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 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.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-9 are pending and have been examined below.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 USC 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 USC 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “a mobile body control system configured to control...” and “a state information acquisition device configured to acquire...” in claim 1; “a command output unit configured to output...” in claim 2; “an automatic restoration program to generate...” in claim 4; and “a positional information acquisition unit configured to acquire...” in claim 7.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 USC 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 and 9 are rejected under 35 USC 102 as being anticipated by JP2007065754 (“Watanabe”).
Claim 1
Watanabe discloses a transport facility (0006 goods processing facility), comprising:
at least one transport vehicle configured to transport a transport article (0013 transport vehicle);
a mobile body configured to move separately from the at least one transport vehicle (0010 rescue vehicle);
a mobile body control system configured to control the mobile body (0005 the control means is configured to control the movement of a rescue vehicle for equipment rescue that is capable of traveling on the floor surface, so as to travel to the location of the abnormality along a rescue route predetermined as a route different from the article transport route.); and
a management terminal for a manager (0026 The transport-side control device 21 is configured to control the operation of the imaging device 7 based on imaging commands from an operating device outside the goods processing facility, and is also configured to control the movement of the rescue vehicle 6 based on movement commands from an operating device outside the goods processing facility., 0008 in a configuration where the management of the material handling equipment is performed from an operating device located away from the equipment, images captured by the imaging device installed in the rescue vehicle are transmitted to the operating device. Furthermore, the manager located at the control facility can check the status of the malfunctioning equipment from the transmitted captured images),
wherein the mobile body comprises a state information acquisition device configured to acquire state information on a state around the mobile body (0026 The transport-side control device 21 is configured to control the operation of the imaging device 7 based on imaging commands from an operating device outside the goods processing facility, and is also configured to control the movement of the rescue vehicle 6 based on movement commands from an operating device outside the goods processing facility., 0008 in a configuration where the management of the material handling equipment is performed from an operating device located away from the equipment, images captured by the imaging device installed in the rescue vehicle are transmitted to the operating device. Furthermore, the manager located at the control facility can check the status of the malfunctioning equipment from the transmitted captured images), and
wherein the mobile body control system is configured to, in response to an occurrence of an abnormality in the at least one transport vehicle, perform an abnormality handling process of the state information acquisition device sequentially acquiring the state information and sequentially transmitting the acquired state information to the management terminal (0026 The transport-side control device 21 is configured to control the operation of the imaging device 7 based on imaging commands from an operating device outside the goods processing facility, and is also configured to control the movement of the rescue vehicle 6 based on movement commands from an operating device outside the goods processing facility., 0008 in a configuration where the management of the material handling equipment is performed from an operating device located away from the equipment, images captured by the imaging device installed in the rescue vehicle are transmitted to the operating device. Furthermore, the manager located at the control facility can check the status of the malfunctioning equipment from the transmitted captured images).
Claim 9
Watanabe discloses:
wherein: the state information acquisition device comprises at least either a camera or a microphone, and the mobile body comprises a movable mechanism configured to change at least either a position or an orientation of the state information acquisition device (0021 Furthermore, the rescue vehicle 6 is equipped with a camera 7, which is configured to photograph the equipment inside the material handling facility. To provide further details about the imaging device 7, it is mounted on the rescue vehicle 6 so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis and movable vertically. By rotating it around the horizontal axis, the orientation of the imaging device 7 can be changed vertically, and by rotating it around the horizontal axis, the orientation of the imaging device 7 can be changed to face the front or rear of the vehicle. Furthermore, by moving it vertically, the height of the imaging device 7 can be changed. Furthermore, to change the orientation of the camera 7 left or right, this is done by changing the orientation of the rescue vehicle 6 itself left or right.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 USC 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 2, 4 and 6 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe in view of JP2010003240 (“Kyo”).
Claim 2
Watanabe fails to disclose wherein: the mobile body is communicable with the at least one transport vehicle, the mobile body further comprises a command output unit configured to output an operation command to the at least one transport vehicle, and the operation command comprises a restoration operation command to restore the at least one transport vehicle from the abnormality. However, Watanabe does disclose where the mobile body is within a vicinity of the at least one transport vehicle (0026, 0008). Furthermore, Kyo teaches a rescue robot system (abstract), including:
wherein: the mobile body is communicable with the at least one transport vehicle, the mobile body further comprises a command output unit configured to output an operation command to the at least one transport vehicle, and the operation command comprises a restoration operation command to restore the at least one transport vehicle from the abnormality (Figs. 8 and 9, 0002, 0036 Figure 9 shows a rescue operation using a dedicated rescue robot. The dedicated rescue robot is equipped with the following functions, enabling it to rescue the rescued robot without requiring a management server. 1) It can maintain map information for its assigned area and move autonomously within that area. 2) Maintain and manage the robot information of subordinate robots. 3) Periodically receive and store robot position information from subordinate robots. 4) Calculate the absolute position and direction of the rescued robot from its relative position and relative direction. 5) Transmit the calculated absolute position and direction to the rescued robot.).
