The 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. Claim Status Claim(s) FILLIN "Insert the claim numbers which are being examined." \d "[ 1 ]" \* MERGEFORMAT FILLIN "Insert the claim numbers which are being examined." \d "[ Num ]" \* MERGEFORMAT 1-9 are currently being examined. 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) FILLIN "Insert the claim numbers which are under rejection." \d "[ 1 ]" 1-2, 4, and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FILLIN "Insert the prior art relied upon." \d "[ primary prior art reference name and number ]" Yuichi et al . (KR20190062230A, h ereinafter Yuichi) in view of FILLIN "Insert the secondary reference." \d "[ secondary prior art reference name and number ]" \* MERGEFORMAT Hyun (KR20200073798A, hereinafter referred to as Hyun) and Sakamoto et al. (US9682821B1, hereinafter referred to as Sakamoto) . Regarding Independent Claim 1 , Yuichi discloses an article transport facility which includes a transport vehicle, transfer sections, and a storage unit/location. It fails to disclose the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) , carry-in/out sections in the storage unit, and transport devices in said carry-in/out sections. However, Hyun teaches the use of a UAV for the transportation of articles in the same setting. Additionally, Sakamoto teaches carry-in and carry-out sections and respective transport devices. An article transport facility comprising: a transport vehicle configured to travel along a predetermined travel route and transport an article [See at least Yuichi: Title, Abstract, and Para. 0017 "the conveyance vehicle 1 is provided with a plurality of conveyance destination places...via the conveying path 99" ] ; an unmanned aerial vehicle configured to fly along a route and transport the article [See at least Hyun: Title, Abstract, Para. 0001 "unmanned air vehicle in a semiconductor manufacturing factory" and 0013 "a wafer transfer system that allows a wafer or a wafer carrier to be transferred using an unmanned aerial vehicle" ] ; a transfer section at which the article is transferrable to and from the transport vehicle and the unmanned aerial vehicle [See at least Yuichi: Para. 0016 "moved from the position corresponding to the transfer origin F to the position corresponding to the transfer destination place T" ] ; and a storage unit arranged at a location along the travel route and configured to store the article [See at least Yuichi: Para. 0015 and Fig. 1, Ref. Numeral 93 "temporary storage place" and 92 "storage bin" ] , wherein: the storage unit comprises: a carry-in section to which the transport vehicle carries in the article [See at least Yuichi: Title, Para. 0011 "The transport vehicle 1 transports the storage container 8 for storing the object 7" , and at least Sakamoto: Col. 4, lines 49-61 "As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, each carry-in-and-out transport device 4 is provided to extend from inside to outside of the tubular member 5 to transport containers 1 one at a time between an outside location 8 located outside of the tubular member 5 and an inside location 9 located inside the tubular member 5...The ceiling transport vehicles 3 and the floor surface transport vehicles 7 are provided outside the tubular member 5" ] ; a carry-out section from which the transport vehicle carries out the article [[See at least Yuichi: Title, Para. 0011 "The transport vehicle 1 transports the storage container 8 for storing the object 7" , and at least Sakamoto: Col. 4, lines 49-61 "As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, each carry-in-and-out transport device 4 is provided to extend from inside to outside of the tubular member 5 to transport containers 1 one at a time between an outside location 8 located outside of the tubular member 5 and an inside location 9 located inside the tubular member 5...The ceiling transport vehicles 3 and the floor surface transport vehicles 7 are provided outside the tubular member 5" ] ; at least one storage location at which the article is storable [See at least Yuichi: Para. 0015 "In the storage bin 92, for example, a first kind storage container 81 in which the first kind storage object 71 before use or after use is stored, and a second kind storage object 72 in the middle of the production, The second type storage container 82 is stored" ] ; and a transport device configured to transport the article from the carry-in section to the carry-out section via the at least one storage location [See at least Sakamoto: Col. 4, lines 49-61 "As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, each carry-in-and-out transport device 4 is provided to extend from inside to outside of the tubular member 5 to transport containers 1 one at a time between an outside location 8 located outside of the tubular member 5 and an inside location 9 located inside the tubular member 5" ], the transport vehicle transports the article from the carry-out section to the transfer section [See at least Sakamoto: Col. 4, lines 49-61 “ The ceiling transport vehicles 3 and the floor surface transport vehicles 7 are provided outside the tubular member 5" ] , the unmanned aerial vehicle transports the article from the at least one storage location to the transfer section [See at least Yuichi: Para. 0015 Ref. Numeral 93 "temporary storage place" and 92 "storage bin" , and at least Hyun: Para. 0014 "transfers a transfer object to a process facility that performs an arbitrary process for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, or transfers a transfer object from a process facility to a next process facility" and Fig. 1, Ref. Numeral 14 ]. