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 . This Office action is based on the communications filed August 6, 2024. Claims 1 – 22 are currently pending and considered below.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Republic of Korea on October 12, 2023. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the KR10-2023-0135998 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 6, 2024, January 7, 2025, and December 12, 2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 8, 13, 16, and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jing (CN106338992A), hereinafter Jing, in view of Yamaguchi et al. (US 2021/0034079 A1), hereinafter Yamaguchi.
Claim 1: Jing discloses an electronic apparatus comprising: a sensor (see at least, “sensor set to detect obstacles,” Jing Background technique, page 6); moving the electronic apparatus (see at least, “the household electrical appliance moves along the preset route in the no-disturbance zone,” Jing Example two, step 307, page 14); and at least one instruction; and at least one processor that is connected with the sensor, wherein the at least one instruction, when executed by the at least one processor (see at least, “a noise processing method and apparatus,” Content of the invention, page 6), causes the electronic apparatus to:
identify a set state of a Do Not Disturb mode for each of a plurality of users using the electronic apparatus (see at least, “When the device is in the first working mode, whether the user is in a do not disturb state; If the user is in the do-not-disturb state, learn a distance between the device and the user and a noise generated by the device at a current location,” Jing Content of the invention, page7), and based on a predetermined event occurring (see at least, “Determine whether the noise affects the user based on the distance between the device and the user and the noise, and if so perform at least one of the following:,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7), perform an operation (see at least, “The method further includes causing the device to reactivate a job that causes the noise when the device leaves the area where the noise affects the user or when the device reaches a destination of a preset route and the user When the user is no longer in the do not disturb state, cause the device to start a noise-generating work and enter the area where the noise affects the user,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7) corresponding to the event to a user who did not set the Do Not Disturb mode (see at least, “Control the device to work outside the area where the noise affects the user,” Content of the invention, page 7 “Moreover, when there are multiple users, it needs to know whether each user is in a do not disturb state. When performing the above steps, it is necessary to determine, for each user in the no-disturb state, whether the noise affects the user. If so, it is determined for each user in the mute state that the noise affects that user's area and that the device is operating outside of the area where the noise affects that user,” Jing detailed description, page 11).
Jing does not explicitly disclose a moving device and a display, and a memory storing at least one instruction; and therefore, also does not disclose the memory storing at least one instruction; and the at least one processor connected with the display, the sensor, the moving device, and the memory, wherein the at least one instruction, when executed by the at least one processor. However, Yamaguchi discloses a similar autonomous mobile body and further discloses a moving device (see at least, “The drive mechanism 16 includes a motor, gears, shafts, wheels, and the like, and enables the autonomous mobile body 10c to move under the control of a drive controller which is described later,” Yamaguchi [0050]) and a display (see at least, “When the autonomous mobile body 10c includes a display, the action plan controller 15 of the information processor 10b transmits a control signal to the optional controller 19 of the autonomous mobile body 10c to display an image (e.g., a healing image) on the display, or the optional controller 19 may cooperate with the main controller 17 to display an image on the display,” Yamaguchi [0058]), and a memory storing at least one instruction; and the at least one processor connected with the display, the sensor, the moving device, and the memory, wherein the at least one instruction, when executed by the at least one processor (see at least, “The controller includes a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory such as a read only memory (ROM) or a random-access memory (RAM). The CPU includes a control program (including a personal space creation program which is described later) stored in the ROM or the storage 12, and deploys and executes the control program in the RAM to control the entire operation of the information processor 10b. This controller functions as a user attribute acquirer 13, a blind spot setter 14, an action plan controller 15, and the like,” Yamaguchi [0035], “The user coordinate determiner 13a determines the coordinates of the user on the basis of information acquired from the RGB camera, the depth camera, the laser radar, and the like in the sensor block 11, and acquires position information (position, azimuth, and the like) of the user,” Yamaguchi [0037]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the aforementioned features of Yamaguchi in the invention of Jing thereby realizing autonomous travel in the invention of Jing with the benefit that “when the autonomous mobile body 10c includes a display, a predetermined image is displayed on the display, so that the work environment of the target user can be improved,” Yamaguchi [0077].
Claim 2: Jing and Yamaguchi disclose the electronic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one instruction, when executed by the at least one processor, further causes the electronic apparatus to: based on recognizing a user who set the Do Not Disturb mode around the electronic apparatus, perform the operation corresponding to the event in the Do Not Disturb mode (see at least, “When the device is in the first working mode, acquiring whether the user is in a do not disturb state includes: Sending to the gateway a message requesting to know the status of the user; Receiving the state of the user from the gateway and determining whether the user is in the do-not-disturb state according to the state of the user, wherein the state of the user is acquired by the gateway through the device selected by the gateway; or, Sending a request to a gateway to inquire whether the user is in a do-not-disturb state and receiving from the gateway a message of whether the user is in the do-not-disturb state, wherein the gateway acquires, according to the information collected by the device selected by the gateway The status of the user determines whether the user is in the do-not-disturb status,” Jing Content of the invention, page 8, “The method further includes causing the device to reactivate a job that causes the noise when the device leaves the area where the noise affects the user or when the device reaches a destination of a preset route and the user When the user is no longer in the do not disturb state, cause the device to start a noise-generating work and enter the area where the noise affects the user,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7).
