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 .
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) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barkan et al. (US 2021/0295078, hereinafter Barkan), in view of Edmonds et al. (US 2012/0318869, hereinafter Edmonds).
With respect to claim 1, Barkan discloses a self-checkout scanning system (abstract, figure 1), comprising:
a first imager having a first field-of-view angled downward toward a scanning surface (figure 2 and paragraph [0055]);
a first aimer directed toward the scanning surface (figure 2 and paragraph [0055]);
a second imager having a second field-of-view angled downward toward the scanning surface, wherein the first field-of-view and the second field-of-view at least partially overlap to form a read zone (abstract, figure 2 and paragraph [0055]); and
a second aimer directed toward the scanning surface, wherein illumination projected from the first aimer and the second aimer combine to form an aiming pattern on the scanning surface (abstract, figure 2 and paragraph [0055]); and
a system electronics module operably coupled to the first top-down reader and the second top-down reader, the system electronics module including one or more processors configured to perform at least one of barcode decoding or image analysis of image data from the first top-down reader and the second top-down reader (abstract, figure 2 and paragraph [0055]).
Barkan discloses all of the limitations above but does not explicitly disclose the feature of top down readers.
However, Edmonds teaches the feature of top down readers (abstract, figure 1A and 1B).
Therefore it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the feature of Barkan to include the feature of top down readers as taught by Edmonds in order to facilitate self-checkout operations.
With respect to claim 2, Barkan further discloses the feature, wherein the system electronic module is mounted on a top surface of a self-checkout station such that the system electronic module functions as the scanning surface (abstract, figure 2 and paragraph [0055]).
With respect to claim 3, Edmonds further discloses the feature, wherein: the first top-down reader further includes one or more processors configured to perform pre-processing on the image data from the first imager (abstract, figure 2 and paragraph [0050]); and
the second top-down reader further includes one or more processors configured to perform pre-processing on the image data from the second imager (abstract, figure 2 and paragraph [0055]).
With respect to claim 4, Edmonds further discloses the feature, further comprising a first overhead camera having a first imager directed downward over a first area proximate the self-checkout system (abstract, figure 1A, 1B and paragraph [0050]).
With respect to claim 5, Barkan further discloses the feature, further comprising a second overhead camera having a second imager directed downward over a second area proximate the self- checkout system (abstract, figure 2 and paragraph [0055]).
With respect to claim 6, Barkan further discloses the feature, wherein the first overhead camera is positioned over an input area of the self-checkout scanning system, and the second overhead camera is positioned over an output area of the self-checkout scanning system(abstract, figure 2 and paragraph [0055]) .
With respect to claims 7 and 8, neither Barkan nor Edmonds teaches the feature of height of the dimensions, however it is design choice that can be implemented with the existing teachings.
With respect to claim 9, Barkan further discloses the feature, wherein the system electronics module does not include optical components for the self-scanning system (paragraphs [0032] and [0033]).
With respect to claim 10, Barkan further discloses the feature, wherein the first top-down reader and the second top-down reader further include active illumination for their respective imagers that is different than the first aimer and second aimer (abstract, figure 2 and paragraph [0055]).
Claim(s) 11-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Edmonds in view of Barkan.
With respect to claim 11, Edmonds discloses the feature scanning system, comprising:
a handheld scanner including a scan window, a docking structure having a docking station for the handheld scanner, the docking station having an aperture aligning with the scan window of the handheld scanner when docked (abstract, and paragraph [0050]); and
an exit window in the docking structure through which an optical path is formed with the handheld scanner via an internal mirror arrangement for providing a scan volume for the handheld scanner out of the exit window when the handheld scanner is docked (abstract, and paragraph [0050]).
Edmonds does not explicitly disclose the feature of a self checkout system.
However, Barkan teaches the feature of self-checkout system (abstract, paragraph [0024]).
Therefore it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the feature of Edmonds to include the feature of self-system as taught by Barkan in order to facilitate self-checkout operations.
With respect to claim 12, Edmonds further discloses the feature, wherein the exit window is disposed in a front facing surface of the docking structure, and wherein the scan volume is directed substantially outward from the exit window toward a customer using the self-checkout station (abstract, figure 1B and paragraphs [0050]-[0051]).
With respect to claim 13, Edmonds further discloses the feature, wherein the exit window is disposed in top-down reader supported by the docking structure, and wherein the scan volume is directed substantially downward from the top-down reader (abstract, figure 1B and paragraphs [0050]-[0051]).
With respect to claim 14, Edmonds further discloses the feature further comprising a point-of-sale monitor having an electronic display that is different than the docking structure (abstract, figure 1B and paragraphs [0050]-[0051]).
With respect to claim 15, Edmonds further discloses the feature, wherein the docking structure is a point-of-sale monitor having an electronic display (abstract, figure 1B and paragraphs [0050]-[0051]).
With respect to claim 16, Edmonds further discloses the feature, wherein the point-of-sale monitor is one of a standing kiosk, a counter-top unit, or a wall-mounted structure (abstract, figure 1B and paragraphs [0050]-[0051]).
With respect to claim 17, Edmonds further discloses the feature, wherein the internal mirror arrangement includes a splitter mirror forming the first optical path out the exit window, and an additional optical path out another exit window for providing an additional scan volume for the handheld scanner out of the exit window when the handheld scanner is docked (abstract, figure 1B and paragraphs [0050]-[0051]).
With respect to claim 18, Edmonds further discloses the feature, wherein the exit window is a presentation scanning window with the scan volume directed generally outward from the docking structure, and wherein the another exit window is part of a top-down reader with the additional scan volume directed generally downward from the docking structure (abstract, figure 1B and paragraphs [0050]-[0051]).
With respect to claim 19, Edmonds further discloses the feature, wherein the exit window is a part of a first top-down reader with the scan volume directed generally downward from the docking structure, and wherein the another exit window is part of a second top-down reader with the additional scan volume directed generally downward from the docking structure (abstract, figure 1B and paragraphs [0050]-[0051]).
With respect to claim 20, Edmonds further discloses the feature, wherein the scan volume and the additional scan volume are angled toward each other to at least partially overlap to form a read zone (abstract, figure 1B and paragraphs [0050]-[0051]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROKIB MASUD whose telephone number is (571)270-5390. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00.
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, Fahd Obeid can be reached at 571-270-3324. 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.
/ROKIB MASUD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
Prosecution Insights