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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed March 24th, 2026, has been entered. Claims 42 and 45 have been amended. Claims 42-47, 50-52 and 54-58 remain pending.
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.
Claims 42-44 and 50-52 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherry et al. (US 10639678) in view of Vegh et al. (US 2014/0142746) and further in view of Garrett et al. (US 2019/0160493).
Regarding claim 42, Cherry et al. (US 10639678) teaches a sorting system (Col. 1 lines 22-25) including:
a control arrangement (Fig. 2 #110 “controller”, Col. 12 lines 59-67) configured to receive information about at least one item to be sorted (Col. 13 lines 13-24);
a track arrangement (Fig. 6C #608, 610 “tracks”) including at least one sort destination (Fig. 6A #606 “output bins”, Col. 12 lines 9-10), the track arrangement forming part of a framework (Col. 12 lines 51-57, Fig. 6A see frame of #600 created by #608, 610), and at least a first sorter carrier (Fig. 5A #500 “delivery vehicles”) and a second sorter carrier (Col. 12 lines 10-11) configured to carry an item to be sorted, each sorter carrier including a drive arrangement (Col. 11 lines 1-4);
each sort destination (Fig. 6A #606 “output bins”) comprising one or more chutes, glace, totes, roll cage, stillage, or other container (Col. 23 lines 53-55);
wherein each sorter carrier (Fig. 5A #500 “delivery vehicles”) is configured to move along the track arrangement as it passes the sort destinations (Col. 12 lines 51-58) and to carry an item to be sorted (Col. 12 lines 36-41),
each sorter carrier (Fig. 5A #500 “delivery vehicles”) further includes a discharge arrangement (Fig. 5A #510 “loading/unloading mechanism”) configured to discharge the item to be sorted at a discharge position (Col. 11 lines 10-13), wherein a direction of travel of each sorter carrier is perpendicular to a sort destination disposed at the discharge position (Figs. 6B-6C direction of travel of #604 perpendicular to #606), the discharge arrangement being disposed perpendicularly to the direction of travel of the sorter carrier (Col. 5 lines 61-67);
the first sorter carrier is configured to be propelled at a first speed and the second sorter carrier is configured to be propelled at a second speed (Col. 11 lines 1-4), the first speed being controllable independently of the second speed (Col. 11 lines 1-4, Col. 22 lines 49-62),
wherein the control arrangement (Fig. 2 #110 “controller”) determines information about the or each item to be sorted by way of a sensor arrangement connected to the control arrangement (Col. 22 lines 63-67), the determined information including effective dimensions of the item to be sorted (Col. 22 lines 64-67) and the position of the item to be sorted on the or each sorter carrier (Col. 22 lines 3-19), and
wherein the determined information is used to determine and control the first and/or second speed (Col. 22 lines 49-62) and the discharge position of the or each item to be sorted (Col. 12 lines 41-50).
Cherry et al. (US 10639678) lacks teaching wherein each sorter carrier is configured to move along the track arrangement horizontally as it passes the sort destinations and wherein a direction of travel of each sorter carrier is perpendicular to a sort destination disposed at the discharge position and in a same plane as the sort destination.
Vegh et al. (US 2014/0142746) teaches a sorting system (Paragraph 0002 lines 1-5) wherein each sorter carrier (Fig. 2 #4) is configured to move along the track arrangement horizontally (Paragraph 0028 lines 12-18) as it passes the sort destinations (Fig. 2 #4 configured to move horizontally as it passes #6L, 6R) and wherein a direction of travel of each sorter carrier (Fig. 2 lateral direction of travel of #5, Paragraph 0029 lines 6-19) is perpendicular to a sort destination disposed at the discharge position (Fig. 2 lateral direction of travel of #5 is perpendicular to #6R, 6L) and in a same plane as the sort destination (Fig. 2 lateral direction of travel of #5 is in the same plane as #6R, 6L).
