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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-2, 11 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mohseni (US 2023/0359982 A1) in view of Rahilly et al. (US 2020/0410446 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Mohseni teaches:
A storage system for managing a plurality of collectibles that are each assigned a readable identifier, wherein the readable identifier provides a plurality of characteristics of the collectible (See Mohseni ¶ [0226] - an artificial intelligence-based system that is capable of automating the inventory management of objects/items resting in a stored location by employing computer vision techniques and [0234] – the wine label (or barcode or other forms of unique identifier for the wine bottle [collectible by example]) is scanned, and the system can extract the wine information from the label and/or the barcode), the system comprising:
a container (See Mohseni ¶ [0266] – wine bottles stored in bins [container by example]) including:
a plurality of collectible storage areas, each storage area configured to store one collectible of the plurality of collectibles (See Mohseni Fig. 2 – individual wine bottles stored in bins 216a-n); and
a light indicator operatively associated with each collectible storage area, wherein the light indicator is electrically connected to a controller (See Mohseni ¶ [0327] – the location of wine bottles can be tagged by electronic tags or light indicators (such as one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs)), and such electronic tags can be connected to tracking systems that can activate them when searching for a specific wine bottle), …, and wherein the controller physically activates the light indicator to an illuminated state and deactivates the light indicator to an unilluminated state, when one of the plurality of collectibles occupies and does not occupy the collectible storage area, respectively (See Mohseni ¶ [0327-0328] – the location of wine bottles can be tagged by electronic tags or light indicators (such as one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs)), and such electronic tags can be connected to tracking systems that can activate them when searching for a specific wine bottle … implementations of tracking systems exists wherein usage of a tag or label is not desired [a tag or label not used is considered equivalent to deactivated] … to determine whether one or more bins are empty or not),
…; and
…;
wherein each readable identifier is readable by a mobile computing device (See Mohseni ¶ [0300] - tracker App can process the received images and use several techniques to first find wine bottle as it is introduced, then read the label and [0324] – the location of wine bottle is marked and shown on a display of the user interface (UI) of tacking systems. The storage location can be marked on the view/image of wine storage area where wine bottle is located… the user interface can be an application running on a mobile phone, and/or a laptop, and/or a tablet, and/or other computing device with a display).
While Mohseni teaches an inventory management system for monitoring individual storage locations of collectible items using doors and other security devices (Mohseni ¶ [0226], [0287], [0327-0238] and Fig. 2), Mohseni does not explicitly teach that the controller is physically integrated in the container. This is taught by Rahilly (See Rahilly ¶ [0068] – inventory storage device may include a smart tote controller (e.g., a smart tote controller 130A or 130B of FIG. 6) that can be attached to the lid of existing, off the shelf totes, thereby transforming the tote into a smart tote with smart functionality).
Rahilly further teaches a condition sensor located within the container and configured to detect whether the container is in an open condition or a closed condition (See Rahilly ¶ [0373] – Each bin may be associated with a unique identifier, which is stored by its respective NFC tag. The identifiers may be mapped to a particular bin specification (e.g., volume, height, etc.) and particular contents currently stored within the bin. For example, server may keep track of the contents of each bin in a database. When a bin is opened, control module, receiving the indication from the NFC tag via antennae, may send a signal to server indicating that the module was opened, and may send a close signal with the status of the bin changes from open to closed and Fig. 35B & 35C – showing a plurality of storage containers in the open and closed condition).
Rahilly further teaches a power management module located within the container and operably connected to the condition sensor and to each of the light indicators, the power management module configured to: (i) automatically deactivate each of the light indicators to conserve power when the condition sensor detects the closed condition; and (ii) automatically activate each of the light indicators when the condition sensor detects the open condition (See Rahilly ¶ [0081] - Light emitting diode (LED) interface may drive one or more multi-color LEDs or organic LEDs (OLEDs) for providing a quickly identifiable status indication, [0088] - To extend the operating time of power source, various power management strategies may be utilized... interactive inventory storage device may be placed in a low power or sleep state when no activity is anticipated [closed by example]. When activity such as user interactions [open or closed status], periodic network updates, or sensor logging is necessary, interactive inventory storage device may wake up to a normal operating mode, and return to the low power or sleep state once the activity is completed and [0455] – the outer housing may include features to mount a latch, PCBA, LEDs, and a battery... The smart bin may further contain sensors that may interface with the drawer to indicate an open or close status).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the security device equipped inventory management system of Mohseni the use of storage container open and closed condition notification as taught by Rahilly to implement secure storage, transport, and dispensing of items with automatic inventory, item condition and chain of custody tracking (Rahilly ¶ [0134]), thereby increasing the accuracy and efficiency of the security device equipped inventory management system of Mohseni.
