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 .
This is a Non-final Office Action on the merits. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and are addressed below.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 04/09/2026 and 05/07/2026 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to due to a grammatical error in line 5: “…the command the whether…”. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Whitten of US 20250370463 A1, filed 05/30/2024, hereinafter “Whitten”, in view of Manci of US 20200250502 A1, filed 02/10/2020, hereinafter “Manci”.
Regarding claim 1, Whitten teaches:
A lift device, comprising: a base assembly; one or more tractive elements coupled to the base assembly; an implement assembly coupled to the base assembly; (See at least Fig. 1 & [0020]: “To dislodge and separate material from the worksite 102, another example of a mobile machine 100 can be an excavator 130 that includes a bucket 132 disposed at the end of another mechanical lift implement 134 that can articulate in various directions to maneuver the bucket. The lift implement 134 can be a mechanical linkage including a boom, a dipper, and a stick pivotally connected to each other. In addition to digging and excavating the material, excavators 120 can be used for loading haul machines 110, demolishing structures or obstacles, and the like. Typically, the excavator 120 can be operatively supported on a plurality of ground-engaging traction devices like continuous tracks 136 through a rotatable platform or undercarriage that rotates to swing the bucket 132 and lift implement 134 about the vertical axis of the excavator. To accommodate an onboard operator, the excavator 130 can also include an operator station 138 that is rotatably supported on the continuous tracks 136, although again in some examples, operational activities of the loading machine 120 can be automated or remotely controlled.”)
one or more sensors configured to detect a visual indicator in an environment of the lift device; and a controller communicably coupled to the one or more sensors, (See at least [0027-0029]: “To obtain and provide data and information about the worksite conditions and activities to the electronic controller 140, the onboard navigation and control system can be operatively associated with a visual perception system 150 located on the mobile machine 100…the visual perception system 150 can include a LIDAR (light detection and ranging) device 152…To serve as a target for the LIDAR device 152, a plurality of visual markers 154 can be placed about the worksite 102…”)
Whitten does not explicitly teach:
wherein the controller is configured to: determine, based on a signal from the one or more sensors, a command associated with the visual indicator;
determine if the lift device meets one or more requirements of the command; and
in response to the lift device meeting the one or more requirements of the command, perform an action based on the command.
Manci teaches:
wherein the controller is configured to: determine, based on a signal from the one or more sensors, a command associated with the visual indicator; determine if the lift device meets one or more requirements of the command; in response to the lift device meeting the one or more requirements of the command, perform an action based on the command. (See at least [0125]: “Another example application of the process is to identify a condition in a limited, defined environment as a bonded area of the work area. Here, the identified condition is associated with a badge ID by associating a condition as a permission required geo-zone. The electronic badge is staged at a position identifying a boundary of a bonded area in the work environment. Accordingly, the processor of the industrial vehicle can take a predetermined action based upon the determined condition by evaluating that the industrial vehicle has or is about to enter the bonded area, evaluating at least one credential of the vehicle operator to determine whether the vehicle operator has authorization to enter the bonded area, and controlling, by the processor, the industrial vehicle to take an evasive maneuver to avoid the bonded area if the vehicle operator is not judged to be authorized to enter the bonded area” & [0242]: “The control module 206 communicates with the server 112 via the transceiver 204 of the information linking device 202 to authenticate the operator as authorized to operate the industrial vehicle. This can be accomplished by receiving a badge identification (badge ID) wirelessly transmitted from the badge 1902 to the badge communicator 224…”)
One having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Whitten’s device with Manci’s technique of performing an action based on a command associated with a visual indicator. Doing so would be obvious “to implement geo-based activation or de-activation of vehicle features or capabilities” (See [0108] of Manci).
Regarding claim 2, Whitten and Manci in combination teach all the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above.
