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 .
Priority
Examiner acknowledges Applicant’s claim of benefit to Provisional Patent Application No. 63/388,487 filed on 7/12/2022.
Status of Claims
Applicant’s communications filed on 10/06/2025 have been considered.
Claims 1-4, 8, 10, 12 and 17-23 have been amended.
Claims 1-23 are currently pending and have been examined.
Claim Objections
Claim 1, 10 and 17 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding Claim 1, the claim recites “each pick order of the fresh order-line goods picking order being directed for picking for picking…,” – should be – “each pick order of the fresh order-line goods picking order being directed for picking”. It appears that a typographical error was made with regards to the wording of the claim. Appropriate correction is required.
Regarding Claim 1, the claim further recites “generating from the online order a fresh order-line pick plan… the secondary operation is performed on each of the fresh order-line goods.” While the claim previously recites “a predetermined corresponding secondary operation performed thereon for fulfilling a self-service order,” there is a lack of antecedent basis for “the secondary operation.” Furthermore, the claim previously recites that the predetermined corresponding secondary operation has already been performed on the goods, supporting the indication of a lack of antecedent basis for subsequently performing the same secondary operation. Examiner notes that, for examination purposes, this limitation has been interpreted as “generating from the online order a fresh order-line pick plan…, a secondary operation is performed on each of the fresh order-line goods.” Claims 10 and 17 recite similar subject matter and have been objected to for the same reasons. Appropriate correction is required.
Regarding Claim 10, the claim further recites “an automated goods-to-person (G2P) area including… at least one mobile robot configured t pick the goods from the storage areas.” – should be – “at least one mobile robot configured to pick the goods from the storage areas.” It appears that a typographical error was made with regards to this particular limitation. Appropriate correction is required.
Reasons for Indication of Subject Matter Eligibility
The claims recite eligible subject matter. Specifically, the amended claims do more than apply the abstract idea using a generic computer because the recited additional elements of the claim apply or use the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the user of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment, such that the claims as a whole are more than a drafting effort to monopolize the exception. For example, the claims recite where the fresh order-line goods have a predetermined corresponding secondary operation performed thereon for fulfilling a self-service order or an online order, and are not suited for automated storage and retrieval system picking; and a G2P controller configured… the secondary operation is performed on each of the fresh order-line goods with transfer of the fresh order-line goods… so as to configure the fresh order-line goods for automated storage and retrieval system storage and picking; effect automated operation of the at least one mobile robot to pick one or more of the goods and one or more of the fresh order-line containers for order fulfillment, where the goods and the fresh order-line goods… are combined at a picking station so that the online order is fulfilled from a selection of goods including an entire inventory of the store, including the goods not suited for automated storage and retrieval picking. The claim as a whole integrates the method of organizing human activity into a practical application. Specifically, the additional elements recite a specific improvement over prior art systems by expanding online order selection to those goods that would not otherwise be available in an automated storage and retrieval system due to secondary operations that are needed for processing the goods for purchase, such as highly perishable products (see Specification: [0025][0029-0030][0034]). The specification further discloses that the invention allows for retailers to offer a full range of products found in a store for online customers, as opposed to only those products that are suitable for an automated G2P system, which requires its own cache of inventory (Spec: [0006]), and additionally that performing the secondary operation prior to the fresh order-line goods arriving at the picking station improves G2P picking system throughput ([0030]). In light of Specification paragraphs [0006][0025][0029-0030][0034], it can be seen that performing the secondary operation on each of the fresh order-line goods prior to the fresh order-line goods being inducted into the automated retrieval and storage system would increase efficiency of the G2P system and picking workstation, as well as provide online customers with the ability to select from the store’s complete inventory, rather than only those goods that are suitable for automated storage and picking systems. This provides a technical solution to the technical problem by improving the store’s ability to meet the demands of orders from customers ordering online, regardless of inventory information accuracy, by a store fulfilling online orders from existing self-service stores. The claimed feature of where the fresh order-line goods have a predetermined corresponding secondary operation performed thereon for fulfilling a self-service order or an online order, and are not suited for automated storage and retrieval system picking; the secondary operation is performed on each of the fresh order-line goods with transfer of the fresh order-line goods… so as to configure the fresh order-line goods for automated storage and retrieval system storage and picking; and where the goods and the fresh order-line goods… are combined at a picking station so that the online order is fulfilled from a selection of goods including an entire inventory of the store, in this way does more than just apply the judicial exception and uses the judicial exception in a meaningful way beyond generally linking because the interface provides a technical solution to a technical problem. Thus, the claims are integrated into a practical application.
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.
