DETAILED ACTION
This is a non-final Office Action on the merits in response to communications filed by Applicant on July 3th, 2024. Claims 1-15 and 17 are currently pending and examined below.
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 Amendment
The amendments to the Claims, filed July 3rd, 2024, have been entered. Claims 1-15 and 17 are currently amended and pending, and claim 16 has been canceled. The amendments to the Abstract, filed July 3rd, 2024, have been entered. The amendments to the Specifications, filed July 3rd, 2024, have been entered.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. CN202210004272.3, filed on 01/04/2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement(s) filed on 07/03/2024, 01/07/2025, 01/07/2025, 08/19/2025, 12/16/2025, and 12/28/2025 is/are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 5, 7-9, 12, 14, 15, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or (a)(2) as being anticipated by CN 112214015 A ("Liu").
Regarding claim 1, Liu teaches a computer-implemented method for controlling a self- moving device, comprising (Liu: Abstract, “The embodiment of the invention discloses a self-moving robot, a recharging method and system of the self-moving robot and a computer storage medium, and the method comprises the steps of enabling the self-moving robot to obtain a receiving signal, wherein the received signals comprise guide signals emitted by at least two guide signal emitters of the charging seat and identification signals emitted by identification signal emitters of the charging seat; determining a relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging seat according to the receiving signal; determining the moving speed of the self-moving robot according to the relative position; and moving at the moving speed to get close to the charging seat. Therefore, the self-moving robot in the embodiment of the invention can realize recharging control according to the received signal, does not need to construct and analyze a grid map in real time to analyze the position of the charging seat, does not need to set a moving track in advance, can simplify the operation process of recharging, and is more accurate and higher in real-time performance in a mode of guiding according to the signal.”, ¶ 0049, “Referring to an example of the top view of the charging dock shown in FIG1, the charging dock in this embodiment of the invention may also be referred to as a charging device, which may include a charging dock body 10, a first charging electrode 40, an identification signal transmitter 20 and at least two guide signal transmitters 30.”, ¶ 0070, “Referring to an example of a top view of a self-moving robot shown in Figure 3, the self-moving robot in this embodiment of the invention may include a robot body 11, a second charging electrode 12, and at least two signal receivers 13.”, ¶ 0071, “For example, a self-moving robot may also include a robot controller, a memory, a walking unit, a speed measurement unit, a timing unit, an energy storage unit, a charge and discharge management unit, etc.”):
during a homing procedure, determining a position of a fixed station, and moving toward the position of the fixed station (Liu: Figures 6 and 7, ¶ 0087, “Referring to Figure 6, when the self-moving robot determines that it needs to return to its charging station, it initiates the recharging state.”, ¶ 0090, “(1) If the location information of the charging dock is stored in the map information, the self-mobile robot can be navigated to the vicinity of the charging dock according to the map information. Specifically, during the navigation process, if the self-moving robot's battery level is detected to be below the shutdown threshold, the self-moving robot is controlled to stop at its current position and enter a sleep state.”, ¶ 0091, “(2) If the location information of the charging dock is not stored in the map information, the map is traversed to search for it until a signal is found, or until the battery of the self-moving robot is lower than the shutdown threshold, or until no signal is found after traversing all maps (e.g., the charging dock is not connected to the power supply, or the signal transmitter does not transmit a signal).”, ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base.”, ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0113, “For example, in S120, the relative position can be determined based on the changes in the received signal acquired as the self-moving robot moves, taking into account the Doppler effect and other factors. Optionally, the relative position can be further determined by combining the real-time distance detected by the distance sensor.”, ¶ 0114, “For example, the received signals can be stored in a signal queue; the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock can be determined based on the changes in the received signals over multiple consecutive cycles (such as 3 cycles or 5 cycles) in the signal queue.”, ¶ 0115, “In S120, the relative position can be determined based on the guide signal and/or identification signal. As an example, relative position can be determined based on changes in the identification signal. As another example, the relative position can be determined based on the change in the guiding signal emitted by one of the at least two signal transmitters (any one of T1 to T4 in Figure 2). As another example, the weighted sum or average of the multiple relative positions determined in the above examples can be used as the final determined relative position.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the system is configured to determine the position of the fixed station when returning to the station to recharge.);
collecting distance information between a current position and the position of the fixed station (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base.”, ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0113, “For example, in S120, the relative position can be determined based on the changes in the received signal acquired as the self-moving robot moves, taking into account the Doppler effect and other factors. Optionally, the relative position can be further determined by combining the real-time distance detected by the distance sensor.”, ¶ 0114, “For example, the received signals can be stored in a signal queue; the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock can be determined based on the changes in the received signals over multiple consecutive cycles (such as 3 cycles or 5 cycles) in the signal queue.”, ¶ 0115, “In S120, the relative position can be determined based on the guide signal and/or identification signal. As an example, relative position can be determined based on changes in the identification signal. As another example, the relative position can be determined based on the change in the guiding signal emitted by one of the at least two signal transmitters (any one of T1 to T4 in Figure 2). As another example, the weighted sum or average of the multiple relative positions determined in the above examples can be used as the final determined relative position.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the system is configured to determine distance information between the robot and the fixed station.); and
determining a device moving velocity matching the distance information and moving toward the position of the fixed station based on the device moving velocity, wherein the device moving velocity comprises a linear velocity or an angular velocity of the self-moving device (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0117, “For example, S130 may include: determining a normalized control deviation and a speed reference based on the relative position; and determining the movement speed of the self-moving robot based on the control deviation and the speed reference.”, ¶ 0119, “For example, the speed reference may include a linear speed reference and a turning radius reference, and the moving speed may include the moving linear speed and the moving turning radius. Determining the moving speed in S130 may include: determining the moving linear speed based on the linear speed reference, and determining the moving turning radius based on the turning radius reference and the control deviation, wherein the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the linear speed reference.”).
Regarding claim 3, Liu teaches wherein collecting the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station comprises: when the self-moving device moves into a range of a homing signal sent by the fixed station, measuring a distance from the self-moving device to the fixed station by using a distance measuring apparatus (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0113, “For example, in S120, the relative position can be determined based on the changes in the received signal acquired as the self-moving robot moves, taking into account the Doppler effect and other factors. Optionally, the relative position can be further determined by combining the real-time distance detected by the distance sensor.”. The cited passages clearly shows that when the signal is received from the charging station, the robot can detect the real-time position of the charging station using a distance sensor.).
Regarding claim 5, Liu teaches wherein after collecting the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station, the method further comprises: acquiring a distance threshold, and comparing the distance information with the distance threshold (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the robot is configured to acquire a signal from the charging station and, based on the received signal, determine if the distance is greater than a threshold distance.); and
when the distance information is greater than the distance threshold, continuously collecting distance information in real time, and comparing the distance information collected in real time with the distance threshold (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base.”, ¶ 0106, “For example, after S110, S120 to S140 can be repeatedly executed until the second charging electrode of the self-moving robot docks with the first charging electrode of the charging base, so that the self-moving robot is charged by the charging base.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the robot is configured to continuously receive a signal from the charging station and determine, based on the received signal, if the robot is within a first distance threshold to the charging station.); or
when the distance information is less than or equal to the distance threshold, determining the device moving velocity matching the distance information and moving toward the position of the fixed station based on the device moving velocity (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0112, “Thus, in this application, if the received signal does not include the identification signal, the device gradually approaches the charging dock at a first moving speed until the identification signal can be detected, that is, until the received signal includes both the guidance signal and the identification signal. Finally, S120 can be executed if "the received signal includes a guide signal and an identification signal". The first moving speed can be set relatively high. On the one hand, it can make the self-moving robot get closer to the charging dock as soon as possible. On the other hand, since the received signal does not include the identification signal, it means that the self-moving robot is far away from the charging dock. At this time, moving at a higher first moving speed will not cause collisions or other accidents, and can ensure the safety of the movement process.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the robot is configured to be controlled at a first speed when it is determined that the robot is at a distance greater than a first threshold distance from the charging station (i.e. either no signal has been received or only a guide signal has been received.) The robot is the configured to be control at a speed determined from the distance determined from the received signal when the robot is at a distance less than or equal to a threshold (i.e. when the received signal includes both a guide and identification signal).).
Regarding claim 7, Liu teaches wherein determining the device moving velocity matching the distance information comprises: acquiring a preset association relationship, wherein the preset association relationship comprises a plurality of sample distance intervals and sample device velocities each of which corresponds to a corresponding sample distance interval in the plurality of sample distance intervals (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”, ¶ 0132, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is a second speed reference, and the second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (represented as V02) and a second turning radius reference (represented as R02); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "approaching forward stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the second linear speed reference (V02), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the second turning radius reference (R02) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R02/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”, ¶ 0133, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is the third speed reference, and the third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (represented as V03) and the third turning radius reference (represented as R03); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "docking stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the third linear speed reference (V03), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the third turning radius reference (R03) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R03/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the system acquires a preset relationship between the velocity of the robot and the distance from the charging station. The cited passages clearly shows that the system is configured with a reference velocity associated with distances that are greater than a first distance threshold (i.e. the robot is beyond the signal range of the charging station or the robot is only receiving a guidance signal), a reference velocity associated with distances that indicating the robot is approaching the forward stage of the charging port, and a reference velocity associated with distances indicating that the robot is docking with the charging port. Therefore, the cited passages clearly shows that the system acquires a preset association between distance intervals and device speeds.);
querying a target sample distance interval which the distance information hits from the plurality of sample distance intervals, and determining a target sample device velocity corresponding to the target sample distance interval in the preset association relationship (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0112, “Thus, in this application, if the received signal does not include the identification signal, the device gradually approaches the charging dock at a first moving speed until the identification signal can be detected, that is, until the received signal includes both the guidance signal and the identification signal. Finally, S120 can be executed if "the received signal includes a guide signal and an identification signal". The first moving speed can be set relatively high. On the one hand, it can make the self-moving robot get closer to the charging dock as soon as possible. On the other hand, since the received signal does not include the identification signal, it means that the self-moving robot is far away from the charging dock. At this time, moving at a higher first moving speed will not cause collisions or other accidents, and can ensure the safety of the movement process.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”, ¶ 0132, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is a second speed reference, and the second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (represented as V02) and a second turning radius reference (represented as R02); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "approaching forward stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the second linear speed reference (V02), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the second turning radius reference (R02) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R02/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”, ¶ 0133, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is the third speed reference, and the third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (represented as V03) and the third turning radius reference (represented as R03); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "docking stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the third linear speed reference (V03), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the third turning radius reference (R03) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R03/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the system is configured to determine the distance to the charging port based on the received signal, and based on the distance to the charging port and acquire the reference velocities associated with that distance interval (i.e. if the distance indicates that the robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, the system acquires the reference velocity V01 associated with that distance range).); and
determining the target sample device velocity as the device moving velocity matching the distance information (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0112, “Thus, in this application, if the received signal does not include the identification signal, the device gradually approaches the charging dock at a first moving speed until the identification signal can be detected, that is, until the received signal includes both the guidance signal and the identification signal. Finally, S120 can be executed if "the received signal includes a guide signal and an identification signal". The first moving speed can be set relatively high. On the one hand, it can make the self-moving robot get closer to the charging dock as soon as possible. On the other hand, since the received signal does not include the identification signal, it means that the self-moving robot is far away from the charging dock. At this time, moving at a higher first moving speed will not cause collisions or other accidents, and can ensure the safety of the movement process.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the velocity of the robot is set based on the reference velocity associated with the current distance interval.).
