DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 21-27 in the reply filed on 7/13/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 22-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 22 recites “wherein the warehousing robot further comprises a first warehousing robot”, but it is not clear whether the Applicant is claiming a total of one robot or two robots. That is, it is not clear whether the first warehousing robot is in addition to the warehousing robot.
Claims 23-27 are dependent on indefinite claim 22.
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.
Claims 21-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Razumov (US 2015/0225187 A1).
Consider claim 21. Razumov teaches a warehousing system, comprising: a storage region (10); a plurality of first shelving units (see marked fig. 1 below) arranged in the storage region, wherein the first shelving units are configured to store goods boxes, and a lowest layer of each of the first shelving units is provided with a temporary storage goods location (see marked fig. 1 below) and a two-way transfer passage (see marked fig. 1 below) adjacent to the temporary storage goods location; a plurality of travel aisles (aisles proximate A3, B3, etc.) arranged in the storage region, wherein the travel aisles are formed between the first shelving units facing each other; a first transport passage (see marked fig. 1 below) arranged in the storage region, wherein the first transport passage is in communication with the travel aisles; second shelving units (see marked fig. 1 below) arranged in an upper-layer space of the first transport passage and located on two sides of extension lines of the travel aisles, wherein a height of a lowest goods location of each second shelving unit is greater than a height of a lowest goods location of each first shelving unit (see fig. 1); and a warehousing robot (22, 100).
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Consider claim 22. As best understood in view of the 35 U.S.C. 112 rejection above, Razumov teaches that the warehousing robot further comprises a first warehousing robot (100), wherein: the first warehousing robot is provided with a lifting gantry (110), the lifting gantry is being constructed to be raised and lowered between a first height and a second height (see figs. 4 and 5); so that the first warehousing robot is allowed to perform put and take-out operations within a corresponding height range, wherein the second height is greater than the first height, the first warehousing robot operates at least in the travel aisles and the first transport passage (see fig. 1), and the height of the lowest goods location of the second shelving unit is greater than the first height (see fig. 1).
Consider claim 23. Razumov teaches that the warehousing robot comprises a second warehousing robot (22), and the second warehousing robot is constructed to perform at least one action selected from the following actions: taking out the goods box from the temporary storage goods location, putting the goods box at the temporary storage goods location, and traveling in the two-way transfer passage when loaded or not loaded with a container (see figs. 6-39).
Consider claim 24. Razumov teaches that the temporary storage goods location is at a higher location than the ground, and a height gap between the temporary storage goods location and the ground is constructed as an additional transfer passage (see marked fig. 1 above), so that the second warehousing robot is allowed to travel in the additional transfer passage and move below the temporary storage goods location when not loaded with a container.
Consider claim 25. Razumov teaches an operation region (at left side or right side of fig. 1), a second transport passage (see marked fig. 1 above) arranged in the storage region and adjacent to the operation region, and third shelving units (see marked fig. 1 above) arranged in an upper-layer space of the second transport passage, wherein a height of a lowest goods location of each third shelving unit is greater than the height of the lowest goods location of the first shelving unit, wherein: the second warehousing robot operates at least in the second transport passage, the lowest goods location of the third shelving unit is arranged to allow the second warehousing robot loaded with the goods box to pass under the lowest goods location of the third shelving unit (see fig. 1), and the goods box is a container that is capable of being stored at a goods location of at least one selected from the first shelving unit, the second shelving unit, and the third shelving unit; and the third shelving units are arranged on two sides of the second transport passage, an additional aisle (see marked fig. 1 above) is formed between the third shelving units facing each other, and the second shelving units are arranged in a region where the first transport passage and the second transport passage intersect each other (see fig. 1).
Consider claim 26. Razumov teaches that each of the first shelving units is constructed to have at least two layers and at least four columns of goods locations on each layer, two columns of goods locations located on two ends of a lowest layer of the first shelving unit are constructed as the temporary storage goods locations, and a middle space of the lowest layer of the first shelving unit other than the two columns of the temporary storage goods locations is constructed as the two-way transfer passage (see marked fig. 1 above); and the first shelving unit comprises two end columns and at least two middle columns located between the two end columns, and the two-way transfer passages are located in location spaces of the middle columns (see marked fig. 1 above).
Consider claim 27. Razumov teaches that the first warehousing robot is provided with a goods box access apparatus (112), and the goods box access apparatus is constructed to perform at least one selected from the following actions: taking out the goods box from the storage goods location and putting the goods box at the temporary storage goods location, and taking out the goods box from the temporary storage goods location and putting the goods box at the storage goods location; and the storage goods locations located in the end columns of the first shelving units are constructed as first storage goods locations, and the first warehousing robot is constructed to take out the goods box from the first storage goods location and put the goods box at the temporary storage goods location (see fig. 3); or, the storage goods locations in the middle columns located on inner sides of the end columns of the first shelving units are configured as second storage goods locations, and the first warehousing robot is configured to take out the goods box from the second storage goods location and put the goods box at the first storage goods location (see fig. 3).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The attached PTO-892 lists references which teach various warehousing systems having a plurality of shelving units and warehousing robots.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN D SNELTING whose telephone number is (571)270-7015. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:00-4:30 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Saul Rodriguez can be reached at (571)272-7097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JONATHAN SNELTING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3652
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