DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Application Status
This Office Action is in response to the application filed on 05/02/2025. Claims 1-20 are pending and rejected as detailed below.
Priority
Applicant has claimed priority to provisional application 63/642,072, filed on 05/03/2024.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
Fig. 4, items 404, 406, and 416 appear to be pointing at the wrong elements when compared to the description [0079]. In [0079] it is described as a cart 404, device 406, and perception area 416. Based on the examiner’s understanding it appears that this is a mismatch with the figure. 404 appears to point to the device, 406 appears to point towards the perception area, and 416 appears to point towards the cart. Applicant should amend the figure to fix the numbers to correspond to the spec.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
[0112] “if at step 806” should be “if at step 808”
[0113] “if at step 806” should be “if at step 808”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Applicant is advised that should claim 6 be found allowable, claim 7 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
Claims 9 is objected to because of the following informalities:
A series of singular dependent claims is permissible in which a dependent claim refers to a preceding claim which, in turn, refers to another preceding claim. A claim which depends from a dependent claim should not be separated by any claim which does not also depend from said dependent claim. It should be kept in mind that a dependent claim may refer to any preceding independent claim. In general, applicant's sequence will not be changed. See MPEP § 608.01(n).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 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)(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.
(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) 1-20 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)(a)(2) as being anticipated by Maroney (US PG Pub 2023/0242336).
Regarding claim 1, Maroney teaches a refuse vehicle (Fig. 1, item 102; and [0046] teach a vehicle for picking up refuse) comprising:
an auxiliary component; ([0047] teaches the vehicle having a series of pumps connected to various mechanical elements, i.e. lifting arms, tailgates, side arms, etc.)
a sensor; ([0060] teaches the system having a series of sensors)
one or more processors; ([0051]-[0052] and [0191]-[0192] teach the vehicle having a series of processors) and
a computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to execute a method ([0191]-[0193] teach a memory coupled to a processor, the memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out a method) comprising:
obtaining a dataset from the sensor, the dataset including a primary attribute; ([0059]-[0060] teaches the system receiving a dataset from the sensors capable of detecting a refuse container, including a primary attribute) and
detecting an object for collection based on the primary attribute satisfying a primary threshold; ([0059]-[0060] teach the system detecting a container for pick-up based on the presence and position of the refuse container being sufficient) and
in response at least in part to detecting the object for collection based on the primary attribute satisfying the primary threshold, initiating the auxiliary component. ([0063]-[0064] and [0074]-[0075] teaches the vehicle initiating a dump cycle in which it activates the auxiliary equipment of the vehicle, in this case a series of hydraulic pumps, in order to dump the contents of the refuse container into the vehicle)
Regarding claim 2, Maroney teaches the refuse vehicle of claim 1 wherein the auxiliary component is one of a hydraulic pump, an electric motor, an E-PTO, and a fuel cell. ([0047] teaches the system having a pump installed and connected to control the arms/tailgate/forks of the vehicle. [0048] teaches the use of hydraulic systems.)
Regarding claim 3, Maroney teaches the refuse vehicle of claim 1, wherein the object is a refuse cart. (Fig. 1, item 130; and [0046] teach the system collecting a container that contains refuse, i.e. a refuse cart)
Regarding claim 4, Maroney teaches the refuse vehicle of claim 3, wherein the primary attribute is one of a position of the object, an orientation of the object, a color of the object, a shape of the object, a distance to the object from the refuse vehicle, a confidence value of a presence of the object, and a weight of the object. ([0059]-[0060] teach the system detecting a container for pick-up based on the presence and position of said container)
Regarding claim 5, Maroney teaches refuse vehicle of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary component is coupled to one of a lift assembly, an ejector, a refuse collector, a refuse cart grabber, a refuse compactor, a vehicle access device, a vehicle door, and a hopper door. ([0047] teaches a pump coupled to the movable elements of the vehicle including forks, arms, tailgate, hopper, etc.)
