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 .
This is a Final Office Action on the merits. Claims 1-14 are currently pending and are addressed below.
Response to Amendment
The drawings were objected to due to minor informalities. Applicant amended the specification accordingly; therefore, the drawings objection is withdrawn.
The specification was objected to due to minor informalities. Applicant amended the specification accordingly; therefore, the specification objection is withdrawn.
Claim 12 was objected to due to minor informalities. Applicant amended the claim accordingly; therefore, the objection is withdrawn.
Claim 1-14 was rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112 due to being indefinite. Applicant amended the claims accordingly; therefore, the rejection is withdrawn.
Claim 14 was rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 for being directed to non-statutory subject matter. Applicant amended the claim accordingly; therefore, the rejection is withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments on pages 13-15 of the response, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 6-7, and 12-13 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and claim(s) 2-5, 8-11, and 14 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 Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.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 Xu.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 6-7, and 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han of CN 108781705 A, published 11/13/2018, hereinafter “Han”, in view of Xu of US 20220197295 A1, published 06/23/2022, hereinafter “Xu”.
Regarding claim 1, Han teaches:
An autonomous working machine comprising: a mower body that mows a vegetation group including a plurality of pieces of vegetations while traveling; (See at least [0008]: “A smart lawn mower based on a laser scanning radar sensor comprises: a movable body…The drive mechanism is mounted on the movable body and provides power for the smart lawnmower's movement…”)
a controller that controls the mower body (See at least [0008]: “A smart lawnmower based on a laser scanning radar sensor includes…a controller…The controller is mounted on the movable body, and the signal output terminals of the image acquisition device and the laser scanning radar sensor are connected to the signal input terminals of the controller. The signal output terminals of the controller are connected to the steering mechanism, the drive mechanism, the cutting motor, and the height adjustment mechanism, respectively” & [0017]: “Step 3: Based on the collected lawn height data, control the drive mechanism via the controller to reduce the speed of the smart lawnmower. The greater the change in lawn height, the lower the speed of the smart lawnmower. After adjustment, proceed to step 2.”)
a front camera that is directed forward in an advancing direction of the mower body; and (See at least [0052]: “The front camera 1 captures images of the lawn ahead while the smart lawnmower is working, and also helps to identify obstacles in front.”)
a rear camera that is directed rearward in the advancing direction of the mower body, (See at least [0049]: “…the rear camera 4 is located at the rear end of the movable vehicle body…”)
based on an image of the vegetation group after mowing acquired by the rear camera, evaluate a shape of the vegetation group after mowing. (See at least [0052]: “…the rear camera 4 captures images of the lawn after the smart lawnmower has worked…” & [0071-0077]: “The determination of cutting quality factor D is as follows: The front and rear cameras take pictures of the lawn at regular intervals, with the rear camera lagging behind the front camera by a time interval Δt. L is the length of the grass path captured by the front camera, in meters (m), and v is the speed of the lawnmower, in meters per minute (m/min). This invention obtains the flatness of the lawn from the previous image and the flatness of the current image by performing image enhancement and feature extraction on two images, and uses a normalization method to make them fall within the range of 0-1. Where S is the current lawn smoothness, Smin is the smoothness of the lawn obtained without cutting, and Smax is the smoothness of the lawn obtained under ideal conditions after cutting. Table 1 is a comparison table of quality assessment and scheme.” See Equation 1 below for calculation of cutting quality.)
Equation 1:
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Greyscale
Han does not explicitly teach:
a memory that records, in a rewritable manner, a work operation content performed by the mower body;
…based on the work operation content recorded in the memory…
wherein the controller is configured to, based on an image of the vegetation group before mowing acquired by the front camera, determine a first work operation content, and record the first work operation content in the memory, and
Xu teaches:
a memory that records, in a rewritable manner, a work operation content performed by the mower body; (See at least Fig. 42, [0303]: “The robotic mower 1 is described by taking a mower 300 as an example. Specifically, the information collection module 51 is also configured to collect area information of an area to be operated 6 (as shown in FIG. 37), and to determine whether the area to be operated 6 has completed mowing according to the area information. The area to be operated 6 is an area where the mower 300 will work” & [0307]: “At the same time, the information collection module 51 records the working area where the mower 300 has completed mowing in the first working mode, and marks it as a mowed area.”)
…based on the work operation content recorded in the memory… (See at least Fig. 42 & [0303]: “The control module 12 controls a working state of the working unit (a cutting assembly, not shown) of the mower 300 according to whether the area to be operated 6 has been completed. Please refer to FIG. 37, the area to be operated 6 is located in a completed area 7 where a mowing has been completed, and the area to be operated 6 is a completed mowing area at this time. Then, the control module 12 controls the working unit to work at a first rotation speed, and controls the mower 300 to pass through the area to be operated 6 at a first traveling speed.”)
wherein the controller is configured to, based on an image of the vegetation group before mowing acquired by the front camera, determine a first work operation content, and record the first work operation content in the memory, and (See at least Fig. 42 & [0308]: “The mower 300′ includes the traveling module 52, the working module 14, a camera module 330, the information collection module 51, and the control module 12. The camera module 330 is configured to collect real-time images of the area to be operated…In this embodiment, the control module 12 analyzes the real-time image of the area to be operated collected by the camera module 330 to determine whether the area to be operated is a completed mowing area. If the area to be operated is a completed mowing area, the area is marked as a mowed area on the navigation map. The working area except the mowed area is marked as an unmowed area. When the mower enters the unmowed area, the control module 12 controls the working module 14 to perform the self-propelled mowing in the first working mode. When the mower enters the mowed area again, the control module 12 controls the working module 14 to self-propelled in the second working mode.”)