Regarding Claim 2, modified Mohseni teaches:
The system of claim 1, (See claim 1 above)
While Mohseni teaches an inventory management system for monitoring individual storage locations of collectible items using doors and other security devices (Mohseni ¶ [0226], [0287], [0327-0238] and Fig. 2), Mohseni does not explicitly teach that said storage locations comprise a lid that moves between the open condition and the closed condition, wherein the closed condition defines an enclosed space housing the plurality of collectible storage areas, and wherein the condition sensor is directly connected to the container. This is taught by Rahilly (See Rahilly ¶ [0372-0373] – bin assembly may include a passive near field communication (NFC) antennae for each bin within assembly. Likewise, each bin may be configured with a passive NFC tag on a side or rear of the bin that, when the bin is loaded within the bin housing of assembly, comes into communicable contact with a respective antennae. Control module may be operably connected to a bus within the bin housing via cabling or by wireless means, and the bus may be operably connected to each latch and/or each NFC antennae… Each bin may be associated with a unique identifier, which is stored by its respective NFC tag. The identifiers may be mapped to a particular bin specification (e.g., volume, height, etc.) and particular contents currently stored within the bin. For example, server may keep track of the contents of each bin in a database. When a bin is opened, control module, receiving the indication from the NFC tag via antennae, may send a signal to server indicating that the module was opened, and may send a close signal with the status of the bin changes from open to closed and Fig. 35B & 35C – showing a plurality of storage containers in the open and closed condition).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the security device equipped inventory management system of Mohseni the use of storage container open and closed condition notification as taught by Rahilly to implement secure storage, transport, and dispensing of items with automatic inventory, item condition and chain of custody tracking (Rahilly ¶ [0134]), thereby increasing the accuracy and efficiency of the security device equipped inventory management system of Mohseni.
Regarding Claim 11, Mohseni teaches:
A container (See Mohseni ¶ [0266] – wine bottles stored in bins [container by example]) including:
a plurality of collectible storage areas, each storage area configured to store one collectible of a plurality of collectibles (See Mohseni Fig. 2 – individual wine bottles stored in bins 216a-n); and
a light indicator physically associated with each collectible storage area, wherein the light indicator is electrically connected to a controller (See Mohseni ¶ [0327] – the location of wine bottles can be tagged by electronic tags or light indicators (such as one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs)), and such electronic tags can be connected to tracking systems that can activate them when searching for a specific wine bottle), …, and wherein the controller physically activates the light indicator to an illuminated state and deactivates the light indicator to an unilluminated state, when one of the plurality of collectibles occupies and does not occupy the collectible storage area, respectively (See Mohseni ¶ [0327-0328] – the location of wine bottles can be tagged by electronic tags or light indicators (such as one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs)), and such electronic tags can be connected to tracking systems that can activate them when searching for a specific wine bottle … implementations of tracking systems exists wherein usage of a tag or label is not desired [a tag or label not used is considered equivalent to deactivated] … to determine whether one or more bins are empty or not).
While Mohseni teaches an inventory management system for monitoring individual storage locations of collectible items using doors and other security devices (Mohseni ¶ [0226], [0287], [0327-0238] and Fig. 2), Mohseni does not explicitly teach that the controller is physically integrated in the container. This is taught by Rahilly (See Rahilly ¶ [0068] – inventory storage device may include a smart tote controller (e.g., a smart tote controller 130A or 130B of FIG. 6) that can be attached to the lid of existing, off the shelf totes, thereby transforming the tote into a smart tote with smart functionality).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the security device equipped inventory management system of Mohseni the use of a controller integrated into storage containers as taught by Rahilly to allow multiple totes to be easily stacked on top of each other (Rahilly ¶ [0160]), thereby increasing the efficiency of the security device equipped inventory management system of Mohseni.
