DETAILED ACTION
This final Office action is responsive to Applicant’s amendment filed January 22, 2026. Claims 1, 6-7, 9, 11, and 14 have been amended. Claims 1-15 are presented for examination.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed January 22, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 101, Applicant argues in Section A, “It is respectfully submitted that these features foreclose an interpretation in which the claim merely outputs alerts, recommendations, or suggestions for human action. An ‘alert’ or ‘suggestion’ does not satisfy an operational instruction ‘configured to influence production control by initiating or adjusting supply, production, or shipment operations,’ nor does it satisfy the recited chain-based validation performed from tracked transfer records across intermediate transformations/transfers.” (Page 2 of Applicant’s response) First, the Examiner points out that method claims are defined by positively recited steps. In method claim 1, step (f) recites “(f) generating an operational instruction configured to influence production control to influence production control by initiating or adjusting supply production or shipment operations of the product based on the allocation.” “Configured to” presents an intended use limitation in a method claim since the generated operation instruction and its corresponding intended functions are not necessarily actively performed within the scope of the method claim. Second, even if all limitations presented positively recited steps, the Examiner submits that not only do the recited steps convey an evaluated process that is related to “controlling the production of a product to match a target environmental impact” (Spec: p. 1: 3-4), which (under its broadest reasonable interpretation) is an example of commercial interactions and business relations (i.e., organizing human activity), but a human user could indeed perform the various steps of claim 1, including an actively recited step of (e) allocating an attribute of supply material or process-related supply to the product, and validating the allocation by verifying that the supply material or process-related supply to be attributed is part of a material-exchange chain to the request product (wherein allocating is just planning how to distribute the supplies, for example, and validating just confirms the plan) and an actively recited version of the step of (f) generating an operational instruction configured to influence production control to influence production control by initiating or adjusting supply production or shipment operations of the product based on the allocation (wherein a human user can decide to set a plan to initiate or adjust supply production or shipping operations in motion).
Applicant argues in Section B, “In any event, even assuming arguendo that the Office continues to characterize certain portions of the "determining" step as involving analysis or calculation at Step 2A, Prong One (and claim 8 as involving a conversion unit), eligibility turns on what the claim is directed to as a whole, including whether the claim integrates any alleged judicial exception into a practical application under Step 2A, Prong Two.” (Page 7 of Applicant’s response) Claim 8 recites “wherein the determination of the quantity of supply material or process-related supply associated with properties relating to an environmental impact is based on a conversion unit wherein the conversion unit indicates differences of the supply material or process-related supply to a reference.” A human user can indeed apply a conversion unit mentally and/or with pen and paper. For example, a human can perform a calculation to assess a quantity based on a conversion unit.
Applicant argues in Section C that Applicant’s claims are eligible like the eligible claims of Example 45 of the USPTO 101 examples (pages 7-8 of Applicant’s response). The eligible claims (claims 2-4 of Example 45) control an opening of an injection mold based on a closed loop monitored of a cured percentage (claim 2), the use of a specific type of thermometer in an unconventional manner (claim 3), and control temperature based on continuous monitoring of temperature in a feedback loop (claim 4). Applicant’s claims integrate use of a production control processor at a high level to perform some of the steps/functions of the claims. Aside from using a production control processor as a mere tool, a human user can perform the recited steps/operations (as explained above and in the rejection). Applicant’s claims do not present any closed feedback loops where specific devices directly control physical operations (like opening an injection mold, using a specific type of device in an unconventional manner, controlling temperature based on continuous temperature monitoring), as seen in the eligible claims of Example 45.
Applicant argues in Section D, “The Office’s generic-computer discussion does not meaningfully address these constraints [of the validating and generating steps/functions], which define how the processor is used within a production control environment and what the processor produces (an instruction configured to influence operational control), beyond mere information output.” (Pages 8-9 of Applicant’s response) The Examiner has addressed this analysis above and in the rejection. The claims do not necessarily incorporate any physical control of production. Even if they did, such details would also have to do more than simply claim the idea of a solution of outcome. As explained in MPEP § 2106.05(a), “An important consideration in determining whether a claim improves technology is the extent to which the claim covers a particular solution to a problem or a particular way to achieve a desired outcome, as opposed to merely claiming the idea of a solution or outcome.”
Applicant argues in Section E, “The Office Action does not cite evidence establishing that this specific ordered combination, particularly the chain-based verification from tracked transfer records across intermediate transformations/transfers coupled with operational instruction generation configured to influence supply/production/shipment operations, is well-understood, routine, and conventional in the relevant technological context.” (Page 9 of Applicant’s response) The rejection does not assert that the additional elements are well-understood, routine, and conventional; therefore, evidence of such is not required.
Applicant argues in Section F that dependent claims 5-7, 9, and 11 add technical constraints and that independent claim 14 is similar to claim 1 (pages 9-10 of applicant’s response). Claims 5-7, 9, and 11 evaluate information that may be related to a process that is arguably in a technical field; however, these claims do not actively integrate any additional elements beyond those presented in independent claim 1. Claim 14 is ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101 for similar reasons as those addressed in regard to claim 1.
Regarding the art rejections, Applicant argues that “King does not disclose validating the allocation by verifying material-exchange chain linkage.” (Page 11 of Applicant’s response) The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Carbon data and emissions data are determined for each process in King (as discussed in the rejection below). The carbon and emissions are part of the material-exchange chain and they are linked to various manufacturing processes, thereby addressing the limitation in question. Validating and verifying merely involve some sort of check and/or determination of the accurate information. King looks up and confirms the information in question (as explained in the rejection).
Applicant argues that King does not teach the amended limitations of claim 9 (page 11 of Applicant’s response). Claim 9 is now rejected over King in view of Slocum, responsive to the claim amendments.
Applicant argues that “King does not disclose generating an operational instruction configured to influence production control by initiating/adjusting operations.” (Page 11 of Applicant’s response) The Examiner respectfully disagrees. In ¶¶ 158-159, 164-167, King describes how various recommendations and scenarios, based on different trade-offs and required thresholds and impact targets, are output to a user for selection. The particular components used and quantity of products needed are incorporated into the related analyses and recommendations. In ¶¶ 29, 67, King discloses that instructions related to the recommendations are generated.
Applicant submits that the Slocum reference does not make up for the deficiencies of King (identified above) (pages 11-12 of Applicant’s response). The Examiner finds no deficiencies in the teachings of King as they relate to the limitations identified by Applicant (and addressed by the Examiner above); therefore, Slocum does not need to be relied upon for these limitations.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claimed invention is directed to “controlling the production of a product to match a target environmental impact” (Spec: p. 1: 3-4) without significantly more.
Step
Analysis
1: Statutory Category?
Yes – The claims fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter. Process (claims 1-11, 13), Apparatus (claims 14-15), Article of Manufacture (claim 12)
Independent claims:
Step
Analysis
2A – Prong 1: Judicial Exception Recited?
Yes – Aside from the additional elements identified in Step 2A – Prong 2 below, the claims recite:
[Claim 1] A method for controlling the production of a product comprising
(a) receiving a request indicating the product and a target environmental impact associated with the production of the product,
(b) receiving starting material data or process-related data for the product,
(c) receiving supply material data or process-related supply data,
(d) determining, based on the request, the starting material data or process-related data and the supply material data or process-related supply data, the quantity of supply material or process-related supply associated with properties relating to an environmental impact to match the request,
(e) allocating an attribute of supply material or process-related supply to the product, and validating the allocation by verifying that the supply material or process-related supply to be attributed is part of a material-exchange chain to the request product,
(f) generating an operational instruction configured to influence production control to influence production control by initiating or adjusting supply production or shipment operations of the product based on the allocation, and
(g) outputting the operational instruction.
[Claim 12] executing steps of the method according to claim 1.
[Claim 13] A method for controlling the production of a product comprising using the operational instruction obtained by the method of claim 1.
[Claim 14] - receiving a request indicating the a product and a target environmental impact associated with the production of the product,
- receiving starting material data or process-related data for the product, and
- receiving supply material data or process-related supply data,
- determining, based on the request and the starting material data or process-related data, the quantity of supply material or process-related supply associated with properties relating to an environmental impact to match the request,
- allocating an attribute of supply material or process-related supply to the product, and validating the allocation by verifying that the supply material or process-related supply to be attributed is part of a material-exchange chain to the request product, and
- generating an operational instruction configured to influence production control to influence production control by initiating or adjusting supply production or shipment operations of the product based on the allocation, and
(c) an output for outputting the operational instruction.