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the article transport facility , including transport vehicles, transfer sections, and storage units , of Yuichi with the UAV of Hyun to provide an additional transportation medium for articles, and the carry-in/carry-out sections of a storage area as taught by Sakamoto to provide a way to facilitate said transportation and exchange between transport vehicle and modified storage unit . Before the effective filing date, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate the teachings described for the purpose of increasing article transportation efficiency and flexibility, with a reasonable expectation of success. Regarding Claim 2 , Yuichi discloses articles being transported to and from transfer sections, but fails to describe a UAV performing the transportation and the carry-in/out sections. However, Sakamoto and Hyun teach said sections and UAV respectively. the unmanned aerial vehicle furthermore transports the article from at least one of the carry-in section and the carry-out section to the transfer section [See at least Yuichi: Para. 0016 "moved from the position corresponding to the transfer origin F to the position corresponding to the transfer destination place T" , and at least Sakamoto: Col. 4, lines 49-61, as well as at least Hyun: Title, Abstract, Para. 0001 and 0013 ] . It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Hyun and Sakamoto into the article transport facility as described by Yuichi to utilize the UAV to transport the articles from a carry-in/out sections to a transfer section. Before the effective filing date, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate said teachings to increase the flexibility of article transportation between storage unit and transfer area , with a reasonable expectation of success. Regarding Claim 4 , Yuichi discloses articles being transported to and from storage locations, but fails to describe a UAV performing the transportation and carry-in/out sections. However, Sakamoto and Hyun teach said sections and UAV respectively. the unmanned aerial vehicle carries out the article from the carry-in section, the carry-out section, and all of the at least one storage location, and carries in the article to the at least one storage location [See at least Yuichi: Para. 0015 and Fig. 1, Ref. Numeral 93 "temporary storage place" and 92 "storage bin" , and at least Sakamoto: Col. 4, lines 49-61, as well as at least Hyun: Title, Abstract, Para. 0001 and 0013 ] . It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Hyun and Sakamoto into the article transport facility as described by Yuichi to utilize the UAV to transport the articles from a carry-in/out section or storage location to a different storage location. Before the effective filing date, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate said teachings to increase the efficiency of article transportation and storage by enabling inter-storage location transportation, with a reasonable expectation of success. Regarding Claim 6 , Yuichi describes storage units, but fails to explicitly describe them in regards to how many storage locations each is comprised of , or how they are arranged . However, Sakamoto teaches what Yuichi lacks, storage units comprised of three or more storage locations and in a specific configuration . the storage unit comprises three or more storage locations corresponding to the at least one storage location [See at least Yuichi: Para. 0015 and Fig. 1 , Ref. Numeral 93 "temporary storage place" and 92 "storage bin" , and at least Sakamoto: Col. 8, lines 35-52 "three or four storage sections 6 are installed" ] , the carry-in section, the carry-out section, and at least one specified storage location that is at least one of the three or more storage locations are aligned in a row along the travel route [See at least Sakamoto: Col. 4, lines 49-61 "As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, each carry-in-and-out transport device 4 is provided to extend from inside to outside of the tubular member 5 to transport containers 1 one at a time between an outside location 8 located outside of the tubular member 5 and an inside location 9 located inside the tubular member 5" and C ol. 8 , lines 35-52 , and C ol. 16 , lines 40-61 "The plurality of storage sections may be arranged in vertical rows and linear rows each extending along a lateral direction perpendicular to the vertical direction" , and at least one non-specified storage location that is at least one of the three or more storage locations other than the at least one specified storage location is arranged parallel with the row including the carry-in section, the carry-out section, and the at least one specified storage location [See at least Sakamoto: Col. 4, lines 49-61, Col. 8, lines 35-52, and Col. 15, lines 40-61]. