CTNF 18/582,793 CTNF 99204 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Priority 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Claim Status Claims 1-13 are pending in this application. Specification 06-31 AIA The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. MPEP § 608.01. Examiner’s Note The examiner would welcome an interview to clarify any of the various rejections seen below in order to expedite prosecution of the instant application. 07-30-03-h AIA Claim Interpretation Claim 3 recites, “…a period of time during which the hand of the operator should exist at a position of the article depository section…” (emphasis added). We considered a rejection for indefiniteness on the ground that the determination of the period of time was not claimed and consequently what time the operator’s “should” be found is unclear. However, on the basis of the instant specification paragraph [0097], we interpret the period of time as being supplied from any source, possibly predefined, possibly input, possibly computed. Applicant’s 1.5 second span is taken as exemplary and not limiting. We note that the measurement of the time the hand is in position determines an information element but no action is prescribed to be taken as a result of the information collected in claim 3 and also no purpose is claimed for the collected information. Claim Objections 07-29-01 AIA Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim recites, “ The [sic] article management method…. ” Ordinarily this claim would be rejected for its lack of an antecedent basis, but because claim 5 is independent and because the quote is from the preamble, there can be no confusion over which method is intended. Nevertheless, the first word should be “An”, not “The” . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA) 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-2, 4-7, 10, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Tejima Yasuyuki, JP 2015058995, (hereinafter Tejima) . Regarding claim 1 , Tejima discloses: An article management apparatus, (management system 1: fig. 1) comprising: an inputting unit (image processing unit 12: fig. 3, [0040]) configured to input image data from a photographing device (camera 4: fig. 1) configured to continuously photograph (frame rate of camera: [0041]) a plurality of article depository sections (storage units 2A-C: fig. 1) at which one or more articles (member 7: fig. 1) to be warehoused or picked are deposited; Tejima’s specification describes this image-processing system and method in great detail over its whole content, but an introduction of camera imaging and image processing occurs in [0020]. an information processing unit (control unit 22: fig. 3, [0040]) configured to recognize, based on the image data, an article depository section which is included in the plurality of article depository sections and at which a number of articles has changed, and generate management information containing at least information regarding the article depository sections based on a result of the recognizing; Tejima discloses the recognition of storage units (article depository sections) in [0013] and discloses the determination of article quantity changes in a storage unit based on image data in [0045]. [0045] also discloses the transmission of the change in quantity, which is the claimed management information. and an outputting unit (communication unit 23: fig. 3, [0040]) configured to output the management information ([0045]) . Regarding claim 2, Tejima discloses the limitations of claim 1, and also: wherein the information processing unit recognizes, based on the image data, the plurality of article depository sections, a change in the number of articles at each of the article depository sections, and a position of a hand of an operator with which the articles are moved, and generates the management information based on a result of the recognizing. Tejima discloses the recognition of storage units (article depository sections) in [0013] and discloses the determination of article quantity changes in a storage unit based on image data in [0045]. [0045] also discloses the transmission of the change in quantity, which is the claimed management information. The detection of an operator’s hand is disclosed in [0072]. Regarding claim 4, Tejima discloses the limitations of claim 1, and also: wherein the management information contains identification information for identifying the article depository sections at which the number of articles has changed. Tejima discloses the identification of a particular storage unit (article depository section) in [0013], and further discloses the detection of a change of inventory quantity in a storage unit in [0045]. Regarding claim 5, Tejima discloses: The article management method (method, [0001]) , comprising: inputting image data from a photographing device (camera 4: fig. 1) configured to continuously photograph (frame rate of camera: [0041]) a plurality of article depository sections (storage units 2A-C: fig. 1) at which one or more articles (member 7: fig. 1) to be warehoused or picked are deposited; Tejima’s specification describes this image-processing system and method in great detail over its whole content, but an introduction of camera imaging and image processing occurs in [0020]. recognizing, based on the image data, an article depository section which is included in the plurality of article depository sections and at which a number of articles has changed; Tejima discloses the recognition of the plurality of storage units (article depository sections) in [0013]. Determining a change in the number of articles in a storage unit is disclosed in [0045]. generating picking management information regarding the article depository sections based on a result of the recognizing; Tejima discloses the determination of article position