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 Objections
The claims are objected to because the lines are crowded too closely together, making reading difficult. Substitute claims with lines one and one-half or double spaced on good quality paper are required. See 37 CFR 1.52(b).
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 1-17 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.
The claims are generally narrative and indefinite, failing to conform with current U.S. practice. They appear to be a literal translation into English from a foreign document and are replete with grammatical and idiomatic errors.
Relative to claims 1-17, “to-be-outbound containers” and “to-be-stocked materials” are unclear. Examiner has interpreted to “to-be-outbound containers” to be containers that are to be transported outbound. Instead of “to-be-stocked materials” does Applicant mean, “materials to be stocked”? Are the materials stocked inside a container stocked somewhere else? Examiner has interpreted the claim to mean that “to-be-stocked materials” means materials to be stocked inside an outbound container.
Also, relative to the claims, Examiner has interpreted “determining to-be-outbound containers” as “selecting to-be-outbound containers”.
Relative to claims 1, 12, 16, and 17, the demand information including a SKU is not clear. It is not clear whether the SKU is related to the item that is to be placed into the container, or something else. It appears that Applicant means that the SKU is related to an item to be placed in the container.
For instance, in claim 1, does Applicant mean:
A method for determining to-be-outbound containers, the method comprising:
receiving demand information for required containers for performing outbound operations, wherein the demand information comprises one or more of the following:
a container selection strategy, a container type, the quantity of containers, the quantity of empty compartments in a container, a total volume of materials to be stocked, the total quantity of materials to be stocked, container codes, and a stock keeping unit (SKU) of materials to be stocked;
determining to-be-outbound containers according to the demand information for the required containers; and
performing an outbound operation on the to-be-outbound containers to place the materials to be stocked into the selected to-be-outbound containers based on the demand information.”? Similar clarification is required in claims 12, 16 and 17.
Relative to claim 2, does Applicant mean:
“wherein the demand information comprises: a container selection strategy, a container type, and a quantity of containers, the container selection strategy includes selecting completely empty containers, and the determining to-be-outbound containers according to the demand information for required containers comprises:
determining, from a container warehouse according to the quantity of containers indicated in the demand, completely empty containers matching the container type indicated in the demand information as the to-be-outbound containers.”
Relative to claim 4, “determining the to-be-outbound containers from the first preselected containers according to the quantity of empty compartments in a container in the demand information, to make a total sum of the quantity of empty compartments in all the to-be-outbound containers greater than or equal to the quantity of empty compartments in a container in the demand information”, is unclear.
Relative to claim 5, “performing sequential addition according to an ascending order or a descending order of the quantity of empty compartments in the first preselected containers; and
if an obtained sum value of the quantity of empty compartments is less than the quantity of empty compartments in a container in the demand information when the addition reaches an Nth container and the obtained sum value is greater than or equal to the quantity of empty compartments in a container in the demand information when the addition reaches an (N+1)th container, determining a first container to the (N+1)th container as the to-be-outbound containers”, is unclear.
What does Applicant mean by “performing sequential addition according to an ascending order or a descending order of the quantity of empty compartments”. In line 6, what does Applicant mean by the “obtained sum value of the quantity of empty compartments”. Which quantity of empty compartments is Applicant referring to?
Relative to claim 6, “selecting the to-be-outbound containers from the second preselected containers according to the total volume or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials, to make a sum value of remaining capacities of all the to-be-outbound containers greater than or equal to the total volume of to-be-stocked materials or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials”, is unclear.
In line 8, “second preselected containers” is unclear since the claim does not include any first preselected containers. Claim 6 depends from claim 1 which does not mention “first preselected containers”. Examiner has interpreted “second preselected containers” as simply “preselected containers”.
