DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Japan on 3/18/2021. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the JP2021-044911 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nagafuchi (EP 3705196).
Regarding claim 8, Nagafuchi discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program to be executed by a processor, the program causing the processor to execute: a function of acquiring sorting destination information indicating sorting destinations of articles (paragraph 0065); specifying a first vessel or a second vessel as a sorting vessel to be fed with the article based on the sorting destination information (paragraphs 0066-0067); transmitting a control signal to cause the sorter to feed the article to the first vessel, if the first vessel is specified (paragraph 0066); and transmitting a control signal to cause the sorter to feed the article to an automated guided vehicle, and transmitting a control signal to cause the automated guided vehicle to feed the article to the second vessel, if the second vessel is specified (paragraph 0067).
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 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 of this title, 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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagafuchi in view of Dominguez (USP 6,892,890 B2)
Regarding claim 1, Nagafuchi discloses a system comprising an information processing device (element 1), a sorter (element 2), and an automated guided vehicle (elements 3), the sorter including: articles (elements c); and a feeding mechanism feeding each of the articles to a first vessel or the automated guided vehicle (elements 9c or 9d), the automated guided vehicle including: a loading mechanism to be loaded with the article and feeding the article to a second vessel (paragraphs 0022 and 0067); and a moving mechanism moving the loading mechanism (element 36), the information processing device including: a communication unit (element 15) communicating with an external device (see Fig. 2; elements communicating with element 15), the sorter, and the automated guided vehicle; and a processor executing: acquiring sorting destination information indicating sorting destinations of the articles from the external device via the communication unit (paragraph 0065; receiving the article ID); specifying the first vessel or the second vessel as a sorting vessel to be fed with the article based on the sorting destination information (paragraphs 0066-0067; article ID and selecting sorting destination); transmitting a control signal to cause the sorter to feed the article to the first vessel via the communication unit, if the first vessel is specified (paragraph 0066; instruction to transmit and transmitting sort information); and transmitting a control signal to cause the sorter to feed the article to the automated guided vehicle via the communication unit, and transmitting a control signal to cause the automated guided vehicle to feed the article to the second vessel via the communication unit, if the second vessel is specified (paragraph 0067; determination d2), but Nagafuchi does not disclose the articles being loaded into trays. Dominguez teaches the articles being loaded into trays (col. 1, lines 20-28) for the purpose of containerizing items for sorting and transport. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to modify Nagafuchi, as taught by Carpenter, for the purpose of containerizing items for sorting and transport.
Regarding claim 2, Nagafuchi discloses the loading mechanism feeds the article to the first vessel, and if the first vessel is specified, the processor transmits a control signal to cause the sorter to feed the article to the automated guided vehicle, based on a shape or a weight of the article, and transmits a control signal to cause the automated guided vehicle to feed the article to the first vessel via the communication unit (paragraphs 0019 and 0066).
Regarding claim 4, Nagafuchi discloses the processor transmits a control signal to move the automated guided vehicle to a position in which the automated guided vehicle is capable of receiving the article from the sorter via the communication unit, if the second vessel is specified (paragraph 0067).
Regarding claim 5, Nagafuchi discloses the processor transmits a control signal to move the automated guided vehicle to a position in which the automated guided vehicle is capable of receiving the article from the sorter via the communication unit, after the automated guided vehicle feeds the article to the second vessel (paragraph 0067).
Regarding claim 7, Nagafuchi discloses a scanner reading an ID of each of the articles, wherein the processor specifies the first vessel or the second vessel as the sorting vessel to be fed with the article, based on the ID and the sorting destination information (paragraphs 0019, 0066, and 0067).
Claims 3 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagafuchi/Dominguez and in further view of Carpenter (US Pub 2021/0031240 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Nagafuchi/Dominguez do not disclose the claim limitations. Carpenter teaches the first vessel includes an outer layer and a folding container formed inside the outer layer, the sorter feeds the article to the folding container (paragraph 0037 and element 105), and the loading mechanism feeds the article to the outer layer (elements 50 and 95) for the purpose of allowing a loading mechanism to direct items into desired repositories (paragraph 0035). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to modify Nagafuchi, as taught by Carpenter, for the purpose of allowing a loading mechanism to direct items into desired repositories.
Regarding claim 6, Nagafuchi/Dominguez do not disclose the claim limitations. Carpenter teaches the loading mechanism is formed of a belt (element 95; belt feeding), and feeds the article to the second vessel by rotating the belt in a state of being loaded with the article (paragraph 0035) the purpose of allowing a loading mechanism to direct items into desired repositories (paragraph 0035). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to modify Nagafuchi, as taught by Carpenter, for the purpose of allowing a loading mechanism to direct items into desired repositories.
Conclusion
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/K.K./Examiner, Art Unit 3653
/MICHAEL MCCULLOUGH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3653