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 § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-9 and 11-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(A)(1) as being anticipated by Lert Jr. et al. US 2019/0270591.
Lert discloses a method for assembling consumable materials in the form of portions and packages on the basis of assembly orders in a target container, wherein:
(Re claim 1) “a) an assembly order is analyzed and the type and quantity, as well as storage
locations of the packages and portions in a storage unit of an order-picking apparatus are determined” (abstract). “b) at a storage location assigned to a package, the package is picked up by an
operating device and fed to a target container at an order-picking location of an order-picking unit of the order-picking apparatus” (480 figure 20B, 632 figure 24B). “c1) at a storage location assigned to a portion, a storage container is picked up by the operating device and fed to a provision location of the order-picking unit” (‘p-totes para 0240, 494 figure 20B). “c2) a portion in the storage container at the provision location is gripped with a gripper of a gripping device” (632 figure 24B, para 0275). “c3) the gripper is moved to the target container (115) and the portion is fed to the target container” (632 figure 24B, ‘order tote’ para 0275). “c4) the storage container at the provision location is fed to a storage location by means of the operating device” (‘P-totes are returned to storage’ para 0240). “wherein the sequence of steps or step combinations b) and [c1), {c2) + c3)}, c4)] is arbitrary and the number of repetitions depends on the assembly order” (‘repeated recursively’ para 0269).
(Re claim 2) “characterized in that wherein a portion is picked up by moving the gripper to a specified position, the position being assigned to a portion in the storage container” (‘operator 572 that directs pick and place locations’ para 0274).
(Re claim 3) “a portion is picked up by using a camera to create an image of the portions arranged in unordered fashion in the storage container, using image processing software to determine the exact arrangement of at least some of the portions and, based on this, determining and picking up a portion to be picked up” (‘Machine-Vision subsystem’ para 0268, 0275).
(Re claim 4) “the assembly order or a part thereof has been processed, the target container is moved to a storage location of the storage unit with aid of the operating device, and the target container is stored” (‘Tote-Storage Structure … O-totes’ para 0238, 0285).
(Re claim 5) “characterized in that wherein the target container is moved to a dispensing location after all the packages and portions have been assembled” (‘delivered eventually to customers (output)’ para 0232, 0235).
(Re claim 6) “characterized in that wherein the target container is picked up by the operating device from a storage location and fed to the order-picking location” (para 0241).
(Re claim 7) “characterized in that wherein the storage containers are provided for storage by means of a storing device and are moved to a storage location by the operating device” (para 0240).
(Re claim 8) “characterized in that wherein an image of one of the empty and filled target container is created and stored before the feeding of one of the first and last portion or package” (‘”after” image’, ‘“before” image’ para 0269).
(Re claim 9) “characterized in that wherein after the feeding of each portion and each package, an image of the target container is created and stored” (para 0269) the images must be stored to be compared.
Lert discloses an order-picking apparatus for assembling consumable materials
in the form of portions and packages on the basis of assembly orders in a target
container, comprising:
(Re claim 11) “a storage unit having, at least one row of shelves with a plurality of horizontal shelves, each with a plurality of storage locations for packages and storage containers for a plurality of portions” (TSS para 0211, 12 figure 1A,1B). “at least one operating device, which can be moved horizontally and vertically in front of the row of shelves, with a deposit table and a transport device for moving packages and storage containers” (840 figure 31A, T-bot para 0227). “at least one storing device, with which packages and storage containers are moved into the storage unit and from which the operating device can remove packages and storage containers” (900 para 0264). “an identification device for identifying packages and storage containers” (450, 456 figure 19). “at least one order-picking unit having a provision station with a provision location for a storage container, wherein
the provision station is designed in such a way that storage containers can be moved from the
deposit table of the operating device to the provision location and from the provision location to the deposit table” (480, 486 figure 20A,B). “an order-picking station with an order-picking location for a target container, the order-picking station being designed in such a way that packages can be moved by the operating device into the target container at the order-picking location” (630, 632 figure 24B). “a gripping device arranged above the provision location and the order-picking location with a vertically and horizontally movable gripper, with which portions can be conveyed from the storage container at the provision location into the target container” (632 figure 24B, para 0275).
(Re claim 12) “characterized in that wherein the order-picking unit comprises at least one camera, with which images can be produced of the contents of the storage container at the provision location and/or of the target container at the order-picking location” (‘Machine-Vision subsystem’ para 0268, 0275).
(Re claim 13) “the order-picking unit comprises a storage container feed and return device, with which storage containers can be moved from an access area of the operating device to the provision station and from the provision station into the access area of the operating device” (490 figure 20A, 20B)
(Re claim 14) “the provision station comprises a storage container transport device, with which storage containers are fed to the provision location and which is designed in such a way that at least one waiting location for storage containers is provided, and in that the storage container feed and return device comprises a feed and return means” (492 figure 20B, para 0268).
(Re claim 15) “the order-picking unit (200) comprises a target container return device with which a target container can be moved from the order-picking location into the access area of the operating device” (‘O-bot’ para 0241).
(Re claim 16) “the order-picking unit comprises a package feed device with which packages can be moved by the operating device into the target container” (632 figure 24B).
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) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lert in view of Kalouche US 2021/0032031.
Lert discloses the system as rejected above.
Lert does not disclose before or after the feeding of each portion and each package, a code of the portion or package is detected and compared with a target code.
Kalouche teaches before or after the feeding of each portion and each package, a code of the portion or package is detected and compared with a target code (‘scan an identifier’ para 0118).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to modify the system of Lert to include before or after the feeding of each portion and each package, a code of the portion or package is detected and compared with a target code because it can help guarantee that the correct package or portion is picked.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2008/0267759 and US 2018/0057263 both disclose order picking units which can move storage and target containers to complete orders.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY R WAGGONER whose telephone number is (571)272-8204. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 5am-330pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jacob Scott can be reached at 571-270-3415. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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TIMOTHY R. WAGGONER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3655 B
/TIMOTHY R WAGGONER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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