Claim 8: Jing and Yamaguchi disclose the electronic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one instruction, when executed by the at least one processor, further causes the electronic apparatus to: based on an event of moving to surroundings of a first user who did not set the Do Not Disturb mode occurring, control the moving device such that the electronic apparatus moves to the surroundings of the first user (see at least, “The method further includes causing the device to reactivate a job that causes the noise when the device leaves the area where the noise affects the user or when the device reaches a destination of a preset route and the user When the user is no longer in the do not disturb state, cause the device to start a noise-generating work and enter the area where the noise affects the user,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7); and based on recognizing a second user who set the Do Not Disturb mode during the moving, control the moving device such that the electronic apparatus moves in a moving route distanced from the second user as much as a predetermined distance (see at least, “When the device is in the first working mode, whether the user is in a do not disturb state; If the user is in the do-not-disturb state, learn a distance between the device and the user and a noise generated by the device at a current location; Determine whether the noise affects the user based on the distance between the device and the user and the noise, and if so perform at least one of the following: Control the device to work outside the area where the noise affects the user,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7, “Wherein determining that the noise affects the area of the user comprises: Determine the noise acceptable to the user; Based on the noise, the location of the user, the noise acceptable to the user, and the attenuation of sound propagating in the air, to determine a threshold of the distance to be disturbed,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7).
Claim 13: Jing and Yamaguchi disclose the electronic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory further comprises map information for a space wherein the electronic apparatus is located, and wherein the at least one instruction, when executed by the at least one processor, further causes the electronic apparatus to: identify a space wherein a user who set the Do Not Disturb mode is located among a plurality of spaces in the map information, and operate in the Do Not Disturb mode in the space wherein the user who set the Do Not Disturb mode is located (see at least, “within the area”/”outside the area”, “Stopping the work in the first work mode within the area where the noise affects the user,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7).
Claim 16: Jing disclose a controlling method of a movable electronic apparatus (see at least, “the household electrical appliance moves along the preset route in the no-disturbance zone,” Jing Example two, step 307, page 14), the controlling method comprising (see at least, “a noise processing method and apparatus,” Content of the invention): a setting for a Do Not Disturb mode for each of a plurality of users using the electronic apparatus (see at least, “When the device is in the first working mode, whether the user is in a do not disturb state; If the user is in the do-not-disturb state, learn a distance between the device and the user and a noise generated by the device at a current location,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7); and based on a predetermined event occurring (see at least, “Determine whether the noise affects the user based on the distance between the device and the user and the noise, and if so perform at least one of the following:,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7), performing an operation (see at least, “The method further includes causing the device to reactivate a job that causes the noise when the device leaves the area where the noise affects the user or when the device reaches a destination of a preset route and the user When the user is no longer in the do not disturb state, cause the device to start a noise-generating work and enter the area where the noise affects the user,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7) corresponding to the event to a first user who did not set the Do Not Disturb mode (see at least, “Control the device to work outside the area where the noise affects the user,” Content of the invention, page 7, “Moreover, when there are multiple users, it needs to know whether each user is in a do not disturb state. When performing the above steps, it is necessary to determine, for each user in the no-disturb state, whether the noise affects the user. If so, it is determined for each user in the mute state that the noise affects that user's area and that the device is operating outside of the area where the noise affects that user,” Jing detailed description, page 11), wherein the performing the operation corresponding to the event comprises, based on recognizing a second user who set the Do Not Disturb mode around the electronic apparatus, performing the operation corresponding to the event in the Do Not Disturb mode (see at least, “When the device is in the first working mode, acquiring whether the user is in a do not disturb state includes: Sending to the gateway a message requesting to know the status of the user; Receiving the state of the user from the gateway and determining whether the user is in the do-not-disturb state according to the state of the user, wherein the state of the user is acquired by the gateway through the device selected by the gateway; or, Sending a request to a gateway to inquire whether the user is in a do-not-disturb state and receiving from the gateway a message of whether the user is in the do-not-disturb state, wherein the gateway acquires, according to the information collected by the device selected by the gateway The status of the user determines whether the user is in the do-not-disturb status,” Jing Content of the invention, page 8, “The method further includes causing the device to reactivate a job that causes the noise when the device leaves the area where the noise affects the user or when the device reaches a destination of a preset route and the user When the user is no longer in the do not disturb state, cause the device to start a noise-generating work and enter the area where the noise affects the user,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7).