Whitten additionally teaches:
wherein the visual indicator comprises one or more of a color, a shape, one or more letters, one or more numbers, a symbol, a tag, or a code and is provided at a location of a worksite. (See at least [0029]: “…The visual markers 154 are artificial structures of a defined shape and size that can reflect the laser or light beam projected from the LIDAR device…”)
Regarding claim 3, Whitten and Manci in combination teach all the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above.
Whitten additionally teaches:
wherein the implement assembly comprises one or more of a painting assembly, a cleaning assembly, a maintenance assembly, a power wash assembly, a weld assembly, a drill assembly, a dig assembly, or a concrete assembly. (See at least [0020]: “To dislodge and separate material from the worksite 102, another example of a mobile machine 100 can be an excavator 130 that includes a bucket 132 disposed at the end of another mechanical lift implement 134 that can articulate in various directions to maneuver the bucket. The lift implement 134 can be a mechanical linkage including a boom, a dipper, and a stick pivotally connected to each other…”)
Regarding claim 4, Whitten and Manci in combination teach all the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above.
Whitten additionally teaches:
wherein the visual indicator is a first visual indicator, the one or more sensors further configured to detect a second visual indicator in the environment of the lift device, (See at least Fig. 1 & [0029-0030]: “To serve as a target for the LIDAR device 152, a plurality of visual markers 154 can be placed about the worksite 102… The visual markers 154 can positioned to spatially designate or demarcate features and landmarks about the worksite 102. For example, because the intended off-road travel routes 108 may be difficult to visually discern from the surrounding terrain, visual markers 154 can be placed along the sides of travel routes 108 and function as navigation guides or wayfinders for the traveling mobile machines 100. The visual markers 154 can also be used to designate locations such as the mine 104 or the material piles 106, and may include visual characteristics or symbols to convey comprehensible information about or associated with the worksite location…”)
the second visual indicator comprising a characteristic for the action, the controller configured to detect the second visual indicator and perform the action according to the characteristic. (See at least [0125]: “Another example application of the process is to identify a condition in a limited, defined environment as a bonded area of the work area. Here, the identified condition is associated with a badge ID by associating a condition as a permission required geo-zone. The electronic badge is staged at a position identifying a boundary of a bonded area in the work environment. Accordingly, the processor of the industrial vehicle can take a predetermined action based upon the determined condition by evaluating that the industrial vehicle has or is about to enter the bonded area, evaluating at least one credential of the vehicle operator to determine whether the vehicle operator has authorization to enter the bonded area, and controlling, by the processor, the industrial vehicle to take an evasive maneuver to avoid the bonded area if the vehicle operator is not judged to be authorized to enter the bonded area” & [0242]: “The control module 206 communicates with the server 112 via the transceiver 204 of the information linking device 202 to authenticate the operator as authorized to operate the industrial vehicle. This can be accomplished by receiving a badge identification (badge ID) wirelessly transmitted from the badge 1902 to the badge communicator 224…”, where it is clearly capable of detecting an indicator multiple times, and where the second indicator is equivalent to the first indicator.)
Regarding claim 6, Whitten and Manci in combination teach all the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above.
Manci additionally teaches:
wherein the one or more requirements comprise at least one of a type of implement for the lift device, a type of work machine, a time of day requirement, or a location requirement for the action. (See at least [0125]: “Another example application of the process is to identify a condition in a limited, defined environment as a bonded area of the work area. Here, the identified condition is associated with a badge ID by associating a condition as a permission required geo-zone. The electronic badge is staged at a position identifying a boundary of a bonded area in the work environment. Accordingly, the processor of the industrial vehicle can take a predetermined action based upon the determined condition by evaluating that the industrial vehicle has or is about to enter the bonded area, evaluating at least one credential of the vehicle operator to determine whether the vehicle operator has authorization to enter the bonded area, and controlling, by the processor, the industrial vehicle to take an evasive maneuver to avoid the bonded area if the vehicle operator is not judged to be authorized to enter the bonded area.”)
Regarding claim 7, Whitten and Manci in combination teach all the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above.
