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 § 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 19 and 20 are 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 19 states the following, “so that the input shelf is position, at least in part, within a recess defined by the cabinet.” The unclear use of “is position” makes the interpretation of the claim indefinite, as “position” could refer to “a position” or could mean “positioned.”
Claim 20 recites the limitation "an input shelf" twice, once in line one of the first paragraph and once in line one of the fourth paragraph of the claim. The repeated use of “an input shelf” makes it unclear if the claim refers to multiple input shelfs in the checkout system.
Claim 20 recites the limitation "a cabinet" twice, once in line two of the first paragraph and once in line one of the fourth paragraph of the claim. The repeated use of “a cabinet” makes it unclear if the claim refers to multiple cabinets in the checkout system.
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) 1-7, 15, 18, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (US 2009/0288917 A1) in view of Fletcher (US 2014/0033957 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Sato discloses a checkout system, comprising:
a cabinet (107); and
an input shelf (104) coupled with the cabinet and being arranged to lower/move based at least in part on detection of a cart approaching the checkout system (Paragraph 0037 lines 1-6).
Sato does not disclose the input shelf is arranged to collapse. However, Fletcher discloses the input shelf (15) is arranged to collapse (27, 28, 29 as shown in figures 3b and 3c). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the checkout system of Sato with the input shelf is arranged to collapse taught by Fletcher in order to further stow the input shelf. Collapsing the input shelf instead of lowering it would allow an approaching cart to be moved closer to the checkout system without interference from the input shelf.
Regarding claim 2, Sato does not disclose wherein the input shelf is rotatably coupled with the cabinet. However, Fletcher discloses wherein the input shelf (15) is rotatably coupled (27) with the cabinet (11). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the checkout system of Sato with wherein the input shelf is rotatably coupled with the cabinet taught by Fletcher. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that a rotational connection between the input shelf and the cabinet would further move the input shelf out of the way of an approaching cart.
Regarding claim 3, Sato does not disclose wherein the input shelf is rotatable between a horizontal position and a vertical position in which the input shelf is collapsed. However, Fletcher discloses wherein the input shelf (15) is rotatable between a horizontal position (29 as shown in figure 3b) and a vertical position (29 as shown in figure 3a) in which the input shelf is collapsed (29 as shown in figure 3a). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the checkout system of claim 2 taught by Sato with wherein the input shelf is rotatable between a horizontal position and a vertical position in which the input shelf is collapsed taught by Fletcher. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that collapsing the shelf from a horizontal to a vertical position would allow for approaching carts to move closer to the checkout system without interference from the input shelf.
Regarding claim 4, Sato does not disclose wherein the checkout system includes a hinge that rotatably couples the input shelf with the cabinet, and wherein the hinge is coupled with a top wall of the input shelf. However, Fletcher discloses wherein the checkout system includes a hinge (27) that rotatably couples the input shelf (15) with the cabinet (11), and wherein the hinge (27) is coupled with a top wall (28) of the input shelf (15). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the checkout system of Sato with includes a hinge that rotatably couples the input shelf with the cabinet, and wherein the hinge is coupled with a top wall of the input shelf of Fletcher. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify a hinge as a common method of rotatably connecting the input shelf to the cabinet. While Fletcher does not expressly teach the hinge being attached to the top wall of the input shelf, it would have been a matter of design choice to move the location of the hinge from the bottom face of the input shelf to the top face of the input shelf.
Regarding claim 5 and 6, Sato does not disclose wherein the input shelf has a distal end, and wherein the input shelf is rotatable such that the distal end is rotated downward/upward and toward the cabinet. However, Fletcher discloses wherein the input shelf (15) has a distal end (29), and wherein the input shelf (15) is rotatable such that the distal end (29) is rotated downward/upward (29 as shown in figure 3b) and toward the cabinet (11). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the checkout system of Sato with the input shelf is rotatable such that the distal end is rotated downward and toward the cabinet taught by Fletcher. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the checkout system of Sato with wherein the input shelf has a distal end, and wherein the input shelf is rotatable such that the distal end is rotated downward/upward and toward the cabinet taught by Fletcher. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that the input shelf could be rotated either upwards or downwards toward the cabinet in order to collapse the shelf into a position where it is out of the way of an approaching shopping cart. While fletcher does not expressly teach the distal end being rotated upward, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the input shelf could be rotated either upward or downward. The specification filed in the application does not provide criticality to the rotational direction of the input shelf moving either upward or downward.