Regarding Claim 14, modified Mohseni teaches:
The system of claim 11, (See claim 11 above)
While Mohseni teaches an inventory management system for monitoring individual storage locations of collectible items using doors and other security devices (Mohseni ¶ [0226], [0287], [0327-0238] and Fig. 2), Mohseni does not explicitly teach that said storage locations comprise a lid that moves between an open condition and a closed condition, wherein the closed condition defines an enclosed space housing the plurality of collectible storage areas, and wherein a condition sensor directly connected to the container detects the open condition and the closed condition. This is taught by Rahilly (See Rahilly ¶ [0373] – Each bin may be associated with a unique identifier, which is stored by its respective NFC tag. The identifiers may be mapped to a particular bin specification (e.g., volume, height, etc.) and particular contents currently stored within the bin. For example, server may keep track of the contents of each bin in a database. When a bin is opened, control module, receiving the indication from the NFC tag via antennae, may send a signal to server indicating that the module was opened, and may send a close signal with the status of the bin changes from open to closed, [0378] - The request may originate form a mobile device associated with a clinician, or may be received via an associated interactive storage device interface (e.g., display interface, button, or the like). The control module is configured to determine whether the clinician or user associated with the request is authorized to access the container storing the medication, and to send, when the user is authorized to open the first container, a signal to the bin location to enable access to the container storing the medication from the first housing and Fig. 35B & 35C – showing a plurality of storage containers in the open and closed condition). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the security device equipped inventory management system of Mohseni the use of storage container open and closed condition notification as taught by Rahilly to implement secure storage, transport, and dispensing of items with automatic inventory, item condition and chain of custody tracking (Rahilly ¶ [0134]), thereby increasing the accuracy and efficiency of the security device equipped inventory management system of Mohseni.
Claims 3-8 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mohseni (US 2023/0359982 A1) in view of Rahilly et al. (US 2020/0410446 A1) and Alva (US 2023/0129574 A1).
Regarding Claim 3, modified Mohseni teaches:
The system of claim 2 (See claim 2 above), …, wherein the display unit displays the plurality of characteristics of each collectible after a reading of the readable identifier (See Mohseni ¶ [0325] – the user can tap on any other wine locations displayed/viewed on the screen and tracking systems can show the content of wine DB record corresponding to the particular wine bottle that is stored in wine storage bin).
While Mohseni teaches an inventory management system for monitoring individual storage containers of collectible items that are tracked through interface displays (Mohseni ¶ [0226], [0325], [0327-0238] and Fig. 2), Mohseni does not explicitly teach a display unit along an inner surface of the lid. This is taught by Alva (See Alva ¶ [0027] – a case with a lid that can be opened or closed and Fig. 2 – a display device (144) on the inner surface of the lid of a container (130)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the tracked item data displaying inventory management system of Mohseni the use of a display on an inner surface of a lid of a container as taught by Alva to increase portability and simplify use of the apparatus (Alva ¶ [0049]), thereby increasing the efficiency of the tracked item data displaying inventory management system of Mohseni.
Regarding Claim 4, modified Mohseni teaches:
The system of claim 3, further comprising a temperature and humidity sensor physically located in the container, the temperature and humidity sensor determining a temperature and a humidity of the enclosed space (See Mohseni ¶ [0279] - the generated alert or status or measurement signal can be transmitted to processor via wired or wireless communications means … Wired/wireless interface in system can receive the signals/measurements and one or more of Apps can process the same to generate alerts/alarms/notifications, [0282] - thermometer when used only to track the temperature in bin…, [0284] – The output of thermometer and hygrometer can be used by an environmental control system to control temperature and humidity in storage area and bins and [0376] - several security protection features and functions include security surveillance, active temperature monitoring and alerts).
