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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1 – 20 were previously pending and subject to a non-final office action mailed 10/02/2025. Claims 1, 12, & 20 were amended in a reply filed 12/04/2025. Claims 1 – 20 are currently pending and subject to the final office action below.
Response to Arguments
The claims filed 12/04/2025 have overcome the previous rejections under 35 USC § 101. In particular, the controlling of the autonomous robotic picker to collect and deliver a set of items based on an updated delivery location provides integration of the recited judicial exception into a practical application. Note: the instant claims are eligible under 35 USC § 101, but are rejected under USC 35 112(a) as explained below. Future claim amendments to provide compliance with USC 35 112(a) may re-render the claims ineligible under 35 USC § 101.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 12, & 20 substantially recite the following limitations:
“upon assigning the servicing of the order, instructing, via collection instructions stored at the computer-readable medium and executed by the processor, the picker operating as the fully-autonomous robot to collect a set of items of the order in a retailer location;
physically collecting, by the picker operating as the fully-autonomous robot and using the collection instructions, the set of items in the retailer location;
{…}
upon collecting the set of items in the retailer location, controlling, via the updated navigation instructions executed by the processor, a movement of the picker operating as the fully-autonomous robot from the retailer location to the updated delivery location of the user;
and moving, along a navigation route identified using the navigation instructions, the picker operating as the fully-autonomous robot from the retailer location to the updated delivery location of the user for delivering the set of items to the updated delivery location of the user.”
A review of the instant specification yielded the following relevant sections:
[0042] When the order management module 220 assigns an order to a picker, the order management module 220 transmits the order to the picker client device 110 associated with the picker. The order management module 220 may also transmit navigation instructions from the picker's current location to the retailer location associated with the order. If the order includes items to collect from multiple retailer locations, the order management module 220 identifies the retailer locations to the picker and may also specify a sequence in which the picker should visit the retailer locations.
[0043] The order management module 220 may track the location of the picker through the picker client device 110 to determine when the picker arrives at the retailer location. When the picker arrives at the retailer location, the order management module 220 transmits the order to the picker client device 110 for display to the picker. As the picker uses the picker client device 110 to collect items at the retailer location, the order management module 220 receives item identifiers for items that the picker has collected for the order.
[0017] The picker client device 110 receives orders from the online concierge system 140 for the picker to service. A picker services an order by collecting the items listed in the order from a retailer. The picker client device 110 presents the items that are included in the user's order to the picker in a collection interface. The collection interface is a user interface that provides information to the picker on which items to collect for a user's order and the quantities of the items.
[0019] When the picker has collected all of the items for an order, the picker client device 110 instructs a picker on where to deliver the items for a user's order. For example, the picker client device 110 displays a delivery location from the order to the picker. The picker client device 110 also provides navigation instructions for the picker to travel from the retailer location to the delivery location. When a picker is servicing more than one order, the picker client device 110 identifies which items should be delivered to which delivery location. The picker client device 110 may provide navigation instructions from the retailer location to each of the delivery locations. The picker client device 110 may receive one or more delivery locations from the online concierge system 140 and may provide the delivery locations to the picker so that the picker can deliver the corresponding one or more orders to those locations. The picker client device 110 may also provide navigation instructions for the picker from the retailer location from which the picker collected the items to the one or more delivery locations.
[0021] In one or more embodiments, the picker is a single person who collects items for an order from a retailer location and delivers the order to the delivery location for the order.
[0022] Additionally, while the description herein may primarily refer to pickers as humans, in some embodiments, some or all of the steps taken by the picker may be automated. For example, a semi- or fully-autonomous robot may collect items in a retailer location for an order and an autonomous vehicle may deliver an order to a user from a retailer location.
While the instant specification discloses assigning an order to a human picker, providing collection instructions to the human picker’s device, providing navigation instructions for the human picker to travel from the retailer location to the delivery location, and wherein a robotic picker may collect items in a retailer location for an order and an autonomous vehicle may deliver an order to a user from a retailer location – there is not written support for “upon assigning the servicing of the order, instructing, via collection instructions stored at the computer-readable medium and executed by the processor, the picker operating as the fully-autonomous robot to collect a set of items of the order in a retailer location; physically collecting, by the picker operating as the fully-autonomous robot and using the collection instructions, the set of items in the retailer location; {…} physically collecting, by the picker operating as the fully-autonomous robot and using the collection instructions, the set of items in the retailer location; upon collecting the set of items in the retailer location, controlling, via the updated navigation instructions executed by the processor, a movement of the picker operating as the fully-autonomous robot from the retailer location to the updated delivery location of the user; and moving, along a navigation route identified using the navigation instructions, the picker operating as the fully-autonomous robot from the retailer location to the updated delivery location of the user for delivering the set of items to the updated delivery location of the user” as claimed.
In other words, there is not written support for the claimed particular steps for controlling the same autonomous robot to perform the steps of collecting and delivering items via the claimed specific sets of instructions. Therefore, claims 1, 12, & 20 are not supported by the written description of the instant specification.
Dependent claims 2 – 11 & 13 – 19 are also rejected for inheriting the deficiencies while failing to remedy them.
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRYAN J KIRK whose telephone number is (571)272-6447. The examiner can normally be reached Monday -Friday 9:00-5:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shannon Campbell can be reached at (571)272-5587. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/BRYAN J KIRK/Examiner, Art Unit 3628
Prosecution Insights