Jing does not disclose a memory and therefore does not disclose storing. However, Yamaguchi discloses a similar autonomous mobile body and further discloses a memory and therefore storing at least one instruction (see at least, “The controller includes a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory such as a read only memory (ROM) or a random-access memory (RAM). The CPU includes a control program (including a personal space creation program which is described later) stored in the ROM or the storage 12, and deploys and executes the control program in the RAM to control the entire operation of the information processor 10b. This controller functions as a user attribute acquirer 13, a blind spot setter 14, an action plan controller 15, and the like,” Yamaguchi [0035], “The user coordinate determiner 13a determines the coordinates of the user on the basis of information acquired from the RGB camera, the depth camera, the laser radar, and the like in the sensor block 11, and acquires position information (position, azimuth, and the like) of the user,” Yamaguchi [0037]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the aforementioned features of Yamaguchi in the invention of Jing thereby realizing autonomous travel in the invention of Jing with the benefit of storing the “status of the user” without having to constantly send and receive to the gateway in order to determine “whether the user is in the so-no-disturb status,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7).
Claim 21: Jing discloses a movable electronic apparatus (see at least, “the household electrical appliance moves along the preset route in the no-disturbance zone,” Jing Example two, step 307, page 14) individually or collectively, cause the movable electronic apparatus to perform operations, the operations comprising (see at least, “a noise processing method and apparatus,” Content of the invention): a setting for a Do Not Disturb mode for each of a plurality of users using the electronic apparatus (see at least, “When the device is in the first working mode, whether the user is in a do not disturb state; If the user is in the do-not-disturb state, learn a distance between the device and the user and a noise generated by the device at a current location,” Jing Content of the invention, page 6), and based on a predetermined event occurring (see at least, “Determine whether the noise affects the user based on the distance between the device and the user and the noise, and if so perform at least one of the following:,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7), performing an operation (see at least, “The method further includes causing the device to reactivate a job that causes the noise when the device leaves the area where the noise affects the user or when the device reaches a destination of a preset route and the user When the user is no longer in the do not disturb state, cause the device to start a noise-generating work and enter the area where the noise affects the user,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7) corresponding to the event to a first user who did not set the Do Not Disturb mode (see at least, “Control the device to work outside the area where the noise affects the user,” Content of the invention, page 7, “Moreover, when there are multiple users, it needs to know whether each user is in a do not disturb state. When performing the above steps, it is necessary to determine, for each user in the no-disturb state, whether the noise affects the user. If so, it is determined for each user in the mute state that the noise affects that user's area and that the device is operating outside of the area where the noise affects that user,” Jing detailed description, page 11), wherein the performing of the operation corresponding to the event comprises, based on recognizing a second user who set the Do Not Disturb mode around the electronic apparatus, performing the operation corresponding to the event in the Do Not Disturb mode (see at least, “When the device is in the first working mode, acquiring whether the user is in a do not disturb state includes: Sending to the gateway a message requesting to know the status of the user; Receiving the state of the user from the gateway and determining whether the user is in the do-not-disturb state according to the state of the user, wherein the state of the user is acquired by the gateway through the device selected by the gateway; or, Sending a request to a gateway to inquire whether the user is in a do-not-disturb state and receiving from the gateway a message of whether the user is in the do-not-disturb state, wherein the gateway acquires, according to the information collected by the device selected by the gateway The status of the user determines whether the user is in the do-not-disturb status,” Jing Content of the invention, page 8, “The method further includes causing the device to reactivate a job that causes the noise when the device leaves the area where the noise affects the user or when the device reaches a destination of a preset route and the user When the user is no longer in the do not disturb state, cause the device to start a noise-generating work and enter the area where the noise affects the user,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7).
Jing does not disclose one or more non-transitory computer-readable recording media storing one or more computer programs including computer executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of perform the method and therefore does not disclose storing. However, Yamaguchi discloses a similar autonomous mobile body and further discloses one or more non-transitory computer-readable recording media storing one or more computer programs including computer executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of perform the method and therefore storing at least one instruction (see at least, “The controller includes a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory such as a read only memory (ROM) or a random-access memory (RAM). The CPU includes a control program (including a personal space creation program which is described later) stored in the ROM or the storage 12, and deploys and executes the control program in the RAM to control the entire operation of the information processor 10b. This controller functions as a user attribute acquirer 13, a blind spot setter 14, an action plan controller 15, and the like,” Yamaguchi [0035], “The user coordinate determiner 13a determines the coordinates of the user on the basis of information acquired from the RGB camera, the depth camera, the laser radar, and the like in the sensor block 11, and acquires position information (position, azimuth, and the like) of the user,” Yamaguchi [0037]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the aforementioned features of Yamaguchi in the invention of Jing thereby realizing autonomous travel in the invention of Jing with the benefit of storing the “status of the user” without having to constantly send and receive to the gateway in order to determine “whether the user is in the so-no-disturb status,” Jing Content of the invention, page 7).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 – 7, 9 – 12, 14, 15, 17 – 20, and 22 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/JOSEPH SAUNDERS JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2692
/CAROLYN R EDWARDS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2692