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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on (12/8/23 4/14/26) are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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.
1. Claims 1, 3, 6, 8, 11-12 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by AI et al. (US PG PUB NO 2023/0150769).
[CLAIM 1] Regarding claim 1, AI discloses a delivery robot, comprising:
a mobile chassis (AI, FIG 9); and a casing (AI, FIG 9 illustrates enclosures which are exemplary) provided on the mobile chassis, wherein the casing comprises a bottom plate (AI, FIG 9 surface above the base), at least two first support members (AI, FIG 9, frame 81), and a top plate (AI, FIG 9 illustrates an exemplary top portion), the bottom plate is provided on a top portion of the mobile chassis (AI, FIG 9), the at least two first support members are provided between the bottom plate and the top plate (AI, FIG 9), the at least two first support members are respectively located on two sides of a front or a rear end of the bottom plate (AI, FIG 9), the front end of the bottom plate is a front side of the casing, and the rear end of the bottom plate is a back side of the casing (AI, FIG 9, the orientation of AI is substantially similar to that of Applicants orientation).
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[CLAIM 3] Regarding claim 3, AI discloses the delivery robot according to claim 1, further comprising at least two second support members (AI, FIG 9), wherein the first support member and the second support member are parallel to each other (AI, FIG 9).
[CLAIM 6] Regarding claim 6, AI discloses the delivery robot according to claim 1, wherein a partial area of the top portion of the mobile chassis protrudes toward the bottom plate to form a protrusion, the bottom plate is provided on the protrusion (AI, FIG 9 is exemplary and illustrates areas between each shelf), so that at least one accommodating space is formed between a bottom portion of the bottom plate and the top portion of the mobile chassis, and the delivery robot further comprises an electronic device accommodated in the accommodating space (AI, FIG 9 is exemplary and illustrates the spacing for transporting items).
[CLAIM 8] Regarding claim 8, AI discloses the delivery robot according to claim 1, wherein the chassis comprises a housing (AI, FIG 9), a driving portion, and a caster (AI, paragraph [0518] introduces wheels 31-32 which are exemplary for a robot base), the casing is provided on a top portion of the housing (AI, FIG 9), the caster is partly accommodated in the housing and a bottom portion of the caster is exposed from an opening located at a bottom portion of the housing (AI, FIG 9, the wheels are inherently partially exposed to traverse the ground and terrain), the driving portion is provided in the housing, the driving portion is connected to the caster, and the driving portion drives the caster to roll, so as to drive the housing to move (AI, at least paragraphs [0518 and 0566] disclose the motor/drive to the wheels/casters).
[CLAIM 11] Regarding claim 11, AI discloses the delivery robot according to claim 3, further comprising a bottom fixing member configured to be fixedly connected to the mobile chassis, wherein the second support member is fixedly connected to the bottom fixing member (AI, FIG 9 illustrates an exemplary embodiment that has all pieces connected in assembly).
[CLAIM 12] Regarding claim 12, AI discloses the delivery robot according to claim 11, wherein the bottom fixing member is provided with a first connecting portion and an end of the second support member adjacent to the bottom fixing member is provided with a second connecting portion, and the first connection member is fixedly connected to the second connection member (AI, FIG 9 illustrates an exemplary embodiment that has all pieces connected in final assembly).
[CLAIM 17] Regarding claim 17, AI discloses the delivery robot according claim 11, further comprising a top fixing member spaced apart from the bottom fixing member (AI, FIG 9 is exemplary and illustrates the spacing for transporting items), wherein the second support member is fixed between the bottom fixing member and the top fixing member (AI, FIG 9 is exemplary and illustrates the spacing for supports/frames).
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 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
1. Claims 2, 18 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over AI et al. (US PG PUB NO 2023/0150769) in view of Goldberg et al. (10,654,394).
[CLAIM 2] Regarding claim 2, AI discloses the delivery robot according to claim 1.
-However, it fails to disclose further comprising a door plate movably connected to the first support members.
-Nevertheless, Goldberg discloses enclosures having doors such as in FIG 1.
- Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified AI to have an enclosure as taught by Goldberg with a reasonable expectation of success in order to prevent items falling and or heating/cooling the robot.
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[CLAIM 18] Regarding claim 18, AI/Goldberg disclose the delivery robot according to claim 2, wherein the casing is provided with an accommodation space having an opening (Goldberg discloses enclosures for items), the door plate is opened
provided on the opening, the door plate is configured to form a closed cavity to package goods to be delivered (Goldberg is exemplary and can have any desired door orientation and structure) with the accommodating space when the door plate covers the opening (Goldberg, FIG 1 shows doors to selectively close items), the casing comprises an enclosure assembly and two first support members (Goldberg discloses an enclosures for items), the two first support members are located on opposite sides of the opening, both of the enclosure assembly and the door plate are mounted on the two first support members, and the accommodating space is enclosed by the enclosure assembly and the two first support members (Goldberg discloses an enclosures for items) having walls and corner supports in FIG 1.
[CLAIM 26] Regarding claim 26, AI/Goldberg disclose the delivery robot according to claim 18, wherein the door plate comprises the first door plate and the second door plate both mounted on the casing (Each door of Goldberg is hinged and includes a door/plate), and the first door plate and the second door plate are located on opposite sides of the opening (Goldberg can be oriented in opposing configurations with respect to each door/plate/hinge), the first door plate is provided with a first protruding strip, and the second door plate is provided with a second protruding strip (Hinged brackets are conventional in the door art. A seal for temperature also is conventional with respect to electronic component housing for heating/cooling).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13-16, 19-24 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.
AI (US PG PB NO 2023/0150769) discloses the most similar robot as claimed by Applicants but fails to disclose each of the limitations in claims 13-16, 19-24.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and can be found on the attached Notice of References Cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to whose telephone number is (571) 270-3411. The examiner can normally be reached on 9AM-6PM PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jason Shanske can be reached on (571)270-5985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMES J TRIGGS/Examiner, Art Unit 3615B
/MARC Q JIMENEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3615
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