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 .
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to the application filed on November 14, 2024. Claims 1-20 are pending. Claims 1, 17, 18, 19 and 20 are independent.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on November 14, 2024 has been considered. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. The Forms PTO-1449 are signed and attached hereto.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because every box in the drawing should have a descriptive label on it (See Figures 4 and 5). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
(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, 2, 4, 5 and 8-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023/0166632 to Braunstein et al.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5 and 8-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Braunstein.
With respect to independent claim 1, Braunstein discloses obtain container-related data of a plurality of containers located at a site (see paragraphs [0014], [0015] and [0016]: the machine 102 and/or the dispatch controller 110 can determine the expected energy consumption level 112 associated with the route 108 at least in part based on material dispense rates and decreasing payload amounts associated with segments 114 of the route 108. The machine 102 can have a material container 116, such as a tank, reservoir, or other container configured to store up to a maximum amount of the material 106. Operations of the material dispensers 118 can also, or alternately, be controlled via data instructions, electrical currents, or other signals.);
obtain battery attributes of the electric material handling machine (see paragraph [0037]: the battery SoH sensors can detect a current SoC 140 of the battery 104. In some examples, one or more battery SoH sensors can also detect a state of health of the battery 104, such as abilities of the battery 104 to maintain a charge, receive a charge, and/or transfer energy at a power level.);
determine handling operations operable by the electric material handling machine with respect to the plurality of containers based on the container-related data (see paragraph [0014]: The machine 102 can be a material-dispensing machine that is configured to dispense material 106 carried by the machine 102 to a surrounding environment as the machine 102 travels along a route 108. In some examples, a dispatch controller 110 associated with the worksite 100 can generate and/or assign the route 108 to the machine 102. In other examples, the machine 102 can generate the route 108 and/or select the route 108 from a set of available routes. The machine 102 and/or dispatch controller 110 can select and/or generate the route 108 for the machine 102 based on an expected energy consumption level 112 associated with the route 108.);
determine energy management data based on the battery attributes and the handling operations; and provide a handling operation recommendation for the electric material handling machine based on the energy management data (see paragraphs [0014] and [0047]: Dispensing material 106 along the route 108 can decrease the weight of the payload carried by the machine 102 as the machine 102 progresses along the route 108. Accordingly, as discussed further below, the machine 102 and/or the dispatch controller 110 can determine the expected energy consumption level 112 associated with the route 108 at least in part based on material dispense rates and decreasing payload amounts associated with segments 114 of the route 108. The dispatch controller 110 and/or the ECM 132 can select or generate the route 108 for the machine 102 in part by determining the expected energy consumption level 112 associated with the route 108. The expected energy consumption level 112 associated with the route 108 can be a combination of a material dispense energy consumption level 152 associated with the route 108 and a travel energy consumption level 154 associated with the route 108.).
With respect to dependent claim 2, Braunstein discloses wherein the energy management data comprises a prioritization of an order in which the handling operations are to be carried out with respect to the battery attributes based on an amount of energy consumed or regenerated while carrying out said handling operations (see paragraphs [0014], [0069] and [0093]: The machine 102 and/or dispatch controller 110 can select and/or generate the route 108 for the machine 102 based on an expected energy consumption level 112 associated with the route 108. The expected energy consumption level 112 can be based on energy predicted to be consumed and/or captured by the machine 102 while the machine 102 traverses the route 108 and dispenses material 106 along the route 108. Dispensing material 106 along the route 108 can decrease the weight of the payload carried by the machine 102 as the machine 102 progresses along the route 108. Accordingly, as discussed further below, the machine 102 and/or the dispatch controller 110 can determine the expected energy consumption level 112 associated with the route 108 at least in part based on material dispense rates and decreasing payload amounts associated with segments 114 of the route 108. If the dispatch controller 110 determines that the machine 102 is more energy efficient than one or more other machines in a fleet, the dispatch controller 110 can assign the machine 102 to routes more often than other machines, or may prioritize assigning the machine 102 to longer routes or routes that may be associated with higher expected energy consumption levels. The system can adjust material dispense rates and/or patterns associated with the route 108, adjust a number of material dispense areas 124 along the route 108 at which material 106 is to be dispersed, prioritize dispersal of material 106 at some material dispense areas 124 over other material dispense areas 124 based on dust sensor data or other information, and/or otherwise adjust machine operations to lower the overall expected energy consumption level 112 associated with the route 108.).