Aside from the additional elements, the aforementioned claim details exemplify the abstract idea(s) of a mental process (since the details include concepts performed in the human mind, including an observation, evaluation, judgment, and/or opinion). As explained in MPEP § 2106(a)(2)(C)(III), “The courts consider a mental process (thinking) that ‘can be performed in the human mind, or by a human using a pen and paper’ to be an abstract idea. CyberSource Corp. v. Retail Decisions, Inc., 654 F.3d 1366, 1372, 99 USPQ2d 1690, 1695 (Fed. Cir. 2011). As the Federal Circuit explained, ‘methods which can be performed mentally, or which are the equivalent of human mental work, are unpatentable abstract ideas the ‘basic tools of scientific and technological work’ that are open to all.’’ 654 F.3d at 1371, 99 USPQ2d at 1694 (citing Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 U.S. 63, 175 USPQ 673 (1972)).” The limitations reproduced above, as drafted, are a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitations in the mind but for the recitation of generic computer components. That is, other than reciting the additional elements identified in Step 2A – Prong 2 below, nothing in the claim elements precludes the steps from practically being performed in the mind and/or by a human using a pen and paper. For example, but for the recitations of generic computer and other processing components (identified in Step 2A – Prong 2 below), the respectively recited steps/functions of the claims, as drafted and set forth above, are a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitations in the mind and/or with the use of pen and paper. A human user can manage production of a product, receive information, perform the steps of determining, allocating, and generating, and present results in the form of instructions regarding how to operate. For example, a human user could perform the various steps of exemplary claim 1, including an actively recited step of (e) allocating an attribute of supply material or process-related supply to the product, and validating the allocation by verifying that the supply material or process-related supply to be attributed is part of a material-exchange chain to the request product (wherein allocating is just planning how to distribute the supplies, for example, and validating just confirms the plan) and an actively recited version of the step of (f) generating an operational instruction configured to influence production control to influence production control by initiating or adjusting supply production or shipment operations of the product based on the allocation (wherein a human user can decide to set a plan to initiate or adjust supply production or shipping operations in motion). If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind (and/or with pen and paper) but for the recitation of generic computer components, then it falls within the “Mental Processes” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea.
Aside from the additional elements, the aforementioned claim details exemplify a method of organizing human activity (since the details include examples of commercial or legal interactions, including advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors, and/or business relations and managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people, including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions). More specifically, the evaluated process is related to “controlling the production of a product to match a target environmental impact” (Spec: p. 1: 3-4), which (under its broadest reasonable interpretation) is an example of commercial interactions and business relations (i.e., organizing human activity); therefore, aside from the recitations of generic computer and other processing components (identified in Step 2A – Prong 2 below), the limitations identified in the more detailed claim listing above encompass the abstract idea of organizing human activity.
2A – Prong 2: Integrated into a Practical Application?
No – The judicial exception(s) is/are not integrated into a practical application.
Claim 1 recites that the method is computer-implemented.
Claim 1 recites that the allocating and generating are performed by a production control processor.
Claim 12 recites a non-transitory computer-readable data medium storing a computer program including instructions for executing steps of the method according to claim 1.
Claim 14 includes a production control system comprising (a) an input for receiving the recited information and (b) a processor for generally performing various operations.
Claim 14 recites that the allocating and generating are performed by a production control processor.
The claims as a whole merely describe how to generally “apply” the abstract idea(s) in a computer environment. The claimed processing elements are recited at a high level of generality and are merely invoked as a tool to perform the abstract idea(s). Simply implementing the abstract idea(s) on a general-purpose processor is not a practical application of the abstract idea(s); Applicant’s specification discloses that the invention may be implemented using general-purpose processing elements and other generic components (Spec: p. 10: 8 – p. 11: 11; p. 13: 35 – p. 14: 7).
The use of a processor/processing elements (e.g., as recited in all of the claims) facilitates generic processor operations. The use of a memory or machine-readable media with executable instructions facilitates generic processor operations.
The additional elements are recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as generic processing elements performing generic computer functions) such that the incorporation of the additional processing elements amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the judicial exception(s) using generic computer components. There is no indication in the Specification that the steps/functions of the claims require any inventive programming or necessitate any specialized or other inventive computer components (i.e., the steps/functions of the claims may be implemented using capabilities of general-purpose computer components). Accordingly, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract ideas into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claims are directed to an abstract idea(s).
The processing components presented in the claims simply utilize the capabilities of a general-purpose computer and are, thus, merely tools to implement the abstract idea(s). As seen in MPEP § 2106.05(a)(I) and § 2106.05(f)(2), the court found that accelerating a process when the increased speed solely comes from the capabilities of a general-purpose computer is not sufficient to show an improvement in computer-functionality and it amounts to a mere invocation of computers or machinery as a tool to perform an existing process (see FairWarning IP, LLC v. Iatric Sys., 839 F.3d 1089, 1095, 120 USPQ2d 1293, 1296 (Fed. Cir. 2016)).
There is no transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing recited in the claims.
Additionally, even when considering the operations of the additional elements as an ordered combination, the ordered combination does not amount to significantly more than what is present in the claims when each operation is considered separately.
2B: Claim(s) Provide(s) an Inventive Concept?
No – The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception(s). As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea(s) into a practical application, the use of the additional elements to perform the steps identified in Step 2A – Prong 1 above amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exceptions using a generic computer component(s). Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component(s) cannot provide an inventive concept. The claims are not patent eligible.
Dependent claims:
Step
Analysis
2A – Prong 1: Judicial Exception Recited?
Yes – Aside from the additional elements identified in Step 2A – Prong 2 below, the claims recite:
[Claim 2] wherein the target environmental impact contains a classifier indicating the type of environmental impact and a degree of environmental impact.
[Claim 3] wherein the target environmental impact contains more than one classifier, wherein each classifier indicates the type of environmental impact.
[Claim 4] wherein the environmental impact relates to the product carbon footprint or the recycling rate.
[Claim 5] wherein the product is produced in more than one process step and wherein the starting material data or the process-related data comprises sub-datasets each related to one of the process steps.
[Claim 6] wherein the process-related data includes data related to the energy required for the production of the product.
[Claim 7] wherein the production of the product contains multiple production steps each of which convert input materials into output materials, wherein at least one process step yields two output materials which are used as input material in two separate process steps or at least one process step uses output material of two separate process steps as input material.
[Claim 8] wherein the determination of the quantity of supply material or process-related supply associated with properties relating to an environmental impact is based on a conversion unit wherein the conversion unit indicates differences of the supply material or process-related supply to a reference.
[Claim 9] wherein the allocation comprises verifying, from tracked transfer records for whether the supply material or process-related supply, that the supply material or process-related supply is linked to the requested product through one or more intermediate transformation and/or transfers in the material-exchange chain.
[Claim 10] wherein the attribute further contains a time indicator and wherein the allocation is based on the time indicator of the attribute.
[Claim 11] wherein the attribute further comprises supporting data or a reference to supporting data for the environmental impact, wherein supporting data includes data evidencing that the environmental impact of the supply material or process-related supply is correctly labelled for the attributed supply material or process-related supply in the material-exchange chain.
The dependent claims present additional details of the abstract ideas identified in regard to the independent claims above.
Aside from the additional elements, the aforementioned claim details exemplify the abstract idea(s) of a mental process (since the details include concepts performed in the human mind, including an observation, evaluation, judgment, and/or opinion). As explained in MPEP § 2106(a)(2)(C)(III), “The courts consider a mental process (thinking) that ‘can be performed in the human mind, or by a human using a pen and paper’ to be an abstract idea. CyberSource Corp. v. Retail Decisions, Inc., 654 F.3d 1366, 1372, 99 USPQ2d 1690, 1695 (Fed. Cir. 2011). As the Federal Circuit explained, ‘methods which can be performed mentally, or which are the equivalent of human mental work, are unpatentable abstract ideas the ‘basic tools of scientific and technological work’ that are open to all.’’ 654 F.3d at 1371, 99 USPQ2d at 1694 (citing Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 U.S. 63, 175 USPQ 673 (1972)).” The limitations reproduced above, as drafted, are a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitations in the mind but for the recitation of generic computer components. That is, other than reciting the additional elements identified in Step 2A – Prong 2 below, nothing in the claim elements precludes the steps from practically being performed in the mind and/or by a human using a pen and paper. For example, but for the recitations of generic computer and other processing components (identified in Step 2A – Prong 2 below), the respectively recited steps/functions of the claims, as drafted and set forth above, are a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitations in the mind and/or with the use of pen and paper. A human user can manage production of a product, receive information, perform the steps of determining, allocating, and generating, and present results in the form of instructions regarding how to operate. For example, a human user could perform the various steps of exemplary claim 1, including an actively recited step of (e) allocating an attribute of supply material or process-related supply to the product, and validating the allocation by verifying that the supply material or process-related supply to be attributed is part of a material-exchange chain to the request product (wherein allocating is just planning how to distribute the supplies, for example, and validating just confirms the plan) and an actively recited version of the step of (f) generating an operational instruction configured to influence production control to influence production control by initiating or adjusting supply production or shipment operations of the product based on the allocation (wherein a human user can decide to set a plan to initiate or adjust supply production or shipping operations in motion). If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind (and/or with pen and paper) but for the recitation of generic computer components, then it falls within the “Mental Processes” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea.
