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 amendment filed 06/24/2026. Claims 1-9, 12-14, and 16 are presently pending and are presented for examination. Claims 10-11 and 15 are canceled.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 06/24/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-9, 12-14, and 16 remain pending in the application. Applicant’s amendments to the Claims have rejection of claim 15 under 35 U.S.C 101 previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 05/15/2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-5, 9, 12-14, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Herron et. al. (D.E. Publication No. 10 2018/132428)-IDS in view of Xue et. al. (E.P. Publication No. 3,974,778 B1)-IDS in further view of Ebrahimi Afrouzi et. al. (U.S. Publication No. 2024/0126265).
Regarding claim 1
Herron discloses “A method of creating an environment map of a surrounding area for an operation of a mobile self-propelled appliance by way of a camera of the appliance and a processing facility of the appliance, the method comprising the following steps: a) capturing images of a floor area of a grid cell of the surrounding area using the camera;” (See Herron [0007] and [0064] disclosing a camera provided for imaging a floor area. A grid of segments can be captured from a single image.).
Herron discloses “b) transforming the images using known parameters of the camera, a position and an orientation of the camera on the appliance, to generate bird's- eye view first image representations of the floor area of the grid cell;” (See Herron [0004] disclosing a generating a birds-eye view of a floor plan for a robot vacuum by transforming camera images.).
Herron discloses “c) combining the first image representations while performing weighted averaging and inserting a first averaged image representation of the floor area into the environment map, including an appliance position and orientation in relation to the environment map;” (See Herron [0004] & [0007] disclosing combining images of segments to create a map of the floor plan. The image quality can be weighted with a higher quality image replacing a lower quality image.).
Herron discloses “d) capturing at least an nth image of the floor area of the grid cell and transforming the nth image into a second image representation;” (See Herron [0007] disclosing the same segment area can be captured multiple times from different distances within the camera's field of view or from different passes over the same area.).
Herron discloses “and f) overwriting the first averaged image representation in the environment map with a second averaged image representation;” (See Herron [0007] disclosing image quality can be weighted, with a higher quality image replacing a lower quality image.).
Herron discloses all the elements of claim 1 except “e) combining the first and second image representations of the grid cell while performing a weighted averaging of all image representations;”, “g) processing the environment map by image processing to determine boundary lines of the floor area;”, “h) moving the appliance along the boundary lines of the floor area, and not at an angle or transversely to the boundary lines, when capturing the images and the nth image;” , & “and i) undertaking a targeted improvement drive to detail the environment map, in areas of adjacent floorings, and to minimize distortions.” (See Herron [0007] and [0064] disclosing the same segment area can be captured multiple times from different distances within the camera's field of view or from different passes over the same area. Image quality can be weighted, with a higher quality image replacing a lower quality image. Multiple cameras provide redundancy, and overlapping or subsequent images from the other camera can be weighted and used instead as higher quality images.).
Xue discloses “e) combining the first and second image representations of the grid cell while performing a weighted averaging of all image representations;” (See Xue [0190] & [0226] disclosing averaging pixel values of detected environment maps and weighted processing of the pixel value of the merged environment map.).
Herron and Xue are analogous art, because they are in the same field of endeavor, robotics. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Herron to incorporate the teachings of Xue to include weighted averaging of image representations. Doing so provides a known method in the art for creating a map of a robot environment, incorporated with a reasonable expectation of success, as doing so advantageously provides a known method of optimizing an environment layout map, see Xue [0014].
Ebrahimi Afrouzi discloses “g) processing the environment map by image processing to determine boundary lines of the floor area;” (See Ebrahimi Afrouzi [0062] and Fig. 49 disclosing image processing by a robot vacuum to find the boundary of an environment.).
Ebrahimi Afrouzi discloses “h) moving the appliance along the boundary lines of the floor area, and not at an angle or transversely to the boundary lines, when capturing the images and the nth image;” (See Ebrahimi Afrouzi [0194] and Fig. 24A disclosing generating a global and local mapping with a robot vacuum that may alternate between exploration and coverage to build the map. The robot drives parallel to the line 4607, which is a boundary, until it hits the perpendicular line 4608.).
