as per “wherein when the extendable suction arm is in the at least one second position, the arm vacuum port is located outside the main body, and the vacuum device performs vacuum cleaning through the arm vacuum port;” in ¶6)
In this way, Luo operates to reduce complexity of path planning and improve the cleaning effectiveness, especially along the walls, corners and small spaces (¶65). Like Sik and Thorne, Luo is concerned with robotic vacuums.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the system of Sik and the robotic vacuum of Thorne with the intelligent robot vacuum device as taught by Luo to enable another standard means of moving an arm from a first position to a second position and path planning accordingly (¶6, ¶13).
Sik, Luo, and Thorne fail to expressly disclose:
the control of the moving assembly controls the moving assembly so that, the cleaning pad moves along at least a portion of the outer edge of the obstacle, based on the position of the detected obstacle.
Romanov discloses of a mobile robot for cleaning, comprising:
the control of the moving assembly controls the moving assembly so that, the cleaning pad moves along at least a portion of the outer edge of the obstacle, based on the position of the detected obstacle. (as per “the same approach may be used to clean along furniture and around obstacles, where the edge may not be a straight line. When the edge is not a straight line, the same plowing technique is used to hug along the furniture or obstacle, and the gyroscope provides information about the robot's amount of turn to the microcontroller (MCU) that allows the MCU to compare the estimated turn from the wheels tachometers and, and if there is a difference within a certain threshold, determine the presence of surface providing a resisting force” in ¶144, as per “During the edge following step, the robot is driven on an arc curving into the edge to be cleaned by setting the speed of the wheel further away from the wall to be slightly higher than the speed of the inner wheel” in ¶147))
In this way, Romanov operates to improve coverage of the regions and or entire area. (¶401). Like Sik, Luo, and Thorne, Romanov is concerned with robotic vacuums.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the systems of Sik, Luo, and Thorne with the mobile cleaning robot as taught by Romanov to enable another standard means of aligning a robot with an obstacle based on angular quantities of the robot (¶147, ¶151).
Claim 12 is rejecting using the same rationale, mutatis mutandis, applied to Claim 2above, respectively.
Claim 15 is rejecting using the same rationale, mutatis mutandis, applied to Claim 5 above, respectively.
As per Claim 21, the combination of Sik, Luo, and Thorne teaches or suggests all limitations of Claim 1. Sik fails to expressly disclose wherein the control of the moving assembly controls the moving assembly so that the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position moves along the outer edge of the detected obstacle based on a position of the detected obstacle and a position of the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position.
See Claim 1 for teachings of Luo. Luo further discloses wherein the control of the moving assembly controls the moving assembly so that the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position moves based on a position of the cleaning pad fixed to the holder in the second position. (as per ‘planning, based on the objects detected in the surrounding environment, a robot trajectory and an arm trajectory of the extendable suction arm; and controlling the vacuum device to move along the robot trajectory to ensure the extendable suction arm moving through the arm trajectory” in ¶13, as per “receive the sensing signals from the at least one detection sensor and control movement of the vacuum device based on the sensing signals; and control the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm to switch the extendable suction arm between the first position and the at least one second position” in ¶6)
In this way, Luo operates to reduce complexity of path planning and improve the cleaning effectiveness, especially along the walls, corners and small spaces (¶65). Like Sik, Luo is concerned with robotic vacuums.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the system of Sik with the intelligent robot vacuum device as taught by Luo to enable another standard means of moving an arm from a first position to a second position and path planning accordingly (¶6, ¶13).
Sik, Luo, and Thorne fail to expressly disclose wherein the control of the moving assembly controls the moving assembly so that the cleaning pad moves along the outer edge of the detected obstacle based on a position of the detected obstacle.
Romanov discloses of a mobile robot for cleaning, wherein the control of the moving assembly controls the moving assembly so that the cleaning pad moves along the outer edge of the detected obstacle based on a position of the detected obstacle. (as per “gyroscope may be used to help perform this function, whereby when the cleaning robot makes contact with the wall, turns in one direction, and then drives with slightly more speed on the wheel opposite the wall, causing the side of the cleaning pad near the wall to plow in toward the wall and drive along it while cleaning” in ¶143, as per “During the edge following step, the robot is driven on an arc curving into the edge to be cleaned by setting the speed of the wheel further away from the wall to be slightly higher than the speed of the inner wheel” in ¶147)
In this way, Romanov operates to improve coverage of the regions and or entire area. (¶401). Like Sik, Luo, and Thorne, Romanov is concerned with robotic vacuums.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the systems of Sik, Luo, and Thorne with the mobile cleaning robot as taught by Romanov to enable another standard means of aligning a robot with an obstacle based on angular quantities of the robot (¶147, ¶151).
Claim 26 is rejecting using the same rationale, mutatis mutandis, applied to Claim 21 above, respectively.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TYLER R ROBARGE whose telephone number is (703)756-5872. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ramón Mercado can be reached at (571) 270-5744. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/T.R.R./Examiner, Art Unit 3658
/Ramon A. Mercado/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3658
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