Relative to claim 7, “acquiring remaining capacities of the second preselected containers, performing sequential addition according to an ascending order or a descending order of the remaining capacities, and if an obtained sum value is less than the total volume of to-be-stocked materials or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials when the addition reaches an Nth container and the obtained sum value is greater than or equal to the total volume of to-be-stocked materials or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials when the addition reaches an (N+1)th container, determining
a first container to the (N+1)ᵗʰ container as the to-be-outbound containers”, is unclear and requires clarification.
In line 8, does the “if an obtained sum value” refer to an obtained value of the remaining capacities of all the determined outbound containers”?
Relative to claim 8, “if a sum value of remaining capacities of all the second preselected containers is less than the total volume of to-be-stocked materials or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials”, is unclear.
In line 7, “determining a capacity difference value according to the sum value of remaining capacities of the second preselected containers and the total volume or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials indicated in the demand information”, is unclear.
Relative to claim 9, in line 2, “the sum value of remaining capacities of the second preselected containers”, is unclear.
Relative to claim 11, “determining the to-be-outbound containers according to the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials, a preset proportion coefficient, and the quantity of vacant compartments of the third preselected containers”, is unclear. What is a “preset proportion coefficient”? The third preselected containers is unclear since claim 1, which claim 11 depends from, does not include first or second preselected containers.
Relative to claim 12, the “second preset threshold” is unclear since there is no “first preset threshold”, and it is unclear as to whether Applicant intends to include a first preset threshold.
Relative to claim 17, the claim is placed in improper form. It appears that claim is intended to be an independent claim. To be placed in proper independent form, Applicant should recite all the steps of claim 1, instead of reciting “the method according to claim 1”.
Appropriate clarification is required.
Interpretation of the Claims
Relative to claim 4, the claim is interpreted to mean that containers are selected according to container types that are designated in the demand, the selected containers must be a certain type and have a certain number of compartments specified in the demand, the preselected containers are a set of containers that the system chooses from to determine/allocate a final set of recommended containers, and that the final container selection includes selecting containers having at least a quantity of empty compartments as specified in the container demand.
Claim 5 is interpreted to mean, the selection of potential containers includes containers having at least a certain quantity of compartments from which the final set of containers to place items is selected, and from the potential candidates having the requisite number of compartments, the container candidates are arranged in an ascending or descending order based on the number of compartments, for instance, when arranged in an ascending order, a container having the smallest number of compartments may be a first container, a container having a second smallest number may be container 2, and so forth. The system determines how many compartments are required to place the items based on the demand, and when the running total of empty compartments reaches the required number stipulated in the demand, the container that reaches the requisite number of compartments is the Nth container, for instance container number 7. The next container is 8, or the (N+1)th container. The final selected outbound containers are 1-8, and the items are placed into containers 1-8, each having empty compartments.
Claim 6 is interpreted to mean, the demand includes designating containers for items having a certain SKU(s), and selecting containers assigned to the SKU that all together are sufficient to meet a volume or quantity of items that are required in the demand, and placing the required items into the selected containers.
Claim 7 is interpreted to mean, the containers are selected from an initial set of containers that meet a total volume or quantity of materials to be loaded into the containers, the final set of containers is selected such that the capacities of the selected containers is equal to or greater than the volume or quantities or items to be loaded, and the method of selecting the final containers are includes the following:
the container candidates are arranged in an ascending or descending order based on the capacities of the containers. The system compares the sum of the capacities of the candidate set arranged in ascending or descending order based on container capacity, if the sum of containers capacities in ascending or descending order of capacity is less than the total volume or quantity of items to be loaded, those containers are 1-N. When the running total of the overall capacity of candidate containers arranged in ascending or descending order, is equal to or more than the required capacities required based on the quantities or volumes of items to be loaded, those containers (containers 1 to N+1) are selected to be the outbound containers.
Claim 8 is interpreted to mean, the final containers selected are a set of containers having a total capacity that meets the volume or quantities of items to load into the containers as indicated in the demand.