Regarding claim 8, Liu teaches wherein the method further comprises: continuously collecting distance information between a current position and the position of the fixed station in real time or periodically (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0106, “For example, after S110, S120 to S140 can be repeatedly executed until the second charging electrode of the self-moving robot docks with the first charging electrode of the charging base, so that the self-moving robot is charged by the charging base.”, ¶ 0115, “In S120, the relative position can be determined based on the guide signal and/or identification signal. As an example, relative position can be determined based on changes in the identification signal. As another example, the relative position can be determined based on the change in the guiding signal emitted by one of the at least two signal transmitters (any one of T1 to T4 in Figure 2). As another example, the weighted sum or average of the multiple relative positions determined in the above examples can be used as the final determined relative position.”, ¶ 0136, “It is understood that S120 to S140 in this application can be executed repeatedly.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to continuously determine the distance between a robot and a charging port based on a received signal form the charging port continuously throughout the process of the robot moving towards and docking with the charging port.);
continuously determining a device moving velocity matching the distance information (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0106, “For example, after S110, S120 to S140 can be repeatedly executed until the second charging electrode of the self-moving robot docks with the first charging electrode of the charging base, so that the self-moving robot is charged by the charging base.”, ¶ 0115, “In S120, the relative position can be determined based on the guide signal and/or identification signal. As an example, relative position can be determined based on changes in the identification signal. As another example, the relative position can be determined based on the change in the guiding signal emitted by one of the at least two signal transmitters (any one of T1 to T4 in Figure 2). As another example, the weighted sum or average of the multiple relative positions determined in the above examples can be used as the final determined relative position.”, ¶ 0136, “It is understood that S120 to S140 in this application can be executed repeatedly.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to continuously determine the velocity of the robot continuously throughout the process of the robot moving towards and docking with the charging port.);
and moving toward the position of the fixed station based on the device moving velocity until an in-place switch is triggered or a power- on signal is received (Liu: ¶ 0047, “The charging dock can be used to charge a self-moving robot. The charging dock is provided with a first charging electrode, and the self-moving robot is provided with a second charging electrode. When the second charging electrode is connected to the first charging electrode, the charging dock can charge the self-moving robot.”, ¶ 0097, “If the self-moving robot is directly in front of the charging base, the second charging electrode of the self-moving robot can be connected to the first charging electrode of the charging base through the "docking phase" and "contact phase", and then enter the charging state, that is, the charging base charges the self-moving robot.”, ¶ 0106, “For example, after S110, S120 to S140 can be repeatedly executed until the second charging electrode of the self-moving robot docks with the first charging electrode of the charging base, so that the self-moving robot is charged by the charging base.”).
Regarding claim 9, Liu teaches an apparatus for controlling a self-moving device, comprising (Liu: Abstract, “The embodiment of the invention discloses a self-moving robot, a recharging method and system of the self-moving robot and a computer storage medium, and the method comprises the steps of enabling the self-moving robot to obtain a receiving signal, wherein the received signals comprise guide signals emitted by at least two guide signal emitters of the charging seat and identification signals emitted by identification signal emitters of the charging seat; determining a relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging seat according to the receiving signal; determining the moving speed of the self-moving robot according to the relative position; and moving at the moving speed to get close to the charging seat. Therefore, the self-moving robot in the embodiment of the invention can realize recharging control according to the received signal, does not need to construct and analyze a grid map in real time to analyze the position of the charging seat, does not need to set a moving track in advance, can simplify the operation process of recharging, and is more accurate and higher in real-time performance in a mode of guiding according to the signal.”, ¶ 0049, “Referring to an example of the top view of the charging dock shown in FIG1, the charging dock in this embodiment of the invention may also be referred to as a charging device, which may include a charging dock body 10, a first charging electrode 40, an identification signal transmitter 20 and at least two guide signal transmitters 30.”, ¶ 0070, “Referring to an example of a top view of a self-moving robot shown in Figure 3, the self-moving robot in this embodiment of the invention may include a robot body 11, a second charging electrode 12, and at least two signal receivers 13.”, ¶ 0071, “For example, a self-moving robot may also include a robot controller, a memory, a walking unit, a speed measurement unit, a timing unit, an energy storage unit, a charge and discharge management unit, etc.”):
memory storing program instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one hardware processor, direct the apparatus to (Liu: ¶ 0071, “For example, a self-moving robot may also include a robot controller, a memory, a walking unit, a speed measurement unit, a timing unit, an energy storage unit, a charge and discharge management unit, etc.”):
during a homing procedure, determine a position of a fixed station, and move the self-moving device toward the position of the fixed station (Liu: Figures 6 and 7, ¶ 0087, “Referring to Figure 6, when the self-moving robot determines that it needs to return to its charging station, it initiates the recharging state.”, ¶ 0090, “(1) If the location information of the charging dock is stored in the map information, the self-mobile robot can be navigated to the vicinity of the charging dock according to the map information. Specifically, during the navigation process, if the self-moving robot's battery level is detected to be below the shutdown threshold, the self-moving robot is controlled to stop at its current position and enter a sleep state.”, ¶ 0091, “(2) If the location information of the charging dock is not stored in the map information, the map is traversed to search for it until a signal is found, or until the battery of the self-moving robot is lower than the shutdown threshold, or until no signal is found after traversing all maps (e.g., the charging dock is not connected to the power supply, or the signal transmitter does not transmit a signal).”, ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base.”, ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0113, “For example, in S120, the relative position can be determined based on the changes in the received signal acquired as the self-moving robot moves, taking into account the Doppler effect and other factors. Optionally, the relative position can be further determined by combining the real-time distance detected by the distance sensor.”, ¶ 0114, “For example, the received signals can be stored in a signal queue; the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock can be determined based on the changes in the received signals over multiple consecutive cycles (such as 3 cycles or 5 cycles) in the signal queue.”, ¶ 0115, “In S120, the relative position can be determined based on the guide signal and/or identification signal. As an example, relative position can be determined based on changes in the identification signal. As another example, the relative position can be determined based on the change in the guiding signal emitted by one of the at least two signal transmitters (any one of T1 to T4 in Figure 2). As another example, the weighted sum or average of the multiple relative positions determined in the above examples can be used as the final determined relative position.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the system is configured to determine the position of the fixed station when returning to the station to recharge.);
collect distance information between a current position of the self-moving device and the position of the fixed station (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base.”, ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0113, “For example, in S120, the relative position can be determined based on the changes in the received signal acquired as the self-moving robot moves, taking into account the Doppler effect and other factors. Optionally, the relative position can be further determined by combining the real-time distance detected by the distance sensor.”, ¶ 0114, “For example, the received signals can be stored in a signal queue; the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock can be determined based on the changes in the received signals over multiple consecutive cycles (such as 3 cycles or 5 cycles) in the signal queue.”, ¶ 0115, “In S120, the relative position can be determined based on the guide signal and/or identification signal. As an example, relative position can be determined based on changes in the identification signal. As another example, the relative position can be determined based on the change in the guiding signal emitted by one of the at least two signal transmitters (any one of T1 to T4 in Figure 2). As another example, the weighted sum or average of the multiple relative positions determined in the above examples can be used as the final determined relative position.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the system is configured to determine distance information between the robot and the fixed station.); and
determine a device moving velocity matching the distance information and move the self-moving device toward the position of the fixed station based on the device moving velocity, wherein the device moving velocity comprises a linear velocity or an angular velocity of the self-moving device (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0117, “For example, S130 may include: determining a normalized control deviation and a speed reference based on the relative position; and determining the movement speed of the self-moving robot based on the control deviation and the speed reference.”, ¶ 0119, “For example, the speed reference may include a linear speed reference and a turning radius reference, and the moving speed may include the moving linear speed and the moving turning radius. Determining the moving speed in S130 may include: determining the moving linear speed based on the linear speed reference, and determining the moving turning radius based on the turning radius reference and the control deviation, wherein the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the linear speed reference.”).
Regarding claim 12, Liu teaches wherein the apparatus is further directed to: acquire a distance threshold, and compare the distance information with the distance threshold (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the robot is configured to acquire a signal from the charging station and, based on the received signal, determine if the distance is greater than a threshold distance.);
when the distance information is greater than the distance threshold, continuously collect distance information in real time, and compare the distance information collected in real time with the distance threshold (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base.”, ¶ 0106, “For example, after S110, S120 to S140 can be repeatedly executed until the second charging electrode of the self-moving robot docks with the first charging electrode of the charging base, so that the self-moving robot is charged by the charging base.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the robot is configured to continuously receive a signal from the charging station and determine, based on the received signal, if the robot is within a first distance threshold to the charging station.); and
when the distance information is less than or equal to the distance threshold, compute the device moving velocity matching the distance information, and move toward the position of the fixed station based on the device moving velocity (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0112, “Thus, in this application, if the received signal does not include the identification signal, the device gradually approaches the charging dock at a first moving speed until the identification signal can be detected, that is, until the received signal includes both the guidance signal and the identification signal. Finally, S120 can be executed if "the received signal includes a guide signal and an identification signal". The first moving speed can be set relatively high. On the one hand, it can make the self-moving robot get closer to the charging dock as soon as possible. On the other hand, since the received signal does not include the identification signal, it means that the self-moving robot is far away from the charging dock. At this time, moving at a higher first moving speed will not cause collisions or other accidents, and can ensure the safety of the movement process.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the robot is configured to be controlled at a first speed when it is determined that the robot is at a distance greater than a first threshold distance from the charging station (i.e. either no signal has been received or only a guide signal has been received.) The robot is the configured to be control at a speed determined from the distance determined from the received signal when the robot is at a distance less than or equal to a threshold (i.e. when the received signal includes both a guide and identification signal).).