Aside from the additional elements, the aforementioned claim details exemplify a method of organizing human activity (since the details include examples of commercial or legal interactions, including advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors, and/or business relations and managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people, including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions). More specifically, the evaluated process is related to “controlling the production of a product to match a target environmental impact” (Spec: p. 1: 3-4), which (under its broadest reasonable interpretation) is an example of commercial interactions and business relations (i.e., organizing human activity); therefore, aside from the recitations of generic computer and other processing components (identified in Step 2A – Prong 2 below), the limitations identified in the more detailed claim listing above encompass the abstract idea of organizing human activity.
Claim 8 presents a determination step that implies that calculations are performed (“wherein the determination of the quantity of supply material or process-related supply associated with properties relating to an environmental impact is based on a conversion unit wherein the conversion unit indicates differences of the supply material or process-related supply to a reference”), thereby presenting a mathematical concept.
2A – Prong 2: Integrated into a Practical Application?
No – The judicial exception(s) is/are not integrated into a practical application.
The dependent claims incorporate the additional elements of the independent claim from which each depends.
Claims 1-11 and 13 recite that the method is computer-implemented.
Claim 1 recites that the allocating and generating are performed by a production control processor.
Claim 12 recites a non-transitory computer-readable data medium storing a computer program including instructions for executing steps of the method according to claim 1.
Claims 14-15 include a production control system comprising (a) an input for receiving the recited information and (b) a processor for generally performing various operations.
Claim 14 recites that the allocating and generating are performed by a production control processor.
Claim 15 further recites wherein the input is a graphical user interface.
The claims as a whole merely describe how to generally “apply” the abstract idea(s) in a computer environment. The claimed processing elements are recited at a high level of generality and are merely invoked as a tool to perform the abstract idea(s). Simply implementing the abstract idea(s) on a general-purpose processor is not a practical application of the abstract idea(s); Applicant’s specification discloses that the invention may be implemented using general-purpose processing elements and other generic components (Spec: p. 10: 8 – p. 11: 11; p. 13: 35 – p. 14: 7).
The use of a processor/processing elements (e.g., as recited in all of the claims) facilitates generic processor operations. The use of a memory or machine-readable media with executable instructions facilitates generic processor operations.
The additional elements are recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as generic processing elements performing generic computer functions) such that the incorporation of the additional processing elements amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the judicial exception(s) using generic computer components. There is no indication in the Specification that the steps/functions of the claims require any inventive programming or necessitate any specialized or other inventive computer components (i.e., the steps/functions of the claims may be implemented using capabilities of general-purpose computer components). Accordingly, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract ideas into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claims are directed to an abstract idea(s).
The processing components presented in the claims simply utilize the capabilities of a general-purpose computer and are, thus, merely tools to implement the abstract idea(s). As seen in MPEP § 2106.05(a)(I) and § 2106.05(f)(2), the court found that accelerating a process when the increased speed solely comes from the capabilities of a general-purpose computer is not sufficient to show an improvement in computer-functionality and it amounts to a mere invocation of computers or machinery as a tool to perform an existing process (see FairWarning IP, LLC v. Iatric Sys., 839 F.3d 1089, 1095, 120 USPQ2d 1293, 1296 (Fed. Cir. 2016)).
There is no transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing recited in the claims.
Additionally, even when considering the operations of the additional elements as an ordered combination, the ordered combination does not amount to significantly more than what is present in the claims when each operation is considered separately.
2B: Claim(s) Provide(s) an Inventive Concept?
No – The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception(s). As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea(s) into a practical application, the use of the additional elements to perform the steps identified in Step 2A – Prong 1 above amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exceptions using a generic computer component(s). Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component(s) cannot provide an inventive concept. The claims are not patent eligible.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-6, 8, and 10-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by King et al. (US 2022/0214668).
[Claim 1] King discloses a computer-implemented method for controlling the production of a product (¶ 29 – “Various embodiments of the present invention can be directed to computer processing systems, computer-implemented methods, apparatus and/or computer program products that facilitate the efficient, effective, and autonomous (e.g., without direct human guidance) product development that can integrate product design, production and/or fulfillment operations.”; ¶ 67 – “Moreover, the one or more manufacturing details can include post processing instructions such as: assembly instructions, packaging instructions, painting instructions, polishing instructions, heat treatment instructions, a combination thereof, and/or the like. Additionally, the one or more manufacturing details can include: a desired order quantity, desired fulfillment time, a desired fulfillment location (e.g., where to ship the manufactured product), a desired fulfillment date, a preferred shipping method, a combination thereof, and/or the like. Furthermore, the one or more manufacturing details can describe one or more relationships between different parts comprised within a digital product design (e.g., including fit and/or tolerances between respective parts).”) comprising
(a) receiving a request indicating the product and a target environmental impact associated with the production of the product (¶ 37 – “The one or more input devices 106 can be employed by the entities to interact with the user interface component 110. For example, the one or more input devices 106 can be employed to enter various inputs into the system 100, which can be analyzed by the computation component 112. Also, the one or more input devices 106 can be employed to present and/or interact with one or more outputs of the user interface component 110 (e.g., the displays, reports, graphs, charts, quotes, tables, and/or the like).”; ¶ 38 – “Outputs of the user interface component 110 and/or computation component 112 regarding product manufacturing requests by a given entity can be accessible to the entity via the user account associated with the entity.”; ¶ 155 – “In various embodiments, the sustainability component 1903 can determine one or more environmental impact metrics associated with manufacturing a product design. For example, the one or more environmental impact metrics can be a function of the details of the manufacturing quote, such as a product feature included in the product design and/or a manufacturing characteristic. In one or more embodiments, the environmental impact metrics can at least one of carbon emissions, water usage, and/or energy input associated with a manufacturing quote based on the digital product design and manufacturing details (e.g., such as manufacturing technique, manufacturing material, production location (e.g., geographical location of the manufacturing facility 130 executing the manufacturing quote), fulfillment location, and shipping method). For example, the sustainability component 1903 can comprise a carbon emissions component 1904 that can determine an amount of carbon emissions generated by a manufacturing process in accordance with the manufacturing quote (e.g., utilizes one or more selected manufacturing characteristics to manufacture the product design with the one or more product features).”; ¶ 159 – “In one or more embodiments the sustainability component 1903 can calculate the environmental impact metrics for a specific set of choices for the product design and/or manufacturing characteristics (e.g., such as manufacturing process, material, or fulfillment mode).”; ¶ 164 – “The sustainability component 1903 can also generate a display showing how the energy input, carbon emissions, and/or water usage can change as a function of the quantity of the product design to be manufactured. The one or more environment impact metrics can also be shown alongside cost information and/or fulfillment information. The cost, time to produce and deliver, and environment impact metrics can each depend upon the number of parts to be made; however, the impact of number of parts to be made may be different for each of these factors.”),
(b) receiving starting material data or process-related data for the product (¶ 49 – “In various embodiments, one or more manufacturing facilities 130 employed by the system 100 can utilize one or more sensors to collect operation data 124 regarding the manufacturing process of one or more products while the products are being manufactured. Example types of data that can be included in the operation data 124 can include, but are not limited to: manufacturing machine settings, temperature measurements, humidity measurements, pressure measurements, material data (e.g., characterizing one or more raw materials used in the given manufacturing process and/or characterizing materials after processing), electricity consumption, power levels of machines and/or components of those machines, sound recordings, video recordings, photographs, measurements from light detection and ranging (“LIDAR”), measurements from displacement sensors, measurements from three-dimensional scanners, the location of a given product in a given time, a combination thereof, and/or the like.”),
(c) receiving supply material data or process-related supply data (¶ 111 – “In one or more embodiments, the cost component 1208 can calculate the total volume of material to be consumed during the manufacturing of a batch as the total material in the batch plus an expected amount of waste material. For example, the amount of waste material can be calculated from one or more known ratios of waste material for a given material and/or manufacturing technique (e.g., based on one or more order data 126 and/or part data 126 included in the one or more data repositories 108). Additionally, the cost component 1208 can calculate the manufacturing time associated in executing the manufacturing quote at various product quantities as a function of material volume, number of operations, time for each operation, product orientation for each operation, product bounding box size, and/or type of material.”),
(d) determining, based on the request, the starting material data or process-related data and the supply material data or process-related supply data, the quantity of supply material or process-related supply associated with properties relating to an environmental impact to match the request (¶ 111 – “In one or more embodiments, the cost component 1208 can calculate the total volume of material to be consumed during the manufacturing of a batch as the total material in the batch plus an expected amount of waste material. For example, the amount of waste material can be calculated from one or more known ratios of waste material for a given material and/or manufacturing technique (e.g., based on one or more order data 126 and/or part data 126 included in the one or more data repositories 108). Additionally, the cost component 1208 can calculate the manufacturing time associated in executing the manufacturing quote at various product quantities as a function of material volume, number of operations, time for each operation, product orientation for each operation, product bounding box size, and/or type of material.”),
