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`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and TrademarkOffice
`Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
`
`17/375,946
`
`07/14/2021
`
`Yasunari IGUCHI
`
`083710-3354
`
`3694
`
`McDermott Will and Emery LLP
`The McDermott Building
`500 North Capitol Street, N.W.
`Washington, DC 20001
`
`DO, TRUC M
`
`3666
`
`PAPER NUMBER
`
`NOTIFICATION DATE
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`DELIVERY MODE
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`10/05/2023
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`ELECTRONIC
`
`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
`
`Thetime period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
`
`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
`following e-mail address(es):
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`mweipdocket@mwe.com
`
`PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
`
`

`

`Office Action Summary
`
`Application No.
`17/375,946
`Examiner
`TRUC M DO
`
`Applicant(s)
`IGUCH etal.
`Art Unit
`3666
`
`AIA (FITF) Status
`Yes
`
`-- The MAILING DATEof this communication appears on the cover sheet with the correspondence address --
`Period for Reply
`
`A SHORTENED STATUTORY PERIOD FOR REPLYIS SET TO EXPIRE 3 MONTHS FROM THE MAILING
`DATE OF THIS COMMUNICATION.
`Extensions of time may be available underthe provisions of 37 CFR 1.136(a). In no event, however, may a reply betimely filed after SIX (6) MONTHSfrom the mailing
`date of this communication.
`If NO period for reply is specified above, the maximum statutory period will apply and will expire SIX (6) MONTHSfrom the mailing date of this communication.
`-
`- Failure to reply within the set or extended period for reply will, by statute, cause the application to become ABANDONED (35 U.S.C. § 133).
`Any reply received by the Office later than three months after the mailing date of this communication, evenif timely filed, may reduce any earned patent term
`adjustment. See 37 CFR 1.704(b).
`
`Status
`
`
`
`1) Responsive to communication(s)filed on 14 July 2021.
`C) A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/werefiled on
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`2a)() This action is FINAL. 2b)¥)This action is non-final.
`3)02 An election was madeby the applicant in responseto a restriction requirement set forth during the interview
`on
`; the restriction requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
`4)\0) Since this application is in condition for allowance except for formal matters, prosecution as to the merits is
`closed in accordance with the practice under Exparte Quayle, 1935 C.D. 11, 453 O.G. 213.
`
`Disposition of Claims*
`1-7 is/are pending in the application.
`)
`Claim(s)
`5a) Of the above claim(s) ___ is/are withdrawn from consideration.
`Cj} Claim(s)
`is/are allowed.
`Claim(s) 1and7 is/are rejected.
`Claim(s) 2-6 is/are objectedto.
`C] Claim(s
`are subjectto restriction and/or election requirement
`S)
`“If any claims have been determined allowable, you maybeeligible to benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program at a
`participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more information, please see
`http:/Awww.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/pph/index.jsp or send an inquiry to PPHfeedback@uspto.gov.
`
`) ) ) )
`
`Application Papers
`10)2) The specification is objected to by the Examiner.
`11) The drawing(s) filed on 14 July 2021 is/are: a)[¥) accepted or b)() objected to by the Examiner.
`Applicant may not request that any objection to the drawing(s) be held in abeyance. See 37 CFR 1.85(a).
`Replacement drawing sheet(s) including the correction is required if the drawing(s) is objected to. See 37 CFR 1.121 (d).
`
`Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119
`12)[¥] Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) or (f).
`Certified copies:
`c)() None ofthe:
`b)( Some**
`a) All
`1.4] Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
`2.1.) Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No.
`3.2.) Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been receivedin this National Stage
`application from the International Bureau (PCT Rule 17.2(a)).
`* See the attached detailed Office action for a list of the certified copies not received.
`
`Attachment(s)
`
`1)
`
`Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
`
`Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO/SB/08a and/or PTO/SB/08b)
`2)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`
`3)
`
`(LJ Interview Summary (PTO-413)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date
`4) (J Other:
`
`PTOL-326 (Rev. 11-13)
`
`Office Action Summary
`
`Part of Paper No./Mail Date 20230930
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/375,946
`Art Unit: 3666
`
`Page 2
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`The presentapplication,filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under thefirst
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`Notice of Pre-AlA orAIA Status
`
`inventorto file provisions of the AIA.
