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 .
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.
Drawings
Fig. 4B shows two features marked “Output circuit”, one of which is marked with reference numeral 305. The specification uses reference numeral 305 for a “detection circuit”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-19 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.
Two separate claims are listed as claim 1. For the purposes of examination, these claims will be referred to as claim 1(1) and claim 1(2).
Claims 1, 8 and 14 all recite “parallel arcuate paths pattern”. The specification discusses the “parallel arcuate paths pattern” in numerous passages discussing the embodiments shown in Figs. 1C-1H. However, it is unclear what is meant by “arcuate” in the claims as the described “arcuate” patterns are all shown as straight lines in the figures. For the purposes of examination, it will be assumed that the claims were intended to recite a pattern shown in the figures.
Claims 1(2), 4, 5, 9, 12, 13, 15, 18 and 19 all depend from themselves. For the purposes of examination, it will be assumed that the claims depended from the previous independent claim.
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 1(1), 1(2), 2, 4, 7-10, 12, 14-16 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Reigo (US Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0278285).
In reference to claim 1(1), Reigo discloses a mowing method, comprising:
determining a current mowing direction of a robotic lawn mower 100 according to a historical mowing direction in response to a mowing trigger request for the robotic lawn mower 100, the current mowing direction being different from the historical mowing direction (Fig. 3, par. 0040, “deduced reckoning” as known in the art includes the above steps);
obtaining a preset grass region 205 (Fig. 3) to be mowed;
generating a mowing route following parallel arcuate paths pattern (Fig. 3) for traveling in the current mowing direction based on the preset grass region 205 to be mowed, and a mowing mode and the current mowing direction of the robotic lawn mower 100 (Fig. 3, par. 0040); and
controlling the robotic lawn mower 100 to perform a mowing operation based on the mowing route following the parallel arcuate paths pattern (Fig. 3, par. 0040).
In reference to claim 1(2), Reigo discloses that the current mowing direction is a direction for the Nᵗʰ mowing, wherein N is an integer greater than 2, the historical mowing direction is a direction for the N-1ᵗʰ mowing (Fig. 3, par. 0040, “deduced reckoning” as known in the art includes the above steps), and determining the current mowing direction of the robotic lawn mower according to the historical mowing direction comprises:
obtaining a preset deflection strategy and a historical mowing information, the preset deflection strategy carrying a first deflection direction and a first deflection angle (par. 0040);
calculating a target deflection angle based on the historical mowing information and the first deflection angle (pars. 0040, 0043 and 0047); and
determining the direction for the Nth mowing by the robotic lawn mower based on the first deflection direction, the target deflection angle and the direction for the N-1th mowing (pars. 0040, 0043 and 0047).
In reference to claim 2, Reigo discloses that the historical mowing direction is an initial mowing direction (Fig. 3, par. 0040), and determining the current mowing direction of the robotic lawn mower according to the historical mowing direction comprises:
obtaining a preset deflection strategy, the preset deflection strategy carrying a second deflection direction and a second deflection angle (pars. 0040, 0043 and 0047); and
determining the current mowing direction of the robotic lawn mower 100 based on the second deflection direction, the second deflection angle and the initial mowing direction (pars. 0040, 0043 and 0047).
In reference to claim 4, Reigo discloses that generating the mowing route following the parallel arcuate paths pattern along the current mowing direction according to the current mowing position comprises:
obtaining an isolated area 205b in the grass region to be mowed (Fig. 3);
determining route turning points based on the mowing mode of the robotic lawn mower 100, isolation boundaries of the isolated area 205b, and the current mowing direction (pars. 0045); and
generating the mowing route following parallel arcuate paths pattern along the current mowing direction according to the current mowing position, the route turning points and the mowing boundaries of the grass region to be mowed (Fig. 3, par. 0045).
In reference to claim 7, Reigo discloses that the direction of the first mowing route and the direction of the second mowing route are perpendicular to each other (Fig. 3, each mowing route is followed by a 90 degree turn).
In reference to claim 8, Reigo discloses a mowing apparatus 100, comprising:
a determination circuit (par. 0023, within controller 110) is configured to determine a current mowing direction of a robotic lawn mower according to a historical mowing direction in response to a mowing trigger request for the robotic lawn mower, the current mowing direction being different from the historical mowing direction (par. 0040);
an obtaining circuit (par. 0023, within controller 110) is configured to obtain a preset grass region 205 (Fig. 3) to be mowed;
a generation circuit (par. 0023, within controller 110) is configured to generate a mowing route following parallel arcuate paths pattern for traveling in the current mowing direction based on the grass region to be mowed, and a mowing mode and the current mowing direction of the robotic lawn mower 100 (Fig. 3, par. 0040); and
a control circuit (par. 0023, within controller 110) is configured to control the robotic lawn mower 100 to perform a mowing operation based on the mowing route following the parallel arcuate paths pattern (Fig. 3, par. 0040).
In reference to claim 9, Reigo discloses that the current mowing direction is a direction for the Nᵗʰ mowing, wherein N is an integer greater than 2, the historical mowing direction is a direction for the N-1ᵗʰ mowing (Fig. 3, par. 0040, “deduced reckoning” as known in the art includes the above steps), and determine the current mowing direction of the robotic lawn mower according to the historical mowing direction comprises:
obtain a preset deflection strategy and a historical mowing information, the preset deflection strategy carrying a first deflection direction and a first deflection angle (pars. 0040, 0043 and 0047);
calculate a target deflection angle based on the historical mowing information and the first deflection angle (pars. 0040, 0043 and 0047); and
determine the direction for the Nᵗʰ mowing by the robotic lawn mower 100 based on the first deflection direction, the target deflection angle and the direction for the N-1ᵗʰ mowing (pars. 0040, 0043 and 0047).