information in [0078]. The position of an article in a storage unit is a form of “picking management information” because the position information is necessary to manage the process of picking an item from the storage unit. and outputting the management information. Tejima discloses outputting information in [0045]. Regarding claim 6, Tejima discloses: An article management system, (system: [0001]) comprising: an article management apparatus (management system 1: fig. 1) configured to: input image data from a photographing device (camera 4: fig. 1) configured to continuously photograph (frame rate of camera: [0041]) a plurality of article depository sections (storage units 2A-C: fig. 1) at which one or more articles (member 7: fig. 1) to be warehoused or picked are deposited; Tejima’s specification describes this image-processing system and method in great detail over its whole content, but an introduction of camera imaging and image processing occurs in [0020]. recognize, based on the image data, an article depository section which is included in the plurality of article depository sections and at which a number of articles has changed; Tejima discloses the recognition of storage units (article depository sections) in [0013] and discloses the determination of article quantity changes in a storage unit based on image data in [0045]. generate picking management information regarding the article depository sections based on a result of the recognizing; Tejima discloses the determination of article position information in [0078]. The position of an article in a storage unit is a form of “picking management information” because the position information is necessary to manage the process of picking an item from the storage unit. and output the management information Tejima discloses outputting a variety of forms of management and support information in [0027], [0045], [0049], [0059], and elsewhere that support article picking and storage and regard one or more articles to be picked. and a display device (output terminal 26: fig. 3) configured to display support information that supports article warehousing or picking based on article-to-be-warehoused information regarding one or more articles to be warehoused or article-to-be-picked information regarding one or more articles to be picked. The output terminal is disclosed per se in [0046] and its display of support information is disclosed in [0049]-[0050]. Regarding claim 7, Tejima discloses the limitations of claim 6, and also: wherein the display device displays the support information based on the article-to-be-warehoused information, and the support information contains information regarding a designated position for warehousing of the articles to be warehoused. Tejima discloses that its inventory management host 15 is responsible for tracking the SKUs and quantities of articles stored in each storage unit in [0035]. This is one type of the claimed support information regarding the designated positions for articles to be warehoused. Tejima further discloses in [0049]-[0050] that its output terminal 26 displays information related to inventory management, which is to say the claimed support information. Regarding claim 10, Tejima discloses the limitations of claim 6, and also: the display device displays the support information based on the article-to-be-picked information, and the support information contains information regarding a designated position for picking of the articles to be picked. Tejima discloses that its inventory management host 15 is responsible for tracking the SKUs and quantities of articles stored in each storage unit in [0035]. This is one type of the claimed support information regarding the designated positions for articles to be warehoused. Tejima further discloses in [0049]-[0050] that its output terminal 26 displays information related to inventory management, which is to say the claimed support information. Regarding claim 13 , Tejima discloses: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (medium: [0105]) storing thereon a program for causing a computer (computer: [0105]) to execute the steps of: inputting image data from a photographing device (image processing unit 12: fig. 3, [0040]) configured to continuously photograph (frame rate of camera: [0041]) a plurality of article depository sections storage units 2A-C: fig. 1) at which one or more articles (member 7: fig. 1) to be warehoused or picked are deposited; Tejima’s specification describes this image-processing system and method in great detail over its whole content, but an introduction of camera imaging and image processing occurs in [0020]. recognizing, based on the image data, an article depository section which is included in the plurality of article depository sections and at which a number of articles has changed; Tejima discloses the recognition of storage units (article depository sections) in [0013] and discloses the determination of article quantity changes in a storage unit based on image data in [0045]. generating management information containing at least information regarding the article depository sections based on a result of the recognizing; Tejima discloses this information in [0045]. [0045] also discloses the transmission of the change in quantity, which is the claimed management information. and outputting the management information. Tejima discloses outputting a variety of forms of management and support information in [0027], [0045], [0049], [0059], and elsewhere that support article picking and storage and regard one or more articles to be picked . