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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefore, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 28 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because per MPEP 2106.03 products that do not have a physical or tangible form, such as information (often referred to as "data per se") or a computer program per se (often referred to as "software per se") when claimed as a product without any structural recitations, claim 28 is directed towards software per se.
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 16 - 21, 23 -26, 28 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wagner (US 2020/0151410 A1) in view of Austrheim (US 2021/0229912 A1).
Regarding claim 16, Wagner teaches, A method for order preparation and packing comprising:
bringing at least one storage container (810) for at least one item, by means of at least one vehicle (706 – automated carriers) of a first set of self-guiding vehicles adapted to travel across the floor, to an order preparation station (809);
selecting a first cardboard box (812) intended to form the packaging of a parcel for one of said orders;
bringing said first cardboard box selected, by means of at least one vehicle of a second set of self-guiding vehicles (706 – multiple automated carriers) adapted to travel across the floor, to said order preparation station (809);
taking at least one item from one of said storage containers and placing said at least one item taken in said first cardboard box selected ([0193] – inventory totes and outbound containers are carried to and from picking stations after items are transferred);
said bringing is carried out by moving said vehicles (706) in a travel zone provided on an inclined ramp (fig. 72 – travels zones include 2 ramps) for accessing said order preparation station (fig. 72 – order preparation station is operator is standing),
said taking is carried out in a parking zone (marked in figure below) accessible from said inclined ramp comprising at least two adjacent parking spaces (several adjacent parking spaces in figure below) intended to receive respectively a vehicle of said first set and a vehicle of said second set,
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Regarding claim 16, Wagner fails to teach,
and in that it comprises adjusting a height of at least one of said adjacent parking spaces as a function of dimensions of said first cardboard box and/or of said at least one storage container
Regarding claim 16, Austrheim teaches,
and in that it comprises adjusting a height of at least one of said adjacent parking spaces as a function of dimensions of said first cardboard box and/or of said at least one storage container (fig. 11 – shows adjacent parking spaces (21) with mechanisms (27) for adjusting the height of parking spaces).
Regarding claim 17, Wagner fails to teach, the method for order preparation and packing according to claim 16,
wherein said at least two parking spaces are at different heights.
Regarding claim 17, Austrheim teaches, the method for order preparation and packing according to claim 16,
wherein said at least two parking spaces are at different heights (fig. 11 – shows adjacent parking spaces (21) with differing heights).
Regarding claim 18, Wagner teaches, the method for order preparation and packing according to claim 16,
wherein said at least two adjacent parking spaces (figure above) face the position of an operator or of a robotic arm (figure above – parking spaces face operator).
Regarding claim 19, Wagner fails to teach, the method for order preparation and packing according to claim 16,
wherein at least one of said adjacent parking spaces is inclined relative to the horizontal.
Regarding claim 19, Austrheim teaches, the method for order preparation and packing according to claim 16,
wherein at least one of said adjacent parking spaces is inclined relative to the horizontal (fig. 11 – parking spaces (21) are inclined relative to the horizontal).
Wagner and Austrheim are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are both in the field of material and article handling. Therefore, it would have been obvious for someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wagner’s method of order preparation and packing to include the tiltable and height adjustable parking spaces taught by Austrheim, Wagner discloses operator handling of packages at designated parking spots, and as disclosed by Austrheim the use of height adjustable and tilting parking spots increases operator access to the items, increasing system efficiency [0102].
Regarding claim 20, Wagner teaches, the method for order preparation and packing according to claim 16,
wherein, in the event of an error when selecting said first cardboard box, said method comprises:
selecting a second cardboard box intended to form the packaging of the parcel for said order;
moving said vehicle of the second set that brings said first cardboard box from a first of said adjacent parking spaces to a second of said adjacent parking spaces, freeing up said first parking space;
bringing said second cardboard box selected, by means of at least one vehicle of said second set, to said first parking space that has been freed up;
taking said at least one item placed in said first cardboard box and placing said at least one item taken into said second cardboard box.
Per MPEP 2111.04, contingent limitations such as the ones described above in regards to the method of order preparation - “in the event of an error”. The claimed invention only requires those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be performed. The broadest reasonable interpretation of this claim requires only step A, which in this instance would be the occurrence of no error and is taught by Wagner in claim 16 .
