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
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) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Waugh et al., WO 2010022506 A1, in view of Smith et al., US 20200387881 A1.
1. A goods distribution system comprising a plurality of unmanned fully autonomous kiosks, (see Waugh, “The present invention relates to apparatus such as a kiosk for dispensing medicaments and, more particularly, to an automated apparatus for delivering a medicament to a patient /user which is adapted to be sited at a location remote from but connected a pharmacy support stationy.”), wherein each kiosk is configured to:
vend one or more goods to users, (see Waugh, “The robot returns item one to the top of the same slot for restocking. The robot returns to pick item two, again returning it for restocking. The robot then picks item three, the desired item, verifies it and proceeds to a dispensary preparation cycle. … the slot able to accept one additional product SKU on restock”), and
accept and automatically replenish goods to be vended to users, (see Waugh, “The robot returns item one to the top of the same slot for restocking. The robot returns to pick item two, again returning it for restocking… the slot able to accept one additional product SKU on restock”).
Waugh fails to disclose the following features taught by Smith:
accept and process return of one or more previously purchased goods from users, (see Smith, ¶ 33)(In some examples, the vending kiosk system 105 detects when an item has been returned to the vending kiosk 135 (e.g., the individual changed her mind and is either returning the item or selecting a different item). In such examples, vending kiosk system 105 updates the virtual shopping chart in real-time or substantially real-time, updates a total amount of money due for each item in the virtual shopping cart in real time or substantially real-time and/or updates inventory information associated with the items (e.g., inventory information stored by the inventory system 110) in real-time or substantially real-time), and automatically restock the one or more returned goods, (see Smith, ¶ 40)(The system 100 also allows the various vending kiosks to be restocked. For example, the inventory system 110 of vending kiosk system 105 may transmit a message or other such notification to a supplier of items indicating that a particular vending kiosk needs to be restocked. When the supplier arrives at the vending kiosk, the supplier may be verified/authenticated such as previously described. As the supplier stocks the vending kiosk with physical items, the various sensors associated with the vending kiosk will recognize the physical item such as previously described. The inventory system 110 may then update inventory information associated with the vending kiosk in real-time or substantially real-time).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to combine Waugh and Smith. The motivation would have been to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. All the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination yielded nothing more than predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art.
This motivation is applied to all claims below by reference.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein each kiosk is a standalone structure comprising an enclosure housing a plurality of components within, (see Waugh, Fig. 5C).
3. The system of claim 2, wherein each kiosk comprises a window or port which a user interacts to pick up a purchased good, return a good, and/or deliver goods for replenishing inventory stored within the kiosk, (see Waugh, Fig. 5B2 #160, 170).
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the window or port comprises an interactive user interface which a user can interact to initiate a transaction with the kiosk including at least one of vending of a good, returning of a good, and/or replenishing of goods, (see Waugh, “The user interface of the dispensary apparatus provides detailed and clear instructions to guide the user”).
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the user interface comprises a scanning module for scanning a machine-readable code presented by the user to initiate the transaction, (see Waugh, “a scanning means for capturing an image of the script” “product pick, scan and verification that the product is correct”).
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the transaction is initiated upon establishment of a positive correlation of the scanned code with a reference code, (see Waugh, “the dispensary apparatus prompts the user for a script and the apparatus processes the user-input script either by the above-mentioned human validation agent or by processing the machine readable description (which may be a bar code)).
7. The system of claim 2, wherein each kiosk comprises a tower structure configured to hold a plurality of goods upon a plurality of organized shelves, (see Waugh, Fig. 5C).
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the tower structure comprises a plurality of vertically arranged shelves, (see Waugh, Fig. 5C).
9. The system of claim 8, wherein inventory is provided within respective trays provided on the shelves in a substantially vertically stacked arrangement, (see Waugh, Fig. 5C).
10. The system of claim 9, wherein at least some of the trays are compartmentalized trays in which specific goods are placed within specific compartments of a given tray, (see Waugh, Fig. 5C).