With respect to dependent claim 4, Braunstein discloses wherein the prioritization relates to respective energy consumption of the handling operations being container lifting operations (see paragraph [0069]: if the dispatch controller 110 determines that the machine 102 is more energy efficient than one or more other machines in a fleet, the dispatch controller 110 can assign the machine 102 to routes more often than other machines, or may prioritize assigning the machine 102 to longer routes or routes that may be associated with higher expected energy consumption levels. Accordingly, the dispatch controller 110 can assign different machines to different routes, and thus cause different machines to dispense material 106 at different sets of material dispense areas associated with the different routes.).
With respect to dependent claim 5, Braunstein discloses wherein the prioritization involves, within acceptable values of a recovery time comprised in the battery attributes, assigning higher energy consuming container lifting operations to higher values of state of charge comprised in the battery attributes compared to lower energy consuming container lifting operations (see paragraphs [0071] and [0072]: based on assignments of machines to routes, actual or projected amounts of material 106 loaded and dispensed in association with the routes, actual or projected amounts of energy to be consumed by the machines and/or provided to the machines at charging stations, the dispatch controller 110 can display cost totals or projected cost estimates associated with the routes. In some cases, the dispatch controller 110 or a user of the dispatch controller 110 can assign machines to routes, or adjust routes and/or corresponding material dispense patterns or rates, based on such cost estimates. For instance, if projected cost estimates exceed a monthly budget, a site manager may choose to assign fewer machines to routes, or assign fewer routes to machines, to lower the projected costs. The dispatch controller 110 and/or the ECM 132 can also be configured to generate routes to optimize efficiency and/or lower costs with respect to the machine 102 and/or other machines.).
With respect to dependent claim 8, Braunstein discloses wherein the container-related data further comprises an operation prioritization indicator configured to indicate prioritized container loads (see paragraphs [0093] and [0094]: the system can adjust material dispense rates and/or patterns associated with the route 108, adjust a number of material dispense areas 124 along the route 108 at which material 106 is to be dispersed, prioritize dispersal of material 106 at some material dispense areas 124 over other material dispense areas 124 based on dust sensor data or other information, and/or otherwise adjust machine operations to lower the overall expected energy consumption level 112 associated with the route 108. In some examples, the system can also use the process shown of FIG. 2 after the machine 102 has begun traversing the route 108. For instance, after the machine 102 begins traversing the route 108, the system can use the process shown in FIG. 2 to determine, based on updated information such as updated location data 136, updated payload data 138, and/or an updated current SoC 140, an updated amount of material 106 to be dispensed along remaining portions of the route 108 and/or an updated expected energy consumption level associated with remaining portions of the route 108.).
With respect to dependent claim 9, Braunstein discloses wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to optimize the energy management data based on an optimization property of the electric material handling machine (see paragraph [0072]: The dispatch controller 110 and/or the ECM 132 can also plan or adjust the path of the route 108 to avoid high-traffic areas on the worksite 100 and/or reach material dispense areas 124 more quickly, cause the machine 102 to fill the material container 116 only with amounts of material 106 predicted to be used during subsequent portions of the route 108, adjust material dispense rates and/or patterns to dispense higher amounts of material 106 during early portions of the route 108, and/or otherwise optimize the path of the route 108 and/or machine operations during the route 108.).
With respect to dependent claim 10, Braunstein discloses the optimization property being one or more of: a minimum energy consumption of the electric material handling machine, a number of said plurality of containers moved or to be moved by the electric material handling machine, and a number of battery charging sequences that has been carried out by the electric material handling machine (see paragraph [0061]: The dispatch controller 110 and/or the ECM 132 can determine and/or predict the SoC to which the battery 104 should be charged when connected to the charging station 120 or other external power sources, times it will take to charge the battery 104 at external power sources, times it will take the machine 102 to travel to the external power sources, wait times the machine 102 may be waiting in queues before being charged at the external power sources, and/or other delays associated with charging the battery 104 while generating the route 108 and/or determining whether the machine 102 can traverse the route 108.).
With respect to dependent claim 11, Braunstein discloses wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to optimize the energy management data based on geographical data of the site (see paragraph [0119]: the dispatch controller 110 and/or the machine 102 can also select routes, and/or adjust routes or machine operations associated with the routes, to optimize efficiency and/or costs associated with the worksite 100 and one or more machines. For example, the dispatch controller 110 can generate a path for the route 108 in part by deprioritizing segments 114 with uphill slopes directly after visits to the material refill station 122, as the machine 102 may be carrying more weight due to a refill of material 106 and thus consume more energy during such uphill segments 114. The dispatch controller 110 can generate the path of the route 108 to defer travel through the uphill segments 114 once the machine 102 has dispersed material 106 and is projected to be carrying less weight, as the machine 102 may consume less energy when carrying less weight. The dispatch controller 110 can accordingly generate the route 108 and/or machine operations along the route 108 to prioritize lowering the overall expected energy consumption level 112 associated with the route 108, thereby increasing efficiency and lowering costs associated with providing energy to the machine 102.).
