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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 10/31/2025 has been entered. Claims 1-15 remain pending in the application. Claims 1, 6, 9, and 15 are currently amended.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5, 9-11, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han et al. (US 20190343355 A1), referred to further as Han '355, in view of Han et al. (US 20160334800 A1), referred to further as Han '800.
Regarding claim 1, in an embodiment, Han ‘355 teaches an electronic apparatus for controlling a robot cleaner ([0131], mobile device), the electronic apparatus comprising: a communication interface configured to perform data transceiving by using a wireless communication network ([0131]); a memory to store at least one instruction ([0131]); and at least one processor configured to execute the at least one instruction stored in the memory ([0131]) to: obtain position information ([0074]), and determine a target cleaning region based on the obtained position information ([0130], receives information and uses a learning model to determine a cleaning target area; [0131] communication interface); and control the communication interface to transmit information about the determined target cleaning region to the robot cleaner ([0132] and [0135], mobile device controls the robotic cleaning apparatus, which then cleans the cleaning space according to the request).
Han ‘355 does not explicitly teach that the obtain position information is based on at least one of a position of at least one home appliance located around the robot cleaner, or a relative position between the robot cleaner and the electronic apparatus.
The position information obtained through the operations of the processor of Han ‘355 taught above is explicitly taught to be obtained from the robotic cleaning apparatus. However, Han ‘355 further teaches that the robotic cleaning apparatus can obtain position information based on at least one of a position of at least one home appliance located around the robot cleaner, or a relative position between the robot cleaner and the electronic apparatus ([0074], based on a position of an external device; [0053], said device being a home appliance). The robotic cleaning apparatus then communicates this information to a mobile device that then uses this information to determine a target cleaning area ([0130]). This allows the robot cleaning apparatus to obtain the information about a position of at least one home appliance, which will aid in the contamination information gathering in situations where a robot cleaner cannot accurately sense the data of an area via its own camera sensors. Han ‘355 additionally teaches that the mobile device may directly perform the functions otherwise disclosed to be performed by the robotic cleaning apparatus ([0130]).
As such, it would have been obvious to have the position information obtained by the mobile device of Han ‘355 be based on a position of at least one home appliance located around the robot cleaner for the motivation of allowing the mobile device to obtain positional information in situations where a robot cleaner is otherwise unable to. This would ensure that the positional information about the cleanliness of an area remains accurate when an event that changes the cleanliness of an area, such as a spilled beverage, happens in a detection range of a home appliance but not the robot cleaner.
Han ‘355 does not teach that this position information is based on position coordinates of a position tracking tag device which is portable.
In the same field of endeavor, Han ‘800 teaches receiving position information based on position coordinates of a position tracking tag device which is portable in order to determine what areas to clean ([0055] and [0109-0110]).
Han ‘800 is analogous to the art of robotic cleaners and the systems for controlling them. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to have the processor of Han ‘355 obtain its position information based on a tracking device tag, and for the cleaning area chosen to be a preset radius for the motivation of tracking and cleaning specific objects or areas where dirt is more likely to be found, thereby increasing efficiency and the speed in which an area is cleaned.
Regarding claim 2, the prior art remains as previously applied, and Han ‘355 further teaches that the at least one processor obtains position information ([0130] receives information about robotic cleaning apparatus and cleaning space), and the at least one processor is further configured to determine a region as the target cleaning region using the obtained position information ([0130], determine a target cleaning area).
Additional reference Han ‘800 teaches that the position information is based on the position of the tracking tag device ([0109], location of a UWB tag), and that the target cleaning region is a region within a preset radius of the tracking tag device ([0110], “perform a cleaning task”, [0054], cleaning task for a preset radius associated with the detected location of the tag, such as the predetermined areas as shown in Fig. 4B).
Regarding claim 3, the prior art remains as previously applied, and Han ‘355 further teaches that the robot cleaner comprises a short-range wireless communication module that wirelessly performs data transceiving ([0012]), and the position information is obtained based on the position of the at least one home appliance that is obtained by the robot cleaner from the at least one home appliance by using the short-range wireless communication module ([0074], “obtain location of the external device”; [0053], “external device may include … a home appliance”; [0130], “mobile device may receive information about … a status of the cleaning space from the robotic cleaning apparatus”).