Regarding Claim 5, modified Mohseni teaches:
The system of claim 4, further comprising an … port …, wherein the … port enables … for each light indicator, the display unit, the temperature and humidity sensors … (See Mohseni ¶ [0338-0339] - The computer device comprises, among other items, shell/box … the computer device further comprises multiple input/output ports, such as universal serial bus (USB) ports … the memory storage media, can contain parts or components, or in its entirety, executable software programming code or application that has been termed tracker App and wine Info App according to aspects of the embodiments, which can implement part or all of the portions of methods enabling light indicators (¶ [0327-0328]), display (¶ [0327-0328]) and temperature and humidity sensors (¶ [0284]).
While Mohseni teaches an inventory management system for monitoring individual storage containers of collectible items that are tracked through interface displays that are enabled based on instructions transferred through ports in a computer box (Mohseni ¶ [0226] and [0338-0339] ), Mohseni does not explicitly teach that said ports are along the body of the container and enables electrical power for the condition sensor. This is taught by Rahilly (See Rahilly ¶ [0087] – power source is electrical power, [0373] – condition sensors monitoring bin open or closed conditions, [0375] – control module may provide power to the various components of an associated bin assembly, including to each bin with the assembly. Power may be daisy chained from control module to one bin location to another, and so on and Fig. 29 – controller attached along the body of the storage container). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the port connected inventory management system of Mohseni the use of electrical power ports as taught by Rahilly to provide efficient and secure dispensing systems (Rahilly ¶ [0278]), thereby increasing the accuracy and efficiency of the port connected inventory management system of Mohseni.
Regarding Claim 6, modified Mohseni teaches:
The system of claim 5, (See claim 5 above)…
While Mohseni teaches an inventory management system for monitoring individual storage locations of collectible items using doors and other security devices (Mohseni ¶ [0226], [0287], [0327-0238] and Fig. 2), Mohseni does not explicitly teach that the closed condition of the lid is movable between a locked condition and an unlocked condition by way of a lock mechanism. This is taught by Rahilly (See Rahilly ¶ [0068] – The interactive storage device (or controller) may interface with an actuator that can lock and unlock the lid of the tote to provide access control). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the security device equipped inventory management system of Mohseni the use of storage container locking mechanism as taught by Rahilly to implement secure storage, transport, and dispensing of items with automatic inventory, item condition and chain of custody tracking (Rahilly ¶ [0134]), thereby increasing the accuracy and efficiency of the security device equipped inventory management system of Mohseni.
Regarding Claim 7, modified Mohseni teaches:
The system of claim 6, (See claim 6 above) ...
While Mohseni teaches an inventory management system for monitoring individual storage locations of collectible items using doors and other security devices (Mohseni ¶ [0226], [0287], [0327-0238] and Fig. 2), Mohseni does not explicitly teach that a hibernate mode that conserves the electrical power by turning off the light indicators when the container is in the closed condition is used. This is taught by Rahilly (See Rahilly ¶ [0095] – may cause an adjustment to the interactive inventory storage device such as adjusting the power state (e.g., on/off, sleep/wake, etc.), … activating the display or the LED [light indicators by example]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the security device equipped inventory management system of Mohseni the use of a power conserving mode as taught by Rahilly to improve efficiency of the devices by conserving power in battery operated devices (Rahilly ¶ [0306]), thereby increasing the accuracy and efficiency of the security device equipped inventory management system of Mohseni.
Regarding Claim 8, modified Mohseni teaches:
The system of claim 7, (See claim 7 above) …
While Mohseni teaches an inventory management system for monitoring individual storage locations of collectible items using personal electronic devices accessing global positioning system satellite (Mohseni ¶ [0226], [0287], [0357]), Mohseni does not explicitly teach a global positioning system receiver that identifies a global position of the container. This is taught by Rahilly (See Rahilly ¶ [0077] – Location sensor may include a global positioning system (GPS) radio to enable location history tracking. Location information generated by the location sensor may be monitored in real time or periodically audited to identify deviations from expected location or route for the interactive inventory storage device and [0177] - Display shows a general purpose status screen … the status screen may include several informational fields, such as location … the location field may update according to a current reading from location sensor [GPS as noted in ¶ [0077]]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the security device equipped inventory management system that accesses GPS satellites of Mohseni the use of GPS storage container location information as taught by Rahilly to identify the correct bin or tote from a collection of bins (Rahilly ¶ [0101]), thereby increasing the accuracy and efficiency of the security device equipped inventory management system of Mohseni.
