DETAILED ACTION
Responsive to the Response to the Election/Restriction filed April 16, 2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-5 and 10-19 is acknowledged. Claims 5-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-5 and 10-19 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim does not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter The claim is directed to an apparatus comprising of modules, which can be software. Software per se is not one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter and therefore the claims are directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 10, 12, and 14-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Jacquemart et al (US 2023/0259878).
As per claim 1, Jacquemart et al teach a goods delivery method, comprising:
obtaining delivery requirements of a plurality of delivery points in a delivery task (see at least paragraph [0148];
grouping the plurality of delivery points into at least one delivery point group according to the delivery requirements of the delivery points and a delivery capacity of a robot (see at least paragraphs [0066, 0101, 0223]);
determining a target delivery route corresponding to one delivery point group in the at least one delivery point group; and controlling, according to the target delivery route, a first robot to deliver goods corresponding to the one delivery point group in the delivery task to the delivery points in the one delivery point group (see at least paragraphs [0027, 0102, 0103]).
As per claim 10, Jacquemart et al teach The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining the target delivery route corresponding to the one delivery point group in the at least one delivery point group comprises: obtaining location information of the first robot corresponding to the one delivery point group in the at least one delivery point group; and determining the target delivery route according to location information of the delivery points in the one delivery point group and the location information of the first robot (see at least paragraphs [0066, 0101, 0223]).
As per claim 12, Jacquemart et al teach method according to claim 1, wherein the determining the target delivery route corresponding to the one delivery point group in the at least one delivery point group comprises: obtaining the pre-stored target delivery route corresponding to the one delivery point group in the at least one delivery point group (see at least paragraph [0125]).
As per claim 14, Jacquemart et al teach wherein the method further comprises: in the process of controlling, according to the target delivery route, the first robot to deliver the goods corresponding to the delivery task to the delivery points in the delivery point group, determining a second delivery route according to location information of a first delivery point to which delivery has not been completed in the delivery point group and current location information of the first robot; and controlling, according to the second delivery route, the first robot to deliver goods corresponding to the delivery task to the first delivery point to which delivery has not been completed in the delivery point group (see at least fig 9, paragraph [0130]).
As per claim 15, Jacquemart et al teach wherein before the controlling, according to the target delivery route, the first robot to deliver the goods corresponding to the delivery task to the delivery points in the delivery point group, the method further comprises: determining the first robot from a plurality of robots according to location information of the delivery points in the delivery point group and location information of the plurality of robots, wherein a distance between the first robot and the delivery point group is less than or equal to a preset value (see at least paragraph [0130]).
As per claim 16, Jacquemart et al teach wherein goods corresponding to the delivery task are located on a conveyor; and before the controlling, according to the target delivery route, the first robot to deliver the goods corresponding to the delivery task to the delivery points in the delivery point group, the method further comprises: determining a delivery sequence of the delivery points in the delivery point group according to the target delivery route; determining a goods delivery sequence of goods according to the goods required by the delivery points and the delivery sequence; and controlling a second robot to sequentially transfer the goods to the conveyor according to the goods delivery sequence, and controlling the first robot to retrieve the goods from the conveyor (see at least paragraphs [0066, 0101, 0223, 0003-0004]).
As per claim 17, Jacquemart et al teach wherein goods corresponding to the delivery task are located on a buffer shelving unit; and before the controlling, according to the target delivery route, the first robot to deliver the goods corresponding to the delivery task to the delivery points in the delivery point group, the method further comprises: determining the goods corresponding to the delivery point group according to the delivery task; and controlling the first robot to retrieve the goods from the buffer shelving unit (see at least paragraph [0196]; reconstitution zone).
Claims 18-19 contain similar limitations as the claims above and therefore are rejected under similar rationale.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 and 11 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ramsey Refai whose telephone number is (313)446-4867. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm EST.
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RAMSEY REFAI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3664
/RAMSEY REFAI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3664
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