Claims 1, 3-9, 17 and 19-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over previously cited Lert (US 2018/0134492 A1) in view of newly cited U.S Patent Application No. 2018/0012289 A1 to Foster et al., hereinafter Foster.
Regarding Claim 1, Lert discloses A store providing goods, the store comprising ([0044] The store and corresponding method of implementation is an automated-service model in which robots, deployed at the brick-and-mortar location, fill orders for fungible goods (e.g., pre-packaged goods) placed by customers either online or in-store; [0062] store 300):
a self-service area comprising shelves configured to buffer goods to fulfill self-service orders picked by in-store shoppers and to buffer goods to fulfill online orders, the self-service area comprising fresh order-line goods, where the fresh order-line goods have a predetermined corresponding secondary operation performed thereon for fulfilling a self-service order or an online order, and are not suited for automated storage and retrieval system picking ([0044] The store at the brick-and-mortar location is provided including a front-end shopping section for non-fungible goods or automated service of “fresh” items (e.g., fresh goods, produce, etc.) that customers prefer to pick out by hand; [0060] the store 300 includes a shopping section 302 enabling customers to select goods for automated fulfillment (such as by interactive display, scanning a tag, image, or code, or the like) and the automated fulfillment section 304 with an automated each-picking system that can pick most or all of the items that customers designate within an order (either an online or in person order); [0052] a shopping section 302 including storage containers (e.g., display cases of stands 606) of non-fungible goods (e.g., produce, meat, etc.); [0085] the automated order fulfillment 106 fulfills all customer orders… and optionally orders for non-fungible goods that have been “pre-packed” in a barcoded package and inducted into the automated order fulfillment 106 system (e.g., cuts of meat); [0092] The proxy picker will pick the non-fungible goods according to the customer's instructions and add those goods to the automated fulfilled order provide by the automated order fulfillment 106) (Examiner notes that, per Applicant’s spec, a secondary operation may be weighing, bagging, scanning, etc. (See at least Spec [0025]));
an automated goods-to-person (G2P) area including an automated storage and retrieval system configured with storage areas to store goods, at least one mobile robot configured to pick the goods from the storage areas, and one or more picking stations to fulfill the online orders of goods ([0069] The automated fulfillment section 304 includes the storage rack 612 system configured to hold totes of inventory accessible by the robots 226 and further configured to enable the robots 226 to pull inventory totes and deliver the totes to pickers at picking workstations 614 for automated order fulfillment 106… see [0053] the automated inventory management system is a system including automated mobile robots 226 (e.g., Alphabot™ robots) configured to provide the automated order fulfillment 106 from the inventory stored in the automated fulfillment section 304); and
a G2P controller configured to ([0055] a system 200 including an automated service system 202):
receive an online order including fresh order-line goods ([0051] orders for non-fungible goods may be placed online; [0071] the shopping terminals can be utilized to place orders for both fungible goods (to be picked by the automated order fulfillment 106) and non-fungible goods within the non-fungible goods fulfillment 104);
generate from the online order a fresh order-line pick plan, each pick order being directed for picking by a picker ([0078] Non-fungible goods can be handled in multiple modes: a proxy manual picker (e.g., a store employee picks non-fungible goods on behalf of a customer, typically via an online order); [0092] the customer can provide instructions for the proxy picker specifying various qualities of the non-fungible goods that they desire (e.g., color, firmness, weight, etc.). The proxy picker will pick the non-fungible goods according to the customer's instructions and add those goods to the automated order fulfillment 106) and
placed in a predetermined sub-container of a predetermined fresh order-line container that holds more than one sub-container ([0085] The robots 226 within the automated fulfillment section 304 are responsible for pulling totes eaches from inventory to be provided for picking by human or robotic operator (“pickers”) at picking workstations 614. Ordered eaches are packed into “bags” contained within order-totes (“O-totes”) by the pickers at the picking workstations 614; [0086] O-totes includes a plurality of shopping bags 704),
a secondary operation is performed on each of the fresh order-line goods with transfer of the fresh order-line goods to the predetermined sub-container so as to configured the fresh order-line goods for automated storage and retrieval system storage and picking ([0092] The proxy picker will pick the non-fungible goods according to the customer's instructions and add those goods to the automated order fulfillment 106; [0085] Ordered eaches are packed into “bags” contained within order-totes (“O-totes”) by the pickers at the picking workstations 614; [0086] O-totes includes a plurality of shopping bags 704… The design of the bags 704 allows for automated insertion into and manual removal from and O-totes 702);
effect registration and induction of the predetermined fresh order-line container, including the sub-containers of fresh order-line goods in to the automated storage and retrieval system ([0085] the automated order fulfillment 106 fulfills orders for non-fungible goods that have been “pre-packed” in a barcoded package and inducted into the automated order fulfillment 106 system; [0087] once an order has been completed, O-totes 702 are held in storage until a customer is available to pick-up the order. The automated order fulfillment 106 can store O-totes 702 in the appropriate temperature storage environment. For example, frozen or refrigerated goods will be designated to be stored in a freezer or refrigerator environment while fungible goods can be stored at an ambient temperature of the store 300); and