(e) allocating, by a production control processor (¶ 5 – “According to an embodiment, a computer-implemented method is provided. The computer-implemented method can comprise generating, by a system operatively coupled to a processor, a manufacturability report regarding a product design in relation to a manufacturing process. The manufacturability report can indicate whether a product feature included in the product design is permissible based on a plurality of manufacturing considerations associated with the manufacturing process.”), an attribute of supply material or process-related supply to the product (¶¶ 158-159, 164-167 – Various recommendations and scenarios, based on different trade-offs and required thresholds and impact targets, are output to a user for selection. The particular components used and quantity of products needed are incorporated into the related analyses and recommendations.) and validating the allocation by verifying that the supply material or process-related supply to be attributed is part of a material exchange chain to the requested product (¶ 167 – “For example, if the one or more entities has a threshold for carbon emissions per product design unit that is not to be exceeded, the sustainability component 1903 can determine the material, manufacturing process, and other user inputs that will allow that target to be reached when manufacturing the given product design. The alternatives component 1908 (e.g., in conjunction with the sustainability component 1903) can also suggest modifications to the product design that can result in reduced emissions, water usage, or energy input. The product design modifications can be found by searching the historical database for geometries that are similar to the given product design but were made with lower emissions, water usage, or energy input.”; ¶ 169 – “In various embodiments, the user interface component 110 can present to the user the option to purchase a carbon offset. The carbon offset can be purchased through an online brokerage, or carbon offset service, or other carbon offset method. The carbon offset can be less than, equal to, or larger than the carbon emissions expected from manufacturing the user's order. The carbon offset can be configured to allow the user to reach a target emissions impact, which is the net of the manufacturing emissions minus the offset.”; ¶ 5 – “The manufacturability report can indicate whether a product feature included in the product design is permissible based on a plurality of manufacturing considerations associated with the manufacturing process.”; ¶ 52 – “In one or more embodiments, the computation component 112 can reference data regarding particular manufacturing details and/or particular manufacturing detail combinations. For example, the data included in the one or more data repositories 108 can include past costs associated with one or more manufacturing materials, manufacturing facility 130 operations, labor, and/or shipping. In another example, the data included in the one or more data repositories 108 can include one or more references tables regarding manufacturing conditions (e.g., lead times, energy requirements, machining employed, tolerance values achieved) associated with one or more manufacturing processes and/or techniques. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include chemical and/or physical properties of various manufacturing materials that can be employed by one or more manufacturing processes and/or can be processed by the one or more manufacturing facilities 130. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of manufacturing techniques and manufacturing materials. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of manufacturing materials and surface finishing techniques. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include one or more operational capacities of respective manufacturing techniques and/or manufacturing machines. For instance, the one or more reference tables can define limits on the size, location, and/or dimensions of one or more product features in association with respective manufacturing techniques and/or manufacturing materials. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of geometric features that can be manufactured together, and/or combinations of geometric features and materials that are manufacturable, and/or combinations of manufacturing processes that are mutually compatible, and/or combinations of manufacturing processes and materials that are compatible. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include attributes related to the cost of a product such as labor cost, machine cost, material usage, material waste, and the like. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define methods to transport manufactured goods, the speed of those methods, and methods for storing parts in warehouses. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define methods to measure the dimensions, surface finish, color, or porosity of a material or manufactured good. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define environment impact such as emissions, carbon generated, water consumption, or other measures of environmental impact.”; ¶ 90 – “In various embodiments, the manufacturability component 504 can also generate one or more manufacturability scores to quantify the total amount of compatibility between the given digital product design and manufacturing details. For example, the manufacturability score can be a function of a numerical range characterizing the compatibility. For instance, the numerical range be from 0 to 100, where 0 can indicate the lowest amount of compatibility and 100 can indicate the highest amount of compatibility. The manufacturability component 508 can determine a respective score for each manufacturability consideration and can aggregate the plurality of scores to determine the overall manufacturability score. Additionally, the manufacturability considerations can be weighted based on their impact to the manufacturing quote. For example, the amount of compatibility associated with a first manufacturability consideration can have a more profound impact on the execution of the manufacturing quote than the amount of compatibility associated with a second manufacturability; thus, the first manufacturability consideration have been weighted more than the second manufacturability consideration in determining the overall manufacturability score. For instance, whether a chosen material can be employed with a chosen manufacturing technique can have a more profound impact on the execution of the manufacturing quote than color of the material, as the color of the material can be rendered irrelevant if the material cannot be employed.” Determining which materials are compatible and may be used in a manufacturing process, e.g., based on data from tables and on allowable emission thresholds, is an example of validating the allocation by verifying that the supply material or process-related supply to be attributed is part of a material exchange chain to the requested product.),
(f) generating, by the production control processor (¶ 5 – “According to an embodiment, a computer-implemented method is provided. The computer-implemented method can comprise generating, by a system operatively coupled to a processor, a manufacturability report regarding a product design in relation to a manufacturing process. The manufacturability report can indicate whether a product feature included in the product design is permissible based on a plurality of manufacturing considerations associated with the manufacturing process.”), an operational instruction configured to influence production control by initiating or adjusting supply, production, or shipment operations of the product based on the allocation (It is noted that “configured to” presents an intended use limitation in a method claim since the generated operation instruction and its corresponding intended functions are not necessarily actively performed within the scope of the method claim. While the intended use functions do not serve to patentably limit the method claim over the prior art, these intended use functions will be addressed herein as if they were positively recited steps of the method.; ¶ 29 – “Various embodiments of the present invention can be directed to computer processing systems, computer-implemented methods, apparatus and/or computer program products that facilitate the efficient, effective, and autonomous (e.g., without direct human guidance) product development that can integrate product design, production and/or fulfillment operations.”; ¶ 67 – “Moreover, the one or more manufacturing details can include post processing instructions such as: assembly instructions, packaging instructions, painting instructions, polishing instructions, heat treatment instructions, a combination thereof, and/or the like. Additionally, the one or more manufacturing details can include: a desired order quantity, desired fulfillment time, a desired fulfillment location (e.g., where to ship the manufactured product), a desired fulfillment date, a preferred shipping method, a combination thereof, and/or the like. Furthermore, the one or more manufacturing details can describe one or more relationships between different parts comprised within a digital product design (e.g., including fit and/or tolerances between respective parts).”; ¶ 5 – “The manufacturability report can indicate whether a product feature included in the product design is permissible based on a plurality of manufacturing considerations associated with the manufacturing process.”; ¶ 52 – “In one or more embodiments, the computation component 112 can reference data regarding particular manufacturing details and/or particular manufacturing detail combinations. For example, the data included in the one or more data repositories 108 can include past costs associated with one or more manufacturing materials, manufacturing facility 130 operations, labor, and/or shipping. In another example, the data included in the one or more data repositories 108 can include one or more references tables regarding manufacturing conditions (e.g., lead times, energy requirements, machining employed, tolerance values achieved) associated with one or more manufacturing processes and/or techniques. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include chemical and/or physical properties of various manufacturing materials that can be employed by one or more manufacturing processes and/or can be processed by the one or more manufacturing facilities 130. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of manufacturing techniques and manufacturing materials. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of manufacturing materials and surface finishing techniques. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include one or more operational capacities of respective manufacturing techniques and/or manufacturing machines. For instance, the one or more reference tables can define limits on the size, location, and/or dimensions of one or more product features in association with respective manufacturing techniques and/or manufacturing materials. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of geometric features that can be manufactured together, and/or combinations of geometric features and materials that are manufacturable, and/or combinations of manufacturing processes that are mutually compatible, and/or combinations of manufacturing processes and materials that are compatible. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include attributes related to the cost of a product such as labor cost, machine cost, material usage, material waste, and the like. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define methods to transport manufactured goods, the speed of those methods, and methods for storing parts in warehouses. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define methods to measure the dimensions, surface finish, color, or porosity of a material or manufactured good. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define environment impact such as emissions, carbon generated, water consumption, or other measures of environmental impact.”; ¶ 90 – “In various embodiments, the manufacturability component 504 can also generate one or more manufacturability scores to quantify the total amount of compatibility between the given digital product design and manufacturing details. For example, the manufacturability score can be a function of a numerical range characterizing the compatibility. For instance, the numerical range be from 0 to 100, where 0 can indicate the lowest amount of compatibility and 100 can indicate the highest amount of compatibility.”; ¶ 167 – “For example, if the one or more entities has a threshold for carbon emissions per product design unit that is not to be exceeded, the sustainability component 1903 can determine the material, manufacturing process, and other user inputs that will allow that target to be reached when manufacturing the given product design. The alternatives component 1908 (e.g., in conjunction with the sustainability component 1903) can also suggest modifications to the product design that can result in reduced emissions, water usage, or energy input. The product design modifications can be found by searching the historical database for geometries that are similar to the given product design but were made with lower emissions, water usage, or energy input.”; ¶ 169 – “In various embodiments, the user interface component 110 can present to the user the option to purchase a carbon offset. The carbon offset can be purchased through an online brokerage, or carbon offset service, or other carbon offset method. The carbon offset can be less than, equal to, or larger than the carbon emissions expected from manufacturing the user's order. The carbon offset can be configured to allow the user to reach a target emissions impact, which is the net of the manufacturing emissions minus the offset.”; ¶¶ 158-159, 164-167 – Various recommendations and scenarios, based on different trade-offs and required thresholds and impact targets, are output to a user for selection. The particular components used and quantity of products needed are incorporated into the related analyses and recommendations.), and
(g) outputting the operational instruction (¶¶ 158-159, 164-167 – Various recommendations and scenarios, based on different trade-offs and required thresholds and impact targets, are output to a user for selection. The particular components used and quantity of products needed are incorporated into the related analyses and recommendations.; ¶¶ 29, 67 – Instructions related to the recommendations are generated.).