Regarding claim 21, Wagner teaches, the method for order preparation and packing according to claim 16,
wherein said selection of the first and/or the second cardboard box takes into account at least one of the parameters belonging to the group comprising: a number of items making up the order; a dimension of items making up the order; a nature of items making up the order; a fragility of items making up the order; a size of an element for wedging and/or protecting items making up the order, to be inserted in the cardboard box; a dimension of cardboard boxes available ([0101] – volumetric scanning determines sorting to appropriate outbound containers).
Regarding claim 23, Wagner teaches, The method for order preparation and packing according to claim 16, further comprising:
determining an arrangement of said item or items making up said order inside said first and/or second cardboard box as a function of an order sequence in which said at least one storage container for said item or items making up said order are presented in said parking zone ([0195] – items are arranged into boxes (812) by order they are presented in parking zone).
Regarding claim 24, Wagner teaches, the method for order preparation and packing according to claim 16,
wherein at least some of the vehicles of said first set of vehicles are also vehicles belonging to said second set of vehicles or vice versa (fig. 72 – vehicles are interchangeable, [0201] - All carriers run on the same shared roadway of track sections as independent container-delivery agents. The carriers can move forward, backward, left or right to drive around each other and reach any location in the system).
Regarding claim 25, Wagner teaches, The method for order preparation and packing according to claim 16, further comprising:
transporting said vehicle that brings said first or second cardboard box selected to a means for closing cardboard boxes at an order dispatch station ([0201] – carriers can transport outbound containers to picking stations and full outbound containers to discharge lanes once they have been processed).
Regarding claim 26, Wagner teaches, The method for order preparation and packing according to claim 16, wherein,
in the event of modification of an order sequence in which orders are prepared, said method comprises free movement of at least one of said vehicles of the first and/or of the second set of vehicles in at least two perpendicular directions so as to go from said parking zone or from said travel zone to a temporary storage zone(fig. 72 – parking spaces on ramp are temporary storage zones) for said vehicles, provided on said inclined ramp, and vice versa ([0201] - All carriers run on the same shared roadway of track sections as independent container-delivery agents. The carriers can move forward, backward, left or right to drive around each other and reach any location in the system).
Per MPEP 2111.04, contingent limitations such as the ones described above in regards to the method of order preparation - “in the event of modification of an order sequence”. The claimed invention only requires those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be performed. The broadest reasonable interpretation of this claim requires only step A, which in this instance would be the occurrence of no modification, both steps are disclosed by Wagner.
Regarding claim 28, Wagner teaches, a computer program product comprising program code instructions for implementing the method according to claim 16 when this program is executed by a processor ([0198] – system operates under the control of a computer processor).
Regarding claim 30, Wagner teaches, A system for order preparation and packing comprising:
at least one order preparation station (fig. 72 – human at order preparation station);
a first set of self-guiding vehicles (fig. 72 – carriers travels across the floor) adapted to travel across the floor and to bring at least one storage container (810/812) for at least one item to said at least one order preparation station;
a second set of self-guiding vehicles (fig. 72 – second set of vehicles on other end of ramp (808)) adapted to travel across the floor and to bring at least one cardboard box intended to form packaging of a parcel for one of said orders, to said at least one order preparation station ([0201] - carriers to serve multiple roles in the system by transporting (a) inventory totes to picking stations, (b) outbound containers to picking stations, (c) inventory totes to and from bulk storage, (d) full outbound containers to discharge lanes, and (e) empty outbound containers into the system);
said at least one order preparation station comprises:
an inclined ramp (808) for said vehicles to access said at least one order preparation station, comprising at least one travel zone (804) for said vehicles,
a parking zone accessible from said inclined ramp comprising at least two adjacent parking spaces intended to receive respectively a vehicle of said first set and a vehicle of said second set (fig. 72 – parking zone in front of operator).
Regarding claim 30, Wagner fails to teach,
adjustment means for adjusting a height of at least one of said adjacent parking spaces as a function of dimensions of said at least one cardboard box and/or of said at least one storage container.
Regarding claim 30, Austrheim teaches,
adjustment means for adjusting a height of at least one of said adjacent parking spaces as a function of dimensions of said at least one cardboard box and/or of said at least one storage container. (fig. 11 – shows adjacent parking spaces (21) with mechanisms (27) for adjusting the height of parking spaces).