with fresh-order line containers disposed in the storage areas, effect automated operation of the at least one mobile robot to pick one or more of the goods and one or more of the fresh order-line containers for order fulfillment, where the goods and the fresh order-line goods of at least one sub-container are combined at a picking station so that the online order is fulfilled from a selection of goods including an entire inventory of the store, including the goods not suited for automated storage and retrieval system picking ([0087] the automated order fulfillment 106 can store O-totes 702 in the appropriate temperature storage environment… frozen/refrigerated goods will be stored in a freezer/refrigerator environment while fungible goods can be stored at an ambient temperature of the store 300. Additionally, the stored goods of an order can contain fungible items… when a customer is ready to pick-up an order, all of the O-totes 702 and other products are delivered from the various storage environments to the customer at a designated delivery area; [0091] the robots 226 deliver totes from the shopping section 302 and the automated fulfillment section 304 to a combination station at the delivery fulfillment section 308 for consolidation prior to delivery to the customer);
Lert further discloses wherein a pick plan is the fresh order-line pick plan ([0092]), and wherein goods are the fresh order-line goods ([0044]), but does not explicitly disclose wherein the pick plan defines a goods picking order for the online order, each pick order of the goods picking order being directed for picking.
Foster, on the other hand, discloses a system and method for order fulfillment ([0038-0039]), and further discloses wherein the pick plan defines a goods picking order for the online order, each pick order of the goods picking order being directed for picking ([0043] A customer uses the customer interface 18 to place an order for a product or products desired by the customer… the customer interfaces with the system using any known network to select products; [0053] once all orders for an ordering period have been analyzed, wave planning is performed for product retrieval; [0056] a wave is a pre-planned time period wherein gathering of items for a pre-planned number of orders is taken; [0060] after an order has been received and waves have been planned, products are retrieved in parallel from various subgroup areas during the same general time period).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the system, as taught by Lert, wherein the pick plan defines a goods picking order for the online order, each pick order of the goods picking order being directed for picking, as taught by Foster, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. It further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lert, to include the teachings of Foster, in order to increase efficiency of order fulfillment, particularly with regards to handling the mixed variety of goods which are included in a grocery order, including perishable, refrigerated and frozen goods (Foster, [0002-0005]).
Regarding Claim 3, Lert and Foster teach the limitations of claim 1.
Lert further discloses wherein the predetermined fresh order-line container is stored on a storage shelf within the storage area of the G2P area while a remainder of a respective online order is assimilated ([0087] Once an automated order has been completed (e.g., all eaches from an order picked into one or more O-totes 702 at a picking workstation 614), the filled O-totes 702 are either placed into a storage rack 612 subsystem for temporary storage pending delivery to the customer (e.g. if the order was placed online)… The automated order fulfillment 106 can store O-totes 702 in the appropriate temperature storage environment. For example, frozen or refrigerated goods will be designated to be stored in a freezer or refrigerator environment while fungible goods can be stored at an ambient temperature of the store 300… when a customer is ready to pick-up an order, all of the O-totes 702 and other products are delivered from the various storage environments to the customer at a designated delivery area; [0088] orders that include eaches from multiple temperature zones and require intermediate storage before delivery to the customer will require at least one O-tote 702 for each zones).
Regarding Claim 4, Lert and Foster teach the limitations of claim 3.
Lert further discloses wherein the G2P controller effects transfer of the predetermined fresh order-line container, by the at least one mobile robot, from the storage shelf to a picking station of the one or more picking stations ([0069] The automated fulfillment section 304 includes the storage rack 612 system configured to hold totes of inventory accessible by the robots 226 and further configured to enable the robots 226 to pull inventory totes and deliver the totes to pickers at picking workstations 614 for automated order fulfillment 106. In accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention, the delivery fulfillment section 308 includes a consolidation section in which goods from the automated fulfillment section 304 and goods from the shopping section 302 are combined and consolidated into order totes 702 for delivery to customers at the transfer stations 610… see [0051][0059] the order processing tool handles order processing, which includes receiving an online order and providing the appropriate combination of systems to fulfill the order),
where the one or more fresh order-line goods is transferred to an order container, along with other goods in the online order, to fulfill the online order ([0091] At the delivery fulfillment section 308, the tote including the non-fungible goods received from the customer will be consolidated and combined with the O-totes 702 deliver from the automated fulfillment section 304. In particular, the robots 226 deliver totes from the shopping section 302 and the automated fulfillment section 304 to a combination station at the delivery fulfillment section 308 for consolidation prior to delivery to the customer. The delivery fulfillment section 308 includes a merge module that combines the one or more fungible goods from the automated fulfillment section 304 with the one or more non-fungible-goods picked from the shopping section 302 into a delivery bundle. Once all the goods have been combined/consolidated the totes are ready for delivery at an order transfer station 610… see [0069] goods are consolidated into order totes 702).