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the article transport facility storage units as taught by Yuichi to contain three or more storage locations, as well as carry-in/out sections, arranged in a parallel row configuration to store multiple articles in each storage unit, in a consistent configuration, and make them accessible to an article transport vehicle or UAV. Before the effective filing date, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify the teachings to integrate multiple, accessible storage locations in a specific arrangement to increase storage efficiency and facilitate article locating and transportation, with a reasonable expectation of success. Claim(s) FILLIN "Insert the claim numbers which are under rejection." \d "[ 1 ]" 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FILLIN "Insert the prior art relied upon." \d "[ primary prior art reference name and number ]" Yuichi et al. (KR20190062230A, hereinafter Yuichi) in view of FILLIN "Insert the secondary reference." \d "[ secondary prior art reference name and number ]" \* MERGEFORMAT Hyun (KR20200073798A, hereinafter referred to as Hyun) and Sakamoto et al. (US9682821B1, hereinafter referred to as Sakamoto) and further in view of Kentaro et al. ( JP2021024722A , hereinafter referred to as Kentaro) . Regarding Claim 3 , Yuichi in view of Hyun and Sakamoto describe s an article transport facility including storage units and one or more UAVs, but they do not explicitly describe a waiting or parking site for a UAV. However, Kentaro teaches what they lack. the storage unit has a waiting site at which the unmanned aerial vehicle is capable of taking off and landing, and at which the unmanned aerial vehicle that landed is capable of waiting [See at least Yuichi: Para. 0015 and Fig. 1 , Ref. Numeral 93 "temporary storage place" and 92 "storage bin" , and at least Hyun: Para. 0023 "the wafer processing facility 10 having a cradle 100 for mounting a transfer object, a supply to the cradle of the wafer processing facility, or transfer collected from the cradle of the wafer processing facility It is provided with a loading unit 12 and an unmanned aerial vehicle 14 for loading an object" and Fig. 1, Ref. Numerals 12 and 100 , as well as at least Kentaro: Para. 0016, 0020, 0063 "a drone port 32 in which the drone 5 is parked" ] . It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the article transport facility that includes storage units and UAVs, of Yuichi in view of Hyun and Sakamoto, for article transport with the drone port where a drone may park as disclosed in Kentaro to provide a landing site for a UAV to wait at. Before the effective filing date, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify the teachings to provide a nearby and readily accessible drone port or waiting site to reduce the response time of a UAV to reach an article requiring movement and increase overall efficiency, with a reasonable expectation of success. Claim(s) FILLIN "Insert the claim numbers which are under rejection." \d "[ 1 ]" 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FILLIN "Insert the prior art relied upon." \d "[ primary prior art reference name and number ]" Yuichi et al. (KR20190062230A, hereinafter Yuichi) in view of FILLIN "Insert the secondary reference." \d "[ secondary prior art reference name and number ]" \* MERGEFORMAT Hyun (KR20200073798A, hereinafter referred to as Hyun) and Sakamoto et al. (US9682821B1, hereinafter referred to as Sakamoto) and further in view of Yoshioka et al. (US20140112741A1, hereinafter referred to as Yoshioka) . Regarding Claim 5 , Yuichi describes at least one storage location on a transport route, but fails to specifically describe the transport device being a conveyer. the transport device is a conveyor, and wherein the at least one storage location is provided on a transport route of the conveyor [See at least Yuichi: Para. 0015 and Fig. 1, Ref. Numeral 93 "temporary storage place" and 92 "storage bin" , and at least Yoshioka: Para. 0076 "a pair of upper wafer conveyors 3 provided at an upper left portion thereof and arranged side by side in a front-rear direction and a lower wafer conveyor 4 provided at a lower left portion thereof" ] . It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the article transport facility which includes a transport device for transporting an article between a carry-in/out section and storage location as taught by Yuichi in view of Hyun and Sakamoto with a conveyer contained