DETAILED ACTION
This action is a first action on the merits. The claims December 27, 2023 have been entered. Claims 1-15 are pending and addressed below.
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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
This application claims benefit of US Provisional Application 63/477,675 filed on December 29, 2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed December 27, 2023 has been considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4, 5, and 8 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4: The recitation of “wherein each vertical compartment section” is unclear as to whether this is the same as the “at least one vertical compartment section” recited in claim 1 or whether this is requiring multiple vertical compartment sections. Appropriate correction and/or clarification is required.
Claim 5: The recitation of “wherein each vertical compartment section” is unclear as to whether this is the same as the “at least one vertical compartment section” recited in claim 1 or whether this is requiring multiple vertical compartment sections. For the purposes of examination, the Examiner has assumed that the “separate compartments” are located in a single “vertical compartment section” Appropriate correction and/or clarification is required.
Claim 8: The recitation of “at least one of the at least one vertical compartments section comprise both single sided and double sided section” is unclear as to how a vertical section compartment can be considered single-sided and also be double sided at the same time. Appropriate correction and/or clarification is required.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-11 and 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Canoso et al., US2019/0111955 (hereinafter Canoso) in view of Patel et al., US 10,479,418 (hereinafter Patel).
Claim 1: Canoso discloses a top application (robot 300) configured to be mounted on an autonomous delivery vehicle (propulsion/ mobility subsystem 340), the top application comprising:
a base frame (bottom side 354) comprising means for attachment onto the autonomous delivery vehicle (340) (different storage compartment, see Fig 3B, par [0062]) ;
an arrangement of at least one vertical compartment section (storage compartment 362) (see Fig 3B); and
the at least one vertical compartment section (362) comprising a housing (define by frame 302) for one or more compartments (storage sub compartments) defined by shelves (shelves 307, 309), and a computer operated sliding door assembly (140) (robot under control of a programmed digital computer, which may be entirely or partially contained in the robot, par [0039], robot controls door control subsystem 150, par [0042], [0073]-[0074]);
wherein the computer operated sliding door assembly (140) comprises a bottom door module (bottom horizontal door 314) and a top door module (top horizontal door 312) configured to slidingly move along door guide rails (horizontal doors 314, 312 are both capable of moving along door guide rails) such that the door assembly is closed when a lower edge (leading edge 308) of the top door assembly (312) and an upper edge (leading edge 308) of the bottom door assembly (314) are adjacent to each other (leading edges 304, 308 define the top and bottom boundaries of storage compartment 362 while the frame 302 defines the opposing side boundaries of storage compartment 362, par [0065], leading edges 304, 308 adjacent to each other would necessarily close the door assembly of the compartment, doors of door assembly 140 can be opened and closed by door control subsystem 150, par [0073]) and wherein the door assembly (140) is configured to move to a position where the adjacent edges locate at a level of a predetermined shelf (307, 309), and the top door module (312) is moving upward or the bottom door module (314) is moving downward to create an access opening between the door modules (storage compartment opening is defined by the positions of the doors 312, 314) at the level of the predetermined shelf (307, 309) for inserting a parcel (payload 326, 328) to or receiving a parcel (326, 328) from the predetermined shelf (Fig 3B, par [0065]-[0066]).
Canoso is silent as to a bottom door module and a top door module configured to slidingly move along door guide rails.
Patel discloses a cargo system for use with an autonomous vehicle (see abstract). The cargo system includes vertical doors. Vertical tracks (451) are configured to slidably receive and secure the first vertical door (209a) to permit the first vertical door (209a) to be moved over/across the opening (321) of the cargo space (320) (see Fig 4E, col 12, ln 44-51).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the bottom door module and top door module of Canoso to include guide rails (451) such that the top and bottom doors slidingly move along the door guide rails as disclosed by Patel, as the modification would have yielded the predictable results of securing the top and bottom doors in place thereby allowing them to be moved over/across the openings in the vertical compartment section (Patel, Fig 4E, col 12, ln 44-51).
Claim 2: Canoso further discloses wherein opening of access to a predetermined shelf is triggered by entering an individualized code containing information related to the parcel (robot 102 may receive an electronic communication from a mobile device associated with a person who is authorized to receive delivery of an item, in response to the electronic communication, cause door control subsystem 150 to execute an algorithm to validate the electronic communication and unlock the storage compartment 130, par [0042], [0055]).
Claim 3: Canoso further discloses wherein the top application (300) has multiple vertical compartment sections (see Fig 3B, par [0047]).
Canoso is silent as to the top application has preferably three vertical compartment section.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the vertical compartment section to include three vertical compartment section, since it has been held that mere duplication of essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Claim 4: Canoso further discloses wherein the computer operated sliding door assembly (140) of each vertical compartment section (362) are independent of each other (as shown in Fig 3B).