Regarding Claim 5, Lert and Foster teach the limitations of claim 1.
Lert further discloses wherein the secondary operation performed on the one or more fresh order-line goods comprises placing the one or more fresh order-line goods in a bag and placing the bag in the container ([0085] Ordered eaches are packed into “bags” contained within order-totes (“O-totes”) by the pickers at the picking workstations 614; [0086] O-totes 702 have a capacity of up to three traditional paper or plastic shopping bags 704. The design of the bags 704 allows for automated insertion into and manual removal from and O-totes 702; [0092] The proxy picker will pick the non-fungible goods according to the customer's instructions and add those goods to the automated fulfilled order provide by the automated order fulfillment 106).
Regarding Claim 6, Lert and Foster teach the limitations of claim 1.
Lert further discloses wherein the secondary operation performed on the one or more fresh order-line goods comprises weighing the one or more fresh order-line goods ([0078] non-fungible goods may be picked by a proxy manual picker on behalf of the customer, where non-fungible goods may be added to an order by utilizing a combination of scales 608; [0079] the section of the shopping section 302 containing fruits will include checkout kiosks 618 and scales 608 for the customer to enter a quantity and weight of a particular fruit item(s) to be added to the customer's order; [0092] The proxy picker will pick the non-fungible goods according to the customer's instructions and add those goods to the automated fulfilled order provide by the automated order fulfillment 106) and
storing the weight of the one or more fresh order-line goods in association with the online order ([0079] Once the non-fungible goods are tallied and weighed, they can be added to the customer's order (e.g., via the shopping terminal) such that all customer handpicked goods and automated picked goods will be reflected within a single shopping order).
Regarding Claim 7, Lert and Foster teach the limitations of claim 1.
Lert further discloses wherein the secondary operation performed on the one or more fresh order-line goods comprises scanning a digital code on packaging of the one or more fresh order-line goods to identify information of the one or more fresh order-line goods and storing the information in association with the online order ([0060] the store 300 includes a shopping section 302 enabling customers to select goods for automated fulfillment (such as by… scanning a tag, image, or code, or the like; [0078] non-fungible goods may be picked by a proxy manual picker on behalf of the customer, where non-fungible goods may be added to an order by RFID labels or barcodes; [0079] Once the non-fungible goods are tallied and weighed, they can be added to the customer's order (e.g., via the shopping terminal) such that all customer handpicked goods and automated picked goods will be reflected within a single shopping order).
Regarding Claim 8, Lert and Foster teach the limitations of claim 1.
Lert further discloses wherein the predetermined fresh order-line container comprises a tote and the sub-container comprises a sub-tote within the tote, where the one or more fresh order-line goods is placed within the sub-tote of the tote and moved to the G2P area to fulfill the online order ([0066] At the delivery fulfillment section 308 goods provided 406 from the automated fulfillment section 304 and goods provided 408 from the shopping section 302 will be combined into a single order for delivery 410 to the customer; [0086] O-totes includes a plurality of shopping bags 704; [0087] Once an automated order has been completed (e.g., all eaches from an order picked into one or more O-totes 702 at a picking workstation 614), the filled O-totes 702 are either placed into a storage rack 612 subsystem for temporary storage pending delivery to the customer (e.g. if the order was placed online), or discharged from the system immediately for delivery to the customer within the store 300 at the delivery fulfillment section 308 (e.g. if the order was placed in the store)… see [Fig. 7] depicting an O-tote 702 comprising three compartments).
Regarding Claim 9, Lert and Foster teach the limitations of claim 1.