Wagner and Austrheim are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are both in the field of material and article handling. Therefore, it would have been obvious for someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wagner’s method of order preparation and packing to include the tiltable and height adjustable parking spaces taught by Austrheim, Wagner discloses operator handling of packages at designated parking spots, and as disclosed by Austrheim the use of height adjustable and tilting parking spots increases operator access to the items, increasing system efficiency [0102].
Claims 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wagner (US 2020/0151410 A1) in view of Austrheim (US 2021/0229912 A1) as applied to claims 16-20 above, and further in view of Peck (US 2019/0300284 A1). Wagner and Austrheim disclose all of the limitations of the claims as discussed above.
Regarding claim 22, Neither Wagner or Austrheim teach, the method for order preparation and packing according to claim 16,
wherein said selection of a first and/or of a second cardboard box comprises transmission of a piece of information representative of said cardboard box selected to a unit for managing a stock of cardboard boxes.
Regarding claim 22, Peck teaches, the method for order preparation and packing according to claim 16,
wherein said selection of a first and/or of a second cardboard box comprises transmission of a piece of information representative of said cardboard box selected to a unit for managing a stock of cardboard boxes ([0021] – pack wall indicator assembly transmitting shipping carton replenishment information from pack wall to indicated replenishment levels).
Wagner, Austrheim and Peck are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are all in the field of material and article handling. Therefore, it would have been obvious for someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wagner’s method of order preparation and packing and Austrheim’s adjustable parking spots to include the transmission of a piece of selection information representative of the cardboard box to a stocking section taught by Peck, as disclosed by Peck doing so provides a constant stream of boxes and provides information on when boxes must be restocked.
Claims 27 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wagner (US 2020/0151410 A1) in view of Austrheim (US 2021/0229912 A1) as applied to claim 26 above, and further in view of Johnson (US 2018/0043533). Wagner and Austrheim disclose all of the limitations of the claims as discussed above.
Regarding claim 27, Wagner teaches,
moving said vehicle stored temporarily from said temporary storage zone to said travel zone in a first direction of movement and moving said vehicle stored temporarily from said travel zone to said parking zone in a second direction of movement perpendicular to said first direction of movement (fig. 72 – temporary storage zone below ramp, travel zone on ramp/leading up to ramp, and parking zone in front of human operator).
Regarding claim 27, both Wagner and Austrheim fail to explicitly teach, the method for order preparation according to claim 26, further comprising:
temporarily storing at least one vehicle of said second set in said temporary storage zone until
an order associated with a cardboard box brought by said vehicle stored temporarily become priority
Regarding claim 27, Johnson teaches, the method for order preparation according to claim 26, further comprising:
temporarily storing at least one vehicle of said second set in said temporary storage zone until an order associated with a cardboard box brought by said vehicle stored temporarily becomes priority ([0053] - robots are assigned queue spots in temporary storage positions (610/612) based on priority);
Wagner, Austrheim and Johnson are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are all in the field of material and article handling. Therefore, it would have been obvious for someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wagner’s method of order preparation and packing and Austrheim’s adjustable parking spots to include the temporary storage of AGV’s in the temporary storage zone based on priority taught by Johnson, as disclosed by Johnson this limits robots competing for space within parking destinations and improves system efficiency [0051].
Claims 29 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wagner (US 2020/0151410 A1) in view of Austrheim (US 2021/0229912 A1) as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Jarvis (US 2020/0198894 A1). Wagner and Austrheim disclose all of the limitations of the claims as discussed above.
Regarding claim 29, Wagner and Austrheim fail to teach,
A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which is recorded a program for implementing the method according to claim 16 when this program is executed by a processor.
However, Jarvis teaches,
A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which is recorded a program for implementing the method according to claim 16 when this program is executed by a processor ([0031] – WES comprises non transitory computer readable medium executed by a processor).
Wagner, Austrheim and Jarvis are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are all in the field of material and article handling. Therefore, it would have been obvious for someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wagner’s method of order preparation and packing and Austrheim’s adjustable parking spots to include the non-transitory computer readable recording medium taught by Jarvis. As disclosed by Jarvis this allows for remote operation of the order preparation method through wireless means.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record but not relied upon is considered pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure:
Cohen (US 2022/0135347 A1) – discloses a method for automated package processing able to detect a plurality of objects within a supply bin
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUAN SALVADOR MOSCOSO whose telephone number is (571)272-8604. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Saul Rodriguez can be reached at (571) 272-7097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J.S.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3652
/GREGORY W ADAMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3652
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