[Claim 2] King discloses wherein the target environmental impact contains a classifier indicating the type of environmental impact and a degree of environmental impact (¶ 155 – “In various embodiments, the sustainability component 1903 can determine one or more environmental impact metrics associated with manufacturing a product design. For example, the one or more environmental impact metrics can be a function of the details of the manufacturing quote, such as a product feature included in the product design and/or a manufacturing characteristic. In one or more embodiments, the environmental impact metrics can at least one of carbon emissions, water usage, and/or energy input associated with a manufacturing quote based on the digital product design and manufacturing details (e.g., such as manufacturing technique, manufacturing material, production location (e.g., geographical location of the manufacturing facility 130 executing the manufacturing quote), fulfillment location, and shipping method). For example, the sustainability component 1903 can comprise a carbon emissions component 1904 that can determine an amount of carbon emissions generated by a manufacturing process in accordance with the manufacturing quote (e.g., utilizes one or more selected manufacturing characteristics to manufacture the product design with the one or more product features).”; ¶ 159 – “In one or more embodiments the sustainability component 1903 can calculate the environmental impact metrics for a specific set of choices for the product design and/or manufacturing characteristics (e.g., such as manufacturing process, material, or fulfillment mode).”; ¶ 164 – “The sustainability component 1903 can also generate a display showing how the energy input, carbon emissions, and/or water usage can change as a function of the quantity of the product design to be manufactured. The one or more environment impact metrics can also be shown alongside cost information and/or fulfillment information. The cost, time to produce and deliver, and environment impact metrics can each depend upon the number of parts to be made; however, the impact of number of parts to be made may be different for each of these factors.”).
[Claim 3] King discloses wherein the target environmental impact contains more than one classifier, wherein each classifier indicates the type of environmental impact (¶ 155 – “In various embodiments, the sustainability component 1903 can determine one or more environmental impact metrics associated with manufacturing a product design. For example, the one or more environmental impact metrics can be a function of the details of the manufacturing quote, such as a product feature included in the product design and/or a manufacturing characteristic. In one or more embodiments, the environmental impact metrics can at least one of carbon emissions, water usage, and/or energy input associated with a manufacturing quote based on the digital product design and manufacturing details (e.g., such as manufacturing technique, manufacturing material, production location (e.g., geographical location of the manufacturing facility 130 executing the manufacturing quote), fulfillment location, and shipping method). For example, the sustainability component 1903 can comprise a carbon emissions component 1904 that can determine an amount of carbon emissions generated by a manufacturing process in accordance with the manufacturing quote (e.g., utilizes one or more selected manufacturing characteristics to manufacture the product design with the one or more product features).”; ¶ 159 – “In one or more embodiments the sustainability component 1903 can calculate the environmental impact metrics for a specific set of choices for the product design and/or manufacturing characteristics (e.g., such as manufacturing process, material, or fulfillment mode).”).
[Claim 4] King discloses wherein the environmental impact relates to the product carbon footprint or the recycling rate (¶ 155 – “In one or more embodiments, the environmental impact metrics can at least one of carbon emissions, water usage, and/or energy input associated with a manufacturing quote based on the digital product design and manufacturing details…”).
[Claim 5] King discloses wherein the product is produced in more than one process step and wherein the starting material data or the process-related data comprises sub-datasets each related to one of the process steps (¶ 52 – “In one or more embodiments, the computation component 112 can reference data regarding particular manufacturing details and/or particular manufacturing detail combinations. For example, the data included in the one or more data repositories 108 can include past costs associated with one or more manufacturing materials, manufacturing facility 130 operations, labor, and/or shipping. In another example, the data included in the one or more data repositories 108 can include one or more references tables regarding manufacturing conditions (e.g., lead times, energy requirements, machining employed, tolerance values achieved) associated with one or more manufacturing processes and/or techniques. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include chemical and/or physical properties of various manufacturing materials that can be employed by one or more manufacturing processes and/or can be processed by the one or more manufacturing facilities 130. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of manufacturing techniques and manufacturing materials. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of manufacturing materials and surface finishing techniques. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include one or more operational capacities of respective manufacturing techniques and/or manufacturing machines. For instance, the one or more reference tables can define limits on the size, location, and/or dimensions of one or more product features in association with respective manufacturing techniques and/or manufacturing materials. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of geometric features that can be manufactured together, and/or combinations of geometric features and materials that are manufacturable, and/or combinations of manufacturing processes that are mutually compatible, and/or combinations of manufacturing processes and materials that are compatible.”; ¶ 159 – “In one or more embodiments the sustainability component 1903 can calculate the environmental impact metrics for a specific set of choices for the product design and/or manufacturing characteristics (e.g., such as manufacturing process, material, or fulfillment mode).”).
[Claim 6] King discloses wherein the process-related data includes data related to the energy required for the production of the product (¶ 155 – “Further, the sustainability component 1903 can comprise an energy input component 1906 that can determine an amount of energy used by a manufacturing process in accordance with the manufacturing quote (e.g., utilizes one or more selected manufacturing characteristics to manufacture the product design with the one or more product features). For instance, the energy input component 1906 can calculate the energy content for each part or product based on energy requirements to: procure the raw materials, transportation costs of raw materials, convert the raw materials into the intended product, operate the manufacturing facility 130, operate the warehouse where raw materials are stored, transport the product to the desired location, a combination thereof, and/or the like.”).
[Claim 8] King discloses wherein the determination of the quantity of supply material or process-related supply associated with properties relating to an environmental impact is based on a conversion unit wherein the conversion unit indicates differences of the supply material or process-related supply to a reference (¶ 167 – “For example, if the one or more entities has a threshold for carbon emissions per product design unit that is not to be exceeded, the sustainability component 1903 can determine the material, manufacturing process, and other user inputs that will allow that target to be reached when manufacturing the given product design. The alternatives component 1908 (e.g., in conjunction with the sustainability component 1903) can also suggest modifications to the product design that can result in reduced emissions, water usage, or energy input. The product design modifications can be found by searching the historical database for geometries that are similar to the given product design but were made with lower emissions, water usage, or energy input.”).
[Claim 10] King discloses wherein the attribute further contains a time indicator and wherein the allocation is based on the time indicator of the attribute (¶ 109 – “In various embodiments, the cost component 1208 can identify one or more product feature variations, manufacturing detail variations, and/or product quantity variations that optimize for cost, manufacturing speed, and/or a combination thereof. The cost component 1208 can define the cost of the part as a function of the order quantity by considering, for instance, the batch size, cycle time, cost of machine time, consumables, and/or assumed yield loss. For example, for a given manufacturing quote, the cost component 1208 can generate a recommend an optimal product quantity, and provide an associate cost, based on: a prioritization of the shortest delivery time, a prioritization of the lowest cost, and/or an entity defined balance between cost and delivery time (e.g., as defined via one or more input devices 106).”; ¶ 111 – “Additionally, the cost component 1208 can calculate the manufacturing time associated in executing the manufacturing quote at various product quantities as a function of material volume, number of operations, time for each operation, product orientation for each operation, product bounding box size, and/or type of material. Further, the cost component 1208 can calculate time and/or labor costs required for manual changeovers of manufacturing equipment, finishing, and/or inspection processes (e.g., based on costs previously incurred in manufacturing products with similar design, features, manufacturing details, manufacturing equipment requirements, finishing details, and/or inspection requirements).”).
