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 .
Claims 1-19 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on January 19, 2024 and March 3, 2025 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
The term “hit count” as used in the claims is interpreted in light of specification paragraph 0055 that states the hit count is the number of times that a good is ordered.
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) 1-4 and 6-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chinese Patent No. CN111361908 to Wang et al. (A machine translation is enclosed and referred to herein).
Regarding claim 1, the Wang patent teaches a rack, comprising: a plurality of first uprights 140 and a plurality of second uprights 110 arranged at intervals along a circumference of the rack, the first upright being located between two of the second
uprights in a width direction of the rack; at least one temporary storage layer plate 120
comprising a first cross beam (this is interpreted as the solid part of the plate with no slots) arranged along a horizontal direction and a plurality of temporary storage
members 122 arranged at intervals along a side of the first cross beam, two ends of the first cross beam being respectively arranged at two of the first uprights, the temporary
storage member comprising two support arms and a fork slot 121 formed between the two support arms, and the temporary storage layer plate being configured to provide a plurality of temporary storage positions; and at least one storage layer plate 130 spaced apart from the temporary storage layer plate in a vertical direction through the first uprights and the second uprights, and configured to provide a plurality of storage positions. See Fig. 4.
However, the Wang patent lacks a specific teaching that a plurality of temporary storage members are arranged at intervals along two sides of the first cross beam.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the subject invention to modify the Wang patent to have a plurality off temporary storage members are arranged at intervals along two sides of the first cross beam, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art, and it would provide the predictable result of a larger shelf for more storage. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Regarding claim 2, the Wang patent discloses the claimed invention except for the plurality of temporary storage members are detachable from the first cross beam.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the subject invention to have the plurality of temporary storage
members are detachable from the first cross beam, since it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art. New win v. Erlichman, 168 USPQ 177, 179.
Regarding claim 3, the Wang patent discloses the claimed invention except for the first cross beam is detachable from the first uprights.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the subject invention to have the first cross beam is detachable from the first uprights, since it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art. Nerwin v. Erlichman, 168 USPQ 177, 179.
Regarding claim 4, the temporary storage position is formed by the support arms of the temporary storage member or formed by adjacent support arms from adjacent temporary storage members. See Fig. 4.
Regarding claim 6, an access passage for placing a first robot is formed under the temporary storage layer plate; and when goods are to be accessed and the first robot is located in the access passage, the fork slot cooperates with a fork arm on the first robot to access the goods. See Fig. 1.
Regarding claim 7, the access passage is further configured for the first robot to travel without goods. See Fig. 1 left side of figure.
Regarding claim 8, the second uprights are arranged at the periphery of the temporary storage layer plate and the storage layer plate, and a first travel passage for the first robot to travel is formed at a side of the second uprights away from the temporary storage layer plate. See Fig. 1.
Regarding claim 9, a plurality of racks according to claim 1; and a second travel passage for a second robot to travel, the second travel passage being formed between adjacent racks, and the second robot being configured to move goods between the temporary storage layer plate and the storage layer plate. See Fig. 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 10-19 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
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/JUSTIN HOLMES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655