Regarding claim 6, Maroney teaches the refuse vehicle of claim 1, the method further comprising: receiving a secondary dataset, the secondary dataset including a secondary attribute; ([0071] teaches the vehicle receiving a secondary data set from a second kind of sensor, in this case it is a location sensor)
determining an interlock condition is satisfied based on the secondary attribute satisfying a secondary threshold; ([0071] teaches the system determining that the vehicle is in the correct location for refuse pickup, in this case that the location is within a threshold of a known container pickup location) and
in response at least in part to the interlock condition being satisfied and detecting the object for collection based on the primary attribute satisfying the primary threshold, initiating the auxiliary component. ([0074] teaches the vehicle initiating the dumping cycle based on the determination results of the container identification and vehicle location verification)
Regarding claim 7, Maroney teaches the refuse vehicle of claim 1, the method further comprising: receiving a secondary dataset, the secondary dataset including a secondary attribute; ([0071] teaches the vehicle receiving a secondary data set from a second kind of sensor, in this case it is a location sensor)
determining an interlock condition is satisfied based on the secondary attribute satisfying a secondary threshold; ([0071] teaches the system determining that the vehicle is in the correct location for refuse pickup, in this case that the location is within a threshold of a known container pickup location) and
in response at least in part to the interlock condition being satisfied by the secondary attribute satisfying the secondary threshold, detecting the object for collection based on the primary attribute satisfying the primary threshold; ([0059]-[0060] teach the system detecting a container for pick-up based on the presence and position of the refuse container being sufficient) and
in response to detecting the object for collection based on the primary attribute satisfying the primary threshold, initiating the auxiliary component. ([0074] teaches the vehicle initiating the dumping cycle based on the determination results of the container identification and vehicle location verification)
Regarding claim 8, Maroney teaches the refuse vehicle of claim 7, the method further comprising: receiving a tertiary dataset, the tertiary dataset including a tertiary attribute; ([0074]-[0075] teaches the system receiving an additional dataset from the vehicle)
in response at least in part to detecting the object for collection based on the primary attribute satisfying the primary threshold, determining if the tertiary attribute satisfies a tertiary threshold; ([0074]-[0075] teaches the system determining if the tertiary attribute, in this case a switch, meets a threshold, i.e. is engaged) and
in response at least in part to the tertiary attribute satisfying the tertiary threshold and detecting the object for collection based on the primary attribute satisfying the primary threshold, initiating the auxiliary component. ([0074]-[0075] teach the system collecting the refuse container in the event that the tertiary attribute, i.e. switch, is engaged and the vehicle is in the correct mode. This then causes the vehicle to collect the refuse container)
Regarding claim 9, Maroney teaches the refuse vehicle of claim 6, wherein the secondary attribute corresponds to at least one of a power source attribute, a hydraulic system attribute, a high voltage component attribute, a vehicle attribute, an operator attribute, an object attribute, a weather attribute, an obstacle detection, a hopper capacity, a navigation route, a current location, and a user input. ([0071] teaches the vehicle receiving an additional data input from a location sensor)
Regarding claim 10, Maroney teaches a refuse vehicle (Fig. 1, item 102; and [0046] teach a vehicle for picking up refuse) comprising:
an auxiliary component; ([0047] teaches the vehicle having a series of pumps connected to various mechanical elements, i.e. lifting arms, tailgates, side arms, etc.)
a sensor; ([0060] teaches the system having a series of sensors)
one or more processors; ([0051]-[0052] and [0191]-[0192] teach the vehicle having a series of processors) and
a computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to execute a method ([0191]-[0193] teach a memory coupled to a processor, the memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out a method) comprising:
obtaining a dataset including a primary attribute, a secondary attribute, and a tertiary attribute; ([0059]-[0060] teaches the system receiving a dataset from the sensors capable of detecting a refuse container, including a primary attribute. [0071] teaches the vehicle receiving a secondary data set from a second kind of sensor, in this case it is a location sensor. [0074]-[0075] teaches the system receiving an additional tertiary dataset from the vehicle)
determining if a first interlock condition is met based on the secondary attribute satisfying a secondary threshold; ([0071] teaches the system determining that the vehicle is in the correct location for refuse pickup, in this case that the location is within a threshold of a known container pickup location)
in response at least in part to the first interlock condition being met, detecting an object for collection based at least in part on the primary attribute satisfying a primary threshold; ([0059]-[0060] teach the system detecting a container for pick-up based on the presence and position of the refuse container being sufficient)
determining if a second interlock condition is met by the tertiary attribute satisfying a tertiary threshold; ([0074]-[0075] teaches the system determining if the tertiary attribute, in this case a switch, meets a threshold, i.e. is engaged) and
in response at least in part to the second interlock condition being met, initiating the auxiliary component. ([0074]-[0075] teach the system collecting the refuse container in the event that the tertiary attribute, i.e. switch, is engaged and the vehicle is in the correct mode. This then causes the vehicle to collect the refuse container by activating the dump cycle which cause the pumps/body equipment to function to collect the refuse container)
Claim 16 is substantially similar in scope and would be rejected for the same rationale as recited above.
Regarding claim 11, Maroney teaches the refuse vehicle of claim 10 wherein the auxiliary component is one of a hydraulic pump, an electric motor, an E-PTO, and a fuel cell. ([0047] teaches the system having a pump installed and connected to control the arms/tailgate/forks of the vehicle. [0048] teaches the use of hydraulic systems.)
Claim 17 is substantially similar in scope and would be rejected for the same rationale as recited above.