Regarding claim 7, Sato discloses the checkout system of claim 1, further comprising:
a light emitter (Reflective optical sensor, Paragraph 59 Lines 10-12) arranged to emit light;
an optical sensor (Reflective optical sensor, Paragraph 59 Lines 10-12) arranged to sense light reflected off of the cart (151); and
an electric motor (M1) arranged to lower/move the input shelf (104) in response to the optical sensor (Reflective optical sensor, Paragraph 59 Lines 10-12) sensing light reflected off of the cart (151).
Sato does not disclose arranged to collapse the input shelf. However, Fletcher discloses arranged to collapse (27, 28, 29 as shown in figures 3b and 3c) the input shelf (15). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the checkout system of Sato with arranged to collapse the input shelf taught by Fletcher. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that a collapsing motion of the input shelf would allow an approaching shopping cart to move closer to the checkout system without interference from the input shelf.
Regarding claim 15, Sato discloses a method comprising:
detecting a cart (151) approaching a checkout system(10); and
lowering/moving an input shelf (104) of the checkout system relative to a cabinet (107) of the checkout system based at least in part on detecting the cart approaching the checkout system(Paragraph 37, Lines 1-6).
Sato does not disclose and collapsing an input shelf of the checkout system. However, Fletcher discloses collapsing (27, 28, 29 as shown in figures 3b and 3c) an input shelf (104) relative to a cabinet (107) of the checkout system (101). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the checkout system of Sato with collapsing an input shelf of the checkout system taught by Fletcher. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that a collapsing motion of the input shelf would allow an approaching shopping cart to move closer to the checkout system without interference from the input shelf.
Regarding claim 18, Sato does not disclose wherein collapsing the input shelf relative to the cabinet comprises rotating the input shelf from a horizontal position to a vertical position. However, Fletcher discloses wherein collapsing the input shelf (104) relative to the cabinet (107) comprises rotating the input shelf from a horizontal position (29, as shown in Figure 3b) to a vertical position (29, as interpreted in figure 3a). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the method of Sato with wherein collapsing the input shelf relative to the cabinet comprises rotating the input shelf from a horizontal position to a vertical position taught by Fletcher. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that collapsing the shelf from a horizontal to a vertical orientation would allow an approaching shopping cart to move closer to the checkout system without interference from the input shelf.
Regarding claim 20, Sato discloses a computer program product (“Various processes,” Paragraph 55 lines 4-6) for controlling movement of an input shelf (104) coupled with a cabinet (107) of a checkout system, the computer program product comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (133) having computer-readable program code (“Various processes,” Paragraph 55 lines 4-6) embodied therewith, the computer-readable program code executable by one or more computer processors (132) to:
receive an input indicating that a cart (151) is detected approaching the checkout system (101); and
cause an input shelf (104) of the checkout system (101) to lower/move relative to a cabinet (107) of the checkout system based at least in part on the input indicating that the cart (151) is approaching the checkout system.
Sato does not disclose an input shelf of the checkout system to collapse relative to a cabinet of the checkout system. However, Fletcher discloses to collapse (27, 28, 29 as shown in figures 3b and 3c) relative to a cabinet of the checkout system. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the checkout system of Sato with an input shelf of the checkout system to collapse relative to a cabinet of the checkout system taught by Fletcher. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that a collapsing motion of the input shelf would allow an approaching shopping cart to move closer to the checkout system without interference from the input shelf.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (US 2009/0288917 A1) in view of Fletcher (US 2014/003957 A1) as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Zimmerman (US 2008/0074261 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Sato in view of Fletcher does not teach wherein the light emitter is arranged to emit light at a downward angle with respect to a horizontal reference plane. However, Zimmerman discloses wherein the light emitter (190) is arranged to emit light at a downward angle (250 as shown in figure 2C) with respect to a horizontal reference plane. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the checkout system of claim 7 taught by Sato in view of Fletcher with wherein the light emitter is arranged to emit light at a downward angle with respect to a horizontal reference plane taught by Zimmerman. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that a downward angle of the optical sensor would allow for variety of placement of the optical sensor, as opposed to only being mounted in a level plane with the cart.