Regarding claim 5, the prior art remains as previously applied, and Han ‘355 further teaches that the processor is further configured to: obtain information about air quality of an indoor space from the robot cleaner by using the communication interface ([0075], robot receives air quality from a dust sensor; [0130], mobile device receives information from robotic cleaning apparatus); and determine an area in which an air pollution degree exceeds a preset threshold value of the determined target cleaning region, as an intensive target cleaning region, based on the obtained information about the air quality ([0130], generate contamination map data; [0077], contamination map data includes contamination location and contamination level; [0083], priority and cleaning strength determined when cleaning area is determined)
Regarding claim 9, Han ‘355 teaches a method comprising: obtaining position information ([0074]), and determining a target cleaning region based on the obtained position information ([0130], receives information and uses a learning model to determine a cleaning target area; [0131] communication interface); and transmitting information about the determined target cleaning region to the robot cleaner ([0132] and [0135], mobile device controls the robotic cleaning apparatus, which then cleans the cleaning space according to the request).
Han ‘355 does not explicitly teach that the obtained position information is based at least one of a position of at least one home appliance located around the robot cleaner, or a relative position between the robot cleaner and the electronic apparatus.
The position information obtained through the operations of the processor of Han ‘355 taught above is explicitly taught to be obtained from the robotic cleaning apparatus. However, Han ‘355 further teaches that the robotic cleaning apparatus can obtain position information based on at least one of a position of at least one home appliance located around the robot cleaner, or a relative position between the robot cleaner and the electronic apparatus ([0074], based on a position of an external device; [0053], said device being a home appliance). The robotic cleaning apparatus then communicates this information to a mobile device that then uses this information to determine a target cleaning area ([0130]). This allows the robot cleaning apparatus to obtain the information about a position of at least one home appliance, which will aid in the contamination information gathering in situations where a robot cleaner cannot accurately sense the data of an area via its own camera sensors. Han ‘355 additionally teaches that the mobile device may directly perform the functions otherwise disclosed to be performed by the robotic cleaning apparatus ([0130]).
As such, it would have been obvious to have the position information obtained by the mobile device of Han ‘355 be based on a position of at least one home appliance located around the robot cleaner for the motivation of allowing the mobile device to obtain positional information in situations where a robot cleaner is otherwise unable to. This would ensure that the positional information about the cleanliness of an area remains accurate when an event that changes the cleanliness of an area, such as a spilled beverage, happens in a detection range of a home appliance but not the robot cleaner.
Han ‘355 does not teach that this position information is based on position coordinates of a position tracking tag device which is portable.
In the same field of endeavor, Han ‘800 teaches receiving position information based on position coordinates of a position tracking tag device which is portable in order to determine what areas to clean ([0055] and [0109-0110]).
Han ‘800 is analogous to the art of robotic cleaners and the systems for controlling them. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to have the processor of Han ‘355 obtain its position information based on a tracking device tag, and for the cleaning area chosen to be a preset radius for the motivation of tracking and cleaning specific objects or areas where dirt is more likely to be found, thereby increasing efficiency and the speed in which an area is cleaned.
Regarding claim 10, the prior art remains as previously applied. Han ‘800 teaches determining a region within a preset radius as the target cleaning region ([0110], “perform a cleaning task”, [0054], cleaning task for a preset radius associated with the detected location of a tag, such as the predetermined areas as shown in Fig. 4B) using the obtained position information based on the position tracking tag device ([0109], location of a UWB tag).
Regarding claim 11, the prior art remains as previously applied, and Han ‘355 further teaches that the robot cleaner comprises a short-range wireless communication module that wirelessly performs data transceiving ([0012]), and the position information is obtained based on the position of the at least one home appliance that is obtained by the robot cleaner from the at least one home appliance by using the short-range wireless communication module ([0074], “obtain location of the external device”; [0053], “external device may include … a home appliance”; [0130], “mobile device may receive information about … a status of the cleaning space from the robotic cleaning apparatus”).