One having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Han’s machine with Xu’s memory that records a work operation content in a rewritable manner and controller that controls the mower body based on the work operation content recorded in the memory, as well as Xu’s techniques of determining a first work operation content based on an image of the vegetation group before mowing acquired by the front camera and recording the first work operation content in the memory. Doing so would be obvious to “control a working state of the mowing module of the mower according to whether a mowing in the working area is completed, thereby effectively saving power and extending working time of the mower” and to “effectively improve operation efficiency of the mower 300 and avoid the mower from wasting time in the area where the mowing has been completed” (See [0109] & [0304] of Xu).
Regarding claim 6, Han and Xu in combination teach all the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above.
Han additionally teaches:
wherein the rear camera is configured to acquire at least information on a length of the vegetations in the vegetation group after mowing. (See at least [0052]: “…When the smart lawn mower is working, the front camera 1 captures the condition of the lawn in front and helps to judge the obstacles in front. At the same time, the rear camera 4 captures the condition of the lawn after the smart lawn mower has worked. The control system will evaluate the quality of the mowing operation based on the comparison between the two images, thereby controlling the parameters of the smart lawn mower such as the walking speed and cutting speed” & [0075]; “This invention obtains the flatness of the lawn from the previous image and the flatness of the current image by performing image enhancement and feature extraction on two images, and uses a normalization method to make them fall within the range of 0-1.”)
Regarding claim 7, Han teaches:
A work management system comprising: (See at least [0008]: “A smart lawn mower based on a laser scanning radar sensor comprises: a movable body…The drive mechanism is mounted on the movable body and provides power for the smart lawnmower's movement…”)
a mower that is equipped with a front camera that is directed forward in an advancing direction and a rear camera that is directed rearward in the advancing direction to mow a vegetation group including a plurality of pieces of vegetations while traveling; and (See at least [0049]: “The image acquisition device includes a front camera 1 and a rear camera 4. The front camera 1 is located at the front end of the movable vehicle body, and the rear camera 4 is located at the rear end of the movable vehicle body.”)
a controller that is communicable with the mower and controls the mower(See at least [0008]: “A smart lawnmower based on a laser scanning radar sensor includes…a controller…The controller is mounted on the movable body, and the signal output terminals of the image acquisition device and the laser scanning radar sensor are connected to the signal input terminals of the controller. The signal output terminals of the controller are connected to the steering mechanism, the drive mechanism, the cutting motor, and the height adjustment mechanism, respectively” & [0017]: “Step 3: Based on the collected lawn height data, control the drive mechanism via the controller to reduce the speed of the smart lawnmower. The greater the change in lawn height, the lower the speed of the smart lawnmower. After adjustment, proceed to step 2.”)
based on an image of the vegetation group after mowing acquired by the rear camera and sent from the mower, evaluate a shape of the vegetation group. (See at least [0052]: “…the rear camera 4 captures images of the lawn after the smart lawnmower has worked…” & [0071-0077]: “The determination of cutting quality factor D is as follows: The front and rear cameras take pictures of the lawn at regular intervals, with the rear camera lagging behind the front camera by a time interval Δt. L is the length of the grass path captured by the front camera, in meters (m), and v is the speed of the lawnmower, in meters per minute (m/min). This invention obtains the flatness of the lawn from the previous image and the flatness of the current image by performing image enhancement and feature extraction on two images, and uses a normalization method to make them fall within the range of 0-1. Where S is the current lawn smoothness, Smin is the smoothness of the lawn obtained without cutting, and Smax is the smoothness of the lawn obtained under ideal conditions after cutting. Table 1 is a comparison table of quality assessment and scheme.” See Equation 1 below for calculation of cutting quality. See also [0017] regarding controlling the speed of the lawnmower based on collected lawn height data.)
Equation 1:
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54
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Greyscale
Han does not explicitly teach:
a memory that records, in a rewriteable manner, a work operation content performed by the mower; and
…based on the work operation content recorded in the memory…
wherein the controller is configured to, based on an image of the vegetation group before mowing acquired by the front camera, determine a first work operation content, and record the first work operation content in the memory, and
Xu teaches:
a memory that records, in a rewriteable manner, a work operation content performed by the mower; and (See at least [0303]: “The robotic mower 1 is described by taking a mower 300 as an example. Specifically, the information collection module 51 is also configured to collect area information of an area to be operated 6 (as shown in FIG. 37), and to determine whether the area to be operated 6 has completed mowing according to the area information. The area to be operated 6 is an area where the mower 300 will work” & [0307]: “At the same time, the information collection module 51 records the working area where the mower 300 has completed mowing in the first working mode, and marks it as a mowed area.”)