Manci additionally teaches:
wherein the controller is further configured to determine the command by providing the signal representing the visual indicator to a database and receiving the command from the database. (See at least [0242]: “The control module 206 communicates with the server 112 via the transceiver 204 of the information linking device 202 to authenticate the operator as authorized to operate the industrial vehicle. This can be accomplished by receiving a badge identification (badge ID) wirelessly transmitted from the badge 1902 to the badge communicator 224. The badge communicator 224 passes the badge ID to the information linking device 202, e.g., across the vehicle network bus 218. Upon the control module 206 determining that the operator is authorized to operate the industrial vehicle, the information linking device 202 pairs the operator badge with the industrial vehicle. For instance, in an example implementation, the badge-ID is linked to a person (personal badge). This information is stored on the server and communicated to badge communicator.”)
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Whitten in view of Manci and further in view of Johnson of US 20210247199 A1, published 08/12/2021, hereinafter “Johnson”.
Regarding claim 5, Whitten and Manci in combination teach all the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above.
Whitten additionally teaches:
wherein the one or more sensors comprise a camera configured to obtain image data of the visual indicator, (See at least [0034]: “In another embodiment, the visual perception device 150 can be a smart camera 154 that is mounted to the mobile machine 100. A smart camera 156 can be a machine vision system that can capture visual perception data embodied as visual digital images from its field of view and can include data analysis and processing capabilities to extract contextual and relational information regarding the perception data. The smart camera 156 can be programmed to specifically search for, recognize and/or identify the visual marker 154…”)
Whitten and Manci in combination do not explicitly teach:
the controller configured to perform image analysis on the image data of the visual indicator to determine the command associated with the visual indicator.
Johnson teaches:
the controller configured to perform image analysis on the image data of the visual indicator to determine the command associated with the visual indicator. (See at least Fig. 1, [0048]: “Interpretation component 118 may be configured to receive an image of an indication of a temporary zone and process the image of the temporary zone to obtain the indication of the temporary zone. In examples in which the indication of the temporary zone is code 126, interpretation component 118 may be configured to receive an image of code 126 and process the image of code 126 to obtain code 126…” & [0051]: “…As another example, code 126 may indicate a set of at least one operation to be applied by PAAV 110, such as “apply brakes” or “switch to driver control” or “move to left lane.”)
One having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Whitten and Manci’s device with Johnson’s technique of performing image analysis on an image of the visual indicator to determine the command associated with the visual indicator. Doing so would be obvious to “more accurately, safely, and/or effectively navigate the temporary zone” (See [0083] of Johnson).
Claim(s) 8-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Whitten in view of Manci and further in view of Peters of US 20180072523 A1, published 03/15/2018, hereinafter “Peters”.
Regarding claim 8, Whitten teaches:
A system, comprising…a second work machine comprising: a base assembly; one or more tractive elements coupled to the base assembly; an implement assembly coupled to the base assembly; (See at least Fig. 1 & [0020]: “To dislodge and separate material from the worksite 102, another example of a mobile machine 100 can be an excavator 130 that includes a bucket 132 disposed at the end of another mechanical lift implement 134 that can articulate in various directions to maneuver the bucket. The lift implement 134 can be a mechanical linkage including a boom, a dipper, and a stick pivotally connected to each other. In addition to digging and excavating the material, excavators 120 can be used for loading haul machines 110, demolishing structures or obstacles, and the like. Typically, the excavator 120 can be operatively supported on a plurality of ground-engaging traction devices like continuous tracks 136 through a rotatable platform or undercarriage that rotates to swing the bucket 132 and lift implement 134 about the vertical axis of the excavator. To accommodate an onboard operator, the excavator 130 can also include an operator station 138 that is rotatably supported on the continuous tracks 136, although again in some examples, operational activities of the loading machine 120 can be automated or remotely controlled.”)
