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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis 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.
Background
The Applicant’s Response to Requirement for Restriction, filed on 03/15/26, has been entered.
At the time of Restriction, claims 1-19 were pending. The Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-10 is acknowledged. Accordingly, claims 11-19 are withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Pub. No. 2012/0029687 to Hagen et al. (Hagen). For claim 1, Hagen discloses a space allocation method (see Figs. 1-1 & 17 for describing a method for identifying available storage locations in storage racks), comprising:
determining, according to a space property of an unoccupied space of a goods storage space and a required space of to-be-stored goods, a first storage space adapted to the required space from the unoccupied space (see ¶ [0114] for identifying, via a system controller, at least one available location within a rack in which an article holder can be stored);
allocating the first storage space to the to-be-stored goods (see ¶ [0114] for identifying, via a system controller, at least one available location within a rack in which an article holder can be stored; and
sending a first storage instruction to a first robot, wherein the first storage instruction comprises information about the first storage space (see ¶¶ [] for [0043] & [0107] for sending, via the system controller, signals to components of the system such as the robot, the robot arm, etc., the signals identifying an available location within the racks).
In regards to claim 2, Hagen further discloses that the space property comprises one or more of the following: a distance from a workstation, a distance from an alley entrance, a number of a layer on a shelf, a space occupancy rate of the shelf, a continuous space occupancy rate of the shelf, and a space heat. See ¶ [0107] (selecting storage spaces based on a position in the rack system such as the rack and the storage location within the rack).
In regards to claim 10, Hagen further discloses that the determining, according to a space property of an unoccupied space of a goods storage space and a required space, a first storage space adapted to the required space from the unoccupied space comprises:
determining, according to the space property of the unoccupied space in the goods storage space and the required space, a first storage space adapted to the required space from the unoccupied space and an orientation of the to-be-stored goods (see ¶ [0114] for identifying, via a system controller, at least one available location within a rack in which an article holder can be stored; see also ¶ [0006] for utilizing a vision system that enables the robot to align/orient article holders with storage locations during storage and retrieval operations);
and after the determining a first storage space and an orientation of the to-be-stored goods, the method further comprises: generating the first storage instruction according to the orientation of the to-be-stored goods and the information about the first storage space (see ¶¶ [] for [0043] & [0107] for sending, via the system controller, signals to components of the system such as the robot, the robot arm, etc., the signals identifying an available location within the racks for the robot to load or unload article holders).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-9 are 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.
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US Pub. No. 2021/0201221 to Abraham et al. discloses a space allocation system and a method for allocating space to objects with multi-variate characteristics wherein intra-container allocation and/or inter-container allocation is performed to generate a combination in which the objects can be placed in one or more pre-defined storage spaces in a plurality of storage containers.
US Pub. No. 2003/0065421 to Didriksen et al. discloses a similar concept albeit in a different context. Specifically, Didriksen et al. discloses a storage system for receiving, delivering and storing items, e.g. mail items, to be distributed. Items are stored in a flexible manner allowing sufficient space to be allocated to each item while ensuring that the total available space is utilized in an optimal manner. Items may be carried on trays. The size of the items is determined in order to allocate the correct amount of space.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KYLE LOGAN whose telephone number is (571) 270-7769. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9-5 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JACOB SCOTT can be reached at (571) 270-3415. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KYLE O LOGAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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