…based on the work operation content recorded in the memory… (See at least [0303]: “The control module 12 controls a working state of the working unit (a cutting assembly, not shown) of the mower 300 according to whether the area to be operated 6 has been completed. Please refer to FIG. 37, the area to be operated 6 is located in a completed area 7 where a mowing has been completed, and the area to be operated 6 is a completed mowing area at this time. Then, the control module 12 controls the working unit to work at a first rotation speed, and controls the mower 300 to pass through the area to be operated 6 at a first traveling speed.”)
wherein the controller is configured to, based on an image of the vegetation group before mowing acquired by the front camera, determine a first work operation content, and record the first work operation content in the memory, and (See at least [0308]: “The mower 300′ includes the traveling module 52, the working module 14, a camera module 330, the information collection module 51, and the control module 12. The camera module 330 is configured to collect real-time images of the area to be operated…In this embodiment, the control module 12 analyzes the real-time image of the area to be operated collected by the camera module 330 to determine whether the area to be operated is a completed mowing area. If the area to be operated is a completed mowing area, the area is marked as a mowed area on the navigation map. The working area except the mowed area is marked as an unmowed area. When the mower enters the unmowed area, the control module 12 controls the working module 14 to perform the self-propelled mowing in the first working mode. When the mower enters the mowed area again, the control module 12 controls the working module 14 to self-propelled in the second working mode.”)
One having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Han’s system with Xu’s memory that records a work operation content in a rewritable manner and controller that controls the mower body based on the work operation content recorded in the memory, as well as Xu’s techniques of determining a first work operation content based on an image of the vegetation group before mowing acquired by the front camera and recording the first work operation content in the memory. Doing so would be obvious to “control a working state of the mowing module of the mower according to whether a mowing in the working area is completed, thereby effectively saving power and extending working time of the mower” and to “effectively improve operation efficiency of the mower 300 and avoid the mower from wasting time in the area where the mowing has been completed” (See [0109] & [0304] of Xu).
Regarding claim 12, Han and Xu in combination teach all the limitations of claim 7 as discussed above.
Han additionally teaches:
wherein the rear camera is configured to acquire at least information on a length of the vegetation in the vegetation group. (See at least [0052]: “…When the smart lawn mower is working, the front camera 1 captures the condition of the lawn in front and helps to judge the obstacles in front. At the same time, the rear camera 4 captures the condition of the lawn after the smart lawn mower has worked. The control system will evaluate the quality of the mowing operation based on the comparison between the two images, thereby controlling the parameters of the smart lawn mower such as the walking speed and cutting speed” & [0075]; “This invention obtains the flatness of the lawn from the previous image and the flatness of the current image by performing image enhancement and feature extraction on two images, and uses a normalization method to make them fall within the range of 0-1.”)
Regarding claim 13, Han teaches:
A method for evaluating a vegetation group after mowing by an autonomous working machine, the autonomous working machine including: (See at least [0080]: “The intelligent lawnmower of this invention is equipped with a laser scanning radar sensor, which has rapid real-time response capability and high precision characteristics, and can correct measurement data in real time, making the measurement data more accurate. An image acquisition device monitors the mowing quality, and the acquired images are transmitted to the controller. By comparing the images with pre-stored thresholds in the controller, the mowing quality can be assessed…”)
a mower body that mows a vegetation group including a plurality of vegetations while traveling; (See at least [0048]: “…an intelligent lawnmower based on a laser scanning radar sensor according to the present invention includes: a movable vehicle body…” & [0057]: “Step 2: Drive the smart lawnmower to move via the drive mechanism, drive the cutting line to cut grass via the cutting motor…”)
a controller that controls the mower body (See at least [0008]: “A smart lawnmower based on a laser scanning radar sensor includes…a controller…The controller is mounted on the movable body, and the signal output terminals of the image acquisition device and the laser scanning radar sensor are connected to the signal input terminals of the controller. The signal output terminals of the controller are connected to the steering mechanism, the drive mechanism, the cutting motor, and the height adjustment mechanism, respectively” & [0017]: “Step 3: Based on the collected lawn height data, control the drive mechanism via the controller to reduce the speed of the smart lawnmower. The greater the change in lawn height, the lower the speed of the smart lawnmower. After adjustment, proceed to step 2.”)
a front camera that is directed forward in an advancing direction of the mower body and (See at least [0052]: “The front camera 1 captures images of the lawn ahead while the smart lawnmower is working, and also helps to identify obstacles in front.”)
a rear camera that is directed rearward in the advancing direction of the mower body, (See at least [0049]: “…the rear camera 4 is located at the rear end of the movable vehicle body…”)
acquiring an image of the vegetation group after mowing by the rear camera; and (See at least [0052]: “…the rear camera 4 captures images of the lawn after the smart lawnmower has worked…”)
evaluating a shape of the vegetation group after mowing based on the image of the vegetation group after mowing acquired. (See at least [0052]: “…the rear camera 4 captures images of the lawn after the smart lawnmower has worked…” & [0071-0077]: “The determination of cutting quality factor D is as follows: The front and rear cameras take pictures of the lawn at regular intervals, with the rear camera lagging behind the front camera by a time interval Δt. L is the length of the grass path captured by the front camera, in meters (m), and v is the speed of the lawnmower, in meters per minute (m/min). This invention obtains the flatness of the lawn from the previous image and the flatness of the current image by performing image enhancement and feature extraction on two images, and uses a normalization method to make them fall within the range of 0-1. Where S is the current lawn smoothness, Smin is the smoothness of the lawn obtained without cutting, and Smax is the smoothness of the lawn obtained under ideal conditions after cutting. Table 1 is a comparison table of quality assessment and scheme.” See Equation 1 below for calculation of cutting quality.)