Lert further discloses wherein the secondary operation is performed before the one or more fresh order-line goods are transferred to the G2P area ([0085] the automated order fulfillment 106 fulfills all customer orders for fungible goods… Ordered eaches are packed into “bags” contained within order-totes (“O-totes”) by the pickers at the picking workstations 614; [0087] Once an automated order has been completed (e.g., all eaches from an order picked into one or more O-totes 702 at a picking workstation 614), the filled O-totes 702 are either placed into a storage rack 612 subsystem for temporary storage pending delivery to the customer (e.g. if the order was placed online), or discharged from the system immediately for delivery to the customer within the store 300 at the delivery fulfillment section 308 (e.g. if the order was placed in the store); [0091] the customers are required to transfer totes including their hand-picked non-fungible goods orders from the shopping section 302 to the delivery fulfillment section 308 (e.g., through 408). At the delivery fulfillment section 308, the tote including the non-fungible goods received from the customer will be consolidated and combined with the O-totes 702 deliver from the automated fulfillment section 304. In particular, the robots 226 deliver totes from the shopping section 302 and the automated fulfillment section 304 to a combination station at the delivery fulfillment section 308 for consolidation).
Regarding Claim 17, A method of providing goods in a store, comprising ([0044] The store and corresponding method of implementation is an automated-service model in which robots, deployed at the brick-and-mortar location, fill orders for fungible goods (e.g., pre-packaged goods) placed by customers either online or in-store; [0062] store 300):
storing goods to a self-service area, the self-service area provided to buffer goods to fulfill self- service orders by in-store shoppers and to buffer goods to fulfill online orders, the self-service area comprising fresh order-line goods, where the fresh order-line goods have a predetermined corresponding secondary operation performed thereon for fulfilling a self-service order or an online order, and are not suited for automated storage and retrieval system picking ([0044] The store at the brick-and-mortar location is provided including a front-end shopping section for non-fungible goods or automated service of “fresh” items (e.g., fresh goods, produce, etc.) that customers prefer to pick out by hand; [0060] the store 300 includes a shopping section 302 enabling customers to select goods for automated fulfillment (such as by interactive display, scanning a tag, image, or code, or the like) and the automated fulfillment section 304 with an automated each-picking system that can pick most or all of the items that customers designate within an order (either an online or in person order); [0052] a shopping section 302 including storage containers (e.g., display cases of stands 606) of non-fungible goods (e.g., produce, meat, etc.); [0085] the automated order fulfillment 106 fulfills all customer orders… and optionally orders for non-fungible goods that have been “pre-packed” in a barcoded package and inducted into the automated order fulfillment 106 system (e.g., cuts of meat); [0092] The proxy picker will pick the non-fungible goods according to the customer's instructions and add those goods to the automated fulfilled order provide by the automated order fulfillment 106);
storing goods to fulfill online orders in a goods to person (G2P) area, the G2P area configured with storage areas to store goods, at least one mobile robot configured to pick the goods from the storage areas, and one or more picking stations to fulfill received orders of goods ([0069] The automated fulfillment section 304 includes the storage rack 612 system configured to hold totes of inventory accessible by the robots 226 and further configured to enable the robots 226 to pull inventory totes and deliver the totes to pickers at picking workstations 614 for automated order fulfillment 106… see [0053] the automated inventory management system is a system including automated mobile robots 226 (e.g., Alphabot™ robots) configured to provide the automated order fulfillment 106 from the inventory stored in the automated fulfillment section 304); and
with a G2P controller ([0055] a system 200 including an automated service system 202):
receiving an online order including fresh order-line goods ([0051] orders for non-fungible goods may be placed online; [0071] the shopping terminals can be utilized to place orders for both fungible goods (to be picked by the automated order fulfillment 106) and non-fungible goods within the non-fungible goods fulfillment 104);
generating from the online order a fresh order-line pick plan, and picking each of the fresh order-line goods in the fresh order-line pick plan from the self-service area ([0078] Non-fungible goods can be handled in multiple modes: a proxy manual picker (e.g., a store employee picks non-fungible goods on behalf of a customer, typically via an online order); [0092] the customer can provide instructions for the proxy picker specifying various qualities of the non-fungible goods that they desire (e.g., color, firmness, weight, etc.). The proxy picker will pick the non-fungible goods according to the customer's instructions and add those goods to the automated order fulfillment 106),
where each pick order of the fresh order-line goods picking order is placed in a predetermined sub-container of a predetermined fresh order-line container that holds more than one sub-container ([0085] The robots 226 within the automated fulfillment section 304 are responsible for pulling totes eaches from inventory to be provided for picking by human or robotic operator (“pickers”) at picking workstations 614. Ordered eaches are packed into “bags” contained within order-totes (“O-totes”) by the pickers at the picking workstations 614; [0086] O-totes includes a plurality of shopping bags 704), where