one or more sensors configured to detect the visual indicator; and a controller communicably coupled to the one or more sensors, (See at least [0027-0029]: “To obtain and provide data and information about the worksite conditions and activities to the electronic controller 140, the onboard navigation and control system can be operatively associated with a visual perception system 150 located on the mobile machine 100…the visual perception system 150 can include a LIDAR (light detection and ranging) device 152…To serve as a target for the LIDAR device 152, a plurality of visual markers 154 can be placed about the worksite 102…”)
Whitten does not explicitly teach:
wherein the controller is configured to: determine, based on a signal from the one or more sensors, a command associated with the visual indicator;
determine if the second work machine meets one or more requirements of the command; and
in response to the second work machine meeting the one or more requirements of the command, perform an action based on the command.
Manci teaches:
wherein the controller is configured to: determine, based on a signal from the one or more sensors, a command associated with the visual indicator; determine if the second work machine meets one or more requirements of the command; and in response to the second work machine meeting the one or more requirements of the command, perform an action based on the command. (See at least [0125]: “Another example application of the process is to identify a condition in a limited, defined environment as a bonded area of the work area. Here, the identified condition is associated with a badge ID by associating a condition as a permission required geo-zone. The electronic badge is staged at a position identifying a boundary of a bonded area in the work environment. Accordingly, the processor of the industrial vehicle can take a predetermined action based upon the determined condition by evaluating that the industrial vehicle has or is about to enter the bonded area, evaluating at least one credential of the vehicle operator to determine whether the vehicle operator has authorization to enter the bonded area, and controlling, by the processor, the industrial vehicle to take an evasive maneuver to avoid the bonded area if the vehicle operator is not judged to be authorized to enter the bonded area” & [0242]: “The control module 206 communicates with the server 112 via the transceiver 204 of the information linking device 202 to authenticate the operator as authorized to operate the industrial vehicle. This can be accomplished by receiving a badge identification (badge ID) wirelessly transmitted from the badge 1902 to the badge communicator 224…”)
One having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Whitten’s device with Manci’s technique of performing an action based on a command associated with a visual indicator. Doing so would be obvious “to implement geo-based activation or de-activation of vehicle features or capabilities” (See [0108] of Manci).
Whitten and Manci in combination do not explicitly teach:
a first work machine comprising an indicator applier, wherein the first work machine is configured to position a visual indicator in an environment of the system; and
Peters teaches:
a first work machine comprising an indicator applier, wherein the first work machine is configured to position a visual indicator in an environment of the system; and (See at least [0029-0031]: “In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, dishes 110 arranged on the conveyor belt 114 include a bowl and a stack of plates. Each of the light-duty robots 102a, 102b may analyze a dish 110 adjacent to it, or a next dish 110 in line, to determine an appropriate tag 108 (based on the features and requirements of the dish 110) from the multiple available tags 108. The light-duty robots 102a, 102b may then apply one or more appropriate tags 108 to each dish 110…In operation, the robotic arm 104 may manipulate dishes 110 equipped with tags 108 to place them in a dish rack 112, while the light-duty robots 102a, 102b or human operators may continue to apply tags 108 to remaining dishes 110. After a particular dish 110 has been placed in the dish rack 112 or has reached another final destination…” & [0050]: “In one embodiment, for example, two light-duty robots may tag objects to be transported by a large robotic arm over a certain distance. If the robotic arm is delayed in releasing a particular object, the two light-duty robots may continue applying tags 500 to objects to build up a queue of objects for the robotic arm…”)
One having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Whitten and Manci’s system with Peters’s first work machine configured to position a visual indicator in an environment of the system using an indicator applier. Doing so would be obvious so “the system can very quickly and confidently pick up, move, and release target objects without the complex modeling, motion planning, manipulation feedback, and confidence estimation that traditionally slows unstructured robotic manipulation tasks” (See [0024] of Peters).
Regarding claim 9, Whitten, Manci, and Peters in combination teach all the limitations of claim 8 as discussed above.