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tejima in view of Fisher, et al., US 2019/0043003 (hereinafter Fisher) . Tejima discloses the limitations of claim 2 but not all aspects of: wherein the information processing unit generates, based on the image data, the management information based on the plurality of article depository sections, a change in the number of articles at each of the article depository sections, a period of time during which the hand of the operator should exist at a position of the article depository section, and a change in whether or not one or more articles are present in the operator’s hand at the position of the article depository section. While Tejima discloses the claimed imaging and analysis of article depository sections ([0020]), article quantity in the article depository sections ([0045]), and also can detect an operator’s hand ([0072]), it does not disclose a period of time in which an operator’s hand should be present, nor does it disclose detecting the presence of articles in the operator’s hand. However, given the data Tejima does detect and analyze, the inputs necessary for the missing aspects of the claim are all present. Fisher, an invention in the field of inventory event prediction, teaches the missing aspects of: wherein the information processing unit generates, based on the image data, the management information based on the plurality of article depository sections, a change in the number of articles at each of the article depository sections, a period of time during which the hand of the operator should exist at a position of the article depository section, and a change in whether or not one or more articles are present in the operator’s hand at the position of the article depository section. Fisher teaches time-series analysis of human subject hands by a neural network whose input is frames of continuous video. This analysis occurs in a commercial setting in which subjects may be placing items on shelves or removing items from shelves. In [0180]-[0181] Fisher teaches the identification of a particular product SKU in a subject’s hand as well the determination of whether a subject took an inventory item or placed an inventory item. As the neural network is trained to predict human action per [0197]-[0198], this prediction constitutes the information element of whether the subject’s hand “should” exist in a particular position at an article depository section over a particular period of time as claimed. Fisher discloses predetermined windows of time in which the analysis is performed in [0181], which we map to the period of time in the claim, corresponding to applicant’s exemplary 1.5 second period in [0097] of the instant specification. In combination with Tejima, Fisher’s method would be applied to the camera data provided by Tejima’s system with reference to Tejima’s storage units. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the system of Tejima, wherein the information processing unit generates, based on the image data, the management information based on the plurality of article depository sections, a change in the number of articles at each of the article depository sections, a period of time during which the hand of the operator should exist at a position of the article depository section, and a change in whether or not one or more articles are present in the operator’s hand at the position of the article depository section, as taught by Fisher, because Fisher’s method enables a management system to predictively determine whether a human subject is in fact placing or removing an item from a shelf or other storage unit. Per Fisher’s [0007]-[0008], Fisher’s method offers the advantage of working over a large number of human subjects and storage positions at the same time . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 8-9 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tejima in view of Mazur; Robert Gerhard, US 10,869,813 (hereinafter Mazur) . Regarding claim 8 , Tejima discloses the limitations of claim 7, but not: wherein the information regarding the designated position for warehousing includes an image indicating the plurality of article depository sections included in a single tray that accommodates one or more articles, and an image specifying a section corresponding to the designated position for warehousing from the plurality of article depository sections. Tejima’s storage units are rack compartments or shelves, not trays. However, given trays divided into compartments as storage units, Tejima would be capable of identifying article depository sections in the form of tray compartments. Mazur, an invention in the field of medication dispensing, teaches: wherein the information regarding the designated position for warehousing includes an image indicating the plurality of article depository sections included in a single tray (tray 5: fig. 1) that accommodates one or more articles, and an image specifying a section corresponding to the designated position for warehousing from the plurality of article depository sections. Mazur teaches compartmented trays in figs. 1. As seen in the figure, a single tray accommodates 28 compartments or article depository sections. Mazur also teaches its own camera for determining contents per its claim 18, but in combination with Tejima we adopt Mazur’s teaching of a compartmented tray rather than other aspects of its system, because Tejima otherwise discloses the elements of the claim. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the system of Tejima, wherein the information regarding the designated position for warehousing includes an image indicating the plurality of article depository sections included in a single tray that accommodates one or more articles, and an image specifying a section corresponding to the designated position for warehousing from the plurality of article depository sections, as taught by Mazur, because many storage systems in commercial and industrial facilities make use of trays to store articles, such trays comprising multiple storage locations for a plurality of articles, and in such facilities it would be advantageous to manage inventory using Tejima’s system. Regarding claim 9, Tejima in view of Mazur teaches the limitations of claim 8 and also: wherein the article management apparatus recognizes an article warehousing completion position (image position 28: fig. 9) based on the result of the recognizing, and verifies warehousing from the designated position for warehousing and the warehousing completion position, and the display device displays a result of the verifying of the warehousing. Tejima teaches an article warehousing completion position in the form of image position 28 in fig. 9 as disclosed in [0078]-[0079]. Tejima further discloses the automatic identification of incoming and outgoing items in [0050] and the outputting of the unit stored or removed from storage in [0084]; this last constitutes the display of the verification of warehousing as claimed. Regarding claim 11, Tejima discloses the limitations of claim 10, but not: wherein the information regarding the designated position for picking includes an image indicating a plurality of article depository sections included in a single tray that accommodates one or more articles, and an image specifying, from the plurality of article depository sections, a section corresponding to the designated position for picking. Tejima’s storage units are rack compartments or shelves, not trays. However, given trays divided into compartments as storage units, Tejima would be capable of identifying article depository sections in the form of tray compartments. Mazur, an invention in the field of medication dispensing, teaches: wherein the information regarding the designated position for picking includes an image indicating a plurality of article depository sections included in a single tray (tray 5: fig. 1) that accommodates one or more articles, and an image specifying, from the plurality of article depository sections, a section corresponding to the designated position for picking Mazur teaches compartmented trays in figs. 1. As seen in the figure, a single tray accommodates 28 compartments or article depository sections. Mazur also teaches its own camera for determining contents per its claim 18, but in combination with Tejima we adopt Mazur’s teaching of a compartmented tray rather than other aspects of its system, because Tejima otherwise discloses the elements of the claim. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the system of Tejima, wherein the information regarding the designated position for picking includes an image indicating a plurality of article depository sections included in a single tray that accommodates one or more articles, and an image specifying, from the plurality of article depository sections, a section corresponding to the designated position for picking, as taught by Mazur, because many storage systems in commercial and industrial facilities make use of trays to store articles, such trays comprising multiple storage locations for a plurality of articles, and in such facilities it would be advantageous to manage inventory using Tejima’s system. Regarding claim 12, Tejima in view of Mazur teaches the limitations of claim 11 and also: wherein the article management apparatus recognizes an article picking completion position (image position 28: fig. 9) based on the result of the recognizing, and verifies warehousing from the designated position for picking and the picking completion position, and the display device displays a result of the verifying of the picking. Tejima teaches an article warehousing completion position in the form of image position 28 in fig. 9 as disclosed in [0078]-[0079]. Tejima further discloses the automatic identification of incoming and outgoing items in [0050] and the outputting of the unit stored or removed from storage in [0084]; this last constitutes the display of the verification of picking as claimed . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Several foreign examiners identified EP 3621000 as an X document for foreign versions of this application; it could have been employed in this office action in place of reference Tejima for the rejection of certain claims. Similarly, JP 2006111415 was cited as a Y document and it could also have been cited in rejection in this office action . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAURENCE RAPHAEL BROTHERS whose telephone number is (703)756-1828. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 0830-1700. 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, Ernesto Suarez can be reached at (571) 270-5565. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /ERNESTO A SUAREZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3655 LAURENCE RAPHAEL BROTHERS Examiner Art Unit 3655A /L.R.B./ Examiner, Art Unit 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 2 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 3 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 4 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 5 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 6 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 7 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 8 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 9 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 10 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 11 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 13 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 14 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 15 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 16 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 17 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 18 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 19 Art Unit: 3655 Application/Control Number: 18/582,793 Page 20 Art Unit: 3655
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