a secondary operation is performed on each of the fresh order-line goods with transfer of the fresh order-line goods to the predetermined sub-container so as to configure the fresh order-line goods for automated storage and retrieval system storage and picking ([0092] The proxy picker will pick the non-fungible goods according to the customer's instructions and add those goods to the automated order fulfillment 106; [0085] Ordered eaches are packed into “bags” contained within order-totes (“O-totes”) by the pickers at the picking workstations 614; [0086] O-totes includes a plurality of shopping bags 704… The design of the bags 704 allows for automated insertion into and manual removal from and O-totes 702); and
effecting registration and induction of the predetermined fresh order-line container, including the sub-containers of fresh order-line goods, in to the automated storage and retrieval system ([0085] the automated order fulfillment 106 fulfills orders for non-fungible goods that have been “pre-packed” in a barcoded package and inducted into the automated order fulfillment 106 system; [0087] once an order has been completed, O-totes 702 are held in storage until a customer is available to pick-up the order. The automated order fulfillment 106 can store O-totes 702 in the appropriate temperature storage environment. For example, frozen or refrigerated goods will be designated to be stored in a freezer or refrigerator environment while fungible goods can be stored at an ambient temperature of the store 300); and
with fresh-order line containers disposed in the storage areas, picking, with the at least one mobile robot under control of the G2P controller, one or more of the goods and one or more of the fresh order-line containers for order fulfillment, where the goods and the fresh order-line goods of at least one sub-container are combined at a picking station so that the online order is fulfilled from a selection of goods including an entire inventory of the store, including the goods not suited for automated storage and retrieval system picking ([0087] the automated order fulfillment 106 can store O-totes 702 in the appropriate temperature storage environment… frozen/refrigerated goods will be stored in a freezer/refrigerator environment while fungible goods can be stored at an ambient temperature of the store 300. Additionally, the stored goods of an order can contain fungible items… when a customer is ready to pick-up an order, all of the O-totes 702 and other products are delivered from the various storage environments to the customer at a designated delivery area; [0091] the robots 226 deliver totes from the shopping section 302 and the automated fulfillment section 304 to a combination station at the delivery fulfillment section 308 for consolidation prior to delivery to the customer));
Lert further discloses wherein a pick plan is the fresh order-line pick plan ([0092]), and wherein goods are the fresh order-line goods, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the pick plan defines a goods picking order for the online order.
Foster, on the other hand, discloses a system and method for order fulfillment ([0038-0039]), and further discloses wherein the pick plan defines a goods picking order for the online order ([0043] A customer uses the customer interface 18 to place an order for a product or products desired by the customer… the customer interfaces with the system using any known network to select products; [0053] once all orders for an ordering period have been analyzed, wave planning is performed for product retrieval; [0056] a wave is a pre-planned time period wherein gathering of items for a pre-planned number of orders is taken; [0060] after an order has been received and waves have been planned, products are retrieved in parallel from various subgroup areas during the same general time period).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the system, as taught by Lert, wherein the pick plan defines a goods picking order for the online order as taught by Foster, for the same reasons discussed with respect to claim 1.
Regarding Claim 19, Lert and Foster teach the limitations of claim 17.
Lert further discloses wherein picking fresh order-line goods from the self-service area comprises picking fresh order-line goods from the self-service area during off-peak hours of the store ([0095] the prioritization tasks will vary based on the “needs” of the store through robot 226 load balancing. As the robots 226 perform order delivery fulfillment 108 and inventory replenishment, the system 200 is scheduled to balance the robot 226 utilization… the system 200 can schedule order fulfillment for online orders for next day pickup during night hours when the store 300 is closed to customers).
Regarding Claim 20, Lert and Foster teach the limitations of claim 17.
Lert further discloses wherein performing the secondary operation on the fresh order-line goods comprises placing the fresh order-line goods in bags and transferring the bags to the G2P area ([0085] Ordered eaches are packed into “bags” contained within order-totes (“O-totes”) by the pickers at the picking workstations 614; [0086] O-totes 702 have a capacity of up to three traditional paper or plastic shopping bags 704. The design of the bags 704 allows for automated insertion into and manual removal from and O-totes 702; [0087] Once an automated order has been completed… the filled O-totes 702 are either placed into a storage rack 612 subsystem for temporary storage pending delivery to the customer (e.g. if the order was placed online), or discharged from the system immediately for delivery to the customer within the store 300 at the delivery fulfillment section 308 (e.g. if the order was placed in the store)).
Claim 21 recites a method comprising substantially similar limitations as claim 6. The claim is rejected under substantially similar grounds as claim 6.
Claim 22 recites a method comprising substantially similar limitations as claim 7. The claim is rejected under substantially similar grounds as claim 7.