[Claim 11] King discloses wherein the attribute further comprises supporting data or a reference to supporting data for the environmental impact, wherein supporting data includes data evidencing that the environmental impact of the supply material or process-related supply is correctly labelled for the attribute supply material or process-related supply in the material-exchange chain (¶ 54 – “In one example, the geometry of a product design can be analyzed to create a defined set of points and/or features. These points and/or features can be compared to points and/or features in a set of products stored in the historical database. Further, the computation component 112 can employ one or more machine learning models to compare the geometry of the product with the geometry of other products, along with other manufacturing information for the product and other products. The products that exist in the one or more data repositories 108 may have known deficiencies. By identifying a specific set of points or features and any deficiencies that are associated with those points or features, the computation component 112 can predict manufacturing deficiencies in the product. In another example, machine learning models can be trained on the point clouds that represent a set of products with a labeled result set that represents whether those products had deficiencies. Such a machine learning model can be used by the computation component 112 to predict the probability of deficiencies in a previously unseen product. In a further example, the computation component 112 can generate one or more regression models for aspects of the manufacturing process recorded from order data 126. These regression models can be used to detect deficiencies inherent to the machines or materials requested for a product and to predict the likelihood of deficiencies during manufacturing. Thereby, the computation component 112 can generate one or more manufacturability warnings when a manufacturing quote is initialized with the identified commonalities.”; ¶ 52 – “In one or more embodiments, the computation component 112 can reference data regarding particular manufacturing details and/or particular manufacturing detail combinations. For example, the data included in the one or more data repositories 108 can include past costs associated with one or more manufacturing materials, manufacturing facility 130 operations, labor, and/or shipping. In another example, the data included in the one or more data repositories 108 can include one or more references tables regarding manufacturing conditions (e.g., lead times, energy requirements, machining employed, tolerance values achieved) associated with one or more manufacturing processes and/or techniques. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include chemical and/or physical properties of various manufacturing materials that can be employed by one or more manufacturing processes and/or can be processed by the one or more manufacturing facilities 130. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of manufacturing techniques and manufacturing materials. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of manufacturing materials and surface finishing techniques. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include one or more operational capacities of respective manufacturing techniques and/or manufacturing machines. For instance, the one or more reference tables can define limits on the size, location, and/or dimensions of one or more product features in association with respective manufacturing techniques and/or manufacturing materials. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of geometric features that can be manufactured together, and/or combinations of geometric features and materials that are manufacturable, and/or combinations of manufacturing processes that are mutually compatible, and/or combinations of manufacturing processes and materials that are compatible. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include attributes related to the cost of a product such as labor cost, machine cost, material usage, material waste, and the like. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define methods to transport manufactured goods, the speed of those methods, and methods for storing parts in warehouses. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define methods to measure the dimensions, surface finish, color, or porosity of a material or manufactured good. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define environment impact such as emissions, carbon generated, water consumption, or other measures of environmental impact.”; ¶¶ 163, 166 – The machine learning methods are applied to environmental impact calculations and modeling.; Carbon data and emissions data are determined for each process in King (as discussed in the rejection below).; ¶ 167 – “For example, if the one or more entities has a threshold for carbon emissions per product design unit that is not to be exceeded, the sustainability component 1903 can determine the material, manufacturing process, and other user inputs that will allow that target to be reached when manufacturing the given product design. The alternatives component 1908 (e.g., in conjunction with the sustainability component 1903) can also suggest modifications to the product design that can result in reduced emissions, water usage, or energy input. The product design modifications can be found by searching the historical database for geometries that are similar to the given product design but were made with lower emissions, water usage, or energy input.” The carbon and emissions are part of the material-exchange chain and they are linked to various manufacturing processes, thereby addressing the limitation in question. Validating and verifying merely involve some sort of check and/or determination of the accurate information. King looks up and confirms the information in question.).
[Claim 12] King discloses a non-transitory computer-readable data medium storing a computer program including instructions for executing steps of the method according to claim 1 (¶¶ 201, 207-208).
[Claim 13] King discloses a method for controlling the production of a product comprising using the operational instruction obtained by the method of claim 1 (¶ 29 – “Various embodiments of the present invention can be directed to computer processing systems, computer-implemented methods, apparatus and/or computer program products that facilitate the efficient, effective, and autonomous (e.g., without direct human guidance) product development that can integrate product design, production and/or fulfillment operations.”; ¶ 67 – “Moreover, the one or more manufacturing details can include post processing instructions such as: assembly instructions, packaging instructions, painting instructions, polishing instructions, heat treatment instructions, a combination thereof, and/or the like. Additionally, the one or more manufacturing details can include: a desired order quantity, desired fulfillment time, a desired fulfillment location (e.g., where to ship the manufactured product), a desired fulfillment date, a preferred shipping method, a combination thereof, and/or the like. Furthermore, the one or more manufacturing details can describe one or more relationships between different parts comprised within a digital product design (e.g., including fit and/or tolerances between respective parts).”).
[Claim 14] King discloses a production control system (¶ 29 – “Various embodiments of the present invention can be directed to computer processing systems, computer-implemented methods, apparatus and/or computer program products that facilitate the efficient, effective, and autonomous (e.g., without direct human guidance) product development that can integrate product design, production and/or fulfillment operations.”; ¶ 67 – “Moreover, the one or more manufacturing details can include post processing instructions such as: assembly instructions, packaging instructions, painting instructions, polishing instructions, heat treatment instructions, a combination thereof, and/or the like. Additionally, the one or more manufacturing details can include: a desired order quantity, desired fulfillment time, a desired fulfillment location (e.g., where to ship the manufactured product), a desired fulfillment date, a preferred shipping method, a combination thereof, and/or the like. Furthermore, the one or more manufacturing details can describe one or more relationships between different parts comprised within a digital product design (e.g., including fit and/or tolerances between respective parts).”) comprising
(a) an input (¶¶ 37, 47) for
- receiving a request indicating the a product and a target environmental impact associated with the production of the product (¶ 37 – “The one or more input devices 106 can be employed by the entities to interact with the user interface component 110. For example, the one or more input devices 106 can be employed to enter various inputs into the system 100, which can be analyzed by the computation component 112. Also, the one or more input devices 106 can be employed to present and/or interact with one or more outputs of the user interface component 110 (e.g., the displays, reports, graphs, charts, quotes, tables, and/or the like).”; ¶ 38 – “Outputs of the user interface component 110 and/or computation component 112 112 regarding product manufacturing requests by a given entity can be accessible to the entity via the user account associated with the entity.”; ¶ 155 – “In various embodiments, the sustainability component 1903 can determine one or more environmental impact metrics associated with manufacturing a product design. For example, the one or more environmental impact metrics can be a function of the details of the manufacturing quote, such as a product feature included in the product design and/or a manufacturing characteristic. In one or more embodiments, the environmental impact metrics can at least one of carbon emissions, water usage, and/or energy input associated with a manufacturing quote based on the digital product design and manufacturing details (e.g., such as manufacturing technique, manufacturing material, production location (e.g., geographical location of the manufacturing facility 130 executing the manufacturing quote), fulfillment location, and shipping method). For example, the sustainability component 1903 can comprise a carbon emissions component 1904 that can determine an amount of carbon emissions generated by a manufacturing process in accordance with the manufacturing quote (e.g., utilizes one or more selected manufacturing characteristics to manufacture the product design with the one or more product features).”; ¶ 159 – “In one or more embodiments the sustainability component 1903 can calculate the environmental impact metrics for a specific set of choices for the product design and/or manufacturing characteristics (e.g., such as manufacturing process, material, or fulfillment mode).”; ¶ 164 – “The sustainability component 1903 can also generate a display showing how the energy input, carbon emissions, and/or water usage can change as a function of the quantity of the product design to be manufactured. The one or more environment impact metrics can also be shown alongside cost information and/or fulfillment information. The cost, time to produce and deliver, and environment impact metrics can each depend upon the number of parts to be made; however, the impact of number of parts to be made may be different for each of these factors.”),
- receiving starting material data or process-related data for the product (¶ 49 – “In various embodiments, one or more manufacturing facilities 130 employed by the system 100 can utilize one or more sensors to collect operation data 124 regarding the manufacturing process of one or more products while the products are being manufactured. Example types of data that can be included in the operation data 124 can include, but are not limited to: manufacturing machine settings, temperature measurements, humidity measurements, pressure measurements, material data (e.g., characterizing one or more raw materials used in the given manufacturing process and/or characterizing materials after processing), electricity consumption, power levels of machines and/or components of those machines, sound recordings, video recordings, photographs, measurements from light detection and ranging (“LIDAR”), measurements from displacement sensors, measurements from three-dimensional scanners, the location of a given product in a given time, a combination thereof, and/or the like.”), and
- receiving supply material data or process-related supply data (¶ 111 – “In one or more embodiments, the cost component 1208 can calculate the total volume of material to be consumed during the manufacturing of a batch as the total material in the batch plus an expected amount of waste material. For example, the amount of waste material can be calculated from one or more known ratios of waste material for a given material and/or manufacturing technique (e.g., based on one or more order data 126 and/or part data 126 included in the one or more data repositories 108). Additionally, the cost component 1208 can calculate the manufacturing time associated in executing the manufacturing quote at various product quantities as a function of material volume, number of operations, time for each operation, product orientation for each operation, product bounding box size, and/or type of material.”),
(b) a processor (¶¶ 201, 207-208) for
- determining, based on the request and the starting material data or process-related data, the quantity of supply material or process-related supply associated with properties relating to an environmental impact to match the request (¶ 111 – “In one or more embodiments, the cost component 1208 can calculate the total volume of material to be consumed during the manufacturing of a batch as the total material in the batch plus an expected amount of waste material. For example, the amount of waste material can be calculated from one or more known ratios of waste material for a given material and/or manufacturing technique (e.g., based on one or more order data 126 and/or part data 126 included in the one or more data repositories 108). Additionally, the cost component 1208 can calculate the manufacturing time associated in executing the manufacturing quote at various product quantities as a function of material volume, number of operations, time for each operation, product orientation for each operation, product bounding box size, and/or type of material.”),