Claim(s) 9 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (US 2009/0288917 A1) in view of Fletcher (US 2014/003957 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Packer (US 2006/0119237 A1).
Regarding claim 9, Sato in view of Fletcher does not disclose further comprising:
a locking pin slidable between an engaged position and a disengaged position, and wherein, in the engaged position, the locking pin supports the input shelf relative to the cabinet when the input shelf is in a horizontal position, and in the disengaged position, the locking pin is slid to allow the input shelf to be moved to a collapsed position. However, Packer discloses further comprising: a locking pin (130) slidable between an engaged position (130, figure 1) and a disengaged position (Paragraph 67, Lines 4-7), and wherein, in the engaged position, the locking pin supports the input shelf (110) relative to the cabinet (100) when the input shelf is in a horizontal position (Paragraph 58, line 1-3), and in the disengaged position, the locking pin is slid to allow the input shelf to be moved to a collapsed position (110, figure 6). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the Checkout system of Sato in view of Fletcher with further comprising: a locking pin slidable between an engaged position and a disengaged position, and wherein, in the engaged position, the locking pin supports the input shelf relative to the cabinet when the input shelf is in a horizontal position, and in the disengaged position, the locking pin is slid to allow the input shelf to be moved to a collapsed position taught by Packer. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that a locking pin could secure the input shelf in a horizontal position, eliminating the threat of the shelf collapsing erroneously and spilling the contents supported by the input shelf.
Regarding claim 11, Sato in view of Fletcher does not disclose wherein the locking pin is slidable along a direction that is perpendicular with a direction in which the input shelf extends from the cabinet when the input shelf is in the horizontal position. However, Packer discloses wherein the locking pin (130) is slidable along a direction that is perpendicular (Paragraph 58, lines 5-8) with a direction in which the input shelf (110) extends from the cabinet (100) when the input shelf is in the horizontal position (110, figure 1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the checkout system of claim 9 with wherein the locking pin is slidable along a direction that is perpendicular with a direction in which the input shelf extends from the cabinet when the input shelf is in the horizontal position taught by Packer. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that a slidable locking pin oriented perpendicular to the shelf in its extended position relative to the cabinet would be an obvious configuration of a shelf locking mechanism.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (US 2009/0288917 A1) in view of Fletcher (US 2014/003957 A1) and Packer (US 2006/0119237 A1) as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Lee (US Patent No. 2,817,571).
Sato in View of Fletcher and Packer does not disclose wherein the locking pin is slidable along a direction that is parallel with a direction in which the input shelf extends from the cabinet when the input shelf is in the horizontal position. However, Lee discloses wherein the locking pin (50) is slidable along a direction that is parallel (50 and 12, figure 6) with a direction in which the input shelf (12) extends from the cabinet (44) when the input shelf is in the horizontal position (12, figure 1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the checkout system of claim 9 with wherein the locking pin is slidable along a direction that is parallel with a direction in which the input shelf extends from the cabinet when the input shelf is in the horizontal position taught by Lee. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that a slidable locking pin oriented parallel to the shelf in its extended position relative to the cabinet would be an obvious configuration of a shelf locking mechanism.
Claim(s) 12 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (US 2009/0288917 A1) in view of Fletcher (US 2014/003957 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of West (US 2022/0062476 A1).
Sato in view of Fletcher teaches the input shelf in a horizontal/vertical position (see claim 3 rejection above), as well as the detection of the cart approaching the checkout system (Sato, Paragraph 0037 lines 1-6).