Regarding claim 14, Liu teaches wherein the apparatus is further directed to: acquire a preset association relationship, wherein the preset association relationship comprises a plurality of sample distance intervals and sample device velocities each of which corresponds to a corresponding sample distance interval in the plurality of sample distance intervals (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”, ¶ 0132, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is a second speed reference, and the second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (represented as V02) and a second turning radius reference (represented as R02); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "approaching forward stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the second linear speed reference (V02), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the second turning radius reference (R02) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R02/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”, ¶ 0133, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is the third speed reference, and the third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (represented as V03) and the third turning radius reference (represented as R03); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "docking stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the third linear speed reference (V03), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the third turning radius reference (R03) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R03/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the system acquires a preset relationship between the velocity of the robot and the distance from the charging station. The cited passages clearly shows that the system is configured with a reference velocity associated with distances that are greater than a first distance threshold (i.e. the robot is beyond the signal range of the charging station or the robot is only receiving a guidance signal), a reference velocity associated with distances that indicating the robot is approaching the forward stage of the charging port, and a reference velocity associated with distances indicating that the robot is docking with the charging port. Therefore, the cited passages clearly shows that the system acquires a preset association between distance intervals and device speeds.);
query a target sample distance interval which the distance information hits from the plurality of sample distance intervals, and determine a target sample device velocity corresponding to the target sample distance interval in the preset association relationship (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0112, “Thus, in this application, if the received signal does not include the identification signal, the device gradually approaches the charging dock at a first moving speed until the identification signal can be detected, that is, until the received signal includes both the guidance signal and the identification signal. Finally, S120 can be executed if "the received signal includes a guide signal and an identification signal". The first moving speed can be set relatively high. On the one hand, it can make the self-moving robot get closer to the charging dock as soon as possible. On the other hand, since the received signal does not include the identification signal, it means that the self-moving robot is far away from the charging dock. At this time, moving at a higher first moving speed will not cause collisions or other accidents, and can ensure the safety of the movement process.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”, ¶ 0132, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is a second speed reference, and the second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (represented as V02) and a second turning radius reference (represented as R02); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "approaching forward stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the second linear speed reference (V02), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the second turning radius reference (R02) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R02/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”, ¶ 0133, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is the third speed reference, and the third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (represented as V03) and the third turning radius reference (represented as R03); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "docking stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the third linear speed reference (V03), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the third turning radius reference (R03) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R03/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the system is configured to determine the distance to the charging port based on the received signal, and based on the distance to the charging port and acquire the reference velocities associated with that distance interval (i.e. if the distance indicates that the robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, the system acquires the reference velocity V01 associated with that distance range).);
and use the target sample device velocity as the device moving velocity matching the distance information (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0112, “Thus, in this application, if the received signal does not include the identification signal, the device gradually approaches the charging dock at a first moving speed until the identification signal can be detected, that is, until the received signal includes both the guidance signal and the identification signal. Finally, S120 can be executed if "the received signal includes a guide signal and an identification signal". The first moving speed can be set relatively high. On the one hand, it can make the self-moving robot get closer to the charging dock as soon as possible. On the other hand, since the received signal does not include the identification signal, it means that the self-moving robot is far away from the charging dock. At this time, moving at a higher first moving speed will not cause collisions or other accidents, and can ensure the safety of the movement process.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the velocity of the robot is set based on the reference velocity associated with the current distance interval.).
Regarding claim 15, Liu teaches wherein the apparatus is further directed to: continuously collect distance information between a current position and the position of the fixed station in real time or periodically (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0106, “For example, after S110, S120 to S140 can be repeatedly executed until the second charging electrode of the self-moving robot docks with the first charging electrode of the charging base, so that the self-moving robot is charged by the charging base.”, ¶ 0115, “In S120, the relative position can be determined based on the guide signal and/or identification signal. As an example, relative position can be determined based on changes in the identification signal. As another example, the relative position can be determined based on the change in the guiding signal emitted by one of the at least two signal transmitters (any one of T1 to T4 in Figure 2). As another example, the weighted sum or average of the multiple relative positions determined in the above examples can be used as the final determined relative position.”, ¶ 0136, “It is understood that S120 to S140 in this application can be executed repeatedly.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to continuously determine the distance between a robot and a charging port based on a received signal form the charging port continuously throughout the process of the robot moving towards and docking with the charging port.),
continuously compute a device moving velocity matching the distance information (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0106, “For example, after S110, S120 to S140 can be repeatedly executed until the second charging electrode of the self-moving robot docks with the first charging electrode of the charging base, so that the self-moving robot is charged by the charging base.”, ¶ 0115, “In S120, the relative position can be determined based on the guide signal and/or identification signal. As an example, relative position can be determined based on changes in the identification signal. As another example, the relative position can be determined based on the change in the guiding signal emitted by one of the at least two signal transmitters (any one of T1 to T4 in Figure 2). As another example, the weighted sum or average of the multiple relative positions determined in the above examples can be used as the final determined relative position.”, ¶ 0136, “It is understood that S120 to S140 in this application can be executed repeatedly.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to continuously determine the velocity of the robot continuously throughout the process of the robot moving towards and docking with the charging port.),
and move toward the position of the fixed station based on the device moving velocity until an in-place switch is triggered or a power-on signal is received (Liu: ¶ 0047, “The charging dock can be used to charge a self-moving robot. The charging dock is provided with a first charging electrode, and the self-moving robot is provided with a second charging electrode. When the second charging electrode is connected to the first charging electrode, the charging dock can charge the self-moving robot.”, ¶ 0097, “If the self-moving robot is directly in front of the charging base, the second charging electrode of the self-moving robot can be connected to the first charging electrode of the charging base through the "docking phase" and "contact phase", and then enter the charging state, that is, the charging base charges the self-moving robot.”, ¶ 0106, “For example, after S110, S120 to S140 can be repeatedly executed until the second charging electrode of the self-moving robot docks with the first charging electrode of the charging base, so that the self-moving robot is charged by the charging base.”).
Regarding claim 17, Liu teaches a non-transitory computer-readable readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed by processor, the at least one hardware processor is directed to (Liu: Abstract, “The embodiment of the invention discloses a self-moving robot, a recharging method and system of the self-moving robot and a computer storage medium, and the method comprises the steps of enabling the self-moving robot to obtain a receiving signal, wherein the received signals comprise guide signals emitted by at least two guide signal emitters of the charging seat and identification signals emitted by identification signal emitters of the charging seat; determining a relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging seat according to the receiving signal; determining the moving speed of the self-moving robot according to the relative position; and moving at the moving speed to get close to the charging seat. Therefore, the self-moving robot in the embodiment of the invention can realize recharging control according to the received signal, does not need to construct and analyze a grid map in real time to analyze the position of the charging seat, does not need to set a moving track in advance, can simplify the operation process of recharging, and is more accurate and higher in real-time performance in a mode of guiding according to the signal.”, ¶ 0049, “Referring to an example of the top view of the charging dock shown in FIG1, the charging dock in this embodiment of the invention may also be referred to as a charging device, which may include a charging dock body 10, a first charging electrode 40, an identification signal transmitter 20 and at least two guide signal transmitters 30.”, ¶ 0070, “Referring to an example of a top view of a self-moving robot shown in Figure 3, the self-moving robot in this embodiment of the invention may include a robot body 11, a second charging electrode 12, and at least two signal receivers 13.”, ¶ 0071, “For example, a self-moving robot may also include a robot controller, a memory, a walking unit, a speed measurement unit, a timing unit, an energy storage unit, a charge and discharge management unit, etc.”):
during a homing procedure, determine a position of a fixed station, and move a self- moving device toward the position of the fixed station (Liu: Figures 6 and 7, ¶ 0087, “Referring to Figure 6, when the self-moving robot determines that it needs to return to its charging station, it initiates the recharging state.”, ¶ 0090, “(1) If the location information of the charging dock is stored in the map information, the self-mobile robot can be navigated to the vicinity of the charging dock according to the map information. Specifically, during the navigation process, if the self-moving robot's battery level is detected to be below the shutdown threshold, the self-moving robot is controlled to stop at its current position and enter a sleep state.”, ¶ 0091, “(2) If the location information of the charging dock is not stored in the map information, the map is traversed to search for it until a signal is found, or until the battery of the self-moving robot is lower than the shutdown threshold, or until no signal is found after traversing all maps (e.g., the charging dock is not connected to the power supply, or the signal transmitter does not transmit a signal).”, ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base.”, ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0113, “For example, in S120, the relative position can be determined based on the changes in the received signal acquired as the self-moving robot moves, taking into account the Doppler effect and other factors. Optionally, the relative position can be further determined by combining the real-time distance detected by the distance sensor.”, ¶ 0114, “For example, the received signals can be stored in a signal queue; the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock can be determined based on the changes in the received signals over multiple consecutive cycles (such as 3 cycles or 5 cycles) in the signal queue.”, ¶ 0115, “In S120, the relative position can be determined based on the guide signal and/or identification signal. As an example, relative position can be determined based on changes in the identification signal. As another example, the relative position can be determined based on the change in the guiding signal emitted by one of the at least two signal transmitters (any one of T1 to T4 in Figure 2). As another example, the weighted sum or average of the multiple relative positions determined in the above examples can be used as the final determined relative position.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the system is configured to determine the position of the fixed station when returning to the station to recharge.);
collect distance information between a current position of the self-moving device and the position of the fixed station (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base.”, ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0113, “For example, in S120, the relative position can be determined based on the changes in the received signal acquired as the self-moving robot moves, taking into account the Doppler effect and other factors. Optionally, the relative position can be further determined by combining the real-time distance detected by the distance sensor.”, ¶ 0114, “For example, the received signals can be stored in a signal queue; the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock can be determined based on the changes in the received signals over multiple consecutive cycles (such as 3 cycles or 5 cycles) in the signal queue.”, ¶ 0115, “In S120, the relative position can be determined based on the guide signal and/or identification signal. As an example, relative position can be determined based on changes in the identification signal. As another example, the relative position can be determined based on the change in the guiding signal emitted by one of the at least two signal transmitters (any one of T1 to T4 in Figure 2). As another example, the weighted sum or average of the multiple relative positions determined in the above examples can be used as the final determined relative position.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the system is configured to determine distance information between the robot and the fixed station.); and
determine a device moving velocity matching the distance information and direct the self-moving device to move toward the position of the fixed station based on the device moving velocity, wherein the device moving velocity comprises a linear velocity or an angular velocity of the self-moving device (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0117, “For example, S130 may include: determining a normalized control deviation and a speed reference based on the relative position; and determining the movement speed of the self-moving robot based on the control deviation and the speed reference.”, ¶ 0119, “For example, the speed reference may include a linear speed reference and a turning radius reference, and the moving speed may include the moving linear speed and the moving turning radius. Determining the moving speed in S130 may include: determining the moving linear speed based on the linear speed reference, and determining the moving turning radius based on the turning radius reference and the control deviation, wherein the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the linear speed reference.”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 2, 4, 10, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 112214015 A ("Liu") in view of CN 106877454 A ("Jiang").
Regarding claim 2, Liu teaches wherein determining the position of the fixed station during the homing procedure and moving toward the position of the fixed station comprises: collecting at least one fixed station signal (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base.”, ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to acquire a signal from the charging station.);
determining a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal of the at least one fixed station signal (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0113, “For example, in S120, the relative position can be determined based on the changes in the received signal acquired as the self-moving robot moves, taking into account the Doppler effect and other factors. Optionally, the relative position can be further determined by combining the real-time distance detected by the distance sensor.”, ¶ 0114, “For example, the received signals can be stored in a signal queue; the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock can be determined based on the changes in the received signals over multiple consecutive cycles (such as 3 cycles or 5 cycles) in the signal queue.”, ¶ 0115, “In S120, the relative position can be determined based on the guide signal and/or identification signal. As an example, relative position can be determined based on changes in the identification signal. As another example, the relative position can be determined based on the change in the guiding signal emitted by one of the at least two signal transmitters (any one of T1 to T4 in Figure 2). As another example, the weighted sum or average of the multiple relative positions determined in the above examples can be used as the final determined relative position.”); and
moving toward the position of the fixed station with a position indicated by the signal source as the position of the fixed station (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”).
Liu does not teach determining a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal strength of the at least one fixed station signal.