Whitten additionally teaches:
wherein the visual indicator comprises one or more of a color, a shape, one or more letters, one or more numbers, a symbol, a tag, or a code and is provided at a location of a worksite. (See at least [0029]: “…The visual markers 154 are artificial structures of a defined shape and size that can reflect the laser or light beam projected from the LIDAR device…”)
Regarding claim 10, Whitten, Manci, and Peters in combination teach all the limitations of claim 9 as discussed above.
Whitten additionally teaches:
wherein the implement assembly comprises one or more of a painting assembly, a cleaning assembly, a maintenance assembly, a power wash assembly, a weld assembly, a drill assembly, a dig assembly, or a concrete assembly. (See at least [0020]: “To dislodge and separate material from the worksite 102, another example of a mobile machine 100 can be an excavator 130 that includes a bucket 132 disposed at the end of another mechanical lift implement 134 that can articulate in various directions to maneuver the bucket. The lift implement 134 can be a mechanical linkage including a boom, a dipper, and a stick pivotally connected to each other…”)
Regarding claim 11, Whitten, Manci, and Peters in combination teach all the limitations of claim 9 as discussed above.
Whitten additionally teaches:
wherein the visual indicator is a first visual indicator, the one or more sensors further configured to detect a second visual indicator in the environment of the system, (See at least Fig. 1 & [0029-0030]: “To serve as a target for the LIDAR device 152, a plurality of visual markers 154 can be placed about the worksite 102… The visual markers 154 can positioned to spatially designate or demarcate features and landmarks about the worksite 102. For example, because the intended off-road travel routes 108 may be difficult to visually discern from the surrounding terrain, visual markers 154 can be placed along the sides of travel routes 108 and function as navigation guides or wayfinders for the traveling mobile machines 100. The visual markers 154 can also be used to designate locations such as the mine 104 or the material piles 106, and may include visual characteristics or symbols to convey comprehensible information about or associated with the worksite location…”)
the second visual indicator comprising a characteristic for the action, the controller configured to detect the second visual indicator and perform the action according to the characteristic. (See at least [0125]: “Another example application of the process is to identify a condition in a limited, defined environment as a bonded area of the work area. Here, the identified condition is associated with a badge ID by associating a condition as a permission required geo-zone. The electronic badge is staged at a position identifying a boundary of a bonded area in the work environment. Accordingly, the processor of the industrial vehicle can take a predetermined action based upon the determined condition by evaluating that the industrial vehicle has or is about to enter the bonded area, evaluating at least one credential of the vehicle operator to determine whether the vehicle operator has authorization to enter the bonded area, and controlling, by the processor, the industrial vehicle to take an evasive maneuver to avoid the bonded area if the vehicle operator is not judged to be authorized to enter the bonded area” & [0242]: “The control module 206 communicates with the server 112 via the transceiver 204 of the information linking device 202 to authenticate the operator as authorized to operate the industrial vehicle. This can be accomplished by receiving a badge identification (badge ID) wirelessly transmitted from the badge 1902 to the badge communicator 224…”, where it is clearly capable of detecting an indicator multiple times, and where the second indicator is equivalent to the first indicator.)
Regarding claim 12, Whitten, Manci, and Peters in combination teach all the limitations of claim 9 as discussed above.
Manci additionally teaches:
wherein the one or more requirements comprise at least one of a type of implement for the second work machine, a type of work machine, a time of day requirement, or a location requirement for the action. (See at least [0125]: “Another example application of the process is to identify a condition in a limited, defined environment as a bonded area of the work area. Here, the identified condition is associated with a badge ID by associating a condition as a permission required geo-zone. The electronic badge is staged at a position identifying a boundary of a bonded area in the work environment. Accordingly, the processor of the industrial vehicle can take a predetermined action based upon the determined condition by evaluating that the industrial vehicle has or is about to enter the bonded area, evaluating at least one credential of the vehicle operator to determine whether the vehicle operator has authorization to enter the bonded area, and controlling, by the processor, the industrial vehicle to take an evasive maneuver to avoid the bonded area if the vehicle operator is not judged to be authorized to enter the bonded area.”)
