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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 08 May 2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20, 54, 56, 58, and 65-68 of US Application No. 18/641,544 are currently pending and have been examined. Applicant amended claims 1-3, 5-9, 11-15, 17-20, 65, and 66. Applicant previously canceled claims 21-53, 55, 59-64, and 69-134.
Claims 1-20, 54, 56, 58, 67, and 68 are allowed.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on 08 May 2026 has been considered. An initialed copy of form 1449 is enclosed herewith.
Response to Arguments/Amendments
The previous rejections of claims 1-15 and 17-20 under 35 U.S.C. 103 are withdrawn in consideration of amended independent claim 1.
The previous rejections of claims 65 and 66 under 35 U.S.C. 103 are withdrawn in consideration of amended claim 65. However, new rejections of claims 65 and 66 under § 103 are set forth below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 65 and 66 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki (US 2024/0345598 A1) in view of Janssen et al. (US 2019/0163196 A1, “Janssen”).
Regarding claim 65, Suzuki discloses a moving apparatus and teaches:
a body (body part 11 – see at least Fig. 1 and ¶ [0086]);
four legs coupled to the body (leg part 12 – see at least Fig. 1 and ¶ [0086]), each of the four legs connected to the body at a hip joint (joint part 21 – see at least Fig. 1 and ¶ [0086]), each of the four legs including a knee joint (joint part 22 – see at least Fig. 1 and ¶ [0086]); and
[ ]:
[ ];
a bottom surface of the body, the bottom surface of the body, when the four- legged robot is in a stable position, facing a ground surface of an environment about the four-legged robot and closer in proximity to the ground surface as compared to a top portion of the body when the legged robot is in a stable position (see Fig. 1); or
[ ],
[ ].
Suzuki fails to teach one or more light sources located on one or more of: a leg of the four legs; a bottom surface of the body; or a side of the body and at least partially shielded to prevent upward projection of light in the stable position; wherein the one or more light sources are positioned and configured to project light on the ground surface of the environment of the four-legged robot.
However, Janssen discloses a light projection system and teaches:
one or more light sources (light projection system – see at least Fig. 1A and ¶ [0024]) located on one or more of:
a leg of the four legs;
a bottom surface of the body (light projection system may be attached to body 102 – see at least Fig. 1A and ¶ [0029]; the light source is on a bottom of body 102 – see at least Fig. 1A), [ ]; or
a side of the body and at least partially shielded to prevent upward projection of light in the stable position,
wherein the one or more light sources are positioned and configured to project light on the ground surface of the environment of the [ ] robot.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the moving apparatus of Suzuki to provide one or more light sources located on the legs, bottom of the body, or side of the body, as taught by Janssen, with a reasonable expectation of success, because it would provide for projecting light on the ground to indicate the robot’s path of travel when encountering people in the environment (Janssen at ¶ [0004]-[0005]).
Regarding claim 66, Janssen further teaches:
wherein the one or more light sources are further configured to project the light on the ground surface according to a light pattern (light projection system 106 may project an illumination pattern 110 on the ground – see at least Fig. 1A and ¶ [0022]), wherein the light pattern comprises one or more of a temporal pattern of lights to be emitted by the one or more light sources (temporal pattern may be configured to move or blink – see at least Fig. 1A and ¶ [0023]) or a visual pattern of lights to be emitted by the one or more light sources (temporal pattern may be configured as a shape – see at least Figs. 1G, 1H and P [0040]-[0041]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combined moving apparatus of Suzuki and Janssen to project the light according to a light pattern, as further taught by Janssen, with a reasonable expectation of success, because it would provide for projecting light on the ground to indicate the robot’s path of travel when encountering people in the environment (Janssen at ¶ [0004]-[0005])
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-20, 54, 56, 58, 67, and 68 are allowed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AARON L TROOST whose telephone number is (571)270-5779. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:30am-4pm.
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/AARON L TROOST/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3666
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