-- allocating, by a production control processor (¶ 5 – “According to an embodiment, a computer-implemented method is provided. The computer-implemented method can comprise generating, by a system operatively coupled to a processor, a manufacturability report regarding a product design in relation to a manufacturing process. The manufacturability report can indicate whether a product feature included in the product design is permissible based on a plurality of manufacturing considerations associated with the manufacturing process.”), an attribute of supply material or process-related supply to the product (¶¶ 158-159, 164-167 – Various recommendations and scenarios, based on different trade-offs and required thresholds and impact targets, are output to a user for selection. The particular components used and quantity of products needed are incorporated into the related analyses and recommendations.) and validating the allocation by verifying that the supply material or process-related supply to be attributed is part of a material exchange chain to the requested product (¶ 167 – “For example, if the one or more entities has a threshold for carbon emissions per product design unit that is not to be exceeded, the sustainability component 1903 can determine the material, manufacturing process, and other user inputs that will allow that target to be reached when manufacturing the given product design. The alternatives component 1908 (e.g., in conjunction with the sustainability component 1903) can also suggest modifications to the product design that can result in reduced emissions, water usage, or energy input. The product design modifications can be found by searching the historical database for geometries that are similar to the given product design but were made with lower emissions, water usage, or energy input.”; ¶ 169 – “In various embodiments, the user interface component 110 can present to the user the option to purchase a carbon offset. The carbon offset can be purchased through an online brokerage, or carbon offset service, or other carbon offset method. The carbon offset can be less than, equal to, or larger than the carbon emissions expected from manufacturing the user's order. The carbon offset can be configured to allow the user to reach a target emissions impact, which is the net of the manufacturing emissions minus the offset.”; ¶ 5 – “The manufacturability report can indicate whether a product feature included in the product design is permissible based on a plurality of manufacturing considerations associated with the manufacturing process.”; ¶ 52 – “In one or more embodiments, the computation component 112 can reference data regarding particular manufacturing details and/or particular manufacturing detail combinations. For example, the data included in the one or more data repositories 108 can include past costs associated with one or more manufacturing materials, manufacturing facility 130 operations, labor, and/or shipping. In another example, the data included in the one or more data repositories 108 can include one or more references tables regarding manufacturing conditions (e.g., lead times, energy requirements, machining employed, tolerance values achieved) associated with one or more manufacturing processes and/or techniques. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include chemical and/or physical properties of various manufacturing materials that can be employed by one or more manufacturing processes and/or can be processed by the one or more manufacturing facilities 130. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of manufacturing techniques and manufacturing materials. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of manufacturing materials and surface finishing techniques. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include one or more operational capacities of respective manufacturing techniques and/or manufacturing machines. For instance, the one or more reference tables can define limits on the size, location, and/or dimensions of one or more product features in association with respective manufacturing techniques and/or manufacturing materials. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of geometric features that can be manufactured together, and/or combinations of geometric features and materials that are manufacturable, and/or combinations of manufacturing processes that are mutually compatible, and/or combinations of manufacturing processes and materials that are compatible. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include attributes related to the cost of a product such as labor cost, machine cost, material usage, material waste, and the like. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define methods to transport manufactured goods, the speed of those methods, and methods for storing parts in warehouses. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define methods to measure the dimensions, surface finish, color, or porosity of a material or manufactured good. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define environment impact such as emissions, carbon generated, water consumption, or other measures of environmental impact.”; ¶ 90 – “In various embodiments, the manufacturability component 504 can also generate one or more manufacturability scores to quantify the total amount of compatibility between the given digital product design and manufacturing details. For example, the manufacturability score can be a function of a numerical range characterizing the compatibility. For instance, the numerical range be from 0 to 100, where 0 can indicate the lowest amount of compatibility and 100 can indicate the highest amount of compatibility. The manufacturability component 508 can determine a respective score for each manufacturability consideration and can aggregate the plurality of scores to determine the overall manufacturability score. Additionally, the manufacturability considerations can be weighted based on their impact to the manufacturing quote. For example, the amount of compatibility associated with a first manufacturability consideration can have a more profound impact on the execution of the manufacturing quote than the amount of compatibility associated with a second manufacturability; thus, the first manufacturability consideration have been weighted more than the second manufacturability consideration in determining the overall manufacturability score. For instance, whether a chosen material can be employed with a chosen manufacturing technique can have a more profound impact on the execution of the manufacturing quote than color of the material, as the color of the material can be rendered irrelevant if the material cannot be employed.” Determining which materials are compatible and may be used in a manufacturing process, e.g., based on data from tables and on allowable emission thresholds, is an example of validating the allocation by verifying that the supply material or process-related supply to be attributed is part of a material exchange chain to the requested product.),
-- generating, by the production control processor (¶ 5 – “According to an embodiment, a computer-implemented method is provided. The computer-implemented method can comprise generating, by a system operatively coupled to a processor, a manufacturability report regarding a product design in relation to a manufacturing process. The manufacturability report can indicate whether a product feature included in the product design is permissible based on a plurality of manufacturing considerations associated with the manufacturing process.”), an operational instruction configured to influence production control by initiating or adjusting supply, production, or shipment operations of the product based on the allocation (¶ 29 – “Various embodiments of the present invention can be directed to computer processing systems, computer-implemented methods, apparatus and/or computer program products that facilitate the efficient, effective, and autonomous (e.g., without direct human guidance) product development that can integrate product design, production and/or fulfillment operations.”; ¶ 67 – “Moreover, the one or more manufacturing details can include post processing instructions such as: assembly instructions, packaging instructions, painting instructions, polishing instructions, heat treatment instructions, a combination thereof, and/or the like. Additionally, the one or more manufacturing details can include: a desired order quantity, desired fulfillment time, a desired fulfillment location (e.g., where to ship the manufactured product), a desired fulfillment date, a preferred shipping method, a combination thereof, and/or the like. Furthermore, the one or more manufacturing details can describe one or more relationships between different parts comprised within a digital product design (e.g., including fit and/or tolerances between respective parts).”; ¶ 5 – “The manufacturability report can indicate whether a product feature included in the product design is permissible based on a plurality of manufacturing considerations associated with the manufacturing process.”; ¶ 52 – “In one or more embodiments, the computation component 112 can reference data regarding particular manufacturing details and/or particular manufacturing detail combinations. For example, the data included in the one or more data repositories 108 can include past costs associated with one or more manufacturing materials, manufacturing facility 130 operations, labor, and/or shipping. In another example, the data included in the one or more data repositories 108 can include one or more references tables regarding manufacturing conditions (e.g., lead times, energy requirements, machining employed, tolerance values achieved) associated with one or more manufacturing processes and/or techniques. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include chemical and/or physical properties of various manufacturing materials that can be employed by one or more manufacturing processes and/or can be processed by the one or more manufacturing facilities 130. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of manufacturing techniques and manufacturing materials. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of manufacturing materials and surface finishing techniques. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include one or more operational capacities of respective manufacturing techniques and/or manufacturing machines. For instance, the one or more reference tables can define limits on the size, location, and/or dimensions of one or more product features in association with respective manufacturing techniques and/or manufacturing materials. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define compatible combinations of geometric features that can be manufactured together, and/or combinations of geometric features and materials that are manufacturable, and/or combinations of manufacturing processes that are mutually compatible, and/or combinations of manufacturing processes and materials that are compatible. In a further example, the one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can include attributes related to the cost of a product such as labor cost, machine cost, material usage, material waste, and the like. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define methods to transport manufactured goods, the speed of those methods, and methods for storing parts in warehouses. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define methods to measure the dimensions, surface finish, color, or porosity of a material or manufactured good. In a further example, one or more reference tables of the data repositories 108 can define environment impact such as emissions, carbon generated, water consumption, or other measures of environmental impact.”; ¶ 90 – “In various embodiments, the manufacturability component 504 can also generate one or more manufacturability scores to quantify the total amount of compatibility between the given digital product design and manufacturing details. For example, the manufacturability score can be a function of a numerical range characterizing the compatibility. For instance, the numerical range be from 0 to 100, where 0 can indicate the lowest amount of compatibility and 100 can indicate the highest amount of compatibility.”; ¶ 167 – “For example, if the one or more entities has a threshold for carbon emissions per product design unit that is not to be exceeded, the sustainability component 1903 can determine the material, manufacturing process, and other user inputs that will allow that target to be reached when manufacturing the given product design. The alternatives component 1908 (e.g., in conjunction with the sustainability component 1903) can also suggest modifications to the product design that can result in reduced emissions, water usage, or energy input. The product design modifications can be found by searching the historical database for geometries that are similar to the given product design but were made with lower emissions, water usage, or energy input.”; ¶ 169 – “In various embodiments, the user interface component 110 can present to the user the option to purchase a carbon offset. The carbon offset can be purchased through an online brokerage, or carbon offset service, or other carbon offset method. The carbon offset can be less than, equal to, or larger than the carbon emissions expected from manufacturing the user's order. The carbon offset can be configured to allow the user to reach a target emissions impact, which is the net of the manufacturing emissions minus the offset.”; ¶¶ 158-159, 164-167 – Various recommendations and scenarios, based on different trade-offs and required thresholds and impact targets, are output to a user for selection. The particular components used and quantity of products needed are incorporated into the related analyses and recommendations.)and
(c) an output for outputting the operational instruction (¶¶ 158-159, 164-167 – Various recommendations and scenarios, based on different trade-offs and required thresholds and impact targets, are output to a user for selection. The particular components used and quantity of products needed are incorporated into the related analyses and recommendations.; ¶¶ 29, 67 – Instructions related to the recommendations are generated.).