Jiang, in the same field of endeavor, teaches determining a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal strength of the at least one fixed station signal (Jiang: Abstract, “The embodiment of the invention provides a robot charging method and a robot charging device. The method comprises the steps of detecting a path pilot signal emitted by a charging pile and a real-time distance between a robot and the charging pile, if the electric quantity of the charging pile is lower than a preset threshold; and determining a moving direction according to the path pilot signal, and determining a moving speed according to the real-time distance, and controlling the robot to move to the charging pile at the moving speed along the moving direction. The moving speed of the robot is controlled during a process that the robot moves to the charging pile according to the distance between the robot and the charging pile, so that the defect that collision or low time efficiency may be caused by too fast or too slow moving speed can be overcome. Then a charging request including the electric quantity is sent to the charging pile in response to a butt-joint indication signal, so that the situation that the robot triggers a charging requirement is determined if the charging pile receives the charging request within preset time, the charging pile is triggered to charge the robot, and the security problem caused by the condition that the charging pile is mistakenly triggered for charging is solved.”, ¶ 0035, “Figure 1a is a flowchart of a robot charging method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The robot charging method provided in this embodiment can be executed by a robot charging device. The robot charging device can be implemented as software or as a combination of software and hardware. The robot charging device can be integrated into the robot. As shown in Figure 1a, the method includes the following steps:”, ¶ 0036, “Step 101: If the robot's battery level is lower than a preset threshold, detect the path guidance signal emitted by the charging pile and detect the real-time distance between the robot and the charging pile.”, ¶ 0037, “Step 102: Determine the walking direction based on the path guidance signal and the walking speed based on the real-time distance.”, ¶ 0038, “Step 103: Control the robot to walk towards the charging station by walking direction and speed.”, ¶ 0046, “Determining the walking direction based on the detected path guidance signals can be achieved by determining the walking direction based on the number and intensity of the detected path guidance signals. In the application scenario described above, the detection of path guidance signals refers to detecting the path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b respectively. The direction of travel can be determined based on whether the path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b can be detected simultaneously, or by further combining the signal strength of the detected path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b respectively.”, ¶ 0050, “Therefore, optionally, when path guidance signals emitted by infrared emitter a and infrared emitter b are detected simultaneously, the walking direction can be further determined based on the intensity of the two path guidance signals. Specifically, when path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b are detected simultaneously, the signal strength of the two path guidance signals is determined. If the signal strengths are equal, the walking direction is determined based on the robot's orientation at that time. Otherwise, if the signal strengths are not equal, the robot is further controlled to move. At the same time, it is determined whether the two path guidance signals can be detected simultaneously and whether their signal strengths are equal. The walking direction is determined based on the robot's orientation when the signal strengths are equal.”, ¶ 0074, “Step 205: Determine the robot's walking direction based on the number and strength of the detected path guidance signals.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to use the strength of a received signal when determining the signal source and position).
Liu teaches a computer-implemented method for controlling a self- moving device, comprising: wherein determining the position of the fixed station during the homing procedure and moving toward the position of the fixed station comprises: collecting at least one fixed station signal; determining a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal of the at least one fixed station signal; and moving toward the position of the fixed station with a position indicated by the signal source as the position of the fixed station. Liu does not teach determining a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal strength of the at least one fixed station signal. Jiang teaches determining a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal strength of the at least one fixed station signal. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have had the technological capabilities required to have modified the method taught in Liu with determining a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal strength of the at least one fixed station signal taught in Jiang. Furthermore, the method taught in Liu is already configured to determine the position of the charging station based on a received signal and determine the moving speed of the robot based, in part, on the received signal. As such, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to modify the method taught in Liu such that the signal source is determined using the signal strength of the received signal as taught in Jiang according to methods known in the art. Such a modification would not have changed or introduced new functionality to either. No inventive effort would have been required. The combination would have yielded the predictable result of a computer-implemented method for controlling a self- moving device, comprising: determining a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal strength of the at least one fixed station signal.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have combine the method taught in Liu with determining a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal strength of the at least one fixed station signal taught in Jiang with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the combination would have yielded predictable results.
Regarding claim 4, Liu teaches wherein collecting distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station comprises: acquiring a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognizing a specified signal of the specified fixed station signal (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base.”, ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0106, “For example, after S110, S120 to S140 can be repeatedly executed until the second charging electrode of the self-moving robot docks with the first charging electrode of the charging base, so that the self-moving robot is charged by the charging base.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to acquire a signal from the charging station. Additionally, the cited passages clearly shows that the robot is configured to repeatedly receive a signal and determine the distance to the charging station based on the received signal. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized from the cited passages that the system would capture the signal at its current position and determine the distance to the charging station with regards to its current position.); and
querying a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal, and using the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0113, “For example, in S120, the relative position can be determined based on the changes in the received signal acquired as the self-moving robot moves, taking into account the Doppler effect and other factors. Optionally, the relative position can be further determined by combining the real-time distance detected by the distance sensor.”, ¶ 0114, “For example, the received signals can be stored in a signal queue; the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock can be determined based on the changes in the received signals over multiple consecutive cycles (such as 3 cycles or 5 cycles) in the signal queue.”, ¶ 0115, “In S120, the relative position can be determined based on the guide signal and/or identification signal. As an example, relative position can be determined based on changes in the identification signal. As another example, the relative position can be determined based on the change in the guiding signal emitted by one of the at least two signal transmitters (any one of T1 to T4 in Figure 2). As another example, the weighted sum or average of the multiple relative positions determined in the above examples can be used as the final determined relative position.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to determine the distance to the charging station based on the received signal.).
Liu does not teach wherein collecting distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station comprises: acquiring a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognizing a specified signal strength of the specified fixed station signal; and
querying a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal strength, and using the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station.
Jiang, in the same field of endeavor, teaches collecting distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station comprises: acquiring a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognizing a specified signal strength of the specified fixed station signal (Jiang: Abstract, “The embodiment of the invention provides a robot charging method and a robot charging device. The method comprises the steps of detecting a path pilot signal emitted by a charging pile and a real-time distance between a robot and the charging pile, if the electric quantity of the charging pile is lower than a preset threshold; and determining a moving direction according to the path pilot signal, and determining a moving speed according to the real-time distance, and controlling the robot to move to the charging pile at the moving speed along the moving direction. The moving speed of the robot is controlled during a process that the robot moves to the charging pile according to the distance between the robot and the charging pile, so that the defect that collision or low time efficiency may be caused by too fast or too slow moving speed can be overcome. Then a charging request including the electric quantity is sent to the charging pile in response to a butt-joint indication signal, so that the situation that the robot triggers a charging requirement is determined if the charging pile receives the charging request within preset time, the charging pile is triggered to charge the robot, and the security problem caused by the condition that the charging pile is mistakenly triggered for charging is solved.”, ¶ 0035, “Figure 1a is a flowchart of a robot charging method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The robot charging method provided in this embodiment can be executed by a robot charging device. The robot charging device can be implemented as software or as a combination of software and hardware. The robot charging device can be integrated into the robot. As shown in Figure 1a, the method includes the following steps:”, ¶ 0036, “Step 101: If the robot's battery level is lower than a preset threshold, detect the path guidance signal emitted by the charging pile and detect the real-time distance between the robot and the charging pile.”, ¶ 0037, “Step 102: Determine the walking direction based on the path guidance signal and the walking speed based on the real-time distance.”, ¶ 0038, “Step 103: Control the robot to walk towards the charging station by walking direction and speed.”, ¶ 0046, “Determining the walking direction based on the detected path guidance signals can be achieved by determining the walking direction based on the number and intensity of the detected path guidance signals. In the application scenario described above, the detection of path guidance signals refers to detecting the path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b respectively. The direction of travel can be determined based on whether the path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b can be detected simultaneously, or by further combining the signal strength of the detected path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b respectively.”, ¶ 0050, “Therefore, optionally, when path guidance signals emitted by infrared emitter a and infrared emitter b are detected simultaneously, the walking direction can be further determined based on the intensity of the two path guidance signals. Specifically, when path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b are detected simultaneously, the signal strength of the two path guidance signals is determined. If the signal strengths are equal, the walking direction is determined based on the robot's orientation at that time. Otherwise, if the signal strengths are not equal, the robot is further controlled to move. At the same time, it is determined whether the two path guidance signals can be detected simultaneously and whether their signal strengths are equal. The walking direction is determined based on the robot's orientation when the signal strengths are equal.”, ¶ 0074, “Step 205: Determine the robot's walking direction based on the number and strength of the detected path guidance signals.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to use the strength of a received signal when determining the signal source and position); and
querying a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal strength, and using the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station (Jiang: .”, ¶ 0035, “Figure 1a is a flowchart of a robot charging method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The robot charging method provided in this embodiment can be executed by a robot charging device. The robot charging device can be implemented as software or as a combination of software and hardware. The robot charging device can be integrated into the robot. As shown in Figure 1a, the method includes the following steps:”, ¶ 0036, “Step 101: If the robot's battery level is lower than a preset threshold, detect the path guidance signal emitted by the charging pile and detect the real-time distance between the robot and the charging pile.”, ¶ 0037, “Step 102: Determine the walking direction based on the path guidance signal and the walking speed based on the real-time distance.”, ¶ 0038, “Step 103: Control the robot to walk towards the charging station by walking direction and speed.”, ¶ 0046, “Determining the walking direction based on the detected path guidance signals can be achieved by determining the walking direction based on the number and intensity of the detected path guidance signals. In the application scenario described above, the detection of path guidance signals refers to detecting the path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b respectively. The direction of travel can be determined based on whether the path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b can be detected simultaneously, or by further combining the signal strength of the detected path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b respectively.”, ¶ 0050, “Therefore, optionally, when path guidance signals emitted by infrared emitter a and infrared emitter b are detected simultaneously, the walking direction can be further determined based on the intensity of the two path guidance signals. Specifically, when path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b are detected simultaneously, the signal strength of the two path guidance signals is determined. If the signal strengths are equal, the walking direction is determined based on the robot's orientation at that time. Otherwise, if the signal strengths are not equal, the robot is further controlled to move. At the same time, it is determined whether the two path guidance signals can be detected simultaneously and whether their signal strengths are equal. The walking direction is determined based on the robot's orientation when the signal strengths are equal.”, ¶ 0074, “Step 205: Determine the robot's walking direction based on the number and strength of the detected path guidance signals.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to use the distance determined from the strength of a received signal as the distance to the charging station.).
Liu teaches a computer-implemented method for controlling a self- moving device, comprising: wherein collecting distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station comprises: acquiring a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognizing a specified signal of the specified fixed station signal; and querying a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal, and using the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station. Liu does not teach wherein collecting distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station comprises: acquiring a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognizing a specified signal strength of the specified fixed station signal; and querying a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal strength, and using the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station. Jiang teaches wherein collecting distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station comprises: acquiring a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognizing a specified signal strength of the specified fixed station signal; and querying a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal strength, and using the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have had the technological capabilities required to have modified the method taught in Liu with wherein collecting distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station comprises: acquiring a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognizing a specified signal strength of the specified fixed station signal; and querying a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal strength, and using the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station taught in Jiang. Furthermore, the method taught in Liu is already configured to determine the position of the charging station based on a received signal and determine the moving speed of the robot based, in part, on the received signal. As such, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to modify the method taught in Liu such that the distance to the signal source is determined using the signal strength of the received signal as taught in Jiang according to methods known in the art. Such a modification would not have changed or introduced new functionality to either. No inventive effort would have been required. The combination would have yielded the predictable result of a computer-implemented method for controlling a self- moving device, comprising: wherein collecting distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station comprises: acquiring a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognizing a specified signal strength of the specified fixed station signal; and querying a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal strength, and using the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have combine the method taught in Liu with wherein collecting distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station comprises: acquiring a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognizing a specified signal strength of the specified fixed station signal; and querying a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal strength, and using the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station taught in Jiang with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the combination would have yielded predictable results.