Watanabe and Kyo both disclose systems of transport vehicles being assisted by a mobile body. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention to modify the system in Watanabe to include the teaching of Kyo with a reasonable expectation of success in order to save resources by avoiding a human operator to come and fix the malfunctioning robot by using the rescue robot to fix the malfunctioning robot.
Claim 4
Watanabe fails to disclose wherein: the command output unit comprises an automatic restoration program to generate the restoration operation command based on the state information acquired by the state information acquisition device. However, Watanabe does disclose where the mobile body is within a vicinity of the at least one transport vehicle (0026, 0008). Furthermore, Kyo teaches a rescue robot system (abstract), including:
wherein: the command output unit comprises an automatic restoration program to generate the restoration operation command based on the state information acquired by the state information acquisition device (Figs. 8 and 9, 0002, 0036 Figure 9 shows a rescue operation using a dedicated rescue robot. The dedicated rescue robot is equipped with the following functions, enabling it to rescue the rescued robot without requiring a management server. 1) It can maintain map information for its assigned area and move autonomously within that area. 2) Maintain and manage the robot information of subordinate robots. 3) Periodically receive and store robot position information from subordinate robots. 4) Calculate the absolute position and direction of the rescued robot from its relative position and relative direction. 5) Transmit the calculated absolute position and direction to the rescued robot.).
See prior art rejection of claim 2 for obviousness and reasons to combine.
Claim 6
Watanabe discloses:
wherein: the mobile body control system performs a pre-movement process of moving the at least one transport vehicle to a predetermined maintenance area and moving the mobile body together with the at least one transport vehicle (0030 In other words, the rescue vehicle 6 is equipped with a camera 7, and the rescue operation of the rescue vehicle 6 involves taking pictures of the malfunctioning equipment with the camera 7. Alternatively, the rescue vehicle 6 may be equipped with a connection mechanism, and the rescue operation of the rescue vehicle 6 may involve connecting the rescue vehicle 6 to the malfunctioning equipment and moving the malfunctioning equipment to an evacuation location using the rescue vehicle 6. Alternatively, the rescue vehicle 6 may be equipped with a charging device, and the rescue operation of the rescue vehicle 6 may involve charging the equipment that has malfunctioned due to a lack of charge using the rescue vehicle 6.).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe in view of Kyo, in further view of US20130268118 (“Grinstead”).
Claim 3
Watanabe fails to disclose wherein: the operation command comprises a command from the management terminal. However, Watanabe does disclose the management terminal (0026). Furthermore, Grinstead teaches a system of control of a vehicle via operation commands (0016), including:
wherein: the operation command comprises a command from the management terminal (0016 Another aspect of the disclosure provides a method of operating a mobile mission robot. The method includes driving the robot according to a drive command issued by a remote operator control unit in communication with the robot. The robot has a gripper thereon for retaining and transporting a repeater in communication with the operator control unit and the robot., 0086).
Watanabe and Grinstead both disclose control systems for a vehicle performing a certain task. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention to modify the system in Watanabe to include the teaching of Grinstead with a reasonable expectation of success in order for the vehicle to handle nuanced edge cases and tasks that the vehicle is not normally able to handle and execute alone.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe in view of US20220241965 (“Taira”).
Claim 5
Watanabe fails to disclose wherein: the mobile body comprises a holder configured to hold the transport article, and the mobile body control system is configured to perform a transport article receiving process of causing the holder of the mobile body to receive the transport article from the at least one transport vehicle in a case where the at least one transport vehicle is transporting the transport article. However, Watanabe does disclose the vehicles transporting goods (0003). Furthermore, Taira teaches a system of a transport vehicle being helped by a mobile body (abstract), including:
wherein: the mobile body comprises a holder configured to hold the transport article, and the mobile body control system is configured to perform a transport article receiving process of causing the holder of the mobile body to receive the transport article from the at least one transport vehicle in a case where the at least one transport vehicle is transporting the transport article (0088 The detection unit 218 is provided to detect an error that occurs in the mobile robot 20. For example, the detection unit 218 detects an abnormality of a sensor provided in the distance sensor group 24, the camera 25, or the like as an error. The detection unit 218 detects the occurrence of a motor abnormality in the drive unit 26 as an error. Alternatively, the detection unit 218 detects an insufficient battery level or a battery abnormality as an error., 0097 Here, when the error information is acquired, the host management device 10 directs another mobile robot 20 (hereinafter also referred to as a “transferred robot”) to the mobile robot 20 (hereinafter also referred to as a “transferring robot”) in which the error is occurring. For example, the error occurrence location included in the error information is set as the transfer location. The route planning unit 115 plans the route so as to move the transferred robot to the transfer location. Thus, the transferred robot moves to the transfer location, whereby the transported object of the transferring robot can be transferred to the transferred robot. Further, the route planning unit 115 plans the route so as to move the transferred robot to the transport destination of the transported object. The control of the transferred robot will be described later.).
Watanabe and Taira both disclose systems of a transport vehicle being assisted by a mobile body. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention to modify the system in Watanabe to include the teaching of Taira with a reasonable expectation of success in order to enhance transport efficiency by ensuring that the transport article is transported to its expected location even in the case of an abnormality in the transport vehicle.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe in view of Kyo, in further view of US20240094746 (“He”).
