DETAILED ACTION
This office action is responsive to application 19/240,814 filed on June 17, 2025. Claims 1-10 are pending in the application and have been examined by the Examiner.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statements (IDS) filed on October 8, 2025 and May 11, 2026 were received and have been considered by the Examiner.
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 .
Priority
As detailed in MPEP 2152.01(B), “If the application is a continuation-in-part of an earlier U.S. application or international application, any claims in the new application not supported by the specification and claims of the parent application have an effective filing date equal to the actual filing date of the new application.” The present application is a divisional application of parent application 18/522,295. Parent application 18/522,295 is a CIP of applications 18/233,892 and 18/244,296. Claims 1-10 are each dedicated to a “locker”, and the prior-filed applications other than parent application 18/522,295 provide no support or enablement for a locker. As such, the effective filing date of claims 1-10 is the actual filing date of parent application 18/522,295, which is November 29, 2023.
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 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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Schroeder (US 2025/0014337).
Consider claim 1, Schroeder teaches:
A locker (figure 3), comprising:
a cabinet body (cabinet or housing, 120, paragraph 0025), having an inner space (upper fresh food chamber, 122, paragraph 0025);
a cabinet door (refrigerator doors, 128), configured to seal or open the inner space (see paragraph 0026, figures 1-3);
a frame buffer, configured to record a background image frame (A median frame (i.e. background image frame) is obtained as shown in figure 7, step 510 of figure 5, paragraphs 0069, 0055 and 0059. An exemplary frame is then obtained as shown in figure 8, step 520 of figure 5, paragraphs 0069 and 0056. The median frame (i.e. background image frame) of figure 7 is then subtracted from the exemplary frame of figure 8, step 520 of figure 5, paragraphs 0069, 0070, 0056 and 0058. A controller (134, paragraphs 0027-0029) performs this image analysis locally, paragraphs 0037, 0043 and 0046. Because the median frame (i.e. background image frame) is subtracted from multiple image frames by the controller (134), it must be recorded in a frame buffer.);
a motion sensor (first camera, 192, figure 2), arranged inside the locker (see figures 1-3, paragraph 0032), and configured to acquire a current image frame of the inner space (see, for instance, figure 8, paragraphs 0032 and 0069); and
a processor (controller, 134, paragraphs 0027-0029), configured to compare the current image frame (figure 8) and the background image frame (figure 7) to identify an object in the inner space (i.e. an “object of interest”, steps 520 and 530 of figure 5, paragraphs 0056 and 0057, figure 9, paragraph 0070).
Consider claim 2, and as applied to claim 1 above, Schroeder further teaches that the motion sensor is configured to continuously acquire multiple image frames of the inner space when the cabinet door is opened, and the processor is configured to take at least one image frame among the multiple image frames acquired right before the cabinet door is sealed as the current image frame (“According to still other embodiments, camera assembly 190 may periodically take low-resolution images until motion (such as opening of one or more doors 128 or 130) is detected (e.g., via image differentiation of low-resolution images), at which time one or more high-resolution images may be obtained.” Paragraph 0039. The “high-resolution” images are multiple images acquired right before the cabinet door is sealed.).
Consider claim 3, and as applied to claim 2 above, Schroeder further teaches that an average brightness of the at least one image frame (figure 8) is higher than a predetermined brightness (An average brightness of a captured image frame, such as the one shown in figure 8, is inherently higher than a predetermined brightness.), and the background image frame (i.e. median frame) is an image frame acquired when the cabinet door is opened and the inner space is empty (see figure 7, paragraphs 0058 and 0059).
Consider claim 4, and as applied to claim 1 above, Schroeder further teaches that the background image frame is an image frame acquired by the motion sensor when the cabinet door is sealed (“a first median frame of the plurality of median frames which is calculated for a first set of N frames may include the door in a closed position” paragraph 0059), and the motion sensor is configured to acquire the current image frame of the inner space after the cabinet door is sequentially opened and sealed (“According to still other embodiments, camera assembly 190 may periodically take low-resolution images until motion (such as opening of one or more doors 128 or 130) is detected (e.g., via image differentiation of low-resolution images), at which time one or more high-resolution images may be obtained.” Paragraph 0039. “Thus, the closed door may be removed from subtracted images calculated from frames in the first set of N frames in which the door is closed” paragraph 0059).
Consider claim 5, and as applied to claim 4 above, Schroeder further teaches that a light source arranged inside the locker, and the light source being configured to illuminate the inner space when the cabinet door is sealed and the motion sensor is acquiring the current image frame (“In addition, according to exemplary embodiments, controller 134 may be configured for illuminating a refrigerator light (not shown) while obtaining the image or images.” paragraph 0040).
Consider claim 6, and as applied to claim 5 above, Schroeder further teaches that the light source and the motion sensor are deactivated when the cabinet door is opened (The motion sensor (192) is only activated for a “limited time duration” in response to the cabinet door being opened, paragraph 0034. As such, the motion sensor (192) is deactivated after the limited time duration when the cabinet door is opened. The light source is only illuminated “while obtaining the image or images”, paragraph 0040. As such, the light source is also deactivated after the limited time duration.).
Consider claim 7, and as applied to claim 4 above, Schroeder further teaches that the frame buffer is recorded with multiple background image frames corresponding to different types of the locker, and when the cabinet door is opened, the processor is configured to select a background image frame corresponding to a type of an opened locker from the frame buffer to be compared with the current image frame (“Additionally, using multiple median frames may more effectively remove movable background elements, e.g., doors and drawers, as compared to a single median frame for the video. For example, a first median frame of the plurality of median frames which is calculated for a first set of N frames may include the door in a closed position, whereas a second median frame of the plurality of median frames which is calculated for a second set of N frames may include the door in an open position. Thus, the closed door may be removed from subtracted images calculated from frames in the first set of N frames in which the door is closed, and the open door may be removed from subtracted images calculated from frames in the second set of N frames in which the door is open” paragraph 0059).
Consider claim 8, and as applied to claim 7 above, Schroeder further teaches that the different types comprises different sizes or shapes of the locker (i.e. due to the locker having a different size or shape when the door is opened compared to when the door is closed, paragraph 0059).
Consider claim 9, and as applied to claim 1 above, Schroeder further teaches that an inner surface inside the locker opposite to the motion sensor is arranged with a predetermined pattern (Figure 7 shows that an inner surface of the locker opposite the motion sensor is arranged with a predetermined pattern, paragraph 0069.), and the processor is configured to compare the predetermined pattern in the current image frame (figure 7) and the background image frame (figure 8) to identify the object in the inner space (i.e. an “object of interest”, steps 520 and 530 of figure 5, paragraphs 0056 and 0057, figure 9, paragraph 0070).
Consider claim 10, and as applied to claim 9 above, Schroeder further teaches that the predetermined pattern comprises a customized pattern (i.e. the custom pattern of the locker shown in figure 7, paragraph 0069).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Schroeder et al. (US 2023/0328208) teaches a locker (figures 1-3) that initiates image capture in response to detecting that a door thereof is in an open position (see steps 440 and 450 of figure 4).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALBERT H CUTLER whose telephone number is (571)270-1460. The examiner can normally be reached approximately Mon - Fri 8:00-4:30.
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/ALBERT H CUTLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2637
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