11. The system of claim 9, wherein a location of any specific good within the tower structure is monitored and tracked based on unique identification codes associated with each good, each tray, and each tower, (see Waugh, “the dispensary apparatus prompts the user for a script and the apparatus processes the user-input script either by the above-mentioned human validation agent or by processing the machine readable description (which may be a bar code)).
12. The system of claim 7, wherein each kiosk comprises a mechanized storage and retrieval assembly configured to trays within the tower structure for a given transaction, (see Waugh, Figures 15A-D) (illustrating a multiple slot, storage container rack for one embodiment of automated apparatus, the rack having multiple, standard slots for housing bulk storage containers therein, showing one slot thereof containing five bulk storage containers with each container storing a different drug product).
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the mechanized storage and retrieval assembly comprises at least one of a vertical lift module, a vertical carousel module, or the like for providing automated storage and retrieval of goods within the tower structure, (see Waugh, Figures 15A-D) (illustrating a multiple slot, storage container rack for one embodiment of automated apparatus, the rack having multiple, standard slots for housing bulk storage containers therein, showing one slot thereof containing five bulk storage containers with each container storing a different drug product).
14. The system of claim 7, wherein each kiosk comprises an anthropomorphic robotic arm configured to handle one or more goods for a given transaction based, at least in part, on vision-based programming, (see Waugh, Fig. 3C #110, Fig. 4 “networked cameras”).
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the anthropomorphic robotic arm is configured to identify a given good, grasp the good, and position the good for vending of the good to a user, returning of the good from the user, or a replenishing of inventory with the good, (see Waugh, fig. 3C #110).
16. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of unmanned fully autonomous kiosks is configured to communicate and transmit data with an internet-based asset management platform, (see Waugh, “automated apparatus, typically configured as kiosks, which automatically dispense medication and are located for convenient patient access (for example, in doctors' offices and medical clinics) and are networked into a central computer system for inventory control and management”).
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the data transmitted between each of the plurality of unmanned fully autonomous kiosks and the asset management platform comprises at least one of: purchase data associated with a user purchase of a good; return data associated with a user return of a good; replenishment data associated with replenishment of one or more goods in a given kiosk inventory, (see Waugh, “automated apparatus, typically configured as kiosks, which automatically dispense medication and are located for convenient patient access (for example, in doctors' offices and medical clinics) and are networked into a central computer system for inventory control and management”).
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the purchase data and return data are associated with a user's purchase request and return request, respectively, of an associated good based on user interaction with an interface on a user's computing device provided via the asset management platform, (see Waugh, “The robot travels to the slot location and picks item one, picking from the bottom The robot returns item one to the top of the same slot for restocking. The robot returns to pick item two, again returning it for restocking. The robot then picks item three, the desired item, verifies it and proceeds to a dispensary preparation cycle. The system's product inventory location register is corrected to show that former product one is now in position three, that former product two is now in position four, that former product three is now in position one and that former product four is now in position two, with the slot able to accept one additional product SKU on restock.”).
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the purchase data and return data each comprise at least the identity of the good and an associated machine-readable code tied to the transaction and to be used for subsequent authentication of the transaction upon user interaction with a given kiosk, (see Waugh, “the dispensary apparatus prompts the user for a script and the apparatus processes the user-input script either by the above-mentioned human validation agent or by processing the machine readable description (which may be a bar code)).
20. The system of claim 17, wherein the data transmitted between each of the plurality of unmanned fully autonomous kiosks and the asset management platform further comprises inventory data associated with a current inventory of goods present within each kiosk, (see Waugh, “automated apparatus, typically configured as kiosks, which automatically dispense medication and are located for convenient patient access (for example, in doctors' offices and medical clinics) and are networked into a central computer system for inventory control and management”).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RUSSELL S GLASS whose telephone number is (571)272-7285. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9-5.
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/RUSSELL S GLASS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627