`
`This is a non-final Office Action on the merits in response to communicationsfiled by Applicant
`
`on July 14, 2021. Claims 1-7 are currently pending and examined below.
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`DETAILED ACTION
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`Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have
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`been placed of record in thefile.
`
`Priority
`
`The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on is/are being considered by the
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`Information Disclosure Statement
`
`examiner.
`
`The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
`
`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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`(b} CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out
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`and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the
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`invention.
`
`The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AlA), second paragraph:
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`The specification shall conclude with one or moreclaims particularly pointing out and distinctly
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`claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
`
`Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AlA), second paragraph,as being
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`indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor
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`ora joint inventor, or for pre-AlAthe applicant regards as the invention.
`
`The term “allowable”in claim 2 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term
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`“allowable” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining
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`the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope
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`of the invention.
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`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/375,946
`Art Unit: 3666
`
`Page 3
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`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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`Inthe event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA35 U.S.C. 102
`
`and 103 (or as subject to pre-AlA 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
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`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:
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`A person shall be entitled to a patent unless —
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`(a}(1) the claimed invention was patented, described ina printed publication, or in public use, on sale
`
`or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
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`(a}(2) the claimed invention was described ina patent issued under section 151, or in an application
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`for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as
`
`the case maybe, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effectivefiling date of
`the claimedinvention.
`
`Claims 1 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by
`
`Yoshino US2016/0132056 (“Yoshino”).
`
`Regarding claim(s)1, 7. Yoshino discloses a vacuum cleaner that autonomously runsin a
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`predetermined space and performscleaning, the vacuum cleaner comprising:
`
`a position sensor that acquires a positional relationship between the vacuum cleaner and an
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`object present in a two-dimensional measurement target space along a running surface of the vacuum
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`cleaner (FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an operation for obtaining a self-position of the cleaning robot,
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`which operation usesan algorithm ofa Monte Carlo Localization method {MCL method). );
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`an estimated map acquisition unit that acquires a self-position estimation map corresponding to
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`the measurementtarget space (FIG. 11is a plan view illustrating a case where obstacle measurement
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`points are clustered based on results of calculating positions of obstacles in an environment map ina
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`case where a temporary current position of the cleaning robotis correct. FIG. 12 is a plan view
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`illustrating a case where obstacle measurement points are clustered based onresults of calculating
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 17/375,946
`Art Unit: 3666
`
`Page 4
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`positions of obstaclesin an environment map in a case where a temporary current position of the
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`cleaning robotis incorrect. );
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`a cleaning route acquisition unit that acquires a cleaning route created along the running
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`surface basedon a route planning map having a shape different from a shape of the self-position
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`estimation map (FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a methodof obtaining, by use of the laser rangefinder 41a,
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`environment information ofa region in front of the cleaning robot1,i.e., a position and shape ofan
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`obstacle which is subjected to the sensing. FIG. 3 is a plan viewillustrating how the wall M serving asa
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`distance measurement objectis irradiated with a laser beam which has been emitted from the laser
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`rangefinder 41a of the cleaning robot 1.), a self-position estimation unit that estimatesa self-position
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`using the positional relationship based on the position sensor and the self-position estimation map
`
`(para. 55, para. 130, para.145): and
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`a running controller that causes the vacuum cleaner to run along the cleaning route based on
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`the self-position estimated by the self-position estimation unit (FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating a grid
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`map serving as an environment map used for autonomous movementof the cleaning robot.)
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`Claims 2-6 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be
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`allowable if rewrittenin independentform including all of the limitations of the base claimand any
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`Allowable Subject Matter
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`intervening claims.
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`Inquiry
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`Anyinquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner
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`should be directed to TRUC M DO whose telephone number is (571)270-5962. The examiner can
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`normally be reached on 9AM-6PM.
`
`If attempts to reachthe examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor,
`
`Marc Burgess can be reached on 571-272-9385. The fax phone number for the organization wherethis
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`application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/375,946
`Art Unit: 3666
`
`Page5S
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`
`/TRUCM DO/
`
`Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3666
`
`