Sato in view of Fletcher does not disclose wherein the input shelf includes a permanent magnet and the cabinet includes an electromagnet, and wherein the electromagnet is magnetically coupled with the permanent magnet … and is deactivated so that the electromagnet is magnetically decoupled from the permanent magnet. However, West discloses wherein the input shelf (24) includes a permanent magnet (80) and the cabinet (12) includes an electromagnet (78), and wherein the electromagnet is magnetically coupled (Paragraph 55, lines 10-14) with the permanent magnet … and is deactivated so that the electromagnet is magnetically decoupled (Paragraph 55, lines 10-14) from the permanent magnet. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the checkout system of claim 1 with wherein the input shelf includes a permanent magnet and the cabinet includes an electromagnet, and wherein the electromagnet is magnetically coupled with the permanent magnet … and is deactivated so that the electromagnet is magnetically decoupled from the permanent magnet taught by West. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify an activatable electromagnetic lock as an obvious locking mechanism to secure the input shelf in either a horizontal or vertical orientation. An electromagnetic lock would reduce the likelihood of the input shelf to fall into the path of an approaching shopping cart.
Claim(s) 14 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (US 2009/0288917 A1) in view of Fletcher (US 2014/003957 A1), as applied to claims 1-7, 15, 18, and 20 above, and further in view of Papic (US 2018/0084929 A1).
Regarding claim 14, Sato does not disclose wherein the input shelf is slidable between an external position and an internal position in which the input shelf is collapsed within the cabinet. However, Papic discloses wherein the input shelf (172) is slidable between an external position (172b) and an internal position (172a) in which the input shelf is collapsed within the cabinet (101). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the checkout system of Sato with wherein the input shelf is slidable between an external position and an internal position in which the input shelf is collapsed within the cabinet taught by Papic. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that the input shelf being slidable into a collapsed position within the cabinet would allow the approaching shopping cart to move closer to the checkout system without interference from the input shelf.
Regarding claim 19, Sato does not disclose wherein collapsing the input shelf relative to the cabinet comprises sliding the input shelf so that the input shelf is position, at least in part, within a recess defined by the cabinet. However, Papic discloses wherein collapsing the input shelf (172) relative to the cabinet (101) comprises sliding the input shelf so that the input shelf is position, at least in part, within a recess (199b) defined by the cabinet. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the method of Sato with wherein collapsing the input shelf relative to the cabinet comprises sliding the input shelf so that the input shelf is position, at least in part, within a recess defined by the cabinet taught by Papic. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that collapsing the shelf into the cabinet by sliding it into the cabinet would allow the approaching shopping cart to move closer to the checkout system without interference from the input shelf
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (US 2009/0288917 A1) in view of Fletcher (US 2014/003957 A1) as applied to claim 15 above, and further in view of Webster (US 2011/0147164).
Sato in view of Fletcher does not disclose unlocking the input shelf based at least in part on detecting the cart. However, Webster discloses unlocking (Paragraph 22, line 6-10) the input shelf (28) based at least in part on detecting (Paragraph 22, lines 1-3) the cart (12). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the method of claim 15 with unlocking the input shelf based at least in part on detecting the cart approaching the checkout system taught by Webster. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that locking the shelf in combination with collapsing it after detecting an approaching cart would more securely move the input shelf out of the way of an approaching chopping cart.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (US 2009/0288917 A1) in view of Fletcher (US 2014/003957 A1) as applied to claim 15 above, and further in view of Packer (US 2006/0119237 A1).
Sato in view of Fletcher does not disclose locking the input shelf in the collapsed position. However, Packer discloses locking (130) the input shelf (110) in the collapsed position (130, figure 6). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to combine the method of claim 15 with locking the input shelf in the collapsed position taught by Packer. One of ordinary skill in the art would identify that locking the input shelf in its collapsed position would reduce the chance of the shelf erroneously moving into its horizontal position and blocking an approaching shopping cart.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN R UEBERSCHAER whose telephone number is (571)270-5553. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:30am-5:00pm.
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/MICHAEL MCCULLOUGH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3653
/J.R.U./Examiner, Art Unit 3653
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