Regarding claim 15, Han ‘355 teaches a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium having recorded thereon instructions to perform a method ([0131], “mobile device may include … a memory storing one or more instructions … and a processor executing the instructions stored in memory”, [0014], “non-transitory computer program product”), the method comprising: obtaining position information, by using the communication interface, and determining a target cleaning region based on the obtained position information ([0130], receives information and uses a learning model to determine a cleaning target area; [0131] communication interface); and transmitting information about the determined target cleaning region to the robot cleaner ([0132] and [0135], mobile device controls the robotic cleaning apparatus, which then cleans the cleaning space according to the request).
Han ‘355 does not explicitly teach that the obtained position information is based at least one of a position of at least one home appliance located around the robot cleaner, or a relative position between the robot cleaner and the electronic apparatus.
The position information obtained through the operations of the processor of Han ‘355 taught above is explicitly taught to be obtained from the robotic cleaning apparatus. However, Han ‘355 further teaches that the robotic cleaning apparatus can obtain position information based on at least one of a position of at least one home appliance located around the robot cleaner, or a relative position between the robot cleaner and the electronic apparatus ([0074], based on a position of an external device; [0053], said device being a home appliance). The robotic cleaning apparatus then communicates this information to a mobile device that then uses this information to determine a target cleaning area ([0130]). This allows the robot cleaning apparatus to obtain the information about a position of at least one home appliance, which will aid in the contamination information gathering in situations where a robot cleaner cannot accurately sense the data of an area via its own camera sensors. Han ‘355 additionally teaches that the mobile device may directly perform the functions otherwise disclosed to be performed by the robotic cleaning apparatus ([0130]).
As such, it would have been obvious to have the position information obtained by the mobile device of Han ‘355 be based on a position of at least one home appliance located around the robot cleaner for the motivation of allowing the mobile device to obtain positional information in situations where a robot cleaner is otherwise unable to. This would ensure that the positional information about the cleanliness of an area remains accurate when an event that changes the cleanliness of an area, such as a spilled beverage, happens in a detection range of a home appliance but not the robot cleaner.
Han ‘355 does not teach that this position information is based on position coordinates of a position tracking tag device which is portable.
In the same field of endeavor, Han ‘800 teaches receiving position information based on position coordinates of a position tracking tag device which is portable in order to determine what areas to clean ([0055] and [0109-0110]).
Han ‘800 is analogous to the art of robotic cleaners and the systems for controlling them. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to have the processor of Han ‘355 obtain its position information based on a tracking device tag, and for the cleaning area chosen to be a preset radius for the motivation of tracking and cleaning specific objects or areas where dirt is more likely to be found, thereby increasing efficiency and the speed in which an area is cleaned.
Claims 4 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han '355 in view of Han '800 as applied to claims 1 and 9 above, and in further view of Kim et al. (US 20190387945 A1).
Regarding claim 4, the prior art remains as previously applied, and Han ‘355 further teaches that the apparatus contains a display ([0131]), wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive device identification information of the at least one home appliance from the robot cleaner by using the communication interface ([0074], robot obtains contamination and location of an external device; [0053], “external device may include … a home appliance”), and control the display to display a user interface (UI) representing the position of the at least one home appliance ([0130], Figs. 15 and 17).
Han ‘355 further teaches identifying information of the at least one home appliance ([0074], information is the location of the home appliance). This process is performed by the processor of the robot cleaner, and Han ‘355 does not explicitly teach that the electronic apparatus performs this step.
However, Han ‘355 teaches that processor of the electronic apparatus can perform operations of the robot cleaner, including identifying information of the at least one home appliance ([0130], “mobile device may perform some of the functions of the robotic cleaning apparatus 1000, which are described above in relation to Figs. 1 to 13”, with the robot cleaner performing the method in the flow chart according to Fig. 3). It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to combine these teachings of Han ‘355 by having the processor of the mobile device identify information of the home appliance for the motivation of having the processing being performed by the mobile device instead of the robot cleaner, thereby reducing the processing and battery power needed by the robot cleaner and extending the time needed before it must recharge.