Claim 9 is interpreted to mean that the sum of the capacities of a set of candidate containers is determined is compared to the total volume or quantity of items to be loaded into the containers,
selecting a number of empty containers that are the same container type indicated in the demand, such that the overall capacity of the empty containers is greater than or equal to the difference between capacity of the set of containers that are selected based on historical packing records as compared to a required capacity of total containers required in the demand as mentioned in claim 8.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 12, 16, and 17 (as understood by the Examiner) is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al (US PG. Pub. 2021/0150474). Relative to claims 1-2, 12, Park discloses:
claim 1) A method for determining to-be-outbound containers (330)(Fig. 3B), comprising:
receiving demand information for required containers (Para. 0103), the demand information comprises one or more pieces of the following information: a container selection strategy, a container type, the quantity of containers, the quantity of empty compartments in a container, a total volume of to-be-stocked materials, the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials, container codes, and a stock keeping unit (SKU)(demand for containers includes a selection strategy that specifies types of containers, and number of containers for a particular batch, Para. 0103, system also may associate specific SKU’s (321) of items to designated containers, Para. 0087);
determining to-be-outbound containers (330) according to the demand information for required containers (Para. 0094, 0085); and
performing an outbound operation on the to-be-outbound containers, to allow to-be-stocked materials to be placed in the to-be-outbound containers that are performed the outbound operation for stocking (Para. 0072, items are placed into containers); and
claim 2) the demand information comprises the container selection strategy, the container type, and the quantity of containers (Para. 0103), the container selection strategy is selecting completely empty containers (330, Para. 0103, inherently included), and the determining to-be-outbound containers (330) according to the demand information for required containers comprises:
determining, from a container warehouse (FC) according to the quantity of containers (330) indicated in the demand information, completely empty containers matching the container type indicated in the demand information as the to-be-outbound containers (Para. 0103, selected containers 330 must be empty at the time of allocation since the container quantities and types required for a newly assigned batch are determined so that a worker does not run out of space for carrying items. The items are assigned to batches and container groups before the worker begins picking the batch, and the system considers the dimensions and capacities of the containers, which means that the containers are necessarily empty at the time the containers are selected for that batch)(Fig. 3).
Relative to claim 12 (as understood by the Examiner), the disclosure of Park includes:
A method for determining to-be-outbound containers (330), comprising:
acquiring feature information of to-be-stocked materials (Para. 0082), the feature information of to-be-stocked materials (order items) comprises at least one piece of the following information: the quantity of to-be-stocked materials and an SKU (Para. 0084, for instance, system obtains item identifiers (321) for ordered items to be batched and placed into assigned containers, as well as the quantities of the items to be picked, container groups are associated with item identifiers 321, Para. 0086, container groups may formed based on a total weight, total volume of the items to be picked);
determining a container selection strategy according to the feature information of to-be-stocked materials (Para. 0087; 0103); and
sending the container selection strategy (Para. 0103).
Relative to claim 16 (as understood by the examiner), the disclosure of Park includes:
a control device (see FO system, 113)(Fig. 1A), comprising:
at least one processor (Para. 0077); and
a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor, the memory is configured to store instructions executable by the at least one processor, and the instructions, when being executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to (Para. 0077):
receive demand information for required containers, the demand information comprises one or more pieces of the following information (Para. 0103): a container selection strategy, a container type, the quantity of containers, the quantity of empty compartments in a container, a total volume of to-be-stocked materials, the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials, container codes, and a stock keeping unit (SKU)(Para. 0103, 0087);
determine to-be-outbound containers (330) according to the demand information for required containers (Para. 0094, 0085); and
perform an outbound operation on the to-be-outbound containers (330), to allow to-be-stocked materials to be placed in the to-be-outbound containers (330) that are performed the outbound operation for stocking (Para. 0072).