Ebrahimi Afrouzi discloses “and i) undertaking a targeted improvement drive to detail the environment map, in areas of adjacent floorings, and to minimize distortions.” (See Ebrahimi Afrouzi [0352] disclosing a matching algorithm may down sample a previously stored map and temporary map and sample over the state space until confident enough, producing a finer higher resolution map based on subsequent drives.).
Herron and Ebrahimi Afrouzi are analogous art, because they are in the same field of endeavor, robotics. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Herron to incorporate the teachings of Ebrahimi Afrouzi to include mapping an environment of a robot vacuum image processing as the robot navigates parallel to boundary lines and further taking subsequent trips to minimize distortions in the mapping. Doing so provides a known method in the art for creating a map of a robot environment, incorporated with a reasonable expectation of success, as doing so advantageously produces mapping with minimal image distortions to result in accurate mapping.
Regarding claim 2
Herron discloses “The method according to claim 1, which comprises dividing the surrounding area into a plurality of grid cells and performing method steps a) to f) in each of the grid cells.” (See Herron [0067] disclosing a straight-line grid of the floor plan is first created from localization and the different rectangles in the grid are then filled with images from the camera.).
Regarding claim 3
Herron discloses “The method according to claim 1, which comprises capturing the images during at least one of an exploration trip or a cleaning trip, and capturing the nth image during a subsequent cleaning trip.” (See Herron [0016] disclosing the camera may be used to capture images of the surroundings and objects during while it is cleaning soil and [0070] disclosing images may be provided by the cleaning robot after completing runs or in real-time. Also see Herron [0007] disclosing the same segment area can be captured multiple times from different distances within the camera's field of view or from different passes over the same area (subsequent cleaning trip).).
Regarding claim 4
Herron discloses “The method according to claim 1, which comprises capturing the images from changing directions, with different lighting conditions, and/or with different pitch angles.” (See Herron [0008] disclosing the camera may capture images in different lighting conditions due to fluctuations in ambient lighting.).
Regarding claim 5
Herron discloses “The method according to claim 1, which comprises generating the second averaged image representation by multiplying the first image representations by a number of captured first image representations, adding a product of the multiplication to the second image representation, and dividing a sum of the addition by n.” (The use of a known mathematical calculation to derive a weighted average value is standard procedure in the art. For example, see XUE [0190] disclosing performing a weighted average, though not reciting the formula, calculating a weighted average is common knowledge see MPEP 2144.03.).
Regarding claim 9
Herron discloses “The method according to claim 1, wherein the second averaged image representation is influenced by similarities between the first image representations and the second image representation.” (See Herron [0064] disclosing taking overlap into account (similarities) in the alignment of segments. Image quality can be weighted, with a higher quality image replacing a lower quality image, see Herron, [0007].).
Regarding claim 12
Herron discloses “The method according to claim 1, wherein the floor cleaning appliance has at least one of the functionalities of a robot vacuum cleaner, a robot sweeper, or a mopping robot.” (See Herron [0004] disclosing a generating a birds-eye view of a floor plan for a robot vacuum by transforming camera images.).
Regarding claim 13
Herron discloses “A mobile self-propelled appliance, which comprises at least one camera and a processing facility configured to create an environment map of a surrounding area in accordance with method claim 1.” (See Herron [0004] disclosing a generating a birds-eye view of a floor plan for a robot vacuum by transforming camera images.).
Regarding claim 14
Herron discloses “The appliance according to claim 13, configured as a floor cleaning appliance being at least one of a robot vacuum cleaner, a robot sweeper, or a mopping robot.” (See Herron [0004] disclosing a generating a birds-eye view of a floor plan for a robot vacuum by transforming camera images.).