Regarding Claim 23, Lert and Foster teach the limitations of claim 17.
Lert further discloses wherein performing the secondary operation on the fresh order-line goods is performed prior to transferring goods from the self-service area to the G2P area ([0085] the automated order fulfillment 106 fulfills all customer orders for fungible goods… Ordered eaches are packed into “bags” contained within order-totes (“O-totes”) by the pickers at the picking workstations 614; [0087] Once an automated order has been completed (e.g., all eaches from an order picked into one or more O-totes 702 at a picking workstation 614), the filled O-totes 702 are either placed into a storage rack 612 subsystem for temporary storage pending delivery to the customer (e.g. if the order was placed online), or discharged from the system immediately for delivery to the customer within the store 300 at the delivery fulfillment section 308 (e.g. if the order was placed in the store); [0091] the customers are required to transfer totes including their hand-picked non-fungible goods orders from the shopping section 302 to the delivery fulfillment section 308 (e.g., through 408). At the delivery fulfillment section 308, the tote including the non-fungible goods received from the customer will be consolidated and combined with the O-totes 702 deliver from the automated fulfillment section 304. In particular, the robots 226 deliver totes from the shopping section 302 and the automated fulfillment section 304 to a combination station at the delivery fulfillment section 308 for consolidation).
Claims 2, 10-16, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lert in view of Foster, and further in view of previously cited Gravelle (US 2023/0271785 A1).
Regarding Claim 2, Lert and Foster teach the limitations of claim 1.
Lert further discloses wherein containers are fresh order-line containers ([0085-0086][0092]), but does not explicitly disclose a digital identifier associated with each of the containers, the digital identifier associating each container with a respective online order.
Gravelle, on the other hand, discloses a digital identifier associated with each of the containers, the digital identifier associating each container with a respective online order ([0138] Order bins 403c for orders that include any large-scale items stored outside the ASRS structure 208 in the oversized item storage area 212 are specifically dropped off by the robotic storage/retrieval vehicles (RSRVs)… Similar to the packing workstations 245, when an order bin 403c arrives at the access port 251 of the consolidated-packing workstation 255, the order bin 403c is identified to the CCS 265, for example, by an optical scan of a bin or order identifier, or by a wireless transmission of a bin or order identifier by a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag or other means, whereby the CCS 265 is configured to display appropriate instructions on the display screen 901 to a worker, for example, a human worker, according to the needs of the order(s) contained in that order bin 403c).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the system, as taught by Lert and Foster, a digital identifier associated with each of the containers, the digital identifier associating each container with a respective online order, as taught by Gravelle, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable. It further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lert and Foster, to include the teachings of Gravelle, in order to provide a space-efficient order fulfillment system for workflow between different service areas (Gravelle, [0002]).
Regarding Claim 10, Lert discloses A store providing goods, the store comprising ([0044] The store and corresponding method of implementation is an automated-service model in which robots, deployed at the brick-and-mortar location, fill orders for fungible goods (e.g., pre-packaged goods) placed by customers either online or in-store; [0062] store 300):
a self-service area comprising shelves configured to buffer goods to fulfill self-service orders picked by in-store shoppers and to buffer goods to fulfill online orders, the self-service area comprising fresh order-line goods, where the fresh order-line goods have a predetermined corresponding secondary operation performed thereon for fulfilling a self-service order or an online order, and are not suited for automated storage and retrieval system picking ([0044] The store at the brick-and-mortar location is provided including a front-end shopping section for non-fungible goods or automated service of “fresh” items (e.g., fresh goods, produce, etc.) that customers prefer to pick out by hand; [0060] the store 300 includes a shopping section 302 enabling customers to select goods for automated fulfillment (such as by interactive display, scanning a tag, image, or code, or the like) and the automated fulfillment section 304 with an automated each-picking system that can pick most or all of the items that customers designate within an order (either an online or in person order); [0052] a shopping section 302 including storage containers (e.g., display cases of stands 606) of non-fungible goods (e.g., produce, meat, etc.); [0085] the automated order fulfillment 106 fulfills all customer orders… and optionally orders for non-fungible goods that have been “pre-packed” in a barcoded package and inducted into the automated order fulfillment 106 system (e.g., cuts of meat); [0092] The proxy picker will pick the non-fungible goods according to the customer's instructions and add those goods to the automated fulfilled order provide by the automated order fulfillment 106); and