Vegh et al. (US 2014/0142746) explains that the location of an article on an carrier is directly related to accurate delivery of the article to its intended discharge locations (Paragraph 0007 lines 1-3), and explains that the throughput of the system is increased with increasing conveyance speeds, but the difficulty of maintaining accuracy increases as the speed of conveyance increases (Paragraph 0004 lines 1-4). Vegh et al. (US 2014/0142746) states that to ensure that the article arrives into the selected discharge location, the system calculates a release point to place the article on the discharge trajectory based on the information of the article on the surface, the direction of the article discharge, the longitudinal (horizontal) speed of the conveyor, and the lateral speed of the conveying surface, such that the system can initiate a discharge movement to discharge the article into the selected discharge location at the appropriate time (Paragraph 0029 lines 8-19).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Cherry et al. (US 10639678) to include wherein each sorter carrier is configured to move along the track arrangement horizontally as it passes the sort destinations and wherein a direction of travel of each sorter carrier is perpendicular to a sort destination disposed at the discharge position and in a same plane as the sort destination as taught by Vegh et al. (US 2014/0142746) in order to accurately discharge items while operating the system at higher conveyance speeds, therefore increasing the throughput of the system.
Cherry et al. (US 10639678) lacks teaching wherein the determined information and dimensions and positions in the sort destination of any items already sorted are used to determine and control the first and/or second speed and the discharge position of the or each item to be sorted, so as to place the item adjacent to or behind the items already sorted and store the dimensions and position of the item in the sort destination.
Garrett et al. (US 2019/0160493) teaches a sorting system (Paragraph 0019 lines 1-2), wherein the determined information (Paragraph 0084 lines 1-8) and dimensions and positions in the sort destination of any items already sorted (Paragraph 0088 lines 1-13) are used to determine and control the first and/or second speed (Paragraph 0092 lines 1-3, Paragraph 0086 lines 1-12) and the discharge position of the or each item to be sorted (Paragraph 0086 lines 6-12), so as to place the item adjacent to or behind the items already sorted (Paragraph 0088 lines 1-13); and store the dimensions and position of the item in the sort destination (Paragraph 0067 lines 7-9, Paragraph 0088 lines 1-13, Paragraph 0090 lines 1-18).
Garrett et al. (US 2019/0160493) explains that the system may control how an item is discharged or delivered at an output bin based on the determined or detected physical characteristics of an item, for example if an item is fragile, the system may control the vehicle so that the item is discharged into the output bin more slowly (Paragraph 0086 lines 1-9), and explains that when multiple items are to be delivered to the same output bin, the system may control the position of the vehicle relative to the output bin to reduce the distance the items must fall and to reduce the likelihood of the items causing a jam (Paragraph 0087 lines 1-9). Garrett et al. (US 2019/0160493) further explains that the size of each virtual location for each item may be varied based on the detected characteristics of the item, and may be prioritized based on the characteristics, for example if one of the items is heavy or dense, the system may prioritize the heavy item to be delivered into the bin first, and the fragile item delivered into the bin second to minimize the likelihood of damage (Paragraph 0088 lines 1-13).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Cherry et al. (US 10639678) to include wherein the determined information and dimensions and positions in the sort destination of any items already sorted are used to determine and control the first and/or second speed and the discharge position of the or each item to be sorted, so as to place the item adjacent to or behind the items already sorted and store the dimensions and position of the item in the sort destination as taught by Garrett et al. (US 2019/0160493) in order to reduce the likelihood of items causing a jam or being damaged in a sort destination.
Regarding claim 43, Cherry et al. (US 10639678) lacks teaching the sorting system of claim 42 wherein the determined information further includes determination of an optimum location at which each sorter carrier begins the discharge of the item and the forward speed of each sorter carrier as it discharges the item.
Vegh et al. (US 2014/0142746) teaches a sorting system (Paragraph 0002 lines 1-5) wherein the determined information (Paragraph 0029 lines 1-8) further includes determination of an optimum location at which each sorter carrier begins the discharge of the item (Paragraph 0029 lines 8-16) and the forward speed of each sorter carrier as it discharges the item (Paragraph 0029 lines 12-16).