Regarding claim 10, Liu teaches wherein the apparatus is further directed to: collect at least one fixed station signal (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base.”, ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to acquire a signal from the charging station.);
determine a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal of the at least one fixed station signal (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0113, “For example, in S120, the relative position can be determined based on the changes in the received signal acquired as the self-moving robot moves, taking into account the Doppler effect and other factors. Optionally, the relative position can be further determined by combining the real-time distance detected by the distance sensor.”, ¶ 0114, “For example, the received signals can be stored in a signal queue; the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock can be determined based on the changes in the received signals over multiple consecutive cycles (such as 3 cycles or 5 cycles) in the signal queue.”, ¶ 0115, “In S120, the relative position can be determined based on the guide signal and/or identification signal. As an example, relative position can be determined based on changes in the identification signal. As another example, the relative position can be determined based on the change in the guiding signal emitted by one of the at least two signal transmitters (any one of T1 to T4 in Figure 2). As another example, the weighted sum or average of the multiple relative positions determined in the above examples can be used as the final determined relative position.”);
and move toward the position of the fixed station with a position indicated by the signal source as the position of the fixed station (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”).
Liu does not teach determine a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal strength of the at least one fixed station signal.
Jiang, in the same field of endeavor, teaches determine a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal strength of the at least one fixed station signal (Jiang: Abstract, “The embodiment of the invention provides a robot charging method and a robot charging device. The method comprises the steps of detecting a path pilot signal emitted by a charging pile and a real-time distance between a robot and the charging pile, if the electric quantity of the charging pile is lower than a preset threshold; and determining a moving direction according to the path pilot signal, and determining a moving speed according to the real-time distance, and controlling the robot to move to the charging pile at the moving speed along the moving direction. The moving speed of the robot is controlled during a process that the robot moves to the charging pile according to the distance between the robot and the charging pile, so that the defect that collision or low time efficiency may be caused by too fast or too slow moving speed can be overcome. Then a charging request including the electric quantity is sent to the charging pile in response to a butt-joint indication signal, so that the situation that the robot triggers a charging requirement is determined if the charging pile receives the charging request within preset time, the charging pile is triggered to charge the robot, and the security problem caused by the condition that the charging pile is mistakenly triggered for charging is solved.”, ¶ 0035, “Figure 1a is a flowchart of a robot charging method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The robot charging method provided in this embodiment can be executed by a robot charging device. The robot charging device can be implemented as software or as a combination of software and hardware. The robot charging device can be integrated into the robot. As shown in Figure 1a, the method includes the following steps:”, ¶ 0036, “Step 101: If the robot's battery level is lower than a preset threshold, detect the path guidance signal emitted by the charging pile and detect the real-time distance between the robot and the charging pile.”, ¶ 0037, “Step 102: Determine the walking direction based on the path guidance signal and the walking speed based on the real-time distance.”, ¶ 0038, “Step 103: Control the robot to walk towards the charging station by walking direction and speed.”, ¶ 0046, “Determining the walking direction based on the detected path guidance signals can be achieved by determining the walking direction based on the number and intensity of the detected path guidance signals. In the application scenario described above, the detection of path guidance signals refers to detecting the path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b respectively. The direction of travel can be determined based on whether the path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b can be detected simultaneously, or by further combining the signal strength of the detected path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b respectively.”, ¶ 0050, “Therefore, optionally, when path guidance signals emitted by infrared emitter a and infrared emitter b are detected simultaneously, the walking direction can be further determined based on the intensity of the two path guidance signals. Specifically, when path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b are detected simultaneously, the signal strength of the two path guidance signals is determined. If the signal strengths are equal, the walking direction is determined based on the robot's orientation at that time. Otherwise, if the signal strengths are not equal, the robot is further controlled to move. At the same time, it is determined whether the two path guidance signals can be detected simultaneously and whether their signal strengths are equal. The walking direction is determined based on the robot's orientation when the signal strengths are equal.”, ¶ 0074, “Step 205: Determine the robot's walking direction based on the number and strength of the detected path guidance signals.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to use the strength of a received signal when determining the signal source and position).
Liu teaches an apparatus for controlling a self-moving device, comprising: wherein the apparatus is further directed to: collect at least one fixed station signal; determine a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal of the at least one fixed station signal; and move toward the position of the fixed station with a position indicated by the signal source as the position of the fixed station. Liu does not teach determine a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal strength of the at least one fixed station signal. Jiang teaches determine a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal strength of the at least one fixed station signal. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have had the technological capabilities required to have modified the method taught in Liu with determine a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal strength of the at least one fixed station signal taught in Jiang. Furthermore, the system taught in Liu is already configured to determine the position of the charging station based on a received signal and determine the moving speed of the robot based, in part, on the received signal. As such, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to modify the system taught in Liu such that the signal source is determined using the signal strength of the received signal as taught in Jiang according to methods known in the art. Such a modification would not have changed or introduced new functionality to either. No inventive effort would have been required. The combination would have yielded the predictable result of an apparatus for controlling a self-moving device, comprising: determine a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal strength of the at least one fixed station signal.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have combine the method taught in Liu with determine a signal source of the at least one fixed station signal based on a signal strength of the at least one fixed station signal taught in Jiang with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the combination would have yielded predictable results.
Regarding claim 11, Liu teaches wherein the apparatus is further directed to: acquire a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognize a specified signal of the specified fixed station signal (Liu: ¶ 0093, “Next, after the self-mobile robot detects the signal, it determines whether the received signal includes an identification signal.”, ¶ 0094, “(a) If it is determined that the received signal does not include the identification signal, that is, the received signal only contains the pilot signal. This means that if the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is greater than the first distance, the self-moving robot can be guided to move towards the charging dock until it can receive the identification signal. It is understandable that movement can be made based on the received guidance signal, for example, moving in the direction where the guidance signal strength increases, or moving in the direction where the guidance signal emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center can be received.”, ¶ 0095, “(b) If it is determined that the received signal includes an identification signal, it means that the distance between the self-moving robot and the charging dock is less than or equal to the first distance. Furthermore, it can be determined whether the self-moving robot is located directly in front of the charging base. For example, it can detect whether it can receive the guidance signals emitted by the first and second guidance signal transmitters near the center, thereby determining the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging base.”, ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0106, “For example, after S110, S120 to S140 can be repeatedly executed until the second charging electrode of the self-moving robot docks with the first charging electrode of the charging base, so that the self-moving robot is charged by the charging base.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to acquire a signal from the charging station. Additionally, the cited passages clearly shows that the robot is configured to repeatedly receive a signal and determine the distance to the charging station based on the received signal. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized from the cited passages that the system would capture the signal at its current position and determine the distance to the charging station with regards to its current position.);
and query a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal, and determine the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0113, “For example, in S120, the relative position can be determined based on the changes in the received signal acquired as the self-moving robot moves, taking into account the Doppler effect and other factors. Optionally, the relative position can be further determined by combining the real-time distance detected by the distance sensor.”, ¶ 0114, “For example, the received signals can be stored in a signal queue; the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock can be determined based on the changes in the received signals over multiple consecutive cycles (such as 3 cycles or 5 cycles) in the signal queue.”, ¶ 0115, “In S120, the relative position can be determined based on the guide signal and/or identification signal. As an example, relative position can be determined based on changes in the identification signal. As another example, the relative position can be determined based on the change in the guiding signal emitted by one of the at least two signal transmitters (any one of T1 to T4 in Figure 2). As another example, the weighted sum or average of the multiple relative positions determined in the above examples can be used as the final determined relative position.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to determine the distance to the charging station based on the received signal.).
Liu does not teach wherein the apparatus is further directed to: acquire a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognize a specified signal strength of the specified fixed station signal;
and query a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal strength, and determine the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station.
Jiang, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the apparatus is further directed to: acquire a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognize a specified signal strength of the specified fixed station signal (Jiang: Abstract, “The embodiment of the invention provides a robot charging method and a robot charging device. The method comprises the steps of detecting a path pilot signal emitted by a charging pile and a real-time distance between a robot and the charging pile, if the electric quantity of the charging pile is lower than a preset threshold; and determining a moving direction according to the path pilot signal, and determining a moving speed according to the real-time distance, and controlling the robot to move to the charging pile at the moving speed along the moving direction. The moving speed of the robot is controlled during a process that the robot moves to the charging pile according to the distance between the robot and the charging pile, so that the defect that collision or low time efficiency may be caused by too fast or too slow moving speed can be overcome. Then a charging request including the electric quantity is sent to the charging pile in response to a butt-joint indication signal, so that the situation that the robot triggers a charging requirement is determined if the charging pile receives the charging request within preset time, the charging pile is triggered to charge the robot, and the security problem caused by the condition that the charging pile is mistakenly triggered for charging is solved.”, ¶ 0035, “Figure 1a is a flowchart of a robot charging method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The robot charging method provided in this embodiment can be executed by a robot charging device. The robot charging device can be implemented as software or as a combination of software and hardware. The robot charging device can be integrated into the robot. As shown in Figure 1a, the method includes the following steps:”, ¶ 0036, “Step 101: If the robot's battery level is lower than a preset threshold, detect the path guidance signal emitted by the charging pile and detect the real-time distance between the robot and the charging pile.”, ¶ 0037, “Step 102: Determine the walking direction based on the path guidance signal and the walking speed based on the real-time distance.”, ¶ 0038, “Step 103: Control the robot to walk towards the charging station by walking direction and speed.”, ¶ 0046, “Determining the walking direction based on the detected path guidance signals can be achieved by determining the walking direction based on the number and intensity of the detected path guidance signals. In the application scenario described above, the detection of path guidance signals refers to detecting the path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b respectively. The direction of travel can be determined based on whether the path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b can be detected simultaneously, or by further combining the signal strength of the detected path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b respectively.”, ¶ 0050, “Therefore, optionally, when path guidance signals emitted by infrared emitter a and infrared emitter b are detected simultaneously, the walking direction can be further determined based on the intensity of the two path guidance signals. Specifically, when path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b are detected simultaneously, the signal strength of the two path guidance signals is determined. If the signal strengths are equal, the walking direction is determined based on the robot's orientation at that time. Otherwise, if the signal strengths are not equal, the robot is further controlled to move. At the same time, it is determined whether the two path guidance signals can be detected simultaneously and whether their signal strengths are equal. The walking direction is determined based on the robot's orientation when the signal strengths are equal.”, ¶ 0074, “Step 205: Determine the robot's walking direction based on the number and strength of the detected path guidance signals.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to use the strength of a received signal when determining the signal source and position); and
query a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal strength, and determine the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station (Jiang: .”, ¶ 0035, “Figure 1a is a flowchart of a robot charging method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The robot charging method provided in this embodiment can be executed by a robot charging device. The robot charging device can be implemented as software or as a combination of software and hardware. The robot charging device can be integrated into the robot. As shown in Figure 1a, the method includes the following steps:”, ¶ 0036, “Step 101: If the robot's battery level is lower than a preset threshold, detect the path guidance signal emitted by the charging pile and detect the real-time distance between the robot and the charging pile.”, ¶ 0037, “Step 102: Determine the walking direction based on the path guidance signal and the walking speed based on the real-time distance.”, ¶ 0038, “Step 103: Control the robot to walk towards the charging station by walking direction and speed.”, ¶ 0046, “Determining the walking direction based on the detected path guidance signals can be achieved by determining the walking direction based on the number and intensity of the detected path guidance signals. In the application scenario described above, the detection of path guidance signals refers to detecting the path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b respectively. The direction of travel can be determined based on whether the path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b can be detected simultaneously, or by further combining the signal strength of the detected path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b respectively.”, ¶ 0050, “Therefore, optionally, when path guidance signals emitted by infrared emitter a and infrared emitter b are detected simultaneously, the walking direction can be further determined based on the intensity of the two path guidance signals. Specifically, when path guidance signals emitted by infrared transmitters a and b are detected simultaneously, the signal strength of the two path guidance signals is determined. If the signal strengths are equal, the walking direction is determined based on the robot's orientation at that time. Otherwise, if the signal strengths are not equal, the robot is further controlled to move. At the same time, it is determined whether the two path guidance signals can be detected simultaneously and whether their signal strengths are equal. The walking direction is determined based on the robot's orientation when the signal strengths are equal.”, ¶ 0074, “Step 205: Determine the robot's walking direction based on the number and strength of the detected path guidance signals.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that the system is configured to use the distance determined from the strength of a received signal as the distance to the charging station.).
