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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of claims 1-15 in the reply filed on 10/21/2025 is acknowledged. The traversal was found persuasive. Claims 1-20 have been examined.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wehner et al (US-2019/0337733)
Referring to claim 1. Wehner et al (herein “Wehner”) discloses a “Picking Device For Picking From A Storage Container Into An Order Container, And Corresponding Method”. Wehner further discloses a mobile picker apparatus configured to operate in an environment to facilitate order fulfillment, the apparatus comprising: a body portion (102); a set of wheels (See at least Sect. 0026, Fig. 2), coupled to the body portion, to move the apparatus within the environment; a frame (103) coupled to the body portion; a set of platforms (107, 108) movably coupled to the frame, the set of platforms comprising: a first platform (107) configured to support a first box (A); a first push-pull mechanism (7A), coupled to the first platform, configured to load the first box onto the first platform and unload the first box from the first platform; a second platform (108) configured to support a second box (B); and a second push-pull mechanism (8A, 8B), coupled to the second platform, configured to load the second box onto the second platform and unload the second box from the second platform; a picker robot (109), coupled to the frame (103, indirectly), configured to pick an item from the first box and place the item in the second box.
Referring to claim 2. Wehner discloses wherein the first platform (107) and the second platform (108) are configured to move together along a vertical direction (See at least Fig 2); and the first platform is located at a first vertical position along the frame and the second platform is located at a second vertical position identical to the first vertical position along the frame (See Fig. 2).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 3-9, 14-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wehner et al (US-2019/0337733)
Referring to claim 3. Wehner discloses the apparatus as described above, including the teachings of a first and second platform. Wehner doesn’t disclose a third platform. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wehner which discloses first and second platforms, to further include a third platform configured to support a third box, the third platform including a sliding mechanism to move the third box, as claimed, because such modification merely involves duplicating a known platform structure to achieve predictable results (increased capacity, improved throughput, additional staging), which constitutes routine design choice and predictable use of known prior art elements.
Referring to claim 4. Wehner doesn’t explicitly disclose wherein the set of platforms is movable along a vertical direction with a vertical range of travel ranging from about 2 meters to about 4 meters. It should be noted that Wehner does disclose a set of platforms that are movable in a vertical direction. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention so that the vertical range of travel was at the optimal distance depending the circumstances. It should be noted that selecting the vertical range of travel is a something a person of skill in the art would select, depending on the circumstances, and is considered routine application of common engineering judgement.
Referring to claims 5-7. Wehner discloses a picker robot that is a multi-axis gripping arm (e.g. 6-axis arm) (See at least Sect. 0011). Wehner doesn’t explicitly disclose wherein the picker robot is a SCARA roboti arm that has six degrees of freedom or four degrees of freedom. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the picker robot to be a SCARA robotic arm that has six degrees of freedom / four degrees of freedom so that it was configured to have the proper range of motion, reachability, and desired manipulation capacity. It should further be noted that the adjusting determining the type of robot arm and the number of degrees of freedom of a robot is a routine design optimization, selected based on range of motion, dexterity, task complexity, and reachability.
Referring to 8. Wehner discloses a set of platforms (107, 108) movable along a vertical direction with a first range of travel and picker robot comprising: a robotic arm rigidly coupled to the frame (See Fig. 2); and a gripper (10) coupled to the robotic arm to pick the item, the gripper being movable via the robotic arm, along the vertical direction with a second range of travel less than and overlapping the first range of travel; and the picker robot configured to pick the item from the first box when the first platform is moved near the picker robot such that the item is within the second range of travel of the gripper (See at least Figs. 1-2).
Referring to claim 9. Wehner discloses a camera assembly (111), rigidly coupled to the frame (102), configured to acquire imagery of at least the item in the first box.