With respect to dependent claim 12, Braunstein discloses wherein the handling operations cause a relocation of a container, or parts loaded therein, within the site (see paragraphs [0016] and [0027]: the material dispensers 118 can include nozzles, spray heads, and/or pumps configured to spray water or other fluid stored in the material container 116 to a surrounding environment. The material dispensers 118 can have, or be associated with, a fluid delivery pump. The fluid delivery pump can be an electrically-driven pump, such as a variable or fixed displacement pump. The fluid delivery pump can be driven by a dedicated motor, or can be driven by a drivetrain associated with one or more traction motors that drive propulsion of the machine 102. The material dispensers 118 can also have, or be associated with, one or more conduits that can draw fluid from the material container 116. The machine 102 can have one or more electric engines, electric motors, electrical conversion systems, electric drivetrains, and/or other electrical components that are configured to convert and/or use energy, such as energy stored in the battery 104, to cause overall movement of the machine 102 while driving and/or to power operations of the material dispensers 118 to dispense material 106 stored in the material container 116 at material dispense areas 124.).
With respect to dependent claim 13, Braunstein discloses wherein the battery attributes depend on one or more of a weight of the electric material handling machine, an energy efficiency of the electric material handling machine, battery characteristics of a battery of the electric material handling machine, and idling data of the electric material handling machine (see paragraphs [0038] and [0075]: one or more of the sensors 134 can provide data to the ECM 132 of the machine 102 and/or the dispatch controller 110, such that the ECM 132 and/or the dispatch controller 110 can determine a location of the machine 102, detect nearby terrain, detect nearby objects, such as vehicles, other machines, or personnel, detect the positions of such nearby objects relative to the machine 102, use the payload data 138 to determine a current weight and/or amount of material 106 stored in the material container 116 of the machine 102, determine the current SoC 140 of the battery 104, and/or perform other operations. The machine 102 may attempt to preserve SoC of the battery 104 by shutting off one or more material dispensers 118 while the machine 102 is idling, but the idling may discharge the battery 104 such that an updated value of the current SoC 140 falls below an updated value for the expected energy consumption level 112 associated with remaining portions of the route 108.).
With respect to dependent claim 14, Braunstein discloses wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the electric material handling machine to carry out a handling operation based on the handling operation recommendation (see paragraphs [0033] and [0064]: the machine 102 can have an on-board guidance system that can drive the machine 102 through the route 108 autonomously, an obstacle detection system that assists the on-board guidance system or can alert a human operator of nearby objects detected by the obstacle detection system, and/or other systems that fully or partially control operations of the machine 102. As another example, the dispatch controller 110 or another off-board computing device can receive data from the machine 102 and return instructions to the machine 102 to fully or partially control operations of the machine 102 remotely. If the machine 102 is semi-autonomous, the route assignment 156 can include machine instructions that cause the machine 102 to automatically dispense material 106 at material dispense areas 124 while a human operator drives the machine 102, or machine instructions that cause the machine 102 to automatically drive through the route 108 while a human operator controls the material dispensers 118 to dispense material 106 at material dispense areas 124 based on other information in the route assignment 156.).
With respect to dependent claim 15, Braunstein discloses wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the electric material handling machine to carry out an auxiliary handling machine operation based on the handling operation recommendation, the auxiliary handling machine operation being one or more of: a charging operation, a driving operation including an autonomous navigation operation, a collision avoidance operation and an ADAS operation, a climate control operation, a telematics operation, and a diagnostics operation (see paragraph [0008]: The operations further include receiving machine data, from the machine, indicating a current state of charge of a battery of the machine. The operations additionally include determining that the current state of charge is at or above the expected energy consumption level associated with traversal of the route by the machine. The operations also include assigning the route to the machine in response to determining that the current SoC is at or above the expected energy consumption level.).
With respect to dependent claim 16, Braunstein discloses being arranged in the electric material handling machine and/or as a cloud-based resource configured to be in communication with the electric material handling machine (see paragraph [0031]: The dispatch controller 110 can be one or more servers, computers, or other off-board computing devices that are separate from the machine 102. For example, while the machine 102 can be located at the worksite 100, the dispatch controller 110 can be located at a back office or other location that is remote from the machine 102, or that is remote from the worksite 100 overall.).