Equation 1:
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Greyscale
Han does not explicitly teach:
a memory that records, in a rewritable manner, a work operation content performed by the mower body;
…based on the work operation content recorded in the memory…
the method comprising: based on an image of the vegetation group before mowing acquired by the front camera, determining a first work operation content, and recording the first work operation content in the memory;
Xu teaches:
a memory that records, in a rewritable manner, a work operation content performed by the mower body; (See at least [0303]: “The robotic mower 1 is described by taking a mower 300 as an example. Specifically, the information collection module 51 is also configured to collect area information of an area to be operated 6 (as shown in FIG. 37), and to determine whether the area to be operated 6 has completed mowing according to the area information. The area to be operated 6 is an area where the mower 300 will work” & [0307]: “At the same time, the information collection module 51 records the working area where the mower 300 has completed mowing in the first working mode, and marks it as a mowed area.”)
…based on the work operation content recorded in the memory… (See at least [0303]: “The control module 12 controls a working state of the working unit (a cutting assembly, not shown) of the mower 300 according to whether the area to be operated 6 has been completed. Please refer to FIG. 37, the area to be operated 6 is located in a completed area 7 where a mowing has been completed, and the area to be operated 6 is a completed mowing area at this time. Then, the control module 12 controls the working unit to work at a first rotation speed, and controls the mower 300 to pass through the area to be operated 6 at a first traveling speed.”)
the method comprising: based on an image of the vegetation group before mowing acquired by the front camera, determining a first work operation content, and recording the first work operation content in the memory; (See at least [0308]: “The mower 300′ includes the traveling module 52, the working module 14, a camera module 330, the information collection module 51, and the control module 12. The camera module 330 is configured to collect real-time images of the area to be operated…In this embodiment, the control module 12 analyzes the real-time image of the area to be operated collected by the camera module 330 to determine whether the area to be operated is a completed mowing area. If the area to be operated is a completed mowing area, the area is marked as a mowed area on the navigation map. The working area except the mowed area is marked as an unmowed area. When the mower enters the unmowed area, the control module 12 controls the working module 14 to perform the self-propelled mowing in the first working mode. When the mower enters the mowed area again, the control module 12 controls the working module 14 to self-propelled in the second working mode.”)
One having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Han’s machine with Xu’s memory that records a work operation content in a rewritable manner and controller that controls the mower body based on the work operation content recorded in the memory, as well as Xu’s techniques of determining a first work operation content based on an image of the vegetation group before mowing acquired by the front camera and recording the first work operation content in the memory. Doing so would be obvious to “control a working state of the mowing module of the mower according to whether a mowing in the working area is completed, thereby effectively saving power and extending working time of the mower” and to “effectively improve operation efficiency of the mower 300 and avoid the mower from wasting time in the area where the mowing has been completed” (See [0109] & [0304] of Xu).
Regarding claim 14, Han and Xu in combination teach all the limitations of claim 13 as discussed above.
Xu additionally teaches:
A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which the program that causes a computer to execute the method of evaluating a vegetation group according to claim 13 is recorded. (See at least [0353]: “It should be noted that, as shown in FIG. 50, the control method of the robotic mower of the disclosure may also be implemented by a control module 12 arranged on the casing of the robotic mower. The control module 12 includes a memory 73 and the processor 71 connected with each other. The memory 73 stores a program instruction, and when the program instruction is executed by the processor 71, the control method of the robotic mower mentioned above is realized.”)
Claim(s) 2-5 and 8-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han in view of Xu and further in view of Barton of US 20200049491 A1, published 02/13/2020, hereinafter “Barton”.
Regarding claim 2, Han and Xu in combination teach all the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above.
Han additionally teaches:
wherein the rear camera acquires a three-dimensional image of the vegetation group after mowing, and (See at least [0052]: “…When the smart lawn mower is working, the front camera 1 captures the condition of the lawn in front and helps to judge the obstacles in front. At the same time, the rear camera 4 captures the condition of the lawn after the smart lawn mower has worked…” & [0072-0074]: “The front and rear cameras take pictures of the lawn at regular intervals, with the rear camera lagging behind the front camera by a time interval Δt. L is the length of the grass path captured by the front camera, in meters (m), and v is the speed of the lawnmower, in meters per minute (m/min).”)
the controller evaluates the shape of the vegetation group after mowing(See at least [0031]: “…when the mowing quality is above the threshold value, the current parameters are maintained to continue working, and when the mowing quality is below the threshold value, the driving speed of the intelligent lawn mower is reduced, and the speed of the cutting motor is increased, and better mowing quality can be obtained by adjusting the mowing parameters of the lawn mower in real time; the height adjustment mechanism is controlled by the controller, and the mowing height of the cutting line can be adjusted to meet the needs of different mowing heights, so that the intelligent lawn mower has better adaptability…” & [0080]: “This invention employs a closed-loop regulation system to adjust the cutting mechanism speed of an intelligent lawnmower. It takes into account factors such as the lawnmower's travel speed, cutting speed, and the difference in lawn height. Simultaneously, it uses two cameras (front and rear) to monitor the cutting quality and includes the cutting quality as a feedback factor in the adjustment parameters. After weighting these parameters, they are substituted into the adjustment equation to regulate and control the corresponding cutting mechanism speed.”)
Han and Xu in combination do not explicitly teach:
…based on a shape of a contour line connecting tips of the plurality of pieces of the vegetations in the three-dimensional image of the vegetation group after mowing.
