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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of CLAIMS 1-2 in the reply filed on 31 March 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 3-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected INVENTION, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed.
Priority
Applicant is advised of possible benefits under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) and (f), wherein an application for patent filed in the United States may be entitled to claim priority to an application filed in a foreign country.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references cited in the information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05 September 2024, 14 October 2024, 07 March 2025, 24 June 2025, and 10 February 2026 have been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings filed on 01 May 2024 are accepted.
Specification
The lengthy 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hargadon (US PGPub 2019/0255551 A1), in view of Casale et al. (US 10,268,202 B1), hereinafter Casale.
With regard to Claim 1, Hargadon discloses a method of printing (¶0048) on a surface using a mobile printing robot (Abstract), comprising:
receiving, by the mobile printing robot, information describing features of a layout to be printed on a construction surface (¶0098-0099, a blueprint or design document; 0146-0149), wherein the features of layout to be printed includes at least one of a set of lines, text, and images (¶0048-0050);
printing features of the layout (¶0146-0163+);
detecting, during a printing operation, a new obstacle that is not part of an obstacle map (¶0099-0115, real-time optimization functions implemented; ¶0157);
updating the obstacle map (¶0161; 0157-0163);
determining, in response to updating the obstacle map, an optimization for printing at least one feature of the layout (¶0157-0163).
Hargadon discloses wherein the features of the layout to be printed includes a set of lines and images (¶0048-0050), but does not explicitly disclose at least a set of lines, text and images.
The secondary reference of Casale discloses wherein the features of layout to be printed includes at least one of a set of lines, text, and images (Abstract; Col. 2, Line 59-65).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the layout features of Casale, with the method of printing of Hargadon, in order to transfer digital construction instructions onto a substrate, as taught by Casale (Col. 2, Lines 59-65).
With regard to Claim 2, Hargadon further discloses determining an optimization in response to detecting an obstacle in the path of the mobile printing robot (¶0157-0163), stopping the mobile printing robot at a point of detection or contact (¶0112-0115, 0198, when the apparatus recognizes an object, obstacle or feature, determines when to stop start and spray using its logic and circuitry), navigating the mobile printing robot to print a portion of a line from an opposite direction towards the obstacle (¶0198-0199, although Hargadon does not explicitly disclose to print a portion of a line from an opposite direction towards the obstacle, Hargadon discloses deciding how to proceed based on a general rule-set and/or proeject-specific rules to continue applying paint, may optimize floor movement schema or pattern, e.g., ¶0109; be programmed for a specific rule to describe what to do after an object or surface is recognized, ¶0112, and optimize the path, order to save time and energy, ¶0157-0160). It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the path of navigation in the manner claimed or any other manner, in order to optimize the time and energy of the robotic printing method, as taught by Hargadon (¶0157-0160).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SCOTT A. RICHMOND whose telephone number is (313)446-6547. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9-6:00 PM.
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, Douglas Rodriguez can be reached on 571-431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SCOTT A RICHMOND/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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