DETAILED ACTION
This is a non-final office action on the merits. Claims 1-20 are pending and addressed below.
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 10/16/2023 is being considered by the examiner.
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/23/2024 is being considered by the examiner.
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 6/26/2025 is being considered by the examiner.
Non-English documents have been considered in as much as the drawings and translated portions provided therein (See MPEP 609).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2-8 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 2-8 appear to improperly depend on claim 1 because claim 1 is claiming a communication system including an external device and a robotic garden tool, but claims 2-8 are only claiming the robotic garden tool. In addition, this makes antecedence basis indeterminate for elements that were introduced in claim 1 that was outside the scope of the robotic garden tool, such as first information, first electronic processor, the display, etc.
All dependent claims of these claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, by virtue of their dependency.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 6, 9-10, 14, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MELLINGER, III et al. (US 20200029774 a reference in IDS 1/23/2024).
Regarding claims 1, 9, 17, MELLINGER, III et al. teaches:
A communication system comprising:
(at least figs. 1-6, [0016]-[0097] discussed servers/external devices communicating information/user planning information/communications to cleaning robot to control operations including lawn mowing/grass cutting);
an external device including
a display,
a first network interface, and
a first electronic processor in communication with the display and the first network interface, the first electronic processor configured to
(at least figs. 1-6, [0016]-[0097] discussed servers/external devices communicating information/user planning information/communications to cleaning robot to control operations including lawn mowing/grass cutting; in particular [0022] [0039]-[0046] [0095]-[0097] disused robot and external servers communicating in a network for user planning information, fig. 6 showing server devices 602-608, devices 154-164)
retrieve calendar information associated with a location that includes a lawn, wherein a robotic garden tool is configured to perform a task within a boundary of the lawn,
generate scheduling information for the robotic garden tool based on the first information, and
transmit the scheduling information to the robotic garden tool; and
(at least figs. 1-6, [0016]-[0097] discussed servers/external devices communicating information/user planning information/communications to cleaning robot to control operations including lawn mowing/grass cutting; in particular [0022] [0039]-[0046] [0095]-[0097] disused robot and external servers communicating in a network for user planning information, fig. 6 showing server devices 602-608, devices 154-164; [0039]-[0040]);
analyze, using at least one of natural language processing and word recognition, the calendar information to extract first information related to use of the lawn at one or more time periods,
(at least figs. 1-6, [0016]-[0097] discussed servers/external devices communicating information/user planning information/communications to cleaning robot to control operations including lawn mowing/grass cutting; in particular [0022] [0039]-[0046] [0095]-[0097] disused robot and external servers communicating in a network for user planning information, fig. 6 showing server devices 602-608, devices 154-164; [0039]-[0040]; [0030]-[0031])
the robotic garden tool including a housing,
a set of wheels coupled to the housing and configured to rotate to propel the robotic garden tool on an operating surface,
at least one wheel motor coupled to one or more wheels of the set of wheels, the at least one wheel motor configured to drive rotation of the one or more wheels,
a second network interface,
a second electronic processor in communication with the second network interface and configured to
(at least figs. 1-6, [0016]-[0097] discussed servers/external devices communicating information/user planning information/communications to cleaning robot to control operations including lawn mowing/grass cutting; in particular [0022] [0039]-[0046] [0095]-[0097] disused robot and external servers communicating in a network for user planning information, fig. 6 showing server devices 602-608, devices 154-164; at least figs. 1-2 [0044]-[0068] discussed details about cleaning robot, including wheels and motors)
receive the scheduling information, and
control operation of the at least one wheel motor to control movement of the robotic garden tool in accordance with the scheduling information.
(at least figs. 1-6, [0016]-[0097] discussed servers/external devices communicating information/user planning information/communications to cleaning robot to control operations including lawn mowing/grass cutting; in particular [0022] [0039]-[0046] [0095]-[0097] disused robot and external servers communicating in a network for user planning information, fig. 6 showing server devices 602-608, devices 154-164; at least figs. 1-2 [0044]-[0068] discussed details about cleaning robot, including wheels and motors; [0039]-[0040]; [0030]-[0031]);
MELLINGER, III et al. does not explicitly teach:
the first electronic processor configured to do the analyzing;
transmit the scheduling information via the first network interface;
receive the scheduling information from the external device;
However, MELLINGER, III et al. teaches:
the analyzing is a service;
transmit the scheduling information is a service;
receive the scheduling information is a service;
the first electronic processor configured to do a service,
a service via the first network interface;
receive a service from the external device;
(at least figs. 1-6, [0016]-[0097] discussed servers/external devices communicating information/user planning information/communications to cleaning robot to control operations including lawn mowing/grass cutting; in particular [0022] [0039]-[0046] [0095]-[0097] disused robot and external servers communicating in a network for user planning information, fig. 6 showing server devices 602-608, devices 154-164; at least figs. 1-2 [0044]-[0068] discussed details about cleaning robot, including wheels and motors; [0039]-[0040]; [0030]-[0031]) to provide services, to satisfy privacy protections and enable the processor to access information ([0016]-[0097] [0022] [0039]-[0046] [0095]-[0097])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing and at the time of the invention to modify the system and method of MELLINGER, III et al. with the analyzing is a service; transmit the scheduling information is a service; receive the scheduling information is a service; the first electronic processor configured to do a service, a service via the first network interface; receive a service from the external device; as taught by MELLINGER, III et al. to provide services, to satisfy privacy protections and enable the processor to access information.
Regarding claim 2, MELLINGER, III et al. teaches:
wherein the first information includes event information regarding a first event, wherein the event information was entered into at least one of the external device and a second external device by a user via a user input;
(at least figs. 1-6, [0016]-[0097] discussed servers/external devices communicating information/user planning information/communications to cleaning robot to control operations including lawn mowing/grass cutting; in particular [0022] [0039]-[0046] [0095]-[0097] disused robot and external servers communicating in a network for user planning information, fig. 6 showing server devices 602-608, devices 154-164; at least figs. 1-2 [0044]-[0068] discussed details about cleaning robot, including wheels and motors; [0039]-[0040]; [0030]-[0031])
Regarding claim 6, MELLINGER, III et al. teaches:
wherein the first electronic processor is configured to retrieve the calendar information from at least one of a first memory of the external device, a second memory of a server, and a third memory of a cloud-based computing device;
(at least figs. 1-6, [0016]-[0097] discussed servers/external devices communicating information/user planning information/communications to cleaning robot to control operations including lawn mowing/grass cutting; in particular [0022] [0039]-[0046] [0095]-[0097] disused robot and external servers communicating in a network for user planning information, fig. 6 showing server devices 602-608, devices 154-164; at least figs. 1-2 [0044]-[0068] discussed details about cleaning robot, including wheels and motors; [0039]-[0040]; [0030]-[0031])
Regarding claim 10, the cited portions and rationale in rejection of claim 2 read on this claim.
Regarding claim 14, the cited portions and rationale in rejection of claim 6 read on this claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-13, 15-16, 18-20 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BAO LONG T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7768. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-4:30.
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BAO LONG T. NGUYEN
Examiner
Art Unit 3664
/BAO LONG T NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3656