In reference to claim 10, Reigo discloses that the historical mowing direction is an initial mowing direction (Fig. 3, par. 0040), and determine the current mowing direction of the robotic lawn mower according to the historical mowing direction comprises:
obtain a preset deflection strategy, the preset deflection strategy carrying a second deflection direction and a second deflection angle (pars. 0040, 0043 and 0047); and
determine the current mowing direction of the robotic lawn mower based on the second deflection direction, the second deflection angle and the initial mowing direction (pars. 0040, 0043 and 0047).
In reference to claim 12, Reigo discloses that generating the mowing route following the parallel arcuate paths pattern along the current mowing direction according to the current mowing position comprises:
obtain an isolated area 205b in the grass region 205 to be mowed (Fig. 3);
determine route turning points based on the mowing mode of the robotic lawn mower 100, isolation boundaries of the isolated area 205b, and the current mowing direction (pars. 0045); and
generate the mowing route following parallel arcuate paths pattern along the current mowing direction according to the current mowing position, the route turning points and the mowing boundaries of the grass region 205 to be mowed (Fig. 3, par. 0045).
In reference to claim 14, Reigo discloses a robotic lawn mower 100, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the memory (par. 0023), wherein the computer program, when being executed by the processor, carries out the steps of the mowing method, wherein the mowing method comprising:
determining a current mowing direction of a robotic lawn mower 100 according to a historical mowing direction in response to a mowing trigger request for the robotic lawn mower 100, the current mowing direction being different from the historical mowing direction (Fig. 3, par. 0040, “deduced reckoning” as known in the art includes the above steps);
obtaining a preset grass region 205 to be mowed (Fig. 3);
generating a mowing route following parallel arcuate paths pattern (Fig. 3) for traveling in the current mowing direction based on the preset grass region 205 to be mowed, and a mowing mode and the current mowing direction of the robotic lawn mower (Fig. 3, par. 0040); and
controlling the robotic lawn mower 100 to perform a mowing operation based on the mowing route following the parallel arcuate paths pattern (Fig. 3, par. 0040).
In reference to claim 15, Reigo discloses that the current mowing direction is a direction for the Nᵗʰ mowing, wherein N is an integer greater than 2, the historical mowing direction is a direction for the N-1th mowing (Fig. 3, par. 0040, “deduced reckoning” as known in the art includes the above steps), and determining the current mowing direction of the robotic lawn mower 100 according to the historical mowing direction comprises:
obtaining a preset deflection strategy and a historical mowing information, the preset deflection strategy carrying a first deflection direction and a first deflection angle (par. 0040);
calculating a target deflection angle based on the historical mowing information and the first deflection angle (pars. 0040, 0043 and 0047); and
determining the direction for the Nᵗʰ mowing by the robotic lawn mower 100 based on the first deflection direction, the target deflection angle and the direction for the N-1th mowing (pars. 0040, 0043 and 0047).
In reference to claim 16, Reigo discloses that the historical mowing direction is an initial mowing direction (Fig. 3, par. 0040), and determining the current mowing direction of the robotic lawn mower 100 according to the historical mowing direction comprises:
obtaining a preset deflection strategy, the preset deflection strategy carrying a second deflection direction and a second deflection angle (pars. 0040, 0043 and 0047); and
determining the current mowing direction of the robotic lawn mower based on the second deflection direction, the second deflection angle and the initial mowing direction (pars. 0040, 0043 and 0047).
In reference to claim 18, Reigo discloses that generating the mowing route following the parallel arcuate paths pattern along the current mowing direction according to the current mowing position comprises:
obtaining an isolated area 205b in the grass region 205 to be mowed (Fig. 3);
determining route turning points based on the mowing mode of the robotic lawn mower 100, isolation boundaries of the isolated area 205b, and the current mowing direction (par. 0045); and
generating the mowing route following parallel arcuate paths pattern along the current mowing direction according to the current mowing position, the route turning points and the mowing boundaries of the grass region to be mowed (Fig. 3, par. 0045).
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.
Claims 3, 11 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reigo (US Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0278285) in view of Lyzen et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0070356).
In reference to claims 3, 11 and 17, Reigo fails to disclose extracting a swath parameter of the robotic lawn mower from the mowing trigger request;
determining a mower turn-around point based on mowing boundaries of the grass region to be mowed, and the mowing mode, the swath parameter and the current mowing direction of the robotic lawn mower; and
generating the mowing route following the parallel arcuate paths pattern for traveling in the current mowing direction according to a current mowing position and the mower turn-around point.
Lyzen discloses extracting a swath parameter 732 of the robotic lawn mower from the mowing trigger request (par. 0125, Fig. 7);
determining a mower turn-around point 726 based on mowing boundaries of the grass region to be mowed, and the mowing mode, the swath parameter 732 and the current mowing direction of the robotic lawn mower (Fig. 7); and
generating the mowing route following the parallel arcuate paths pattern for traveling in the current mowing direction according to a current mowing position and the mower turn-around point (Fig. 7, par. 0125). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to guide the mower based on the swath parameter with a reasonable expectation of success so that a desired overlap in mowing routes can be achieved.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 6, 13 and 19 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Chen et al. (US Patent No. 4,694,639) discloses guiding a mower based on a stored history (col. 7, lines 19-23); Miyamoto et al. (US Patent No. 5,528,888) discloses controlling a mower to move in parallel routes 84 (Fig. 8) based on historical mowing data (col. 3, lines 42-55); and Choi et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0064024).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRAD HARCOURT whose telephone number is (571)272-7303. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Doug Hutton can be reached at (571)272-4137. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRAD HARCOURT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3674
7/07/26
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