therein and passes through at least one storage location as taught by Yoshioka to provide a means for transporting the article between said locations. Before the effective filing date, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify the article transport facility comprising a transport device and at least one storage location to make the transport device a conveyer system with at least one storage location on the conveyer route to reduce complexity and downtime of the system with a device well-known in the art for reliability, with a reasonable expectation of success. Claim(s) FILLIN "Insert the claim numbers which are under rejection." \d "[ 1 ]" 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FILLIN "Insert the prior art relied upon." \d "[ primary prior art reference name and number ]" Yuichi et al. (KR20190062230A, hereinafter Yuichi) in view of FILLIN "Insert the secondary reference." \d "[ secondary prior art reference name and number ]" \* MERGEFORMAT Hyun (KR20200073798A, hereinafter referred to as Hyun), Sakamoto et al. (US9682821B1, hereinafter referred to as Sakamoto), and Yoshioka et al. (US20140112741A1, hereinafter referred to as Yoshioka) and further in view of Otsuka et al. ( US9679795B2 , hereinafter referred to as Otsuka) . Regarding Claim 7 , Yuichi in view of Hyun, Sakamoto, and Yoshioka discloses an article transport facility and associated limitations including travel routes, storage units, and carry-in/out sections. It does not explicitly describe the storage units spanning multiple levels with separate storage locations on each and rows arranged next to each other in the route width direction . However, Otsuka describes a plurality of storage sections across multiple levels with adjacent rows . a direction along the travel route is a route extending direction, and a direction orthogonal to the route extending direction in a vertical view along an up-down direction is a route width direction [See at least Yuichi: Para. 0009 "a plan view showing an example of layout of a transportation equipment" Fig. 1 , and at least Yoshioka: Para. 0058 "FIG. 14 is a plan view of transport paths of an article transport facility" and 0148 "The two loop-like main travel paths 44 are arranged in a path lateral width direction" ] , the storage unit has a plurality of storage levels each comprising (i) a first row including the carry-in section, the carry-out section, and the at least one specified storage location, and (ii) a second row including the at least one non-specified storage location, the first row and the second row being arranged next to each other in the route width direction [See at least Yuichi: Para. 0015 and Fig. 1 , Ref. Numeral 93 "temporary storage place" and 92 "storage bin" , and at least Sakamoto: Col. 4, lines 49-61, as well as at least Otsuka: Col. 7, lines 14-35 "As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of storage sections 10S in the storage rack 10 are arranged both in the vertical direction and in the rack lateral width direction. To describe the storage rack 10 in more detail, in the present embodiment, eight horizontal rows of storage sections 10S are arranged with one located above another in the vertical direction, and nine vertical columns (of which only four columns are shown in FIG. 2) are arranged with one located next to another in the rack lateral width direction in the storage rack 10" ], the plurality of storage levels are arranged next to each other in the up-down direction [See at least Otsuka: Col. 7, lines 14-35], and the transport device is provided in each of the plurality of storage levels [See at least Sakamoto: Col. 4, lines 49-61]. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Yuichi in view of Hyun, Sakamoto, and Yoshioka which include an article transport facility comprising travel routes, storage locations, and carry-in/out sections with the storage unit spanning multiple vertical levels as taught by Otsuka to provide additional storage capacity and routes in an article transport facility. Before the effective filing date, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have modified said article transport facility teachings with a storage unit system spanning multiple vertical levels to increase throughput of the transport system while maintaining the same horizontal footprint and potentially reduce distance between sections, with a reasonable expectation of success. Regarding Claim 8 , Yuichi in view of Hyun, Sakamoto, and Yoshioka describes an article transport facility comprising travel routes, storage units, and carry-in/out sections, as well as a transport vehicle used therein across storage levels , but does not describe the transport vehicle traveling between storage levels that are arranged adjacent to each other in the vertical directions. However, Otsuka teaches a plurality of storage levels arranged vertically, with route width oriented adjacent rows, that said transport vehicle operates in. the transport vehicle comprises: a