Han ‘355 does not teach that the processor identifies a type of the at least one home appliance based on the received device identification information, and that the type of home appliance is displayed.
Additional reference Kim teaches that the processor identifies a type of the at least one home appliance based on the received device identification information ([0106-0108]), and that the type of home appliance is displayed ([0119, map displayed illustrates type of home appliance as shown in Fig. 10). This allows the processor to know whether a home appliance is a type that contributes negatively or positively to the cleanliness of an area, such as a stovetop area being less clean, or a cleaning appliance area being more clean.
Kim is analogous to the art of robotic cleaners and the systems of controlling them. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to modify Han ‘355 to allow it to identify and display the type of home appliances in a cleaning area for the motivation of factoring in whether the type of home appliance results in an area needing more or less cleaning than otherwise, and creating a better visualization of a cleaning space for a user.
Regarding claim 12, the prior art remains as previously applied, and Han ‘355 teaches that the method further comprises: receiving device identification information of the at least one home appliance from the robot cleaner ([0074], robot obtains contamination and location of an external device; [0053], “external device may include … a home appliance”) and displaying a user interface (UI) representing the position of the at least one home appliance ([0130], Figs. 15 and 17).
Han ‘355 further teaches identifying information of the at least one home appliance ([0074], information is the location of the home appliance). This method is performed by the robot cleaner, and Han ‘355 does not explicitly teach that the electronic apparatus performs this step of the method. However, Han ‘355 teaches that processor of the electronic apparatus can perform operations of the robot cleaner, including identifying information of the at least one home appliance ([0130], “mobile device may perform some of the functions of the robotic cleaning apparatus 1000, which are described above in relation to Figs. 1 to 13”, with the robot cleaner performing the method in the flow chart according to Fig. 3). It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to combine these teachings of Han ‘355 by having the mobile device identify information of the home appliance for the motivation of having the processing being performed by the mobile device instead of the robot cleaner, thereby reducing the processing and battery power needed by the robot cleaner and extending the time needed before it must recharge.
Han ‘355 does not teach that the method further includes identifying a type of the at least one home appliance based on the received device identification information, and displaying the type of home appliance.
Additional reference Kim teaches the method includes identifying a type of the at least one home appliance based on the received device identification information ([0106-0108]), and displaying the type of home appliance ([0119, map displayed illustrates type of home appliance as shown in Fig. 10). This allows the processor to know whether a home appliance is a type that contributes negatively or positively to the cleanliness of an area, such as a stovetop area being less clean, or a cleaning appliance area being more clean.
Kim is analogous to the art of robotic cleaners and the systems of controlling them. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to modify Han ‘355 to allow it to identify and display the type of home appliances in a cleaning area for the motivation of factoring in whether the type of home appliance results in an area needing more or less cleaning than otherwise, and creating a better visualization of a cleaning space for a user.
Claims 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han '355 in view of Han '800 as applied to claim 1 above, and in further view of Jang (US 20190231161 A1) and Bassa et al. (US 20190208979 A1).
Regarding claim 6, the prior art remains as previously applied, and Han ‘355 further teaches that the electronic apparatus includes at least one sensor ([0131]), wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain third information about the relative position between the robot cleaner and the electronic apparatus by using the position information based on the position of the robot cleaner which is received by using an ultra wide band (UWB) ([0140], mobile device can be located such that the contamination data it receives from the robotic cleaning apparatus is for a position between the two devices; [0054], wireless communication is done via UWB communication]). Han ‘355 also teaches that the electronic apparatus contains at least one sensor ([0131]).
Han ‘355 does not explicitly disclose that the at least one sensor of the electronic apparatus comprise all of a geomagnetic, gyro, and an acceleration sensor. These sensors are known in the art as Han '355 further teaches a geomagnetic sensor [0147], and a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor [0149-0150]. The sensors are comprised within the robotic cleaning apparatus, and not the mobile device. However, as the mobile device of Han ‘355 is taught to be able to perform some functions of the robotic cleaning apparatus ([0130]), and the robotic cleaning apparatus uses these sensors to carry out its operations ([0151]), it would have been obvious to include these sensors in the mobile device as well so that it is able to perform the functions of the robotic cleaning apparatus that require these sensors with a reasonable degree of success.