Relative to claim 17, (as understood by the Examiner), the disclosure of Park includes: a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium is configured to store computer-executable instructions, and a processor, when executing the computer-executable instructions, is configured to execute a method for determining to-be-outbound containers (see FO system, Para. 0077), comprising:
receiving demand information for required containers, the demand information comprises one or more pieces of the following information (Para. 0103):
a container selection strategy, a container type, the quantity of containers, the quantity of empty compartments in a container, a total volume of to-be-stocked materials, the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials, container codes, and a stock keeping unit (SKU)(Para. 0103, 0087);
determining to-be-outbound containers (330) according to the demand information for required containers (Para. 0094, 0085); and
performing an outbound operation on the to-be-outbound containers (330), to allow to-be-stocked materials to be placed in the to-be-outbound containers (330) that are performed the outbound operation for stocking (Para. 0072).
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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park in view of Li (US PG. Pub. 2019/0302787). Relative to claim 3, Park discloses all claim limitations mentioned above, including: determining, from a container warehouse
according to the quantity of containers indicated in the demand information (Para. 0103), completely empty containers matching the container type indicated in the demand information as the to-be-outbound containers (Para. 0103) comprises:
using the completely empty containers matching the container type indicated in the demand information in the container warehouse as preliminary to-be-outbound containers (Para. 0103).
Park does not expressly disclose: acquiring distances between the preliminary to-be-outbound containers and corresponding outbound points; and
selecting, from the preliminary to-be-outbound containers according to the distances and the quantity of containers, containers corresponding to the quantity of containers as the to-be-outbound containers.
Li teaches: acquiring distances between the preliminary to-be-outbound containers and corresponding outbound points (see distance of storage containers to operating position, Para. 0055), and
selecting, from the preliminary to-be-outbound containers according to the distances and the quantity of containers, containers corresponding to the quantity of containers as the to-be-outbound containers (the controller decides which storage container to place an item based on the item’s shipment heat, items meeting a certain heat threshold are stored in containers located closer to the operating position, e.g., outbound point, therefore storage containers are selected based on a proximity to the operating station as determined by the heat degree of the items to be stored; Para. 0054), for the purpose of providing an item transport system and method that integrates storage with picking efficiently (Para. 0002, 0004).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art on or before the time of the filing to modify the method of Park with the selecting containers corresponding to the quantity of containers as the to-be-outbound containers, as taught in Li for the purpose of providing an item transport system and method that integrates storage with picking efficiently.
Claim(s) 4, 10-11 (as understood by the Examiner) is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al (US PG. 2021/0150474) in view of Johnson et al (US PG. Pub. 2020/0239233). Relative to claims 4 and 10-11, Park discloses all claim limitations above, including: the demand information comprises the container selection strategy, and the container type (Para. 0103), and
determining containers with a container type matching the container type in the demand information (Para. 0103);
the demand information comprises a volume of to-be-stocked materials and the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials, and the determining to-be-outbound containers according to the demand information for required containers comprises:
determining a container type of the to-be-outbound containers according to the volume of to-be-stocked materials (Para. 0087); and
determining containers with a container type consistent with the container type of the to-be-outbound containers in a container warehouse as third preselected containers (Para. 0073); and determining the to-be-outbound containers according to the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials (Para. 0087; 0101), a preset proportion coefficient (Para. 0087; 0101).
Park does not expressly disclose:
the demand information comprises and the quantity of empty compartments in a container,
the container selection strategy is selecting containers according to the quantity of empty compartments in a container, and the determining to-be-outbound containers according to the demand information for required containers comprises:
determining containers having empty compartments in a container warehouse as first preselected containers; and
determining the to-be-outbound containers from the first preselected containers according to the quantity of empty compartments in a container in the demand information, to make a total sum of the quantity of empty compartments in all the to-be-outbound containers greater than or equal to the quantity of empty compartments in a container in the demand information;
the demand information comprises the container selection strategy and the container codes, the container selection strategy is selecting containers according to the container codes, and the determining to-be-outbound containers according to the demand information for required containers comprises:
determining containers with code information consistent with the container codes indicated in the demand information in a container warehouse as the to-be-outbound containers; or
determining the to-be-outbound containers according to the quantity of vacant compartments of the third preselected containers.