Regarding claim 16
Herron discloses “A non-transitory computer readable data carrier having stored thereon a computer program product comprising commands that, when the program is executed by a mobile, self- propelled appliance, causes the appliance to implement the method according to claim 1.” (See Herron [0029]-[0030] disclosing storage mediums storing a program.).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Herron et. al. (D.E. Publication No. 10 2018/132428)-IDS in view of Xue et. al. (E.P. Publication No. 3,974,778 B1)-IDS in further view of Afrouzi et. al. (U.S. Publication No. 2024/0119614).
Regarding claim 6
Herron modified in view of Xue discloses “The method according to claim 1,”, and further discloses all the elements of the claimed invention except “wherein the first and second image representations comprise at least one of the color channels or color settings to which the weighted averaging is applied.”.
Afrouzi discloses “wherein the first and second image representations comprise at least one of the color channels or color settings to which the weighted averaging is applied.” (See Afrouzi [0361] disclosing applying a Gaussian blur (weighted average) to reduce the effect of noise on image pixels gathered for mapping the environment of a robot vacuum. Each RGB of a color image may add an independent pixel value, see Afrouzi [0394].).
Herron, Xue, and Afrouzi are analogous art, because they are in the same field of endeavor, robotics. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Herron to incorporate the teachings of Afrouzi to include weighted averaging of image color channels. Doing so provides a known method in the art for creating a map of a robot environment, incorporated with a reasonable expectation of success, as doing so advantageously provides robotic devices that may autonomously create a map of an environment, subsequently use the map for navigation, and devise intelligent path and task plans for efficient navigation and task completion, see Afrouzi [0004].
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Herron et. al. (D.E. Publication No. 10 2018/132428)-IDS in view of Xue et. al. (E.P. Publication No. 3,974,778 B1)-IDS in further view of Lukierski et. al. (U.S. Publication No. 2018/0189565).
Regarding claim 7
Herron modified in view of Xue discloses “The method according to claim 5,”, and further discloses all the elements of the claimed invention except “which comprises limiting the capturing of the images to a maximum value.”.
Lukierski discloses “which comprises limiting the capturing of the images to a maximum value.” (See Lukierski [0088] disclosing the number of images in a sequence of images may vary, e.g. may be 30, 100 or 160 images.).
Herron, Xue, and Lukierski are analogous art, because they are in the same field of endeavor, robotics. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Herron to incorporate the teachings of Lukierski to include an imaging limit of imaging a surrounding of a robot. Doing so provides a known method in the art for creating a map of a robot environment, incorporated with a reasonable expectation of success, as doing so advantageously provides control techniques that move beyond the limited perception and simple algorithms of available robotic devices while still being practical and general enough for application on those same devices, see Lukierski [0008].
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Herron et. al. (D.E. Publication No. 10 2018/132428)-IDS in view of Xue et. al. (E.P. Publication No. 3,974,778 B1)-IDS in further view of Petrovskaya et. al. (U.S. Publication No. 2016/0148433).
Regarding claim 8
Herron modified in view of Xue discloses “The method according to claim 5,”, and further discloses all the elements of the claimed invention except “which comprises enabling a reset to be performed in which a weighting for the first averaged image representation is set to 1 or 0 during a calculation of the second averaged image representation.”.
Petrovskaya discloses “which comprises enabling a reset to be performed in which a weighting for the first averaged image representation is set to 1 or 0 during a calculation of the second averaged image representation.” (See Petrovskaya [0126] and [0132] disclosing calculating a new weighting of 1 for a weighted average of pixel data for a mapping.).
Herron, Xue, and Petrovskaya are analogous art, because they are in the same field of endeavor, robotics. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Herron to incorporate the teachings of Petrovskaya to include resetting a weighted average to 1 for pixel data. Doing so provides a known method in the art for creating a map of a robot environment, incorporated with a reasonable expectation of success, as doing so advantageously facilitates a less onerous approach to applying digital resources to real-world situations, see Petrovskaya [0005].
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERROD IRVIN DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)272-7083. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 am - 7:00 pm.
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, Wade Miles can be reached at (571) 270-7777. 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.
/JERROD IRVIN DAVIS/Examiner, Art Unit 3656
Prosecution Insights