Referring to claims 14-15. Wehner discloses wherein the frame includes only one frame arm defining a vertical axis, the set of platforms is directly coupled to the frame arm and movable along the vertical axis (See Fig. 2); the picker robot is directly coupled to the frame arm; and the apparatus further comprises: a camera assembly. Wehner does discloses wherein the camera assembly is directly coupled to the frame arm, configured to acquire imagery of at least the item in the first box (See Fig. 2) or wherein the camera assembly is rigidly coupled to the frame arm; the picker robot is rigidly coupled to the frame arm; the camera and the robotic arm of the camera assembly have a first pose such that, when the camera and the robotic arm is in the first pose and the set of platforms moves along the frame arm past the camera assembly, the set of platforms do not physically contact the camera assembly; and the picker robot having a second pose such that, when the picker robot is in the second pose and the set of platforms moves along the frame arm past the picker robot, the set of platforms do not physically contact the picker robot. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus of Wehner wherein the camera assembly was coupled directly to the frame arm, so that it was provided more freedom and flexibility to capture varying perspectives and orientations of the items in the boxes.
Referring to claim 16. Wehner et al (herein “Wehner”) discloses a “Picking Device For Picking From A Storage Container Into An Order Container, And Corresponding Method”. Wehner further discloses a mobile picker apparatus configured to operate in an environment to facilitate order fulfillment, the apparatus comprising: a body portion (102); a set of wheels (See at least Sect. 0026, Fig. 2), coupled to the body portion, to move the apparatus within the environment; a frame (103) coupled to the body portion; a set of platforms (107, 108) movably coupled to the frame along a vertical direction, configured to support a box, the platform having a first range of travel along the vertical direction; and a picker robot (109), rigidly coupled to the frame (103, indirectly), the picker robot comprising: a robotic arm having a first end rigidly coupled to the frame (via 104) and a second end, wherein the picker robot is configured to pick an item from the box when the platform is moved near the picker robot such that the item is within the second range of travel of the gripper. Wehner doesn’t explicitly disclose wherein the robotic arm provides less than six degrees of freedom of movement; and a gripper (110) coupled to the second end of the robotic arm and movable, via the robotic arm, along the vertical direction less than and overlapping with the first range of travel.
Referring to claim 17. Wehner discloses the apparatus as described above in detail. Wehner as disclosed above discloses a second platform (108), movably coupled to the frame along the vertical direction, configured to support a second box; and the picker robot is configured to place the item from the first box into the second box (See Claim 1).
Claim(s) 10-12, 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wehner et al (US-2019/0337733) in view of Magens et al (US10315843).
Referring to claims 10-12. Wehner discloses the apparatus as described above in detail. Wehner doesn’t disclose wherien the camera assembly comprises a camera; and a robotic arm, coupled to the camera and the frame, to change at least one of a position or orientation of the camera or a locking mechanism comprising a push pull solenoid actuator with a movable shaft, coupled to the robotic arm and the camera. Magens et al (herein Magens) discloses a “Autonomous Order Picker”. See Figs. 1-10 and respective portions of the specification. Magens further discloses a mobile picker (1) comprising a vehicle with wheels, a robot (3), pick-up arm (4) and carrying device (5). Magens further discloses wherein the robot comprises an articulated arm (3a) equipped with a picker (6) and with an integrated camera. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Wehner to incorporate the teachings of Magens and integrate a camera with the picker arm, so that the orientation and position of the camera could be changed as the picker arm is moved and further include a locking mechanism to lock the camera and gripper in place to achieve pose stability, as it is a well-recognized design objective in camera system to provide stability during image capture, likewise, locking the camera and gripper would increase safety and operational reliability. Further, a push-pull solenoid actuator with a movable shaft is a well-known and routinely used actuator for implementing locking and unlocking functions in mechanical systems for their benefits of compactness, integration at joints, fail-safe capabilities, and low cost. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus of Wehner wherein the robotic arm provides less than six degrees of freedom of movement; and a gripper is coupled to the second end of the robotic arm and movable, via the robotic arm, along the vertical direction, the gripper having a second range of travel along the vertical direction less than and overlapping with the first range of travel, so that the robot picker assembly was capable of both coarse positioning and fine positional adjustments which would improve the ranges and precision with which the gripper could select items.