Johnson teaches:
the demand information comprises the quantity of empty compartments in a container (Para. 0078),
the container selection strategy is selecting containers (totes, containers, tote arrays 620, 624, 625, 627, 631, 633, etc.,)(Fig. 3, 10A-10F) according to the quantity of empty compartments in a container (Para. 0078, 0092), and the determining to-be-outbound containers (totes or containers) according to the demand information for required containers comprises:
determining containers (totes or containers) having empty compartments in a container warehouse as first preselected containers (Para. 0078, see preferred tote types, 0092-0093); and
determining the to-be-outbound containers (totes or containers) from the first preselected containers according to the quantity of empty compartments in a container in the demand information (Para. 0092), to make a total sum of the quantity of empty compartments in all the to-be-outbound containers greater than or equal to the quantity of empty compartments in a container in the demand information (Para. 0092; 0094); and
the demand information comprises the container selection strategy and the container codes (Para. 0098), the container selection strategy is selecting containers (tote/tote array) according to the container codes (Para. 0098-0099), and the determining to-be-outbound containers according to the demand information for required containers comprises:
determining containers (tote/tote array) with code information consistent with the container codes indicated in the demand information in a container warehouse as the to-be-outbound containers (Para. 0098-0099); and
determining the to-be-outbound containers according to the quantity of vacant compartments of the third preselected containers (Para. 0096).
Johnson teaches: the demand information comprises and the quantity of empty compartments in a container, and the container selection strategy is selecting containers according to the quantity of empty compartments in a container, and determining containers with code information consistent with the container codes indicated in the demand information, and determining the to-be-outbound containers according to the quantity of vacant compartments of the third preselected containers mentioned above, for the purpose of providing a method for recommending a tote type for an operator to select for use in robot induction process based on a characteristic of the order set being assigned, that reduces errors and inefficiencies due to picking wrong sizes or types of totes (Para. 0002, 0007).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Park, so that the container selection strategy includes selecting containers according to the quantity of empty compartments in a container, and determining containers with code information consistent with the container codes indicated in the demand information, and determining the to-be-outbound containers according to the quantity of vacant compartments of the third preselected containers mentioned above, as taught in Johnson, for the purpose of providing a method for recommending a tote type for use in robot induction process based on a characteristic of the order set being assigned that reduces errors and inefficiencies due to picking wrong sizes or types of totes.
Claim(s) 15 (as understood by the Examiner) is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al (US PG. 2021/0150474) in view of Johnson et al (US PG. Pub. 2020/0239233). Relative to claim 15, Park discloses all claim limitations above, but does not expressly disclose:
if the feature information of to-be-stocked materials comprises the SKU, the container selection strategy is selecting containers according to container codes.
Johnson teaches: if the feature information of to-be-stocked materials comprises the SKU (SKU’s of order items to be picked are obtained and assigned for placement into totes belonging to an order or order set, Para. 0059; 0069), the container selection strategy is selecting containers according to container codes (Para. 0098), for the purpose of providing a method for recommending a tote type for use in robot induction process based on a characteristic of the order set being assigned, that reduces errors and inefficiencies due to picking wrong sizes or types of totes (Para. 0002, 0007).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Park, with the container selection strategy including selecting containers according to container codes if the feature information of to-be-stocked materials comprises the SKU, as taught in Johnson, for the purpose of providing a method for recommending a tote type for use in robot induction process based on a characteristic of the order set being assigned, that reduces errors and inefficiencies due to picking wrong sizes or types of totes.
Claim(s) 6 (as understood by the Examiner) is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park in view of Jones et al (US PG. Pub. 2018/0130015). Relative to claim 6, Park discloses all claim limitations mentioned above, including:
the demand information comprises the container selection strategy, the SKU (321)(Para. 0087), and the total volume of to-be-stocked materials or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials (Para. 0087), the container selection strategy is selecting containers according to the SKU (Para. 0087), and the determining to-be-outbound containers according to the demand information for required containers comprises:
determining containers with a loaded SKU consistent with the SKU in the demand information in a container warehouse as second preselected containers (Para. 0087).