However, Han does teach monitoring cutting quality of a lawn using Equation 1 shown above, which compares and normalizes the flatness of the lawn in a front and rear image captured by the lawnmower (See at least [0072-0075]). Han additionally teaches that the rear camera captures rear images of the lawn after the lawnmower has worked (See at least [0052] & [0080]). Given that “S” is the current lawn flatness, this renders obvious a “a shape of a contour line connecting tips of the plurality of pieces of the vegetations” since different values of S prior to mowing would indicate different degrees of flatness (i.e., different shapes) of the lawn. For example, a “perfect” lawn flatness of 1 would indicate a horizontal “contour line” representing the surface of the lawn. Additionally, it is known that the flatness or average height of a lawn is determined by evaluating the top surface of the vegetation: “…the average distance to the canopy is measured to determine the average height/density…D=the average distance measured to the top surface of the crop or pasture…” (See [0116-0120] of Barton).
As such, one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Han and Xu’s autonomous working machine with Barton’s technique of evaluating the top surface of the vegetation with the benefit of “improv[ing] the accuracy of the device for predicting the amount of crop or pasture”, such as in scenarios where “the profile of the canopy of the crop or pasture is variable” (See [0132] & [0169] of Barton).
Regarding claim 3, Han, Xu, and Barton in combination teach all the limitations of claim 2 as discussed above.
Han additionally teaches:
wherein the controller determines a second work operation content(See at least [0080]: “This invention employs a closed-loop regulation system to adjust the cutting mechanism speed of an intelligent lawnmower. It takes into account factors such as the lawnmower's travel speed, cutting speed, and the difference in lawn height. Simultaneously, it uses two cameras (front and rear) to monitor the cutting quality and includes the cutting quality as a feedback factor in the adjustment parameters. After weighting these parameters, they are substituted into the adjustment equation to regulate and control the corresponding cutting mechanism speed.”)
Xu additionally teaches:
rewrites the first work operation content recorded in the memory into the second work operation content. (See at least [0287-0288]: “Please refer to FIG. 5, the mower obtains the deviation d between the current position and the planned path through comparing the planned path with the position information obtained in real time by the positioning module, and determines whether there is a missing mowing area for mower according to the deviation d. When the deviation d is greater than the distance threshold d.sub.min, it is determined that there is a missing mowing area. Otherwise, it is determined that there is no missing mowing area, and the mower is controlled to adjust the forward direction to continue mowing according to the planned path. When it is determined that there is a missing mowing area, the mower generates a missing mowing area according to the current position information and the planned path. Then, the mower will perform the supplementary mowing in the missing mowing area under the guidance of the navigation module. In the S290, the mower may be controlled to retreat or turn to perform the supplementary mowing in the missing mowing area. Then, the mower is controlled to adjust the forward direction, so that the mower returns to the planned path.”)
Han, Xu, and Barton in combination do not explicitly teach:
…depending on a result of an evaluation of the shape of the vegetation group after mowing based on the shape of the contour line, and
However, Han does teach monitoring cutting quality of a lawn using Equation 1 shown above, which compares and normalizes the flatness of the lawn in a front and rear image captured by the lawnmower (See at least [0072-0075]). Han additionally teaches that the rear camera captures rear images of the lawn after the lawnmower has worked (See at least [0052] & [0080]). Given that “S” is the current lawn flatness, this renders obvious a “result of an evaluation of the shape of the vegetation group after mowing based on the shape of the contour line” since different values of S prior to mowing would indicate different degrees of flatness (i.e., different shapes) of the lawn. For example, a “perfect” lawn flatness of 1 would indicate a horizontal “contour line” representing the surface of the lawn. Additionally, it is known that the flatness or average height of a lawn is determined by evaluating the top surface of the vegetation: “…the average distance to the canopy is measured to determine the average height/density…D=the average distance measured to the top surface of the crop or pasture…” (See [0116-0120] of Barton).
As such, one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Han and Xu’s autonomous working machine with Barton’s technique of evaluating the top surface of the vegetation with the benefit of “improv[ing] the accuracy of the device for predicting the amount of crop or pasture”, such as in scenarios where “the profile of the canopy of the crop or pasture is variable” (See [0132] & [0169] of Barton).
Regarding claim 4, Han, Xu, and Barton in combination teach all the limitations of claim 3 as discussed above.
Han additionally teaches:
wherein the controller evaluates the shape of the vegetation group after mowing(See at least [0052]: “The front camera 1 captures images of the lawn ahead while the smart lawnmower is working, and also helps to identify obstacles in front. Meanwhile, the rear camera 4 captures images of the lawn after the smart lawnmower has worked. The control system will evaluate the quality of the mowing operation based on the comparison between the two images, thereby controlling various parameters of the smart lawnmower, such as its movement and cutting speed.”)
determines the second work operation content depending on a result of the evaluation. (See at least [0031]: “…when the mowing quality is above the threshold value, the current parameters are maintained to continue working, and when the mowing quality is below the threshold value, the driving speed of the intelligent lawn mower is reduced, and the speed of the cutting motor is increased, and better mowing quality can be obtained by adjusting the mowing parameters of the lawn mower in real time; the height adjustment mechanism is controlled by the controller, and the mowing height of the cutting line can be adjusted to meet the needs of different mowing heights, so that the intelligent lawn mower has better adaptability…” & [0080]: “This invention employs a closed-loop regulation system to adjust the cutting mechanism speed of an intelligent lawnmower. It takes into account factors such as the lawnmower's travel speed, cutting speed, and the difference in lawn height. Simultaneously, it uses two cameras (front and rear) to monitor the cutting quality and includes the cutting quality as a feedback factor in the adjustment parameters. After weighting these parameters, they are substituted into the adjustment equation to regulate and control the corresponding cutting mechanism speed.”)