Han ‘355 does not teach that the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain first information about a height or a direction of the electronic apparatus from the azimuth measured by using the geomagnetic sensor, and obtain second information about the inclination angle of the electronic apparatus by using the gyro sensor and the acceleration sensor. However, additional reference Jang does teach that the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain first information about a height and a direction of the electronic apparatus from the azimuth measured by using the geomagnetic sensor ([0195] and [0197]), and obtain second information about the inclination angle of the electronic apparatus by using the gyro sensor and the acceleration sensor ([0195] and [0197]).
As Jang is analogous in the art of robot cleaners and the systems for controlling them, it would have been obvious to modify the combination of embodiments of Han ‘355 to have the processor of the mobile device obtain this information for the motivation of being able to accurately determine its position and orientation so that it is able to pinpoint its location in the area. As such, when the mobile device performs the function of sensing the contamination data of an environment, an accurate position and orientation of the device being used will ensure that a more accurate location of an area to be cleaned is determined.
The prior combination does not teach that at least one of the first information or the second information is used to obtain third information about a relative position. However, additional reference Bassa does teach that at least one of the first information or the second information is used to obtain third information about a relative ([0199], position and orientation of mobile device obtained; [0114-0117], direction and position of mobile device when taking a photo is analyzed to determine where a user desires the cleaning robot to clean).
As Bassa is analogous to the art of robot cleaners and the systems for controlling them, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the prior combination so that information about the orientation of the mobile device is used when obtaining contamination information. This advantageously allows a system to determine a more accurate area of where possible contamination can be found when the mobile device is generating contamination data, as relying on solely its position results in a very large area where the corresponding contamination can be found.
Regarding claim 7, the prior art remains as previously applied. The combination of Han ‘355 and Jang does not teach that the electronic apparatus further comprises a camera to photograph a region to be cleaned by a user, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: identify the region that is photographed by the camera based on a field 46 of view (FOV) of the camera and the position information based on the relative position between the electronic apparatus and the robot cleaner; and determine the identified region as the target cleaning region.
However, additional reference Bassa teaches an electronic apparatus that comprises a camera to photograph a region to be cleaned by a user (Fig. 1A, camera 120), wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: identify the region that is photographed by the camera based on a field 46 of view (FOV) of the camera and the position information based on the relative position between the electronic apparatus and the robot cleaner (Fig. 1B, [0117], toolkit determines the region photographed; [0105-0106] and [0108], toolkit uses positional information of the mobile device to determine where the taken photo is); and determine the identified region as the target cleaning region ([0117] and [0122], determine coordinates of spots to be cleaned and send robot to clean them). As Bassa is analogous to robotic cleaners and the systems for controlling them, it would have been obvious to modify the mobile device of the previous combination to incorporate it with the teachings of Bassa for the motivation, as taught by Bassa, of allowing a user to target a specific region for cleaning (Bassa, [0089]).
Claims 8 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han '355 in view of Han '800 as applied to claims 1 and 9 above, and in further view of Lee et al (US 20200218274 A1).
Regarding claim 8, the prior art remains as previously applied. Han ‘355 further teaches that the processor of the electronic apparatus is further configured to: control the communication interface to transmit a control command to the robot cleaner ([0132], [0135]). Han ‘355 does not teach that the electronic apparatus comprises a microphone to receive a voice input including a cleaning command for the determined target cleaning region, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: identify the cleaning command from the voice input based on a result of interpreting the voice input by using a natural language understanding model, and generate a control command to control an operation of the robot cleaner from the identified cleaning command.