Claim 5: Canoso further discloses wherein each vertical compartment section (362) is capable of providing access to a compartment (storage sub compartments) simultaneously, thereby allowing insert or retrieval of several parcels in separate compartments (storage sub compartments) simultaneously (opposing doors 312, 314 are movable to adjust the size of the opening into the storage compartment or sub-compartment, par [0060], [0064], multiple compartments are shown as accessible simultaneously as shown in Figs 3A-3C).
Claim 6: Canoso further discloses wherein at least one of the at least one vertical compartment sections (362, shown in Fig 3B) is single sided, thus having sliding door assembly (312, 314) only on one side (as shown in Fig 3B).
Claim 7: Canoso further discloses wherein at least one of the at least one vertical compartment sections (362) is double sided (see Fig 4A), thus having a sliding door assembly on two sides of the vertical compartment section (robot can have a door assembly 140 on both opposing sides of a storage compartment providing access to the payload from either side of the robot, Fig 4A, par [0070]).
Claim 8: Canoso further discloses wherein at least one of the at least one vertical compartments section (362) comprises both single sided and double side section (robot can have door assembly on one side see Fig 3B, robot can have a door assembly 140 on both opposing sides of a storage compartment providing access to the payload from either side of the robot, Fig 4A, par [0070]).
Claim 9: Canoso further discloses the top application (300) is configured to be mounted on top of the vehicle (340) (par [0039]).
Canoso is silent as to the top application being mounted on top of the vehicle permanently.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the top application to be configured to be mounted on top of a vehicle permanently, as there are a finite number of identified, predicted potential solutions (permanently or in a removable manner) for mounting a top application to a vehicle and one of ordinary skill in the art could have pursued the known potential solutions with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claim 10: Canoso further discloses the top application (300) is configured to be mounted on top of the vehicle (340) (par [0039]).
Canoso is silent as to the top application being mounted on top of the vehicle in a removable manner.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the top application to be configured to be mounted on top of a vehicle in a removable manner, as there are a finite number of identified, predicted potential solutions (permanently or in a removable manner) for mounting a top application to a vehicle and one of ordinary skill in the art could have pursued the known potential solutions with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claim 11: Canoso further discloses wherein the top application (robot 300) has a battery power (robot 102 is an autonomous, mobile, battery-powered electro-mechanical robot, par [0039]).
Claim 13: Canoso further discloses wherein size of the at least one vertical compartment (362) is changeable based on actual size of items stored in top application by removing and rearranging shelves (307, 309) in one or more vertical compartment sections (storage compartment 130 may include sub-compartments or “cells”, and each compartment or sub-compartment may be adjustably sized to hold items that are appropriate to the particular environment or the particular application for which robot 102 is being used, par [0056]).
Claim 14: Canoso further discloses an autonomous delivery vehicle (propulsion assembly 340) comprising a top application (300) according to claim 1 (see Fig 3B).
Claim 15: Canoso further discloses wherein the top application (300) is mounted on the vehicle (340) permanently or removably (par [0039]), the robot is necessarily mounted either permanently or removably on the propulsion assembly 340).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Canoso in view of Patel as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Hall et a., US 2022/0084340 (hereinafter Hall).
Claim 12: Canoso further discloses wherein the top application (362) is configured to be mounted on the autonomous delivery vehicle (340) (par [0039]), the computer operated sliding door assembly (a door assembly 140, a door control subsystem 150, par [0045]) and that the a programmed digital computer, may be entirely contained in the robot (par [0039]).
Canoso is silent as to the top application being mounted on top of the vehicle in a removable manner.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the top application to be configured to be mounted on top of a vehicle in a removable manner, as there are a finite number of identified, predicted potential solutions (permanently or in a removable manner) for mounting a top application to a vehicle and one of ordinary skill in the art could have pursued the known potential solutions with a reasonable expectation of success.
Canoso is silent as to the computer operated sliding door assembly (140/ 150) is configured to be fully functional when the top application (362) is removed from the autonomous delivery vehicle (140).
Hall discloses a multi-use package receptacle that includes a container (30) with a plurality of doors (40) that can be offloaded from a vehicle (10). The plurality of doors are fully functional when the container (30) has been removed from the vehicle (140) (Fig 10, par [0122]-[0123]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the top application of Canoso such that the computer operated sliding door assembly (140/ 150) would be configured to be fully functional when the top application (362) is removed from the autonomous delivery vehicle as suggested by Hall as applying the known technique of a fully accessible container when removed from the delivery vehicle as disclosed by Hall, would have yield the predictable results. Further, the programmed digital computer that controls the functions of the computer operated sliding door assembly (140/150) of Canoso is entirely contained within the robot and therefore capable of functioning independently of the propulsion system to which the top application (362) is mounted (par [0039]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The disclosure of Clausen, US 8,714,669 drawn to a storage and retrieval machine with variable-height door opening is applicable to the claim, but was not relied upon in the current rejection.
Claims 1-15 are rejected. No claims are allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CAROLINE N BUTCHER whose telephone number is (571)272-1623. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10-6 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tara E Schimpf can be reached at (571) 270-7741. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CAROLINE N BUTCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3676