Vegh et al. (US 2014/0142746) explains that the location of an article on an carrier is directly related to accurate delivery of the article to its intended discharge locations (Paragraph 0007 lines 1-3), and explains that the throughput of the system is increased with increasing conveyance speeds, but the difficulty of maintaining accuracy increases as the speed of conveyance increases (Paragraph 0004 lines 1-4). Vegh et al. (US 2014/0142746) states that to ensure that the article arrives into the selected discharge location, the system calculates a release point to place the article on the discharge trajectory based on the information of the article on the surface, the direction of the article discharge, the longitudinal speed of the conveyor, and the lateral speed of the conveying surface, such that the system can initiate a discharge movement to discharge the article into the selected discharge location at the appropriate time (Paragraph 0029 lines 8-19).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Cherry et al. (US 10639678) to include wherein the determined information further includes determination of an optimum location at which each sorter carrier begins the discharge of the item and the forward speed of each sorter carrier as it discharges the item as taught by Vegh et al. (US 2014/0142746) in order to accurately discharge items while operating the system at higher conveyance speeds, therefore increasing the throughput of the system.
Regarding claim 44, Cherry et al. (US 10639678) teaches the sorting system of claim 42 wherein the framework comprises multiple levels (Fig. 6A see multiple levels of framework of #600) and the sorting carriers (Fig. 5A #500 “delivery vehicles”) are arranged for travel through the framework to sorting destinations (Fig. 6A #606 “output bins”) on one or more levels (Col. 12 lines 36-45).
Regarding claim 50, Cherry et al. (US 10639678) teaches the sorting system of claim 42, wherein the sensor arrangement includes a camera, vision system, a photocell, and/or a barcode reader (Col. 15 lines 14-22).
Regarding claim 51, Cherry et al. (US 10639678) teaches the sorting system of claim 42 wherein the determined information includes the coefficient of friction of and/or mass of the or each item to be sorted (Col. 13 lines 22-24).
Regarding claim 52, Cherry et al. (US 10639678) teaches the sorting system of claim 42, further including an item scanning arrangement configured to read information about the or each item to be sorted (Col. 12 lines 45-50).
Claims 45-46 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherry et al. (US 10639678) in view of Garrett et al. (US 2019/0160493).
Regarding claim 45, Cherry et al. (US 10639678) teaches a sorting system (Col. 1 lines 22-25) including:
a control arrangement (Fig. 2 #110 “controller”, Col. 12 lines 59-67) configured to receive information about at least one item to be sorted (Col. 13 lines 13-24);
a track arrangement (Fig. 6C #608, 610 “tracks”) including at least one sort destination (Fig. 6A #606 “output bins”, Col. 12 lines 9-10), the track arrangement forming part of a framework (Col. 12 lines 51-57, Fig. 6A see frame of #600 created by #608, 610);
at least a first sorter carrier (Fig. 5A #500 “delivery vehicles”) and a second sorter carrier (Col. 12 lines 10-11) configured to carry an item to be sorted, each sorter carrier including a drive arrangement (Col. 11 lines 1-4);
each sort destination (Fig. 6A #606 “output bins”) comprising one or more chutes, glace, totes, roll cage, stillage, or other containers (Col. 12 lines 38-39) into which the item can be discharged (Col. 21 lines 4-10), wherein
each sorter carrier (Fig. 5A #500 “delivery vehicles”) is configured to move along the track arrangement and carry an item to be sorted (Col. 12 lines 36-41);
each sorter carrier (Fig. 5A #500 “delivery vehicles”) further including a discharge arrangement (Fig. 5A #510 “loading/unloading mechanism”) configured to discharge the item to be sorted at a discharge position (Col. 11 lines 10-13);
the first sorter carrier being configured to be propelled at a first speed and the second sorter carrier being configured to be propelled at a second speed (Col. 11 lines 1-4);
wherein the control arrangement (Fig. 2 #110 “controller”) determines information about each item to be sorted by way of a sensor arrangement connected to the control arrangement (Col. 22 lines 63-67), the determined information including effective dimensions of the item to be sorted (Col. 22 lines 64-67) and the position of the item to be sorted on each sorter carrier (Col. 22 lines 3-19); and
wherein the determined information (Col. 22 lines 64-67) is used to determine and control the discharge position of the or each item to be sorted (Col. 27 line 56-67).
