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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 11-14 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.75(c) as being in improper form because a multiple dependent claim cannot depend from any other multiple dependent claim. See MPEP § 608.01(n). Claim 10 depends on claims 1-9. Claim 11 depends on claims 10 and 1. Claims 12-14 inherit the issues of claim 11. Accordingly, the claims 11-14 have not been further treated on the merits.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 6-10, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Butler (US 20220261743 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Butler discloses:
1. (Currently Amended) An item of warehouse infrastructure, comprising:
a controller that is configured to (fig. 2):
receive a motion-detection-signal from a sensor that is configured to detect movement in a vicinity of the item of warehouse infrastructure (fig. 22 motion sensor); and
provide a trigger-signal when the motion-detection-signal indicates that movement is detected (fig. 22 scan trigger based on motion sensor); and
an RFID antenna that is configured to perform an RFID scan in response to the trigger- signal in order to (fig. 22 172, paragraph 139 interrogation signal):
transmit an RFID-scanning-signal to excite one or more RFID tags in a vicinity of the RFID antenna (paragraph 139 interogation signal); and
provide RFID-signalling that is representative of one or more RFID-tag-signals received from one or more RFID tags (fig. 22 184); and
wherein the controller is configured to:process the RFID-signalling to determine one or more RFID-tag-identifiers associated with the RFID-signalling (abstract identifiers in zone); and
transmit an output-signal that is representative of the determined one or more RFID-tag-identifiers (paragraph 78 update database, fig. 22 188, 192, 194).
Regarding claim 2, Butler discloses:
2. (Original) The item of warehouse infrastructure of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:process the determined one or more RFID-tag-identifiers associated with the RFID- signalling in order to identify RFID-tag-identifiers that are associated with warehouse stock (fig. 22 184, abstract read data); and transmit an output-signal that is representative of only the RFID-tag-identifiers that are identified as being associated with warehouse stock (fig. 22 188, 192, 194).
Regarding claim 6, Butler discloses: wherein the item of warehouse infrastructure is a post, a barrier, a racking leg, a post-cap, a gate post, or a shelf (fig. 8 item 12 on a shelf).
Regarding claim 7, Butler discloses: further comprising the sensor that is configured to detect movement in the vicinity of the item of warehouse infrastructure (fig. 23 212, paragraph 14).
Regarding claim 8, Butler discloses: wherein the item of warehouse infrastructure is battery powered (fig. 12 12 battery powered).
Regarding claim 9, Butler discloses: wherein the controller is further configured to:cause the RFID antenna to perform an RFID scan periodically or in response to a user- initiated trigger-signal (paragraph 80 timer).
Regarding claim 10, Butler discloses:
10. (Currently Amended) A stock monitoring system1 comprising:an item of warehouse infrastructure according to any preceding claim, wherein the output- signal that is transmitted by the item of warehouse infrastructure includes an infrastructure- identifier (fig. 22 184, abstract scan includes rf identifier data); and
a server that is configured to:receive the output-signal from the item of warehouse infrastructure (fig. 22 184);determine a location of the item of warehouse infrastructure based on the infrastructure-identifier in the received output-signal (paragraph 62, paragraph 76-78); andgenerate a map of the warehouse that includes the determined location of the item of warehouse infrastructure along with a representation of the one or more RFJD-tag-identifiers in the output-signal (paragraph 78 database maintains a mapping between item identifiers and locations).
Regarding claim 15, Butler discloses:
15. (Currently Amended) A method of scanning a warehouse, the method comprising:receiving a motion-detection-signal from a sensor that is configured to detect movement in a vicinity of an item of warehouse infrastructure (fig. 22 motion sensor); andproviding a trigger-signal when the motion-detection-signal indicates that movement is detected (fig. 22 scan trigger based on motion);performing an RFID scan in response to the trigger-signal by:transmitting an RFID-scanning-signal to excite one or more RFID tags in a vicinity of an RFID antenna (fig. 22 172 paragraph 139 interrogation signal)); and providing RFID-signalling that is representative of one or more RFID-tag-signals received from one or more RFID tags (fig. 22 172 paragraph 139 interrogation responses); processing the RFID-signalling to determine one or more RFID-tag-identifiers associated with the RFID-signalling (fig. 22 184 paragraphs 76-78); and transmitting an output-signal that is representative of the determined one or more RFID- tag-identifiers (fig. 22 188 192 194).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 3, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Butler (US 20220261743 A1) in view of Gudi (US 20220261562 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Butler fails to disclose and Gudi discloses: wherein the controller is configured to: compare the determined one or more RFID-tag-identifiers with one or more RFID-tag- identifiers that were determined from an earlier RFID scan (paragraph 39-41, fig. 6 660); and transmit an output-signal that is representative of the determined one or more RFID-tag- identifiers only if there has been a change in the determined RFID-tag-identifiers from the earlier RFID scan (fig. 6 670). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine this teaching with Butler by comparing RFID records to detect status changes. The motivation for the combination is improved inventory accuracy (paragraph 51).
Claim 10 is rejected for the same reasons as addressed in the 102 rejection, but in view of dependence on claim 3.
Claim(s) 4, 5, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Butler (US 20220261743 A1) in view of Austin (US 20120075101 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Butler fails to disclose and Austin discloses: wherein the controller is configured to postpone providing the trigger signal to the RFID antenna until a predetermined period of time after the motion was detected has elapsed (paragraph 25). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine this teaching with Butler by delaying scans until after motion has stopped. The motivation for the combination is improved battery life and reduced RF traffic (paragraph 36).
Regarding claim 5, Butler fails to disclose and Austin discloses: wherein the controller is configured to provide the trigger signal to the RFID antenna after a detected movement has stopped (paragraph 25). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine this teaching with Butler by delaying scans until after motion has stopped. The motivation for the combination is improved battery life and reduced RF traffic (paragraph 36).
Claim 10 is rejected for the same reasons as addressed in the 102 rejection, but in view of dependence on claims 4 and 5.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Stokes (US 20170249589 A1) discloses motion sensors co-located with RFID readers.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN A MITCHELL whose telephone number is (571)270-3117. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/NATHAN A MITCHELL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