Regarding claim 12, Maroney teaches the refuse vehicle of claim 10, wherein the object is a refuse cart. (Fig. 1, item 130; and [0046] teach the system collecting a container that contains refuse, i.e. a refuse cart)
Regarding claim 13, Maroney teaches the refuse vehicle of claim 12, wherein the primary attribute is one of a position of the object, an orientation of the object, a color of the object, a shape of the object, a distance to the object from the refuse vehicle, a confidence value of a presence of the object, and a weight of the object. ([0059]-[0060] teach the system detecting a container for pick-up based on the presence and position of said container)
Claim 18 is substantially similar in scope and would be rejected for the same rationale as recited above.
Regarding claim 14, Maroney teaches the refuse vehicle of claim 10, wherein the auxiliary component is coupled to one of a lift assembly, an ejector, a refuse collector, a refuse cart grabber, a refuse compactor, a vehicle access device, a vehicle door, and a hopper door. ([0047] teaches a pump coupled to the movable elements of the vehicle including forks, arms, tailgate, hopper, etc.)
Claim 19 is substantially similar in scope and would be rejected for the same rationale as recited above.
Regarding claim 15, Maroney teaches the refuse vehicle of claim 10, wherein the secondary attribute corresponds to at least one of a power source attribute, a hydraulic system attribute, a high voltage component attribute, a vehicle attribute, an operator attribute, an object attribute, a weather attribute, an obstacle detection, a hopper capacity, a navigation route, a current location, and a user input. ([0071] teaches the vehicle receiving an additional data input from a location sensor)
Claim 20 is substantially similar in scope and would be rejected for the same rationale as recited above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Romano (US PG Pub 2024/0087381) teaches correlating entity identification information with refuse containers being serviced by a refuse collection vehicle (RCV). Location data can be collected by location sensor(s) on the RCV at a time when a triggering condition is present, such as a time when a lift arm is operating to empty a refuse container into the hopper of the RCV.
Turner (US PG Pub 2023/0117427) teaches a refuse vehicle includes a chassis supporting a plurality of wheels, a battery configured to provide electrical energy to drive at least one of the plurality of wheels, a vehicle body supported by the chassis and defining a receptacle for storing refuse therein, and an electric power take-off module removabley coupled to the vehicle body, wherein the electric power take-off module includes an electric power take-off system including a motor configured to receive electrical energy from the battery and provide power to a hydraulic system in response to receiving the electrical energy from the battery.
Steimel (US PG Pub 2017/0362030) teaches an articulated front loader arm structure is provided for use with a conventional refuse collection vehicle having a conventional cab chassis. The articulated arm structure is controlled by a programmed logic controller (PLC) which for monitors and controls the movement of the front loader articulated arm structure.
Curotto (US PG Pub 2010/0179912) teaches a novel approach of utilizing a collection bin for a front loading waste collection vehicle. The collection bin includes a weighing system with a processor for measuring the weights of material collected from each waste container and associating this weight with appropriate data, such as the owner of the waste container.
Curotto (US PG Pub 2021/0404861) teaches a collection bin for a waste collection vehicle. The collection bin includes a weighing system with a processor for measuring the weight of material collected from each waste container and associating this weight with appropriate data, such as the owner of the waste container.
Salinas (US PG Pub 2017/0355522) teaches a method and device for positively identifying that a dump event of a refuse container has occurred into a refuse hopper of a refuse vehicle are provided. When used with route software, alerts may be generated if a specific refuse container is missed or if an unexpected dump event occurs during the route.
Parker (US PG Pub 2022/0410688) teaches a refuse vehicle includes a vehicle chassis and an all-electric vehicle body on the chassis. The body includes a hopper, a refuse storage container, and a plurality of electrically powered body systems. The body systems include an electrically actuated tailgate, an electrically actuated refuse loading assembly, and an electrically actuated refuse packing assembly configured to remove refuse from the hopper and to pack said refuse in the storage container. The vehicle (e.g., vehicle body) further includes a power management module configured to regulate energy usage of the body systems and/or to record and track electrical energy usage in the body systems.
Whitfield Jr. (US Pat 11,407,585) teaches an automatic control system for a refuse vehicle includes a mode select switch disposed within the vehicle that generates a mode select signal based on input from an operator of the vehicle, a control mechanism disposed within the vehicle that operates in response to the mode select signal, and a plurality of sensors adapted to sense a plurality of characteristics of the vehicle and adapted to communicate the plurality of sensed characteristics. The system further includes a control module that receives control instructions from the control mechanism and selectively controls at least one component of a plurality of components of the vehicle based on the mode select signal, at least one of the plurality of sensed characteristics, and the control instructions.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS STRYKER whose telephone number is (571)272-4659. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30-5:00.
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, Christian Chace can be reached at (571) 272-4190. 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.
/N.S./Examiner, Art Unit 3665 /CHRISTIAN CHACE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665
Prosecution Insights