Cherry et al. (US 10639678) lacks teaching wherein the determined information and the dimensions and positions in the sort destination of any items already sorted are used to determine and control the first and/or second speed and the discharge position of the or each item to be sorted, so as to place the item adjacent to or behind the items already sorted; and store the dimensions and position of the item in the sort destination.
Garrett et al. (US 2019/0160493) teaches a sorting system (Paragraph 0019 lines 1-2), wherein the determined information (Paragraph 0084 lines 1-8) and the dimensions and positions in the sort destination of any items already sorted (Paragraph 0088 lines 1-13) are used to determine and control the first and/or second speed (Paragraph 0092 lines 1-3, Paragraph 0086 lines 1-12) and the discharge position of the or each item to be sorted (Paragraph 0086 lines 6-12), so as to place the item adjacent to or behind the items already sorted (Paragraph 0088 lines 1-13); and store the dimensions and position of the item in the sort destination (Paragraph 0067 lines 7-9, Paragraph 0088 lines 1-13, Paragraph 0090 lines 1-18).
Garrett et al. (US 2019/0160493) explains that the system may control how an item is discharged or delivered at an output bin based on the determined or detected physical characteristics of an item, for example if an item is fragile, the system may control the vehicle so that the item is discharged into the output bin more slowly (Paragraph 0086 lines 1-9), and explains that when multiple items are to be delivered to the same output bin, the system may control the position of the vehicle relative to the output bin to reduce the distance the items must fall and to reduce the likelihood of the items causing a jam (Paragraph 0087 lines 1-9). Garrett et al. (US 2019/0160493) further explains that the size of each virtual location for each item may be varied based on the detected characteristics of the item, and may be prioritized based on the characteristics, for example if one of the items is heavy or dense, the system may prioritize the heavy item to be delivered into the bin first, and the fragile item delivered into the bin second to minimize the likelihood of damage (Paragraph 0088 lines 1-13).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Cherry et al. (US 10639678) to include wherein the determined information and the dimensions and positions in the sort destination of any items already sorted are used to determine and control the first and/or second speed and the discharge position of the or each item to be sorted, so as to place the item adjacent to or behind the items already sorted; and store the dimensions and position of the item in the sort destination as taught by Garrett et al. (US 2019/0160493) in order to reduce the likelihood of items causing a jam or being damaged in a sort destination.
Regarding claim 46, Cherry et al. (US 10639678) teaches the sorting system of claim 45 wherein the framework comprises multiple levels (Fig. 6A see multiple levels of framework of #600) and the sorting carriers (Fig. 5A #500 “delivery vehicles”) are arranged for travel through the framework to sorting destinations (Fig. 6A #606 “output bins”) on one or more levels (Col. 12 lines 36-45).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 47 and 54-58 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 47 recites “wherein the control arrangement is configured to arrange the items to be discharged, which arrive out of the desired sequence whereby to utilize remaining space in the sort destination by placing an item which is later in the desired sequence of removal behind any item earlier in the desired sequence of removal and placing items which are earlier in the desired sequence of removal than items already in the sort destination at a position in the front of the sort destination”, wherein this limitation, in combination with the remaining limitations of claims 45 and 47, was not seen in the searched prior art.
Claims 54-58 would be allowed as they are dependent upon claim 47.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed March 24th, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of amended claim(s) 42 and 45 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Garrett et al. (US 2019/0160493).
Applicant’s arguments, with respect to the rejection of claim 47 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of the claim has been withdrawn.
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.
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/MOLLY K DEVINE/ Examiner, Art Unit 3653