Liu teaches an apparatus for controlling a self-moving device, comprising: wherein the apparatus is further directed to: acquire a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognize a specified signal of the specified fixed station signal; and query a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal, and determine the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station. Liu does not teach wherein the apparatus is further directed to: acquire a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognize a specified signal strength of the specified fixed station signal; and query a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal strength, and determine the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station. Jiang teaches wherein the apparatus is further directed to: acquire a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognize a specified signal strength of the specified fixed station signal; and query a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal strength, and determine the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have had the technological capabilities required to have modified the system taught in Liu with wherein the apparatus is further directed to: acquire a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognize a specified signal strength of the specified fixed station signal; and query a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal strength, and determine the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station taught in Jiang. Furthermore, the system taught in Liu is already configured to determine the position of the charging station based on a received signal and determine the moving speed of the robot based, in part, on the received signal. As such, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to modify the method taught in Liu such that the distance to the signal source is determined using the signal strength of the received signal as taught in Jiang according to methods known in the art. Such a modification would not have changed or introduced new functionality to either. No inventive effort would have been required. The combination would have yielded the predictable result of an apparatus for controlling a self-moving device, comprising: wherein the apparatus is further directed to: acquire a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognize a specified signal strength of the specified fixed station signal; and query a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal strength, and determine the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have combine the system taught in Liu with wherein the apparatus is further directed to: acquire a specified fixed station signal collected at the current position, and recognize a specified signal strength of the specified fixed station signal; and query a transmission distance corresponding to the specified signal strength, and determine the transmission distance as the distance information between the current position and the position of the fixed station taught in Jiang with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the combination would have yielded predictable results.
Claim(s) 6 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 112214015 A ("Liu") in view of CN 112838462 A ("Zheng").
Regarding claim 6, Liu teaches wherein determining the device moving velocity matching the distance information comprises: determining a preset velocity computation parameter (Liu: ¶ 0117, “For example, S130 may include: determining a normalized control deviation and a speed reference based on the relative position; and determining the movement speed of the self-moving robot based on the control deviation and the speed reference.”, ¶ 0119, “For example, the speed reference may include a linear speed reference and a turning radius reference, and the moving speed may include the moving linear speed and the moving turning radius. Determining the moving speed in S130 may include: determining the moving linear speed based on the linear speed reference, and determining the moving turning radius based on the turning radius reference and the control deviation, wherein the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the linear speed reference.”, ¶ 0120, “The normalized control deviation can range from -1 to 1, i.e., the interval [-1, 1]. In other words, the absolute value of the control deviation ranges from 0 to 1. S130 Determining the normalized control deviation may include: if the angle between the line connecting the relative position indicator centers and the first direction is an acute angle, then the control deviation is a positive value. If the relative position indicates that the angle between the center line and the first direction is a right angle, then the control deviation is zero. If the relative position indicates that the angle between the center line and the first direction is an obtuse angle, then the control deviation is negative. The center line is the line connecting the center of the self-moving robot and the center of the charging base.”),
and using an acquired computation result as the device moving velocity matching the distance information (Liu, ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0117, “For example, S130 may include: determining a normalized control deviation and a speed reference based on the relative position; and determining the movement speed of the self-moving robot based on the control deviation and the speed reference.”, ¶ 0118, “Therefore, in this embodiment of the invention, the moving speed of the self-moving robot can be adjusted according to the control deviation without the need to preset the moving trajectory, which reduces the occupation of storage space. Moreover, the adjustment method is simple, does not require complex algorithms, and is easy to implement.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”, ¶ 0132, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is a second speed reference, and the second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (represented as V02) and a second turning radius reference (represented as R02); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "approaching forward stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the second linear speed reference (V02), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the second turning radius reference (R02) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R02/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”, ¶ 0133, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is the third speed reference, and the third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (represented as V03) and the third turning radius reference (represented as R03); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "docking stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the third linear speed reference (V03), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the third turning radius reference (R03) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R03/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that a velocity computation parameter (i.e. the control deviation) is calculated. This parameter is then used to calculate the turning radius for the robot. wherein the angular velocity is defined as the linear velocity divided by the turning radius. Therefore, the angular velocity of the robot is clearly determined based on the velocity computation parameter. Additionally, this angular velocity is used to control the robot.),
wherein the current device velocity is a current angular velocity or a linear velocity of the self-moving device (Liu: ¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the current velocity of the robot comprises both the linear and angular velocity of the robot.),
and the preset velocity computation parameter indicates a strategy for performing reduction adjustment on the current device velocity based on the distance information (Liu: ¶ 0117, “For example, S130 may include: determining a normalized control deviation and a speed reference based on the relative position; and determining the movement speed of the self-moving robot based on the control deviation and the speed reference.”, ¶ 0119, “For example, the speed reference may include a linear speed reference and a turning radius reference, and the moving speed may include the moving linear speed and the moving turning radius. Determining the moving speed in S130 may include: determining the moving linear speed based on the linear speed reference, and determining the moving turning radius based on the turning radius reference and the control deviation, wherein the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the linear speed reference.”, ¶ 0120, “The normalized control deviation can range from -1 to 1, i.e., the interval [-1, 1]. In other words, the absolute value of the control deviation ranges from 0 to 1. S130 Determining the normalized control deviation may include: if the angle between the line connecting the relative position indicator centers and the first direction is an acute angle, then the control deviation is a positive value. If the relative position indicates that the angle between the center line and the first direction is a right angle, then the control deviation is zero. If the relative position indicates that the angle between the center line and the first direction is an obtuse angle, then the control deviation is negative. The center line is the line connecting the center of the self-moving robot and the center of the charging base.”, ¶ 0132, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is a second speed reference, and the second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (represented as V02) and a second turning radius reference (represented as R02); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "approaching forward stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the second linear speed reference (V02), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the second turning radius reference (R02) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R02/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”, ¶ 0133, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is the third speed reference, and the third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (represented as V03) and the third turning radius reference (represented as R03); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "docking stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the third linear speed reference (V03), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the third turning radius reference (R03) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R03/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the velocity computation parameter (i.e. the control deviation) is used to calculate the turning radius which is then used to determine the angular velocity. Additionally, the cited passages clearly shows that the computation parameter is determined such that the angular deviation of the robot with respect to the charging station is taken into account (i.e. if the robot is deviating to the right the parameter is negative, if the robot is deviating to the left the parameter is positive, and is the deviation is substantially small the parameter is 0.). One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the parameter is used to determine the direction of rotation for the angular velocity and therefore includes information regarding a reduction adjustment of the velocity.); or
determining a preset velocity adjustment formula (Liu: ¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”, ¶ 0132, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is a second speed reference, and the second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (represented as V02) and a second turning radius reference (represented as R02); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "approaching forward stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the second linear speed reference (V02), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the second turning radius reference (R02) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R02/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”, ¶ 0133, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is the third speed reference, and the third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (represented as V03) and the third turning radius reference (represented as R03); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "docking stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the third linear speed reference (V03), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the third turning radius reference (R03) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R03/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the angular velocity is determined using the formula V/R where V is the linear velocity and R is the turning radius. Furthermore, the turning radius is defined by the equation -alphaXR0/theta wherein R0 is a reference turning angle, alpha is a constant and theta is a velocity computation parameter. Therefore, the velocity of the robot is clearly determined according to a predetermined equation.),
and using an acquired computation result as the device moving velocity matching the distance information (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0117, “For example, S130 may include: determining a normalized control deviation and a speed reference based on the relative position; and determining the movement speed of the self-moving robot based on the control deviation and the speed reference.”, ¶ 0118, “Therefore, in this embodiment of the invention, the moving speed of the self-moving robot can be adjusted according to the control deviation without the need to preset the moving trajectory, which reduces the occupation of storage space. Moreover, the adjustment method is simple, does not require complex algorithms, and is easy to implement.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”, ¶ 0132, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is a second speed reference, and the second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (represented as V02) and a second turning radius reference (represented as R02); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "approaching forward stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the second linear speed reference (V02), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the second turning radius reference (R02) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R02/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”, ¶ 0133, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is the third speed reference, and the third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (represented as V03) and the third turning radius reference (represented as R03); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "docking stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the third linear speed reference (V03), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the third turning radius reference (R03) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R03/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the angular velocity is used to control the robot.),
wherein the preset velocity adjustment formula indicates a linear or non-linear adjustment relationship between the distance information and the current device velocity (¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”, ¶ 0132, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is a second speed reference, and the second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (represented as V02) and a second turning radius reference (represented as R02); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "approaching forward stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the second linear speed reference (V02), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the second turning radius reference (R02) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R02/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”, ¶ 0133, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is the third speed reference, and the third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (represented as V03) and the third turning radius reference (represented as R03); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "docking stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the third linear speed reference (V03), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the third turning radius reference (R03) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R03/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”. The equations used to determine the angular velocity is clearly a linear equation.).
Liu does not teach acquiring a current device velocity of the self-moving device,
performing computation on the distance information and the current device velocity based on the preset velocity computation parameter,
inputting the current device velocity and the distance information into the preset velocity adjustment formula for computation.