an automated goods-to-person (G2P) area including an automated storage and retrieval system configured with storage areas to store goods, at least one mobile robot configured to pick the goods from the storage areas, and one or more picking stations to fulfill received orders of goods ([0069] The automated fulfillment section 304 includes the storage rack 612 system configured to hold totes of inventory accessible by the robots 226 and further configured to enable the robots 226 to pull inventory totes and deliver the totes to pickers at picking workstations 614 for automated order fulfillment 106… see [0053] the automated inventory management system is a system including automated mobile robots 226 (e.g., Alphabot™ robots) configured to provide the automated order fulfillment 106 from the inventory stored in the automated fulfillment section 304);
a G2P controller configured to ([0055] a system 200 including an automated service system 202):
receive multiple online orders including fresh order-line goods ([0051] orders for non-fungible goods may be placed online; [0071] the shopping terminals can be utilized to place orders for both fungible goods (to be picked by the automated order fulfillment 106) and non-fungible goods within the non-fungible goods fulfillment 104);
generate from the online orders a fresh order-line pick plan for picking from the self-service area, each pick order being directed for picking by a picker ([0078] Non-fungible goods can be handled in multiple modes: a proxy manual picker (e.g., a store employee picks non-fungible goods on behalf of a customer, typically via an online order); [0092] the customer can provide instructions for the proxy picker specifying various qualities of the non-fungible goods that they desire (e.g., color, firmness, weight, etc.). The proxy picker will pick the non-fungible goods according to the customer's instructions and add those goods to the automated order fulfillment 106) and
placed in a predetermined sub-tote of a predetermined fresh order-line tote that holds more than one sub-tote ([0085] The robots 226 within the automated fulfillment section 304 are responsible for pulling totes eaches from inventory to be provided for picking by human or robotic operator (“pickers”) at picking workstations 614. Ordered eaches are packed into “bags” contained within order-totes (“O-totes”) by the pickers at the picking workstations 614; [0086] O-totes includes a plurality of shopping bags 704),
a secondary operation is performed on each of the fresh order-line goods with transfer of the fresh order-line goods to predetermined sub-totes so as to configure the fresh order-line goods for automated storage and retrieval system storage and picking, and to fulfill multiple online orders ([0092] The proxy picker will pick the non-fungible goods according to the customer's instructions and add those goods to the automated order fulfillment 106; [0085] Ordered eaches are packed into “bags” contained within order-totes (“O-totes”) by the pickers at the picking workstations 614; [0086] O-totes includes a plurality of shopping bags 704… The design of the bags 704 allows for automated insertion into and manual removal from and O-totes 702); and
effect registration and induction of the predetermined fresh order-line container, including the sub-containers of fresh order-line goods, in to the automated storage and retrieval system ([0085] the automated order fulfillment 106 fulfills orders for non-fungible goods that have been “pre-packed” in a barcoded package and inducted into the automated order fulfillment 106 system; [0087] once an order has been completed, O-totes 702 are held in storage until a customer is available to pick-up the order. The automated order fulfillment 106 can store O-totes 702 in the appropriate temperature storage environment. For example, frozen or refrigerated goods will be designated to be stored in a freezer or refrigerator environment while fungible goods can be stored at an ambient temperature of the store 300); and
with the sub-totes, disposed in the totes, stored on storage shelves in the storage areas of the G2P area, effect automated operation of the at least one mobile robot to pick one or more of the goods and one or more of the fresh order-line containers for order fulfillment, where for at least one order, the goods and the fresh order-line goods of at least one sub-container are combined at a picking station so that G2P orders may be fulfilled from a selection of goods including an entire inventory of the store, including the goods not suited for automated storage and retrieval system picking ([0087] the automated order fulfillment 106 can store O-totes 702 in the appropriate temperature storage environment… frozen/refrigerated goods will be stored in a freezer/refrigerator environment while fungible goods can be stored at an ambient temperature of the store 300. Additionally, the stored goods of an order can contain fungible items… when a customer is ready to pick-up an order, all of the O-totes 702 and other products are delivered from the various storage environments to the customer at a designated delivery area; [0091] the robots 226 deliver totes from the shopping section 302 and the automated fulfillment section 304 to a combination station at the delivery fulfillment section 308 for consolidation prior to delivery to the customer… see [0069] The automated fulfillment section 304 includes the storage rack 612 system).
Lert further discloses wherein a pick plan is the fresh order-line pick plan ([0092]), and wherein goods are the fresh order-line goods ([0044]), but does not explicitly disclose generating from the online orders a pick plan, wherein the pick plan defines a goods picking order for the more than one online order to be grouped for batch picking, each pick order of the goods picking order being directed for picking.
Foster, on the other hand, discloses wherein the pick plan defines a goods picking order for the online order, each pick order of the goods picking order being directed for picking ([0043] A customer uses the customer interface 18 to place an order for a product or products desired by