Claim 7
Watanabe discloses:
wherein: the mobile body comprises a positional information acquisition unit configured to acquire positional information on a position of the mobile body, and in a case where the at least one transport vehicle having the abnormality is moved, the mobile body control system estimates a position of the at least one transport vehicle based on the positional information on the mobile body (0006 In other words, a rescue route is pre-set as a separate route from the route used for transporting goods. When a malfunction occurs in the equipment within the goods processing facility, a rescue vehicle is driven along the rescue route to the location of the malfunction, and the rescue vehicle performs rescue work on the malfunctioning equipment within the goods processing facility. Furthermore, as a rescue route, for example, if the route for transporting goods is formed in a loop shape, the route can be set in a form that short-circuits opposing points in the route for transporting goods. This allows for the rescue vehicle to be quickly driven to equipment located at various points throughout the goods processing facility. By setting the rescue route in this way, it becomes possible to quickly drive the rescue vehicle to the location where the malfunction occurred, 0023, 0026).
Watanabe fails to disclose wherein the mobile body control system generates a route instruction command to instruct a route of the at least one transport vehicle based on the estimated position as the operation command, and outputs the route instruction command from the command output unit. However, Watanabe does disclose mobile body at the location of the transport vehicle (0006, 0023, 0026). Furthermore, He teaches a system of a vehicle being aided by a mobile body (0011), including:
wherein the mobile body control system generates a route instruction command to instruct a route of the at least one transport vehicle based on the estimated position as the operation command, and outputs the route instruction command from the command output unit (0011 sending, by the first autonomous robot, a return instruction to the second autonomous robot, where the return instruction includes a return path for the second autonomous robot to return to a position before processing the abnormal condition, so that the second autonomous robot returns, according to the return instruction, to the position before processing the abnormal condition, to continue executing an interrupted operation of the second autonomous robot.).
Watanabe and He both disclose systems of a mobile body providing an instruction to a transport vehicle. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention to modify the system in Watanabe to include the teaching of He with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve efficiency and efficacy of the transport facility in performing its tasks by providing the transport vehicle at a location to continue performing its task.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe in view of US20180299882 (“Kichkaylo”).
Claim 8
Watanabe discloses:
wherein the at least one transport vehicle comprises a plurality of transport vehicles and a case where a target transport vehicle having an abnormality is to be moved (0011 A fourth characteristic feature of the article processing equipment according to the present invention is that, in any one of the first to third characteristic configurations, the rescue vehicle is configured to also serve as the transport vehicle., 0030 Alternatively, the rescue vehicle 6 may be equipped with a connection mechanism, and the rescue operation of the rescue vehicle 6 may involve connecting the rescue vehicle 6 to the malfunctioning equipment and moving the malfunctioning equipment to an evacuation location using the rescue vehicle 6.).
Watanabe fails to disclose wherein in the case another transport vehicle is on a path of the target transport vehicle, the mobile body control system outputs, to the another transport vehicle on the path, a move-out command to move the another transport vehicle out of the path. However, Watanabe does disclose the target transport vehicle (0011, 0030). Furthermore, Kichkaylo teaches a system of transport vehicles and mobile bodies (abstract), including:
wherein in the case another transport vehicle is on a path of the target transport vehicle, the mobile body control system outputs, to the another transport vehicle on the path, a move-out command to move the another transport vehicle out of the path (0179 FIG. 14A is a functional block diagram of an example computing device 1400, in accordance with an example embodiment. In particular, computing device 1400 shown in FIG. 14A can be configured to perform at least one function of a herein-described multi-agent planner, software for a multi-agent planner, robots 110, 120, 130, 140, 214, 224, 234, 244, 330, 332, 414, 416, 424, 426, 434, 436, 444, 446, 470, 472, 474, 476, 510, 520, 530, 550, 610, 620, computing device 702, 0130 As robot R1 proceeds along its route, robot R1's priority value can increase monotonically, such as R1's priority value being based on an amount of time the robot has spent on its route, as discussed above at least in the context of FIGS. 3 and 4B-6F. While en route, the robot R1 can be instructed by the multi-agent planner to get out of the way and/or wait out of the way of one or more higher-priority robots R2 . . . Rn to allow the higher-priority robot(s) to proceed along their routes, as discussed above at least in the context of FIGS. 3-6F. As robot R1 proceeds along its route, R1's priority increases so that R1 becomes a relatively-high priority robot and one or more lower-priority robots R3 . . . Rm can be instructed to get out of the way and/or wait out of the way of R1's route. Once R1 reaches its destination, R1's priority can be reset and an iteration of priority cycle 900 can be completed.).
Watanabe and Kichkaylo both disclose systems of transport vehicles being assisted by a mobile body. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of Applicant's invention to modify the system in Watanabe to include the teaching of Kichkaylo with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve efficiency of the transport facility and system by ensuring that other transport vehicles reach their destination in the fastest time.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Examiner KRISHNAN RAMESH whose telephone number is (571)272-6407. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abby Flynn, can be reached at (571)272-9855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KRISHNAN RAMESH/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3663
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