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, 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Braunstein in view of U.S. Patent No. 7,554,278 to Wegner-Donnelly et al. (hereinafter “Wegner-Donnelly”).
With respect to dependent claim 3, Braunstein discloses wherein the amount of energy consumed or regenerated while carrying out said handling operations is calculated as a function of the container-related data comprising a weight of a container, a time or distance during which a container is expected to be carried by the electric material handling machine (see paragraph [0053]: The expected energy consumption level 112 can also be determined by the dispatch controller 110 and/or the ECM 132 based on physics models, machine learning models, or other models indicating amounts of energy likely to be consumed and/or captured based on grades and/or distances of the segments 114, changes to the amount and/or weight of material 106 stored in the material container 116 at different segments 114 as the machine 102 travels through the route 108 and dispenses material 106 at material dispense areas 124, and/or other attributes.);
a time or distance during which the electric material handling machine is expected to move towards or from a container (see paragraph [0027]: The machine 102 can have one or more electric engines, electric motors, electrical conversion systems, electric drivetrains, and/or other electrical components that are configured to convert and/or use energy, such as energy stored in the battery 104, to cause overall movement of the machine 102 while driving and/or to power operations of the material dispensers 118 to dispense material 106 stored in the material container 116 at material dispense areas 124.).
Braunstein does not explicitly teach optionally a height difference of a relocation of a container.
Wegner-Donnelly teaches an energy storage system such as for example a system of battery cells or capacitors may be distributed in different locations between the legs (as viewed from the side) of the RTG crane, depending on availability of space and weight distribution requirements. The load-lifting device is a rubber-tired gantry crane comprising legs and the prime power system or the energy storage unit is mounted between a pair of said legs proximate a bottom end of said legs. It can be seen that the energy storage unit can also preferably form part of a counterweight in the load-lifting apparatus. (see col. 9, lines 25-30 and col. 10, lines 1-5 and lines 12-14).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the material handling machine operation based on payload weight that determines energy consumption of Braunstein with energy required for lifting and energy that can be regenerated during lowering based on load weight and vertical distance of the lift or lower of Wegner-Donnelly in order to provide improve the accuracy of energy-prediction and work planning methods for vertical displacement of a container influencing energy consumption and regeneration.
With respect to dependent claim 6, Braunstein does not explicitly teach wherein the processing circuitry is configured to prioritize an energy regeneration of the handling operations being container lowering operations. Wegner-Donnelly discloses a control system for controlling the operation of the at least one prime power system and the load-lifting apparatus, and for monitoring the at least one energy storage unit, wherein the at least one motor selectively receives operational energy from the at least one energy storage unit and the at least one prime power system, the at least one motor supplies regenerative braking energy to the bus when the load-lifting device lowers a load, and wherein the ratio of the at least one prime power system rated power to the load-lifting peak power is between 0.2 and 0.7.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the material handling machine operation based on payload weight that determines energy consumption of Braunstein with regenerative braking energy while lowering the container of Wegner-Donnelly in order to prioritize energy regeneration of handling operations of container lowering operations.
With respect to dependent claim 7, Braunstein does not explicitly teach wherein the prioritization involves assigning higher energy regenerating container lowering operations to lower values of state of charge comprised in the battery attributes compared to lower energy regenerating container lowering operations.
Wegner-Donnelly discloses the power peaks typical of traveling 211 (the crane moving from one location to another) and handling or manipulating containers 210 (raising, lowering and traversing the crane lifting assembly). This type of duty cycle is well-suited for a hybrid system where power from one or more prime power sources can be stored in energy storage systems during low power portions of the duty cycle and can be discharged to augment the power from one or more prime power sources during high power portions of the duty cycle. This allows the total power capacity of the prime power system or systems to be lower than required if no energy storage were available. (See col. 6, lines 44-55).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the material handling machine operation based on payload weight that determines energy consumption of Braunstein with regenerative braking energy while lowering container of Wegner-Donnelly in order to prioritize energy regeneration of handling operations of container lowering operations.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEMETRA R SMITH-STEWART whose telephone number is (571)270-3965. The examiner can normally be reached 10am - 6pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Peter Nolan can be reached at 571-270-7016. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DEMETRA R SMITH-STEWART/Examiner, Art Unit 3661
/PETER D NOLAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3661