Regarding claim 13, Whitten, Manci, and Peters in combination teach all the limitations of claim 9 as discussed above.
Manci additionally teaches:
wherein the controller is further configured to determine the command by providing the signal representing the visual indicator to a database and receiving the command from the database. (See at least [0242]: “The control module 206 communicates with the server 112 via the transceiver 204 of the information linking device 202 to authenticate the operator as authorized to operate the industrial vehicle. This can be accomplished by receiving a badge identification (badge ID) wirelessly transmitted from the badge 1902 to the badge communicator 224. The badge communicator 224 passes the badge ID to the information linking device 202, e.g., across the vehicle network bus 218. Upon the control module 206 determining that the operator is authorized to operate the industrial vehicle, the information linking device 202 pairs the operator badge with the industrial vehicle. For instance, in an example implementation, the badge-ID is linked to a person (personal badge). This information is stored on the server and communicated to badge communicator.”)
Regarding claim 14, Whitten teaches:
A method, comprising…sending, from one or more sensors, a signal representing a visual indicator of the one or more visual indicators to a second work machine; (See at least [0027-0029]: “To obtain and provide data and information about the worksite conditions and activities to the electronic controller 140, the onboard navigation and control system can be operatively associated with a visual perception system 150 located on the mobile machine 100…the visual perception system 150 can include a LIDAR (light detection and ranging) device 152…To serve as a target for the LIDAR device 152, a plurality of visual markers 154 can be placed about the worksite 102…”)
Whitten does not explicitly teach:
determining a command associated with the visual indicator;
determining if the second work machine meets one or more requirements of the command; and
in response to determining that the second work machine meets the one or more requirements, performing, by the second work machine, an action based on the command.
Manci teaches:
determining a command associated with the visual indicator; determining if the second work machine meets one or more requirements of the command; and in response to determining that the second work machine meets the one or more requirements, performing, by the second work machine, an action based on the command. (See at least [0125]: “Another example application of the process is to identify a condition in a limited, defined environment as a bonded area of the work area. Here, the identified condition is associated with a badge ID by associating a condition as a permission required geo-zone. The electronic badge is staged at a position identifying a boundary of a bonded area in the work environment. Accordingly, the processor of the industrial vehicle can take a predetermined action based upon the determined condition by evaluating that the industrial vehicle has or is about to enter the bonded area, evaluating at least one credential of the vehicle operator to determine whether the vehicle operator has authorization to enter the bonded area, and controlling, by the processor, the industrial vehicle to take an evasive maneuver to avoid the bonded area if the vehicle operator is not judged to be authorized to enter the bonded area” & [0242]: “The control module 206 communicates with the server 112 via the transceiver 204 of the information linking device 202 to authenticate the operator as authorized to operate the industrial vehicle. This can be accomplished by receiving a badge identification (badge ID) wirelessly transmitted from the badge 1902 to the badge communicator 224…”)
One having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Whitten’s method with Manci’s technique of performing an action based on a command associated with a visual indicator. Doing so would be obvious “to implement geo-based activation or de-activation of vehicle features or capabilities” (See [0108] of Manci).