Zheng, in the same field of endeavor, teaches acquiring a current device velocity of the self-moving device (Zheng: Abstract, “The invention provides a method for controlling connection between a mobile device and a charging interface. The method comprises the following steps: controlling the mobile device to execute an adjustment operation until a vertical distance between the mobile device and a charging interface is less than a first threshold value and an included angle between a first orientation of the mobile device and a second orientation of the charging interface is less than a second threshold value or greater than a third threshold value, wherein, the vertical distance is the distance in the direction vertical to the second orientation; and based on the horizontal distance between the mobile device and the charging interface, moving the mobile device towards the charging interface until the mobile device is connected with the charging interface, and the horizontal distance is the distance in the second orientation direction. The step of controlling the mobile device to execute the adjustment operation comprises repeatedly executing the following operations: obtaining the position and the first orientation of the mobile device; determining a vertical distance based on the position, and determining an included angle based on the first orientation; determining a rotation speed of the mobile device based on the vertical distance and the included angle; and controlling the mobile device to move based on the rotation speed.”, ¶ 0036, “The method includes controlling the mobile device to perform adjustment operations and controlling the mobile device to move toward the charging port. The process of controlling the mobile device to perform an adjustment operation can be to adjust the orientation of the mobile device until the vertical distance between the mobile device and the charging port is less than a first threshold and the angle between the first orientation of the mobile device and the second orientation of the charging port is less than a second threshold, wherein the vertical distance is the distance in the direction perpendicular to the second orientation. … . Controlling a mobile device to perform adjustment operations includes repeatedly performing the following operations: obtaining the position and first orientation of the mobile device; determining a vertical distance based on the position and an angle based on the first orientation; determining the rotational speed of the mobile device based on the vertical distance and the angle; and controlling the movement of the mobile device based on the rotational speed.”, ¶ 0079, “In operation S2311, the direction of the current linear velocity of the mobile device is determined. For example, it can determine whether the current linear velocity of the mobile device is towards or away from the charging port.”, ¶ 0080, “In operation S2312, the linear velocity of the mobile device is determined based on its position and the direction of the current linear velocity.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the current liner velocity of the robot is obtained.),
performing computation on the distance information and the current device velocity based on the preset velocity computation parameter (Zheng: ¶ 0008, “According to embodiments of this disclosure, determining the rotational speed of the mobile device based on linear velocity, vertical distance, and included angle includes:” See corresponding equation, ¶ 0009, “Where v represents linear velocity, .<sub>rc</sub> represents the included angle, y<sub>rc</sub> represents vertical distance, and k<sub>1</sub> and k<sub>2</sub> are variable coefficients.”, ¶ 0079, “In operation S2311, the direction of the current linear velocity of the mobile device is determined. For example, it can determine whether the current linear velocity of the mobile device is towards or away from the charging port.”, ¶ 0080, “In operation S2312, the linear velocity of the mobile device is determined based on its position and the direction of the current linear velocity.”, ¶ 0084, “In operation S2313, the rotational speed of the mobile device is determined based on linear velocity, vertical distance, and included angle.”, ¶ 0085, “According to embodiments of this disclosure, for example, when the device interface for connecting to the charging interface in a mobile device is located on the back of the mobile device, the rotation speed w can be determined by formula (a).”, ¶ 0087, “Where v represents linear velocity, .<sub>rc</sub> represents the included angle, y<sub>rc</sub> represents vertical distance, and k<sub>1</sub> and k<sub>2</sub> are variable coefficients.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the angular velocity of the robot is calculated based on the current linear velocity, the determined distance, and a preset parameter.),
inputting the current device velocity and the distance information into the preset velocity adjustment formula for computation (Zheng: ¶ 0008, “According to embodiments of this disclosure, determining the rotational speed of the mobile device based on linear velocity, vertical distance, and included angle includes:” See corresponding equation, ¶ 0009, “Where v represents linear velocity, .<sub>rc</sub> represents the included angle, y<sub>rc</sub> represents vertical distance, and k<sub>1</sub> and k<sub>2</sub> are variable coefficients.”, ¶ 0079, “In operation S2311, the direction of the current linear velocity of the mobile device is determined. For example, it can determine whether the current linear velocity of the mobile device is towards or away from the charging port.”, ¶ 0080, “In operation S2312, the linear velocity of the mobile device is determined based on its position and the direction of the current linear velocity.”, ¶ 0084, “In operation S2313, the rotational speed of the mobile device is determined based on linear velocity, vertical distance, and included angle.”, ¶ 0085, “According to embodiments of this disclosure, for example, when the device interface for connecting to the charging interface in a mobile device is located on the back of the mobile device, the rotation speed w can be determined by formula (a).”, ¶ 0087, “Where v represents linear velocity, .<sub>rc</sub> represents the included angle, y<sub>rc</sub> represents vertical distance, and k<sub>1</sub> and k<sub>2</sub> are variable coefficients.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the current linear velocity and the distance information are input into the equation to determine the angular velocity.).
Liu teaches wherein determining the device moving velocity matching the distance information comprises: determining a preset velocity computation parameter, and using an acquired computation result as the device moving velocity matching the distance information, wherein the current device velocity is a current angular velocity or a linear velocity of the self-moving device, and the preset velocity computation parameter indicates a strategy for performing reduction adjustment on the current device velocity based on the distance information; or determining a preset velocity adjustment formula, and using an acquired computation result as the device moving velocity matching the distance information, wherein the preset velocity adjustment formula indicates a linear or non-linear adjustment relationship between the distance information and the current device velocity. Liu does not teach acquiring a current device velocity of the self-moving device, performing computation on the distance information and the current device velocity based on the preset velocity computation parameter, inputting the current device velocity and the distance information into the preset velocity adjustment formula for computation. Zheng teaches acquiring a current device velocity of the self-moving device, performing computation on the distance information and the current device velocity based on the preset velocity computation parameter, inputting the current device velocity and the distance information into the preset velocity adjustment formula for computation. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have had the technological capabilities require to have modified the method taught in Liu with acquiring a current device velocity of the self-moving device, performing computation on the distance information and the current device velocity based on the preset velocity computation parameter, inputting the current device velocity and the distance information into the preset velocity adjustment formula for computation taught in Zheng. Furthermore, the method taught in Liu is already configured to determine a velocity computation parameter, determine the velocity based on distance information and the velocity computation parameter, and determine the velocity of the robot according to a preset velocity adjustment formula using the distance information. However, Liu does not teach the use of the current velocity in the aforementioned, instead using a reference velocity determined based on the distance. As such, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to modify the method taught in Liu such that the current velocity is used in the calculations of the velocity used to control the robot as taught in Zheng according to methods known in the art. Such a modification would not have changed or introduced new functionality to either. No inventive effort would have been required. The combination would have yielded the predictable result of a computer-implemented method for controlling a self- moving device, comprising: acquiring a current device velocity of the self-moving device, performing computation on the distance information and the current device velocity based on the preset velocity computation parameter, inputting the current device velocity and the distance information into the preset velocity adjustment formula for computation.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date, to have combine the method taught in Liu with acquiring a current device velocity of the self-moving device, performing computation on the distance information and the current device velocity based on the preset velocity computation parameter, inputting the current device velocity and the distance information into the preset velocity adjustment formula for computation taught in Zheng with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the combination would have yielded predictable results.
Regarding claim 13, Liu teaches wherein the apparatus is further directed to: determine a preset velocity computation parameter (Liu: ¶ 0117, “For example, S130 may include: determining a normalized control deviation and a speed reference based on the relative position; and determining the movement speed of the self-moving robot based on the control deviation and the speed reference.”, ¶ 0119, “For example, the speed reference may include a linear speed reference and a turning radius reference, and the moving speed may include the moving linear speed and the moving turning radius. Determining the moving speed in S130 may include: determining the moving linear speed based on the linear speed reference, and determining the moving turning radius based on the turning radius reference and the control deviation, wherein the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the linear speed reference.”, ¶ 0120, “The normalized control deviation can range from -1 to 1, i.e., the interval [-1, 1]. In other words, the absolute value of the control deviation ranges from 0 to 1. S130 Determining the normalized control deviation may include: if the angle between the line connecting the relative position indicator centers and the first direction is an acute angle, then the control deviation is a positive value. If the relative position indicates that the angle between the center line and the first direction is a right angle, then the control deviation is zero. If the relative position indicates that the angle between the center line and the first direction is an obtuse angle, then the control deviation is negative. The center line is the line connecting the center of the self-moving robot and the center of the charging base.”),
and use an acquired computation result as the device moving velocity matching the distance information (Liu, ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0117, “For example, S130 may include: determining a normalized control deviation and a speed reference based on the relative position; and determining the movement speed of the self-moving robot based on the control deviation and the speed reference.”, ¶ 0118, “Therefore, in this embodiment of the invention, the moving speed of the self-moving robot can be adjusted according to the control deviation without the need to preset the moving trajectory, which reduces the occupation of storage space. Moreover, the adjustment method is simple, does not require complex algorithms, and is easy to implement.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”, ¶ 0132, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is a second speed reference, and the second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (represented as V02) and a second turning radius reference (represented as R02); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "approaching forward stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the second linear speed reference (V02), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the second turning radius reference (R02) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R02/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”, ¶ 0133, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is the third speed reference, and the third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (represented as V03) and the third turning radius reference (represented as R03); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "docking stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the third linear speed reference (V03), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the third turning radius reference (R03) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R03/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”. The cited passages clearly teaches that a velocity computation parameter (i.e. the control deviation) is calculated. This parameter is then used to calculate the turning radius for the robot. wherein the angular velocity is defined as the linear velocity divided by the turning radius. Therefore, the angular velocity of the robot is clearly determined based on the velocity computation parameter. Additionally, this angular velocity is used to control the robot.),
wherein the current device velocity is a current angular velocity or a linear velocity of the self-moving device (Liu: ¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the current velocity of the robot comprises both the linear and angular velocity of the robot.),
and the preset velocity computation parameter indicates a strategy for performing reduction adjustment on the current device velocity based on the distance information (Liu: ¶ 0117, “For example, S130 may include: determining a normalized control deviation and a speed reference based on the relative position; and determining the movement speed of the self-moving robot based on the control deviation and the speed reference.”, ¶ 0119, “For example, the speed reference may include a linear speed reference and a turning radius reference, and the moving speed may include the moving linear speed and the moving turning radius. Determining the moving speed in S130 may include: determining the moving linear speed based on the linear speed reference, and determining the moving turning radius based on the turning radius reference and the control deviation, wherein the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the linear speed reference.”, ¶ 0120, “The normalized control deviation can range from -1 to 1, i.e., the interval [-1, 1]. In other words, the absolute value of the control deviation ranges from 0 to 1. S130 Determining the normalized control deviation may include: if the angle between the line connecting the relative position indicator centers and the first direction is an acute angle, then the control deviation is a positive value. If the relative position indicates that the angle between the center line and the first direction is a right angle, then the control deviation is zero. If the relative position indicates that the angle between the center line and the first direction is an obtuse angle, then the control deviation is negative. The center line is the line connecting the center of the self-moving robot and the center of the charging base.”, ¶ 0132, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is a second speed reference, and the second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (represented as V02) and a second turning radius reference (represented as R02); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "approaching forward stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the second linear speed reference (V02), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the second turning radius reference (R02) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R02/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”, ¶ 0133, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is the third speed reference, and the third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (represented as V03) and the third turning radius reference (represented as R03); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "docking stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the third linear speed reference (V03), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the third turning radius reference (R03) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R03/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the velocity computation parameter (i.e. the control deviation) is used to calculate the turning radius which is then used to determine the angular velocity. Additionally, the cited passages clearly shows that the computation parameter is determined such that the angular deviation of the robot with respect to the charging station is taken into account (i.e. if the robot is deviating to the right the parameter is negative, if the robot is deviating to the left the parameter is positive, and is the deviation is substantially small the parameter is 0.). One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the parameter is used to determine the direction of rotation for the angular velocity and therefore includes information regarding a reduction adjustment of the velocity.); or