holding section configured to hold the article in a suspended orientation [See at least Yuichi: Para. 0024-0030 "The carriage 1 also includes a container holding portion 14" ]; and an elevating device configured to raise and lower the holding section [See at least Yuichi: 0024-0030 "The elevating portion 16 is configured to be able to raise and lower the container holding portion 14" ], the elevating device lowers the holding section from above toward the carry-in section and the carry-out section to transfer the article to and from the carry-in section and the carry-out section [See at least [See at least Yuichi: 0024-0030 "The elevating portion 16 is configured to be able to raise and lower the container holding portion 14" , and at least Sakamoto: Col. 4, line 33 to Col. 5, line 19 "a container 1 stored at a storage section 6 is transported from the storage section 6 to an inside location 9 of a carry-in-and-out transport device 4 by the raising-and-lowering transport device 2" ] , one of the plurality of storage levels is a first storage level, another of the plurality of storage levels is a second storage level, the carry-in section in the first storage level is a first carry-in section, the carry-out section in the first storage level is a first carry-out section, the carry-in section in the second storage level is a second carry-in section, and the carry-out section in the second storage level is a second carry-out section [See at least Sakamoto: Col. 8, lines 35-52 "The storage sections or locations 6 are arranged such that a plurality of storage sections 6 form multiple vertical levels along the vertical direction X...in each vertical level for which one or more carry-in-and-out transport devices 4 are provided" and Fig. 1 , Ref. Numeral 4 of “ U ” , “ M ” , and “ D ” , and at least Otsuka: Col. 7, lines 14-35 ] , the first carry-in section overlaps one of the second carry-in section and the second carry-out section in the vertical view, and the first carry-out section overlaps the other of the second carry-in section and the second carry-out section in the vertical view [See at least Sakamoto: Col. 8, lines 35-52 "The storage sections or locations 6 are arranged such that a plurality of storage sections 6 form multiple vertical levels along the vertical direction X...in each vertical level for which one or more carry-in-and-out transport devices 4 are provided" and Fig. 1 , Ref. Numeral 4 of “ U ” , “ M ” , and “ D ” , and at least Otsuka: Col. 7, lines 14-35 ] , and the first carry-in section, the first carry-out section, the second carry-in section, and the second carry-out section protrude and retract in a horizontal direction independently of each other [See at least Sakamoto: Col. 4, lines 49-61] . It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Yuichi in view of Hyun, Sakamoto, and Yoshioka for an article transport facility with associated limitations including a transport vehicle that can travel between storage levels with the teachings of Otsuka to allow the transport device to move between storage levels that are arranged vertically adjacent to each other and with rows that are horizontally adjacent. Before the effective filing date, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify the article transport facility and transport vehicle used therein with the vertically adjacent storage and horizontally adjacent rows to reduce overall facility footprint and increase throughput and efficiency, with a reasonable expectation of success. Claim(s) FILLIN "Insert the claim numbers which are under rejection." \d "[ 1 ]" 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FILLIN "Insert the prior art relied upon." \d "[ primary prior art reference name and number ]" Yuichi et al. (KR20190062230A, hereinafter Yuichi) in view of FILLIN "Insert the secondary reference." \d "[ secondary prior art reference name and number ]" \* MERGEFORMAT Hyun (KR20200073798A, hereinafter referred to as Hyun) and Sakamoto et al. (US9682821B1, hereinafter referred to as Sakamoto) and further in view of Harasaki ( US20170137219A1 , hereinafter referred to as Harasaki 1) and Harasaki (JP2020178816A, hereinafter referred to as Harasaki 2 [ US20230384798A1 is the US equivalent document and is used for the translation /citations ] ) . Regarding Claim 9 , Yuichi in view of Hyun and Sakamoto discloses an article transport facility and associated limitations of a travel route, transport vehicle, and UAV, but does not explicitly describe determining transport vehicle stop locations , prohibited zones for the UAV, or control and deconfliction of vehicles. However, Harasaki 1 describes a transport vehicle controller and associated programming and sensor equipment, and Harasaki 2 further expands on these concepts while adding position acquisition and entry control or zone prohibition steps. a control device configured to control a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles each corresponding to the unmanned aerial vehicle [See