Whitten and Manci in combination do not explicitly teach:
applying, by a first work machine, one or more visual indicators to an environment of the first work machine;
Peters teaches:
applying, by a first work machine, one or more visual indicators to an environment of the first work machine; (See at least [0029-0031]: “In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, dishes 110 arranged on the conveyor belt 114 include a bowl and a stack of plates. Each of the light-duty robots 102a, 102b may analyze a dish 110 adjacent to it, or a next dish 110 in line, to determine an appropriate tag 108 (based on the features and requirements of the dish 110) from the multiple available tags 108. The light-duty robots 102a, 102b may then apply one or more appropriate tags 108 to each dish 110…In operation, the robotic arm 104 may manipulate dishes 110 equipped with tags 108 to place them in a dish rack 112, while the light-duty robots 102a, 102b or human operators may continue to apply tags 108 to remaining dishes 110. After a particular dish 110 has been placed in the dish rack 112 or has reached another final destination…” & [0050]: “In one embodiment, for example, two light-duty robots may tag objects to be transported by a large robotic arm over a certain distance. If the robotic arm is delayed in releasing a particular object, the two light-duty robots may continue applying tags 500 to objects to build up a queue of objects for the robotic arm…”)
One having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have found it obvious to combine Whitten and Manci’s system with Peters’s first work machine configured to position a visual indicator in an environment of the first work machine. Doing so would be obvious so “the system can very quickly and confidently pick up, move, and release target objects without the complex modeling, motion planning, manipulation feedback, and confidence estimation that traditionally slows unstructured robotic manipulation tasks” (See [0024] of Peters).
Regarding claim 15, Whitten, Manci, and Peters in combination teach all the limitations of claim 14 as discussed above.
Peters additionally teaches:
wherein applying the one or more visual indicators to the work site comprises applying one or more of a color, a shape, one or more letters, one or more numbers, a symbol, a tag, or a code and providing the one or more visual indicators at a location of a worksite. (See at least [0027]: “Multiple reusable, independent tags 108 may be positioned substantially adjacent to the light-duty robots 102a, 102b. The tags 108 may be identical, or may vary in shape, size, and/or attachment mechanism, as discussed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 5A-5D below…”)
Regarding claim 16, Whitten, Manci, and Peters in combination teach all the limitations of claim 14 as discussed above.
Whitten additionally teaches:
further comprising coupling one or more of a painting assembly, a cleaning assembly, a maintenance assembly, a power wash assembly, a weld assembly, a drill assembly, a dig assembly, or a concrete assembly to a base assembly of the second work machine. (See at least [0020]: “To dislodge and separate material from the worksite 102, another example of a mobile machine 100 can be an excavator 130 that includes a bucket 132 disposed at the end of another mechanical lift implement 134 that can articulate in various directions to maneuver the bucket. The lift implement 134 can be a mechanical linkage including a boom, a dipper, and a stick pivotally connected to each other…”)
Regarding claim 17, Whitten, Manci, and Peters in combination teach all the limitations of claim 14 as discussed above.
Manci additionally teaches:
wherein the visual indicator is a first visual indicator, the method further comprising: detecting a second visual indicator in the environment, (See at least Fig. 1 & [0029-0030]: “To serve as a target for the LIDAR device 152, a plurality of visual markers 154 can be placed about the worksite 102… The visual markers 154 can positioned to spatially designate or demarcate features and landmarks about the worksite 102. For example, because the intended off-road travel routes 108 may be difficult to visually discern from the surrounding terrain, visual markers 154 can be placed along the sides of travel routes 108 and function as navigation guides or wayfinders for the traveling mobile machines 100. The visual markers 154 can also be used to designate locations such as the mine 104 or the material piles 106, and may include visual characteristics or symbols to convey comprehensible information about or associated with the worksite location…”)
the second visual indicator comprising a characteristic for the action; and performing the action according to the characteristic. (See at least [0125]: “Another example application of the process is to identify a condition in a limited, defined environment as a bonded area of the work area. Here, the identified condition is associated with a badge ID by associating a condition as a permission required geo-zone. The electronic badge is staged at a position identifying a boundary of a bonded area in the work environment. Accordingly, the processor of the industrial vehicle can take a predetermined action based upon the determined condition by evaluating that the industrial vehicle has or is about to enter the bonded area, evaluating at least one credential of the vehicle operator to determine whether the vehicle operator has authorization to enter the bonded area, and controlling, by the processor, the industrial vehicle to take an evasive maneuver to avoid the bonded area if the vehicle operator is not judged to be authorized to enter the bonded area” & [0242]: “The control module 206 communicates with the server 112 via the transceiver 204 of the information linking device 202 to authenticate the operator as authorized to operate the industrial vehicle. This can be accomplished by receiving a badge identification (badge ID) wirelessly transmitted from the badge 1902 to the badge communicator 224…”, where it is clearly capable of detecting an indicator multiple times, and where the second indicator is equivalent to the first indicator.)