However, additional reference Lee teaches an electronic apparatus that comprises a microphone to receive a voice input including a cleaning command for the determined target cleaning region ([0170], [0179-0180]), wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: identify the cleaning command from the voice input based on a result of interpreting the voice input by using a natural language understanding model ([0134]; [0140], an AI model interprets the voice input; [0176] electronic apparatus can perform the operations with its disclosed microphone), and generate a control command to control an operation of the robot cleaner from the identified cleaning command ([0134], generated control command is the determined cleaning target region; [0176], can be performed by the electronic apparatus).
As Lee is analogous to the art of robot cleaners and the systems for controlling them, it would have been obvious to modify the mobile device of Han ‘355 with the teachings of Lee for the motivation of allowing the mobile device to be operable via simple voice command, thus simplifying user operation and control of the robotic cleaner.
Regarding claim 14, the prior art remains as previously applied. Han ‘355 further teaches that the method further comprises: transmitting a control command to the robot cleaner ([0132], [0135]). Han ‘355 does not teach that the method comprises: receiving a voice input including a cleaning command for the determined target cleaning region; identifying the cleaning command from the voice input based on a result of interpreting the voice input by using a natural language understanding model; and generating a control command to control an operation of the robot cleaner from the identified cleaning command.
However, additional reference Lee teaches a method that comprises: receiving a voice input including a cleaning command for the determined target cleaning region ([0170], [0179-0180]); identifying the cleaning command from the voice input based on a result of interpreting the voice input by using a natural language understanding model ([0134]; [0140], an AI model interprets the voice input; [0176] electronic apparatus can perform the operations with its disclosed microphone); and generating a control command to control an operation of the robot cleaner from the identified cleaning command. ([0134], generated control command is the determined cleaning target region; [0176], can be performed by the electronic apparatus).
As Lee is analogous to the art of robot cleaners and the systems for controlling them, it would have been obvious to modify the mobile device of Han ‘355 with the teachings of Lee for the motivation of allowing the mobile device to be operable via simple voice command, thus simplifying user operation and control of the robotic cleaner.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han '355 in view of Han '800 as applied to claim 9 above, and in further view of Bassa et al. (US 20190208979 A1).
Regarding claim 13, the prior art remains as previously applied. Han ‘355 does not teach that the method comprises: photographing a region to be cleaned by a user by using a camera; identifying a region photographed by the camera based on a field of view (FOV) of the camera and the position information based on the relative position between the electronic apparatus and the robot cleaner; and determining the identified region as the target cleaning region.
However, additional reference Bassa teaches a system that performs a method, comprising: photographing a region to be cleaned by a user by using a camera ([0117]); identifying a region photographed by the camera based on a field of view (FOV) of the camera and the position information based on the relative position between the electronic apparatus and the robot cleaner (Fig. 1B, [0117], toolkit determines the region photographed; [0105-0106] and [0108], toolkit uses positional information); and determining the identified region as the target cleaning region ([0117] and [0122], determine coordinates of spots to be cleaned and send robot to clean them). As Bassa is analogous to robotic cleaners and the systems for controlling them, it would have been obvious to modify the mobile device of Han ‘355 to incorporate it with the teachings of Bassa for the motivation, as taught by Bassa, of allowing a user to target a specific region for cleaning (Bassa, [0089]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the objection of claim 7 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The objection set forth in the previous office action was improperly given due to a typographical error by the examiner. Therefore, the objection has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection of claim 6 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Applicant amended claim 6 to recite “first information, “second information”, and “third information”, thereby resolving the antecedent basis of the claimed terms and rendering the claim definite. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the previous rejections of claims 1-15 under 35 U.S.C 103 have been fully considered. Applicant argues that Han ‘355 does not teach the current features of the amended independent claims 1, 9, and 15, namely the use of “a position tracking tag device which is portable”. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made for the independent claims based on the combination of Han ‘355 (US 20190343355 A1) in view of Han ‘800 (US 20160334800 A1). Han ‘800 teaches the use of “a position tracking tag device which is portable” as required by the amended claims. Accordingly, the claims remain rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 based on a new ground of rejection necessitated by the amendments to the claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
Kwak et al. (US 20210338031 A1)
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.
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/JACK R. BREWER/
Examiner
Art Unit 3663
/ADAM D TISSOT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3663