at least Hyun: Para. 0017 "the control unit of the unmanned air vehicle" and 0024 "a wireless communication module and a controller that wirelessly communicates with an external control device" ] , and wherein in response to the transport vehicle being in a specified range including a transport vehicle stop location, which is a location along the travel route at which the transport vehicle stops in order to carry in the article to the carry- in section or carry out the article from the carry-out section, the control device prohibits (i) arrival of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles at the carry-in section and the carry-out section, and (ii) entry of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles into a given range extending forward in a travel direction of the transport vehicle from the transport vehicle stop location [See at least Hyun: Title, Abstract, and Para. 0001 and 0013 , and at least Sakamoto: Col. 4, lines 49-61, and at least Harasaki 1: Para. 0007 "a transport vehicle system includes at least one circulating route; a plurality of transport vehicles that travel in one direction along the circulating route; a plurality of transfer points along the circulating route where an article is transferred between the plurality of transport vehicles; and a transport vehicle controller that controls the travel of the plurality of transport vehicles" and 0014 "the transport vehicle controller is configured or programmed to determine whether or not the other transport vehicles are slowed down or stopped based on the position of the other transport vehicles among the plurality of transport vehicles" and 0029 "detecting a vehicle travelling ahead by an inter-vehicle distance sensor" , as well as at least Harasaki 2: Para. 0023 "By periodically or continuously transmitting the information acquired by the position acquisition unit 51 to the traveling vehicle controller 3, the traveling vehicle controller 3 can determine the position of the traveling vehicle 5" and 0030 "The travel controller 41, having received the conveyance command, moves the traveling vehicle 5 to the target station STA in order to cause the traveling vehicle 5 to receive (pick up) an article at the target station STA" and 0039 "The block controller 45 transmits the entry permission order or an entry prohibition order" and 0042 "the traveling vehicle controller 3 may transmit the entry prohibition order for the one route R1 to the first traveling vehicle 5A" ] . It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the article transport facility comprising travel routes, transport vehicles, and UAVs as taught by Yuichi in view of Hyun and Sakamoto with the transport vehicle controller and associated programming and equipment of Harasaki 1 as well as the position acquisition unit and explicit entry controls steps or programming reliant on said unit, in order to control the movement of the various transport vehicles moving along the travel routes. Before the effective filing date, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify the article transport facility and various associated transport vehicles with a controller and position sensors, along with programming used therein, to more accurately and safely control the transport vehicles and decrease risk of interference or damage while increasing speed, efficiency, and flexibility of the transport vehicle system, with a reasonable expectation of success. Examiner’s Note Examiner has cited particular paragraphs and figures in the references as applied to the claims set forth hereinabove for the convenience of the Applicant. While the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claims, other passages and figures in the cited references may be applicable, as well. It is respectfully requested that the Applicant, in preparing any response to the Office Action, fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, in addition to the context of the passage(s) as taught by the prior art or as disclosed by the Examiner. Applicant is reminded that the Examiner is required to give the broadest reasonable interpretation to the language of the claims. Furthermore, the Examiner is not limited to Applicant’s definitions that are not specifically set forth in the claims. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure [See PTO-892 Notice of References Cited] because the prior art references contain subject matter that relates to one or more of Applicant’s claim limitations. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to F Jervis whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 272-2950 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Mon - Fri 0730 - 1530 . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Jacob Scott can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 270-3415 . 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. /F JERVIS/ Examiner, Art Unit 3655 24 Mar 2026 /JACOB S. SCOTT/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3655