Regarding claim 18, Whitten, Manci, and Peters in combination teach all the limitations of claim 14 as discussed above.
Manci additionally teaches:
wherein determining if the second work machine meets the one or more requirements of the command comprises determining that the one or more requirements comprise at least one of a type of implement for the second work machine, a type of work machine, a time of day requirement, or a location requirement for the action. (See at least [0125]: “Another example application of the process is to identify a condition in a limited, defined environment as a bonded area of the work area. Here, the identified condition is associated with a badge ID by associating a condition as a permission required geo-zone. The electronic badge is staged at a position identifying a boundary of a bonded area in the work environment. Accordingly, the processor of the industrial vehicle can take a predetermined action based upon the determined condition by evaluating that the industrial vehicle has or is about to enter the bonded area, evaluating at least one credential of the vehicle operator to determine whether the vehicle operator has authorization to enter the bonded area, and controlling, by the processor, the industrial vehicle to take an evasive maneuver to avoid the bonded area if the vehicle operator is not judged to be authorized to enter the bonded area.”)
Regarding claim 19, Whitten, Manci, and Peters in combination teach all the limitations of claim 18 as discussed above.
Whitten, Manci, and Peters in combination do not explicitly teach:
wherein the method further comprises, in response to determining that the second work machine does not meet at least one of the one or more requirements, driving the second work machine to another visual indicator of the one or more visual indicators.
However, Manci teaches preventing a vehicle from entering an aisle if the vehicle detects an end-of-aisle electronic badge designating the aisle as temporarily closed and preventing a vehicle from entering a bonded area if it is not authorized to enter (See at least [0109], [0117] & [0125]). Manci further teaches that end-of-aisle electronic badges can be used “to inform an operator that the industrial vehicle is in a correct aisle, or to direct the industrial vehicle as to where to go to achieve the next pick” (See at least [0188]). Therefore, since there are multiple end-of-aisle electronic badges, the teachings of Manci render obvious moving the vehicle to a different area when it attempts to enter an unauthorized area (See at least Figs. 5-6, [0108] & [0120-0121]), which provides the benefit of “enable industrial vehicles to dynamically detect, locate and make decisions based upon the local presence of electronic badges in close proximity to (e.g., within 15-20 meters of) an industrial vehicle” and “to direct the industrial vehicle as to where to go to achieve the next pick” (See [0029] & [0188] of Manci).
Regarding claim 20, Whitten, Manci, and Peters in combination teach all the limitations of claim 14 as discussed above.
Manci additionally teaches:
wherein determining the command comprises providing the signal representing the visual indicator to a database and receiving the command from the database. (See at least [0242]: “The control module 206 communicates with the server 112 via the transceiver 204 of the information linking device 202 to authenticate the operator as authorized to operate the industrial vehicle. This can be accomplished by receiving a badge identification (badge ID) wirelessly transmitted from the badge 1902 to the badge communicator 224. The badge communicator 224 passes the badge ID to the information linking device 202, e.g., across the vehicle network bus 218. Upon the control module 206 determining that the operator is authorized to operate the industrial vehicle, the information linking device 202 pairs the operator badge with the industrial vehicle. For instance, in an example implementation, the badge-ID is linked to a person (personal badge). This information is stored on the server and communicated to badge communicator.”)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20210147202 A1 is directed to navigating a robotic tug based on visual markings showing load and drop-off locations.
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/NIKKI MARIE M MOLINA/Examiner, Art Unit 3662
/ANISS CHAD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3662
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