Han, Xu, and Barton in combination do not explicitly teach:
…based on a degree of change in slope of the contour line or a difference between the contour line and an approximately horizontal line set with respect to the contour line, and
However, Han does teach determining a cutting quality of a lawn as shown above in Equation 1, which takes the difference between “S” and “Smin” in the numerator (See [0072-0075] of Han). Han additionally teaches that the rear camera captures rear images of the lawn after the lawnmower has worked (See at least [0052] & [0080]). Given that “S” is the current lawn flatness and “Smin” is the “flatness obtained by cutting the lawn under ideal conditions”, this renders obvious a “difference between the contour line and an approximately horizontal line set with respect to the contour line” since any value for “S” would indicate a “contour line” representing the current flatness of the lawn and any value for “Smin” would indicate a target flatness of the lawn (i.e., an approximately horizontal line). Additionally, it is known that the flatness or average height of a lawn is determined by evaluating the top surface of the vegetation: “…the average distance to the canopy is measured to determine the average height/density…D=the average distance measured to the top surface of the crop or pasture…” (See [0116-0120] of Barton).
As such, one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Han and Xu’s autonomous working machine with Barton’s technique of evaluating the top surface of the vegetation with the benefit of “improv[ing] the accuracy of the device for predicting the amount of crop or pasture”, such as in scenarios where “the profile of the canopy of the crop or pasture is variable” (See [0132] & [0169] of Barton).
Regarding claim 5, Han, Xu, and Barton in combination teach all the limitations of claim 4 as discussed above.
Han additionally teaches:
wherein the controller evaluates the shape of the vegetation group after mowing (See at least [0031]: “…when the mowing quality is above the threshold value, the current parameters are maintained to continue working, and when the mowing quality is below the threshold value, the driving speed of the intelligent lawn mower is reduced, and the speed of the cutting motor is increased, and better mowing quality can be obtained by adjusting the mowing parameters of the lawn mower in real time; the height adjustment mechanism is controlled by the controller, and the mowing height of the cutting line can be adjusted to meet the needs of different mowing heights, so that the intelligent lawn mower has better adaptability…” & [0080]: “This invention employs a closed-loop regulation system to adjust the cutting mechanism speed of an intelligent lawnmower. It takes into account factors such as the lawnmower's travel speed, cutting speed, and the difference in lawn height. Simultaneously, it uses two cameras (front and rear) to monitor the cutting quality and includes the cutting quality as a feedback factor in the adjustment parameters. After weighting these parameters, they are substituted into the adjustment equation to regulate and control the corresponding cutting mechanism speed.”)
Han, Xu, and Barton in combination do not explicitly teach:
…based on a plurality of thresholds set for the degree of change in slope of the contour line or the difference between the contour line and the approximately horizontal line set with respect to the contour line…
However, Han does teach determining a cutting quality of a lawn as shown above in Equation 1, which takes the difference between “S” and “Smin” in the numerator (See [0072-0075] of Han). Han additionally teaches that the rear camera captures rear images of the lawn after the lawnmower has worked (See at least [0052] & [0080]). Given that “S” is the current lawn flatness and “Smin” is the “flatness obtained by cutting the lawn under ideal conditions”, this renders obvious “the difference between the contour line and the approximately horizontal line set with respect to the contour line” since any value for “S” would indicate a “contour line” representing the current flatness of the lawn and any value for “Smin” would indicate a target flatness of the lawn (i.e., an approximately horizontal line). Additionally, it is known that the flatness or average height of a lawn is determined by evaluating the top surface of the vegetation: “…the average distance to the canopy is measured to determine the average height/density…D=the average distance measured to the top surface of the crop or pasture…” (See [0116-0120] of Barton).
Regarding claim 8, Han and Xu in combination teach all the limitations of claim 7 as discussed above.
Han additionally teaches:
wherein the rear camera acquires a three-dimensional image of the vegetation group after mowing, and (See at least [0052]: “…When the smart lawn mower is working, the front camera 1 captures the condition of the lawn in front and helps to judge the obstacles in front. At the same time, the rear camera 4 captures the condition of the lawn after the smart lawn mower has worked…” & [0072-0074]: “The front and rear cameras take pictures of the lawn at regular intervals, with the rear camera lagging behind the front camera by a time interval Δt. L is the length of the grass path captured by the front camera, in meters (m), and v is the speed of the lawnmower, in meters per minute (m/min).”)
the controller evaluates the shape of the vegetation group after mowing(See at least [0031]: “…when the mowing quality is above the threshold value, the current parameters are maintained to continue working, and when the mowing quality is below the threshold value, the driving speed of the intelligent lawn mower is reduced, and the speed of the cutting motor is increased, and better mowing quality can be obtained by adjusting the mowing parameters of the lawn mower in real time; the height adjustment mechanism is controlled by the controller, and the mowing height of the cutting line can be adjusted to meet the needs of different mowing heights, so that the intelligent lawn mower has better adaptability…” & [0080]: “This invention employs a closed-loop regulation system to adjust the cutting mechanism speed of an intelligent lawnmower. It takes into account factors such as the lawnmower's travel speed, cutting speed, and the difference in lawn height. Simultaneously, it uses two cameras (front and rear) to monitor the cutting quality and includes the cutting quality as a feedback factor in the adjustment parameters. After weighting these parameters, they are substituted into the adjustment equation to regulate and control the corresponding cutting mechanism speed.”)