determine a preset velocity adjustment formula (Liu: ¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”, ¶ 0132, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is a second speed reference, and the second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (represented as V02) and a second turning radius reference (represented as R02); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "approaching forward stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the second linear speed reference (V02), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the second turning radius reference (R02) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R02/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”, ¶ 0133, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is the third speed reference, and the third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (represented as V03) and the third turning radius reference (represented as R03); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "docking stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the third linear speed reference (V03), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the third turning radius reference (R03) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R03/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the angular velocity is determined using the formula V/R where V is the linear velocity and R is the turning radius. Furthermore, the turning radius is defined by the equation -alphaXR0/theta wherein R0 is a reference turning angle, alpha is a constant and theta is a velocity computation parameter. Therefore, the velocity of the robot is clearly determined according to a predetermined equation.),
and use an acquired computation result as the device moving velocity matching the distance information (Liu: ¶ 0101, “S110, the mobile robot acquires a received signal, wherein the received signal includes a guidance signal transmitted by at least two guidance signal transmitters of the charging dock and an identification signal transmitted by an identification signal transmitter of the charging dock.”, ¶ 0102, “S120, based on the received signal, determine the relative position between the self-moving robot and the charging dock;”, ¶ 0103, “S130, Based on the relative position, determine the moving speed of the self-moving robot;”, ¶ 0104, “S140 moves at this speed to approach the charging dock.”, ¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0117, “For example, S130 may include: determining a normalized control deviation and a speed reference based on the relative position; and determining the movement speed of the self-moving robot based on the control deviation and the speed reference.”, ¶ 0118, “Therefore, in this embodiment of the invention, the moving speed of the self-moving robot can be adjusted according to the control deviation without the need to preset the moving trajectory, which reduces the occupation of storage space. Moreover, the adjustment method is simple, does not require complex algorithms, and is easy to implement.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”, ¶ 0132, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is a second speed reference, and the second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (represented as V02) and a second turning radius reference (represented as R02); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "approaching forward stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the second linear speed reference (V02), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the second turning radius reference (R02) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R02/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”, ¶ 0133, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is the third speed reference, and the third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (represented as V03) and the third turning radius reference (represented as R03); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "docking stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the third linear speed reference (V03), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the third turning radius reference (R03) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R03/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the angular velocity is used to control the robot.),
wherein the preset velocity adjustment formula indicates a linear or non-linear adjustment relationship between the distance information and the current device velocity (¶ 0111, “Specifically, when the self-moving robot is in the "approaching the identification signal area" stage, its first moving speed is less than the first speed reference, that is, the linear speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01, and the angular speed of the first moving speed is less than or equal to V01/R01. In this application, the movement speed can be adjusted by adjusting the linear velocity and the turning radius, which is a more intuitive adjustment method.”, ¶ 0130, “The second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (denoted as V02) and a second turning radius reference (denoted as R02). The third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (denoted as V03) and the third turning radius reference (denoted as R03). Accordingly, it can be understood that the second angular velocity reference corresponding to the second velocity reference is V02/R02, and the third angular velocity reference corresponding to the third velocity reference is V03/R03.”, ¶ 0132, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is a second speed reference, and the second speed reference includes a second linear speed reference (represented as V02) and a second turning radius reference (represented as R02); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "approaching forward stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the second linear speed reference (V02), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the second turning radius reference (R02) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R02/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”, ¶ 0133, “Furthermore, in S130, if the determined speed reference is the third speed reference, and the third speed reference includes the third linear speed reference (represented as V03) and the third turning radius reference (represented as R03); that is, at this time it can be considered that the self-moving robot is currently in the "docking stage", then it can be determined that the moving linear speed is less than or equal to the third linear speed reference (V03), and the moving turning radius is determined based on the third turning radius reference (R03) and the control deviation. If the control deviation is expressed as theta, then the turning radius can be -alpha×R03/theta, where alpha is a preset adjustment coefficient greater than zero.”. The equations used to determine the angular velocity is clearly a linear equation.).
Liu does not teach acquire a current device velocity of the self-moving device,
perform computation on the distance information and the current device velocity based on the preset velocity computation parameter,
input the current device velocity and the distance information into the preset velocity adjustment formula for computation.
Zheng, in the same field of endeavor, teaches acquire a current device velocity of the self-moving device (Zheng: Abstract, “The invention provides a method for controlling connection between a mobile device and a charging interface. The method comprises the following steps: controlling the mobile device to execute an adjustment operation until a vertical distance between the mobile device and a charging interface is less than a first threshold value and an included angle between a first orientation of the mobile device and a second orientation of the charging interface is less than a second threshold value or greater than a third threshold value, wherein, the vertical distance is the distance in the direction vertical to the second orientation; and based on the horizontal distance between the mobile device and the charging interface, moving the mobile device towards the charging interface until the mobile device is connected with the charging interface, and the horizontal distance is the distance in the second orientation direction. The step of controlling the mobile device to execute the adjustment operation comprises repeatedly executing the following operations: obtaining the position and the first orientation of the mobile device; determining a vertical distance based on the position, and determining an included angle based on the first orientation; determining a rotation speed of the mobile device based on the vertical distance and the included angle; and controlling the mobile device to move based on the rotation speed.”, ¶ 0036, “The method includes controlling the mobile device to perform adjustment operations and controlling the mobile device to move toward the charging port. The process of controlling the mobile device to perform an adjustment operation can be to adjust the orientation of the mobile device until the vertical distance between the mobile device and the charging port is less than a first threshold and the angle between the first orientation of the mobile device and the second orientation of the charging port is less than a second threshold, wherein the vertical distance is the distance in the direction perpendicular to the second orientation. … . Controlling a mobile device to perform adjustment operations includes repeatedly performing the following operations: obtaining the position and first orientation of the mobile device; determining a vertical distance based on the position and an angle based on the first orientation; determining the rotational speed of the mobile device based on the vertical distance and the angle; and controlling the movement of the mobile device based on the rotational speed.”, ¶ 0079, “In operation S2311, the direction of the current linear velocity of the mobile device is determined. For example, it can determine whether the current linear velocity of the mobile device is towards or away from the charging port.”, ¶ 0080, “In operation S2312, the linear velocity of the mobile device is determined based on its position and the direction of the current linear velocity.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the current liner velocity of the robot is obtained.),
perform computation on the distance information and the current device velocity based on the preset velocity computation parameter (Zheng: ¶ 0008, “According to embodiments of this disclosure, determining the rotational speed of the mobile device based on linear velocity, vertical distance, and included angle includes:” See corresponding equation, ¶ 0009, “Where v represents linear velocity, .<sub>rc</sub> represents the included angle, y<sub>rc</sub> represents vertical distance, and k<sub>1</sub> and k<sub>2</sub> are variable coefficients.”, ¶ 0079, “In operation S2311, the direction of the current linear velocity of the mobile device is determined. For example, it can determine whether the current linear velocity of the mobile device is towards or away from the charging port.”, ¶ 0080, “In operation S2312, the linear velocity of the mobile device is determined based on its position and the direction of the current linear velocity.”, ¶ 0084, “In operation S2313, the rotational speed of the mobile device is determined based on linear velocity, vertical distance, and included angle.”, ¶ 0085, “According to embodiments of this disclosure, for example, when the device interface for connecting to the charging interface in a mobile device is located on the back of the mobile device, the rotation speed w can be determined by formula (a).”, ¶ 0087, “Where v represents linear velocity, .<sub>rc</sub> represents the included angle, y<sub>rc</sub> represents vertical distance, and k<sub>1</sub> and k<sub>2</sub> are variable coefficients.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the angular velocity of the robot is calculated based on the current linear velocity, the determined distance, and a preset parameter.),
input the current device velocity and the distance information into the preset velocity adjustment formula for computation (Zheng: ¶ 0008, “According to embodiments of this disclosure, determining the rotational speed of the mobile device based on linear velocity, vertical distance, and included angle includes:” See corresponding equation, ¶ 0009, “Where v represents linear velocity, .<sub>rc</sub> represents the included angle, y<sub>rc</sub> represents vertical distance, and k<sub>1</sub> and k<sub>2</sub> are variable coefficients.”, ¶ 0079, “In operation S2311, the direction of the current linear velocity of the mobile device is determined. For example, it can determine whether the current linear velocity of the mobile device is towards or away from the charging port.”, ¶ 0080, “In operation S2312, the linear velocity of the mobile device is determined based on its position and the direction of the current linear velocity.”, ¶ 0084, “In operation S2313, the rotational speed of the mobile device is determined based on linear velocity, vertical distance, and included angle.”, ¶ 0085, “According to embodiments of this disclosure, for example, when the device interface for connecting to the charging interface in a mobile device is located on the back of the mobile device, the rotation speed w can be determined by formula (a).”, ¶ 0087, “Where v represents linear velocity, .<sub>rc</sub> represents the included angle, y<sub>rc</sub> represents vertical distance, and k<sub>1</sub> and k<sub>2</sub> are variable coefficients.”. The cited passages clearly shows that the current linear velocity and the distance information are input into the equation to determine the angular velocity.).
Liu teaches wherein the apparatus is further directed to: determine a preset velocity computation parameter, and use an acquired computation result as the device moving velocity matching the distance information, wherein the current device velocity is a current angular velocity or a linear velocity of the self-moving device, and the preset velocity computation parameter indicates a strategy for performing reduction adjustment on the current device velocity based on the distance information; or determine a preset velocity adjustment formula, and use an acquired computation result as the device moving velocity matching the distance information, wherein the preset velocity adjustment formula indicates a linear or non-linear adjustment relationship between the distance information and the current device velocity. Liu does not teach acquire a current device velocity of the self-moving device, perform computation on the distance information and the current device velocity based on the preset velocity computation parameter, input the current device velocity and the distance information into the preset velocity adjustment formula for computation. Zheng teaches acquire a current device velocity of the self-moving device, perform computation on the distance information and the current device velocity based on the preset velocity computation parameter, input the current device velocity and the distance information into the preset velocity adjustment formula for computation. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have had the technological capabilities require to have modified the method taught in Liu with acquire a current device velocity of the self-moving device, perform computation on the distance information and the current device velocity based on the preset velocity computation parameter, input the current device velocity and the distance information into the preset velocity adjustment formula for computation taught in Zheng. Furthermore, the system taught in Liu is already configured to determine a velocity computation parameter, determine the velocity based on distance information and the velocity computation parameter, and determine the velocity of the robot according to a preset velocity adjustment formula using the distance information. However, Liu does not teach the use of the current velocity in the aforementioned, instead using a reference velocity determined based on the distance. As such, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to modify the system taught in Liu such that the current velocity is used in the calculations of the velocity used to control the robot as taught in Zheng according to methods known in the art. Such a modification would not have changed or introduced new functionality to either. No inventive effort would have been required. The combination would have yielded the predictable result of an apparatus for controlling a self-moving device, comprising: acquire a current device velocity of the self-moving device, perform computation on the distance information and the current device velocity based on the preset velocity computation parameter, input the current device velocity and the distance information into the preset velocity adjustment formula for computation.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date, to have combine the system taught in Liu with acquire a current device velocity of the self-moving device, perform computation on the distance information and the current device velocity based on the preset velocity computation parameter, input the current device velocity and the distance information into the preset velocity adjustment formula for computation taught in Zheng with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the combination would have yielded predictable results.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Noah W Stiebritz whose telephone number is (571)272-3414. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday 7-5 EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ramon Mercado can be reached at (571) 270-5744. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/N.W.S./Examiner, Art Unit 3658
/Ramon A. Mercado/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3658
Prosecution Insights