Regarding Claim 15, modified Mohseni teaches:
The system of claim 14 (See claim 14 above), …, wherein the display unit is operatively associated with a systemic software to display the plurality of characteristics (See Mohseni ¶ [0325] – the user can tap on any other wine locations displayed/viewed on the screen and tracking systems can show the content of wine DB record corresponding to the particular wine bottle that is stored in wine storage bin).
While Mohseni teaches an inventory management system for monitoring individual storage containers of collectible items that are tracked through interface displays (Mohseni ¶ [0226], [0325], [0327-0238] and Fig. 2), Mohseni does not explicitly teach a display unit along an inner surface of the lid. This is taught by Alva (See Alva ¶ [0027] – a case with a lid that can be opened or closed and Fig. 2 – a display device (144) on the inner surface of the lid of a container (130)). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include in the tracked item data displaying inventory management system of Mohseni the use of a display on an inner surface of a lid of a container as taught by Alva to increase portability and simplify use of the apparatus (Alva ¶ [0049]), thereby increasing the efficiency of the tracked item data displaying inventory management system of Mohseni.
Regarding Claim 16, modified Mohseni teaches:
The system of claim 15, further comprising a temperature and humidity sensor determines a temperature and a humidity of the enclosed space (See Mohseni ¶ [0279] - the generated alert or status or measurement signal can be transmitted to processor via wired or wireless communications means … Wired/wireless interface in system can receive the signals/measurements and one or more of Apps can process the same to generate alerts/alarms/notifications, [0284] – The output of thermometer and hygrometer can be used by an environmental control system to control temperature and humidity in storage area and bins and [0376] - several security protection features and functions include security surveillance, active temperature monitoring and alerts).
Response to Remarks
Applicant's arguments filed 05/26/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112:
The amendments to claims 1-8, 11 and 14-16 resolve the previous issues concerning 35 U.S.C. § 112 and the previous rejection is withdrawn.
Rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 101:
The amendments to claims 1-8, 11 and 14-16 improve patent eligibility for the claimed invention of the instant application and the previous rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 101 is withdrawn.
The amendments to claim 1 leave said claim as no longer reciting an abstract idea. Further, independent claim 1 has been amended with the limitations: “a power management module located within the container and operably connected to the condition sensor and to each of the light indicators, the power management module configured to: (i) automatically deactivate each of the light indicators to conserve power when the condition sensor detects the closed condition; and (ii) automatically activate each of the light indicators when the condition sensor detects the open condition”. This light deactivation to conserve power is an improvement to the underlying technology of the claim as a whole such that said claim shows integration into a practical application.
The amendments to claim 11 leave said claim as no longer reciting an abstract idea.
Rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 102 and § 103:
The examiner agrees with the applicant in that the amendments to claims 1 and 10-13 are no longer solely taught by the Mohseni prior art reference and the previous rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 102 is withdrawn.
However, while Mohseni does not disclose, a light indicator physically and electrically connected to each individual collectible storage area that switches between an activated state and a deactivated state based on physical occupancy of that specific storage area. As well as, Mohseni not disclosing a light indicator physically and electrically connected to each individual collectible storage area that moves between an activated (illuminated) state and a deactivated (unilluminated) state based on physical occupancy, these amended limitations are taught by the combination of Mohseni and Rahilly as described above in the current rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
The claimed invention of claims 1-2, 11 and 14 are unpatentable over Mohseni in view of Rahilly. The claimed invention of claims 3-8 and 15-16 are unpatentable over Mohseni in view of Rahilly and Alva as described above in the current rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
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 MATTHEW S WERONSKI whose telephone number is (571)272-5802. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 am - 5 pm EST.
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, Fahd A. Obeid can be reached at 5712703324. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MATTHEW S WERONSKI/Examiner, Art Unit 3627
/MICHAEL JARED WALKER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
Prosecution Insights