Han and Xu in combination do not explicitly teach:
…based on a shape of a contour line connecting tips of the plurality of pieces of the vegetation in the three-dimensional image of the vegetation group.
However, Han does teach monitoring cutting quality of a lawn using Equation 1 shown above, which compares and normalizes the flatness of the lawn in a front and rear image captured by the lawnmower (See at least [0072-0075]). Han additionally teaches that the rear camera captures rear images of the lawn after the lawnmower has worked (See at least [0052] & [0080]). Given that “S” is the current lawn flatness, this renders obvious a “shape of a contour line connecting tips of the plurality of pieces of the vegetation” since different values of S prior to mowing would indicate different degrees of flatness (i.e., different shapes) of the lawn. For example, a “perfect” lawn flatness of 1 would indicate a horizontal “contour line” representing the surface of the lawn. Additionally, it is known that the flatness or average height of a lawn is determined by evaluating the top surface of the vegetation: “…the average distance to the canopy is measured to determine the average height/density…D=the average distance measured to the top surface of the crop or pasture…” (See [0116-0120] of Barton).
As such, one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Han and Xu’s autonomous working machine with Barton’s technique of evaluating the top surface of the vegetation with the benefit of “improv[ing] the accuracy of the device for predicting the amount of crop or pasture”, such as in scenarios where “the profile of the canopy of the crop or pasture is variable” (See [0132] & [0169] of Barton).
Regarding claim 9, Han, Xu, and Barton in combination teach all the limitations of claim 8 as discussed above.
Han additionally teaches:
wherein the controller determines a second work operation content(See at least [0080]: “This invention employs a closed-loop regulation system to adjust the cutting mechanism speed of an intelligent lawnmower. It takes into account factors such as the lawnmower's travel speed, cutting speed, and the difference in lawn height. Simultaneously, it uses two cameras (front and rear) to monitor the cutting quality and includes the cutting quality as a feedback factor in the adjustment parameters. After weighting these parameters, they are substituted into the adjustment equation to regulate and control the corresponding cutting mechanism speed.”)
Xu additionally teaches:
rewrites the first work operation content recorded in the memory into the second work operation content. (See at least [0287]: “Please refer to FIG. 5, the mower obtains the deviation d between the current position and the planned path through comparing the planned path with the position information obtained in real time by the positioning module, and determines whether there is a missing mowing area for mower according to the deviation d. When the deviation d is greater than the distance threshold d.sub.min, it is determined that there is a missing mowing area. Otherwise, it is determined that there is no missing mowing area, and the mower is controlled to adjust the forward direction to continue mowing according to the planned path. When it is determined that there is a missing mowing area, the mower generates a missing mowing area according to the current position information and the planned path. Then, the mower will perform the supplementary mowing in the missing mowing area under the guidance of the navigation module.”)
Han and Xu in combination do not explicitly teach:
…depending on a result of an evaluation of the shape of the vegetation group after mowing based on the shape of the contour line…
However, Han does teach monitoring cutting quality of a lawn using Equation 1 shown above, which compares and normalizes the flatness of the lawn in a front and rear image captured by the lawnmower (See at least [0072-0075]). Han additionally teaches that the rear camera captures rear images of the lawn after the lawnmower has worked (See at least [0052] & [0080]). Given that “S” is the current lawn flatness, this renders obvious “a result of an evaluation of the shape of the vegetation group after mowing based on the shape of the contour line” since different values of S prior to mowing would indicate different degrees of flatness (i.e., different shapes) of the lawn. For example, a “perfect” lawn flatness of 1 would indicate a horizontal “contour line” representing the surface of the lawn. Additionally, it is known that the flatness or average height of a lawn is determined by evaluating the top surface of the vegetation: “…the average distance to the canopy is measured to determine the average height/density…D=the average distance measured to the top surface of the crop or pasture…” (See [0116-0120] of Barton).
As such, one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Han and Xu’s autonomous working machine with Barton’s technique of evaluating the top surface of the vegetation with the benefit of “improv[ing] the accuracy of the device for predicting the amount of crop or pasture”, such as in scenarios where “the profile of the canopy of the crop or pasture is variable” (See [0132] & [0169] of Barton).
Regarding claim 10, Han, Xu, and Barton in combination teach all the limitations of claim 9 as discussed above.
