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 .
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.
Claim 8 is 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 8 recites the limitation "the second sortation system" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It appears the claims should depend from claim 7.
Appropriate clarification is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 3-6, 13 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lert et al (US PG. Pub. 2016/0355337) in view of Lert et al (US 2014/0308098). Relative to claims 1, 3-6, and 13, Lert ‘337 discloses:
An order fulfillment system (10)(Para. 0189), comprising:
a sortation system defining a plurality of destination areas (see picking workstations having O-totes)(Para. 0218)(Fig. 20B, 23A-23C, 24A) and
including a plurality of delivery vehicles (T-Bots, or Bots) configured for movement along vertical loops defined by horizontal and vertical path segments (Bots can move upward along vertical segments to different levels of the storage structure, Para. 0232, see 17, Fig. 41B, and along horizontal aisles on each level, see Fig. 39B, 39E, and back down to lower levels, Para. 0216, 232, forming a loop).
an induct station dimensioned and arranged for feeding of respective items onto corresponding delivery vehicles (the induct station is where the bot such as a P-bot receives the P-Tote in the tote storage system, TSS, for transport, Para. 0200, 0242), and
each delivery vehicle (T-Bot) comprises a plurality of wheels (Fig. 25A, 31A), a power source for driving the delivery vehicle (Para. 0243, see drive and actuator) and a transfer mechanism (900)(Fig. 33) operative to transfer a received item to a selected destination area (Fig. 34A)(Para. 0242), and
each delivery vehicle (P-bot) is configured to receive a respective item of the plurality of items and to transport a received item to any destination area (Para. 0220); and
a warehouse management system (WMS) for coordinating the operation of the sortation system to process orders for one more items of inventory (see system, 452)(Para. 0209, see “order management”, Para. 0031, 0167)(Fig. 19),
the WMS (452) including at least one central processing unit (CPU) configured to execute instructions for designating (control system 450), for each order to be processed by the sortation system (10), a list of one or more items to form respective groups destined for one or more corresponding destination areas of the plurality of destination areas (P-Totes has specific order items forming a group of items to fill an order, system assigns P-Tote to be transported to a specific target workstation with target O-Tote to fill a given customer order, Para. 0215, the workstation/O-Tote is the destination area, Para. 0218), specifying destination areas to which items, of the respective groups of one or more items, are to be delivered by respective delivery vehicles (the P-Bots having P-Totes are assigned to specific workstations with specific O-Totes to fill orders); and
determining that items of a first group have been accumulated at a first specified destination area (system automatically indicates when a picker has transferred the required eaches or items from the P-Tote into the O-Tote, Para. 0246, display shows remaining eaches to picker, Para. 0250);
a processor of the WMS is further configured to provide an indication that all items of the first group have been accumulated at the first specified destination area (Para. 0246, 0250, system determines when all required eaches or items have been transferred into an O-Tote).
the sortation system further includes tracks for guiding the delivery vehicles along paths arranged to bring each vehicle (T-Bot, P-Bot, O-Bot) into alignment with any destination area (Fig. 20B)(Para. 0246).
the wheels of each delivery vehicle have teeth engageable with teeth of the tracks (see sprocket gearwheels for engaging tracks, Para. 0232).
the tracks of the sortation system comprise horizontal and vertical track sections (Para. 0232)(Fig. 31C).
including an order entry system (included in Ref. 452, see for instance ref. 456) and an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS)(included with tracks, robots, storage system, totes, of Ref. 10).
Lert ‘337 does not expressly disclose: a scanning system by which an identity of each item received at the induct station may be determined.
Lert ‘098 teaches: a scanning system by which an identity of each item received at the induct station may be determined (bot 110, includes a bar code scanner to scan the identity of bar codes on items stored on the shelves, Para. 0052, the induct station is where the bot, 110, picks up the item from the shelf)(Fig. 7), for purpose of providing an automated storage and retrieval system that can efficiently store and retrieve individual case units without containing the units in a carrier or on a pallet (Para. 0007).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art on or before the time of the filing to modify the system of Lert ‘337 with the scanning system as taught in Lert ‘098 for the purpose of providing an automated storage and retrieval system that can efficiently store and retrieve individual case units without containing the units in a carrier or on a pallet.
Relative to claim 18, the disclosure of Lert ‘337 discloses:
An order fulfillment system (10), comprising:
a sortation system defining a plurality of destination areas (see picking workstations having O-totes)(Para. 0218)(Fig. 20B, 23A-23C, 24A) and
including a plurality of delivery vehicles (T-Bots) configured for movement along vertical loops defined by horizontal and vertical path segments (Para. 0232),
an induct station dimensioned and arranged for feeding of respective items onto corresponding delivery vehicles (see where T-Bot receives totes from storage location; Para. 0200, 0242), and
each delivery vehicle (T-Bot) comprises a plurality of wheels, a power source for driving the delivery vehicle and a transfer mechanism (900) operative to transfer a received item to a selected destination area (Para. 0242), and
each delivery vehicle (T-Bot) is configured to receive a respective item of the plurality of items and to transport a received item to any destination area (Para. 0220); and
a warehouse management system (WMS) for coordinating the operation of the sortation system to process orders for one more items of inventory (Para. 0208, see Ref. 452), the WMS including at least one central processing unit (CPU) (see Ref. 450) configured to execute instructions for designating, for each order to be processed by the sortation system (Para. 0208), a list of one or more items to form a group destined for corresponding destination areas, specifying a destination area to which each designated group of items is to be delivered by the delivery vehicles (Para. 0215, 0218);
determining that items of first and second designated groups of items have been accumulated at corresponding specified destination areas (system includes multiple workstations, 0218, each workstations may receives designated P-Totes transported by a designated P-Bots, and each workstation may have a designated O-Tote to receive designated items to fill customer orders, Para. 0215); and
providing an indication that items of the first and second designated groups have been accumulated at the corresponding specified destination areas (system determines whether a picker has delivered a required number of eaches or items into O-Totes in each workstation, Para. 0250)(Fig. 20B).
Lert ‘337 does not expressly disclose: a scanning system configured to read a product identification code from items received at the induct station.
Lert ‘098 teaches: a scanning system configured to read a product identification code from items received at the induct station (bot 110, includes a bar code scanner to scan the identity of bar codes on items stored on the shelves, Para. 0052, the induct station is where the bot, 110, picks up the item from the shelf)(Fig. 7), for the purpose of providing an automated storage and retrieval system that can efficiently store and retrieve individual case units without containing the units in a carrier or on a pallet (Para. 0007).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art on or before the time of the filing to modify the system of Lert ‘337 with the scanning system as taught in Lert ‘098 for the purpose of providing an automated storage and retrieval system that can efficiently store and retrieve individual case units without containing the units in a carrier or on a pallet.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claims 2, 7-12, and 19 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.
Claims 14-17 are allowed.
Relative to claim(s) 2, 7-12, 14-17, and 19 (as understood by the Examiner) the closest available prior art does not disclose:
processor of the WMS is further configured to provide an indication that the items of the first group have been present at the first specified destination area beyond a threshold time limit.
a second sortation system defining a second plurality of destination areas and having a second plurality of delivery vehicles for movement along vertical loops defined by horizontal and vertical path segments, a second induct station dimensioned and arranged for feeding of respective items received at the second induct station onto corresponding delivery vehicles of the second plurality of delivery vehicles, or
determining that items of the first designated group of items have been present at the specified destination area beyond a threshold time limit, as claimed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YOLANDA RENEE CUMBESS whose telephone number is (571)270-5527. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gene Crawford can be reached at 571-272-6911. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YOLANDA R CUMBESS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3651
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