Park does not expressly disclose: selecting the to-be-outbound containers from the second preselected containers according to the total volume or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials, to make a sum value of remaining capacities of all the to-be-outbound containers greater than or equal to the total volume of to-be-stocked materials or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials.
Jones teaches: selecting the to-be-outbound containers from the second preselected containers according to the total volume or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials (see total volume of items in the order), to make a sum value of remaining capacities of all the to-be-outbound containers greater than or equal to the total volume of to-be-stocked materials or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials (system considers maximum container dimensions, weight, capacity to total volume of items in an order, Para. 0045), for the purpose of providing a system for reusing containers that can reliably determine container capacity requirements of a plurality of orders to choose optimal containers for holding and transporting items between locations (Para. 0003; 0014).
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 Park with the selecting the to-be-outbound containers according to the total volume or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials, to make a sum value of remaining capacities of all the to-be-outbound containers greater than or equal to the total volume or quantity of to-be-stocked materials as taught in Jones, for the purpose of purpose of providing a system for reusing containers that can reliably determine container capacity requirements of a plurality of orders to choose optimal containers for holding and transporting items between locations.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 7-9, and 13-14 (as understood by the Examiner) would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Relative to claim(s) 5, 7-9, and 13-14, the closest available prior art does not disclose:
claim 5) performing sequential addition according to an ascending order or a descending order of the quantity of empty compartments in the first preselected containers; and if an obtained sum value of the quantity of empty compartments is less than the quantity of empty compartments in a container in the demand information when the addition reaches an Nth container and the obtained sum value is greater than or equal to the quantity of empty compartments in a container in the demand information when the addition reaches an (N+1)th container, determining a first container to the (N+1)th container as the to-be-outbound containers;
claim 7) acquiring remaining capacities of the second preselected containers, performing sequential addition according to an ascending order or a descending order of the remaining capacities, and if an obtained sum value is less than the total volume of to-be-stocked materials or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials when the addition reaches an Nth container and the obtained sum value is greater than or equal to the total volume of to-be-stocked materials or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials when the addition reaches an (N+1)th container, determining a first container to the (N+1)ᵗʰ container as the to-be-outbound containers.
claim 8) if a sum value of remaining capacities of all the second preselected containers is less than the total volume of to-be-stocked materials or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials, acquiring a historical packing record corresponding to the SKU indicated in the demand information;
determining a container type of containers with the largest use count in the historical packing record as a container type of the to-be-outbound containers; and
determining the to-be-outbound containers according to the container type of the to-be-outbound containers, the sum value of remaining capacities of the second preselected containers, and the
total volume of to-be-stocked materials or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials indicated in the demand information;
claim 9) determining a capacity difference value according to the sum value of remaining capacities of the second preselected containers and the total volume or the total quantity of to-be-stocked materials indicated in the demand information;
selecting at least one completely empty container corresponding to the container type of the to-be-outbound containers, to make a total capacity of the completely empty container corresponding to the container type of the to-be-outbound containers greater than or equal to the capacity difference value; and
determining the second preselected containers and the at least one completely empty container corresponding to the container type of the to-be-outbound containers as the to-be-outbound containers;
claim 13) if the quantity of to-be-stocked materials is greater than a first preset threshold, determining that the container selection strategy is selecting completely empty containers;
claim 14) if the feature information of to-be-stocked materials comprises the SKU and the quantity of to-be-stocked materials and the quantity of to-be-stocked materials is greater than a second preset threshold, the container selection strategy is selecting containers according to the SKU, as claimed and as understood by the Examiner.
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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/YOLANDA R CUMBESS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3651
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