Referring to claims 18. Wehner discloses a set of platforms (107, 108) movably coupled to the frame, the set of platforms including the platform; and a camera assembly (111) rigidly coupled to the frame (via 104). Wehner doesn’t disclose the camera assembly comprising a robotic rm; a camera coupled to the robotic arm, the camera and the robotic arm having a first pose such that, when the camera and the robotic arm in the first pose and the set of platforms moves along the frame past the camera assembly, the set of platforms do not physically contact the camera assembly; and a locking mechanism, coupled to the robotic arm and the camera, to lock the robotic arm and the camera in the first pose, wherein the picker robot has a second pose such that, when the picker robot is in the second pose and the set of platforms moves along the frame past the picker robot, the set of platforms does not physically contact the picker robot. Magens et al (herein Magens) discloses a “Autonomous Order Picker”. See Figs. 1-10 and respective portions of the specification. Magens further discloses a mobile picker (1) comprising a vehicle with wheels, a robot (3), pick-up arm (4) and carrying device (5). Magens further discloses wherein the robot comprises an articulated arm (3a) equipped with a picker (6) and with an integrated camera. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Wehner to incorporate the teachings of Magens and integrate a camera with the picker arm, so that the orientation and position of the camera could be changed as the picker arm is moved and further include a locking mechanism to lock the camera and gripper in place to achieve pose stability, as it is a well-recognized design objective in camera system to provide stability during image capture, likewise, locking the camera and gripper would increase safety and operational reliability. Further, It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill to modify the apparatus of Wehner wherein the camera assembly was coupled directly to the frame arm, so that it was provided more freedom and flexibility to capture varying perspectives and orientations of the items in the boxes, in various pose orientations.
Referring to claim 19. Wehner discloses a mobile picker apparatus configured to operate in an environment to facilitate order fulfillment, the apparatus comprising: a body portion (102); a set of wheels (See at least Sect. 0026, Fig. 2), coupled to the body portion, to move the apparatus within the environment; a frame arm (103) coupled to the body portion; a set of platforms (107, 108) movably coupled to the frame arm, each platform of the set of platforms being configured to support a box. Wehner does not disclose a camera assembly rigidly coupled to the frame arm, the camera assembly comprising: a robotic arm; a camera coupled to the robotic arm, the camera and the robotic arm having a first pose such that, when the camera and the robotic arm in the first pose and the set of platforms moves along the frame arm past the camera assembly, the set of platforms do not physically contact the camera assembly; and a locking mechanism, coupled to the robotic arm and the camera, to lock the robotic arm and the camera in the first pose; and a picker robot, coupled to the frame arm, having a second pose such that, when the picker robot is in the second pose and the set of platforms moves along the frame arm past the picker robot, the set of platforms do not physically contact the picker robot. Magens et al (herein Magens) discloses a “Autonomous Order Picker”. See Figs. 1-10 and respective portions of the specification. Magens further discloses a mobile picker (1) comprising a vehicle with wheels, a robot (3), pick-up arm (4) and carrying device (5). Magens further discloses wherein the robot comprises an articulated arm (3a) equipped with a picker (6) and with an integrated camera. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Wehner to incorporate the teachings of Magens and integrate a camera with the picker arm, so that the orientation and position of the camera could be changed as the picker arm is moved and further include a locking mechanism to lock the camera and gripper in place to achieve pose stability, as it is a well-recognized design objective in camera system to provide stability during image capture, likewise, locking the camera and gripper would increase safety and operational reliability. Further, It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill to modify the apparatus of Wehner wherein the camera assembly was coupled directly to the frame arm, so that it was provided more freedom and flexibility to capture varying perspectives and orientations of the items in the boxes, in various pose orientations that do not interfere with the set of platforms.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13, 20 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TERRELL HOWARD MATTHEWS whose telephone number is (571)272-5929. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday; 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM EST.
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/TERRELL H MATTHEWS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653