Han additionally teaches:
wherein the controller evaluates the shape of the vegetation group after mowing(See at least [0031]: “…when the mowing quality is above the threshold value, the current parameters are maintained to continue working, and when the mowing quality is below the threshold value, the driving speed of the intelligent lawn mower is reduced, and the speed of the cutting motor is increased, and better mowing quality can be obtained by adjusting the mowing parameters of the lawn mower in real time; the height adjustment mechanism is controlled by the controller, and the mowing height of the cutting line can be adjusted to meet the needs of different mowing heights, so that the intelligent lawn mower has better adaptability…” & [0080]: “This invention employs a closed-loop regulation system to adjust the cutting mechanism speed of an intelligent lawnmower. It takes into account factors such as the lawnmower's travel speed, cutting speed, and the difference in lawn height. Simultaneously, it uses two cameras (front and rear) to monitor the cutting quality and includes the cutting quality as a feedback factor in the adjustment parameters. After weighting these parameters, they are substituted into the adjustment equation to regulate and control the corresponding cutting mechanism speed.”)
determines the second work operation content depending on a result of the evaluation. (See at least [0031]: “…when the mowing quality is above the threshold value, the current parameters are maintained to continue working, and when the mowing quality is below the threshold value, the driving speed of the intelligent lawn mower is reduced, and the speed of the cutting motor is increased, and better mowing quality can be obtained by adjusting the mowing parameters of the lawn mower in real time; the height adjustment mechanism is controlled by the controller, and the mowing height of the cutting line can be adjusted to meet the needs of different mowing heights, so that the intelligent lawn mower has better adaptability…” & [0080]: “This invention employs a closed-loop regulation system to adjust the cutting mechanism speed of an intelligent lawnmower. It takes into account factors such as the lawnmower's travel speed, cutting speed, and the difference in lawn height. Simultaneously, it uses two cameras (front and rear) to monitor the cutting quality and includes the cutting quality as a feedback factor in the adjustment parameters. After weighting these parameters, they are substituted into the adjustment equation to regulate and control the corresponding cutting mechanism speed.”)
Han, Xu, and Barton in combination do not explicitly teach:
…based on a degree of change in slope of the contour line or a difference between the contour line and an approximately horizontal line set with respect to the contour line, and
However, Han does teach determining a cutting quality of a lawn as shown above in Equation 1, which takes the difference between “S” and “Smin” in the numerator (See [0072-0075] of Han). Han additionally teaches that the rear camera captures rear images of the lawn after the lawnmower has worked (See at least [0052] & [0080]). Given that “S” is the current lawn flatness and “Smin” is the “flatness obtained by cutting the lawn under ideal conditions”, this renders obvious a “difference between the contour line and an approximately horizontal line set with respect to the contour line” since any value for “S” would indicate a “contour line” representing the current flatness of the lawn and any value for “Smin” would indicate a target flatness of the lawn (i.e., an approximately horizontal line). Additionally, it is known that the flatness or average height of a lawn is determined by evaluating the top surface of the vegetation: “…the average distance to the canopy is measured to determine the average height/density…D=the average distance measured to the top surface of the crop or pasture…” (See [0116-0120] of Barton).
As such, one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Han and Xu’s autonomous working machine with Barton’s technique of evaluating the top surface of the vegetation with the benefit of “improv[ing] the accuracy of the device for predicting the amount of crop or pasture”, such as in scenarios where “the profile of the canopy of the crop or pasture is variable” (See [0132] & [0169] of Barton).
Regarding claim 11, Han, Xu, and Barton in combination teach all the limitations of claim 10 as discussed above.
Han additionally teaches:
wherein the controller evaluates the shape of the vegetation group after mowing (See at least [0031]: “…when the mowing quality is above the threshold value, the current parameters are maintained to continue working, and when the mowing quality is below the threshold value, the driving speed of the intelligent lawn mower is reduced, and the speed of the cutting motor is increased, and better mowing quality can be obtained by adjusting the mowing parameters of the lawn mower in real time; the height adjustment mechanism is controlled by the controller, and the mowing height of the cutting line can be adjusted to meet the needs of different mowing heights, so that the intelligent lawn mower has better adaptability…” & [0080]: “This invention employs a closed-loop regulation system to adjust the cutting mechanism speed of an intelligent lawnmower. It takes into account factors such as the lawnmower's travel speed, cutting speed, and the difference in lawn height. Simultaneously, it uses two cameras (front and rear) to monitor the cutting quality and includes the cutting quality as a feedback factor in the adjustment parameters. After weighting these parameters, they are substituted into the adjustment equation to regulate and control the corresponding cutting mechanism speed.”)
Han, Xu, and Barton in combination do not explicitly teach:
…based on a plurality of thresholds set for the degree of change in slope of the contour line or the difference between the contour line and the approximately horizontal line set with respect to the contour line…
However, Han does teach determining a cutting quality of a lawn as shown above in Equation 1, which takes the difference between “S” and “Smin” in the numerator (See [0072-0075] of Han). Han additionally teaches that the rear camera captures rear images of the lawn after the lawnmower has worked (See at least [0052] & [0080]). Given that “S” is the current lawn flatness and “Smin” is the “flatness obtained by cutting the lawn under ideal conditions”, this renders obvious “the difference between the contour line and the approximately horizontal line set with respect to the contour line” since any value for “S” would indicate a “contour line” representing the current flatness of the lawn and any value for “Smin” would indicate a target flatness of the lawn (i.e., an approximately horizontal line). Additionally, it is known that the flatness or average height of a lawn is determined by evaluating the top surface of the vegetation: “…the average distance to the canopy is measured to determine the average height/density…D=the average distance measured to the top surface of the crop or pasture…” (See [0116-0120] of Barton).
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 NIKKI MARIE M MOLINA whose telephone number is (571)272-5180. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9am-6pm PT.
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/NIKKI MARIE M MOLINA/Examiner, Art Unit 3662
/Madison R. Inserra/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3662
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