[Claim 15] King discloses wherein the input is a graphical user interface (¶ 62 – “In one or more embodiments, the one or more cost reports 314 generated by the cost report component 404 can be interactive via the one or more input devices 106 to display costs as a function of multiple different manufacturing details. FIGS. 13-15 depict example cost reports 314 that can be generated by the cost report component 404 and displayed via the user interface component 110.”; ¶ 194 – “A manufacturing characteristic can be selected (e.g., via the one or more input devices 106) from the plurality of manufacturing characteristics and added to the input data. For instance, one or more entities can utilize the user interface component 110 to define details of a manufacturing quote in accordance with the various embodiments described herein.”).
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 7 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over King et al. (US 2022/0214668), as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Slocum et al. (US 7,640,180).
[Claim 7] King does not explicitly disclose wherein the production of the product contains multiple production steps each of which convert input materials into output materials, wherein at least one process step yields two output materials which are used as input material in two separate process steps or at least one process step uses output material of two separate process steps as input material.
Slocum allows for manufacturers to contract with other manufacturers to provide and receive certain raw materials, intermediate products, by-products, and end-products (Slocum: col. 4: 8-15, 60-65). A process can yield two output materials, such as a first intermediate product and a first by-product, which may further be used in a second process and a third process, respectively (Slocum: col. 11: 57-64 – “Raw materials 202 and 204 are combined in a first process 206 into a first intermediate product 208. As a result of process 206, a first by-product 210 also forms. The first intermediate product 208 undergoes a second process 212 and is formed into a second intermediate product 214. A second by-product 216 is also formed during the second process 212. The second intermediate product 214 undergoes a third process 218 and is formed into end product 220.”).
The Examiner submits that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s invention to modify King wherein the production of the product contains multiple production steps each of which convert input materials into output materials, wherein at least one process step yields two output materials which are used as input material in two separate process steps or at least one process step uses output material of two separate process steps as input material in order to facilitate more efficient use of resources, which would help King minimize environmental impact. For example, Slocum explains, “It may also allow the system to take the contract terms into consideration during a demand planning process, which may help the manufacturer to more efficiently use the materials available under the contract and to take advantage of the contract terms to a greater extent.” (Slocum: col. 2: 53-58) Additional benefits of applying Slocum’s demand planning using exchanges to King are suggested by Slocum as follows: “Another advantage of certain embodiments of the invention is that the manufacturer may earn more money through the sale of intermediate products and by-products. The system may allow a manufacturer to more accurately predict the amounts of intermediate products and/or by-products that can be produced in a given time period, taking into account any products to be supplied to or received from one or more exchange balances. Using this improved forecast, the manufacturer may then, for example, use its sales and marketing personnel to generate demand for appropriate amounts of the intermediate product and by-product. This may allow the manufacturer to set more profitable prices or obtain other more favorable contract terms for the sale of those products.” (Slocum: col. 2: 59 – col. 3: 4)
[Claim 9] King discloses wherein the allocation includes validating whether the supply material or process-related supply to be attributed is part of a material exchange chain to the requested product (¶ 167 – “For example, if the one or more entities has a threshold for carbon emissions per product design unit that is not to be exceeded, the sustainability component 1903 can determine the material, manufacturing process, and other user inputs that will allow that target to be reached when manufacturing the given product design. The alternatives component 1908 (e.g., in conjunction with the sustainability component 1903) can also suggest modifications to the product design that can result in reduced emissions, water usage, or energy input. The product design modifications can be found by searching the historical database for geometries that are similar to the given product design but were made with lower emissions, water usage, or energy input.” ; ¶ 169 – “In various embodiments, the user interface component 110 can present to the user the option to purchase a carbon offset. The carbon offset can be purchased through an online brokerage, or carbon offset service, or other carbon offset method. The carbon offset can be less than, equal to, or larger than the carbon emissions expected from manufacturing the user's order. The carbon offset can be configured to allow the user to reach a target emissions impact, which is the net of the manufacturing emissions minus the offset.” The carbon and emissions are part of the material-exchange chain and they are linked to various manufacturing processes, thereby addressing the limitation in question. Validating and verifying merely involve some sort of check and/or determination of the accurate information. King looks up and confirms the information in question.).
King does not explicitly disclose wherein the allocation comprises verifying, from tracked transfer records for whether the supply material or process-related supply, that the supply material or process-related supply is linked to the requested product through one or more intermediate transformations and/or transfer in the material-exchange chain.
Slocum allows for manufacturers to contract with other manufacturers to provide and receive certain raw materials, intermediate products, by-products, and end-products (Slocum: col. 4: 8-15, 60-65). A process can yield two output materials, such as a first intermediate product and a first by-product, which may further be used in a second process and a third process, respectively (Slocum: col. 11: 57-64 – “Raw materials 202 and 204 are combined in a first process 206 into a first intermediate product 208. As a result of process 206, a first by-product 210 also forms. The first intermediate product 208 undergoes a second process 212 and is formed into a second intermediate product 214. A second by-product 216 is also formed during the second process 212. The second intermediate product 214 undergoes a third process 218 and is formed into end product 220.”).
The Examiner submits that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant’s invention to modify King wherein the allocation comprises verifying, from tracked transfer records for whether the supply material or process-related supply, that the supply material or process-related supply is linked to the requested product through one or more intermediate transformations and/or transfer in the material-exchange chain in order to facilitate more efficient use of resources, which would help King minimize environmental impact. For example, Slocum explains, “It may also allow the system to take the contract terms into consideration during a demand planning process, which may help the manufacturer to more efficiently use the materials available under the contract and to take advantage of the contract terms to a greater extent.” (Slocum: col. 2: 53-58) Additional benefits of applying Slocum’s demand planning using exchanges to King are suggested by Slocum as follows: “Another advantage of certain embodiments of the invention is that the manufacturer may earn more money through the sale of intermediate products and by-products. The system may allow a manufacturer to more accurately predict the amounts of intermediate products and/or by-products that can be produced in a given time period, taking into account any products to be supplied to or received from one or more exchange balances. Using this improved forecast, the manufacturer may then, for example, use its sales and marketing personnel to generate demand for appropriate amounts of the intermediate product and by-product. This may allow the manufacturer to set more profitable prices or obtain other more favorable contract terms for the sale of those products.” (Slocum: col. 2: 59 – col. 3: 4)
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 SUSANNA M DIAZ whose telephone number is (571)272-6733. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8 am-4:30 pm.
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/SUSANNA M. DIAZ/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3625A