Obviousness

The obviousness of US patent 11037093 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 can be assessed by combining US8914275B2 (Mehring et al.) with known principles of perishable logistics, dynamic shelf life modeling, and inventory management strategies such as First-Expired-First-Out (FEFO). A person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) in food logistics and supply chain management, as of the priority date of March 30, 2015, would have been motivated to combine these references to further improve the efficiency, safety, and waste reduction in perishable food delivery.

Combination of Prior Art References:

1. US8914275B2 ("System and method for identifying an object" by Mehring et al., filed Aug 29, 2013, granted Dec 16, 2014): This patent is explicitly incorporated by reference into US11037093 and shares inventors and assignee. It discloses a system with a processor and logic configured to identify objects (which are stated to be "food items") and associate a "product profile" with each. The system updates this product profile in response to "characteristics" of the objects, with the goal of improving food distribution.
2. "Shelf life modelling for first-expired-first-out warehouse management" (published by PMC - NIH, discussing concepts prior to 2015): This reference explicitly discusses "the use of prediction models describing product quality changes during handling and transport" and how this information can be integrated into warehouse management systems to shift from First-In, First-Out (FIFO) to "first-expired-first-out (FEFO) strategy". It also details that "FEFO—ship the products based on their dynamic expiry dates calculated from application of the shelf life prediction algorithm to recorded temperature".
3. "Freshness and Shelf Life of Foods" (published by ACS Symposium Series, October 24, 2009): This reference describes the use of Time-Temperature Integrators (TTIs) to monitor temperature exposure and correlate it with food quality and remaining shelf life. It suggests using TTIs for "inventory management and stock rotation" and as "dynamic or active shelf life labeling".
4. "The Integrated Production and Transportation Scheduling Problem for a Product with a Short Lifespan" (published by INFORMS Journal on Computing, February 1, 2008): This reference addresses the challenge of transporting products with a "short shelf life" to various customer sites within a "limited lifespan," aiming to minimize the time for production and delivery to meet demand over a wide geographic region.

Motivation to Combine:

A PHOSITA would be motivated to combine the real-time monitoring capabilities of US8914275B2 with established principles of perishable inventory management and shelf-life prediction. US8914275B2's stated objective to "improve the process of distributing food" naturally leads to considering further optimizations for perishable goods, a known challenge in the industry. The economic imperative to reduce waste and ensure product quality would drive a PHOSITA to integrate quantitative freshness assessments and dynamic routing strategies.

Obviousness Analysis of Claim 1 Elements:

• Receiving Food Product History and Profiles with Changing Ideal Conditions:

  • US8914275B2 already teaches receiving "characteristics" and associating a "product profile" for food items. It is common knowledge in food logistics that a "food product history" would encompass expiration dates, storage time, storage conditions, and temperature history. The concept that "ideal handling and/or process conditions change over time by a predefined amount" (e.g., hot food needing to maintain high temperatures initially but gradually reducing to prevent overcooking) is a well-understood aspect of food science and an obvious refinement for a PHOSITA to include in a product profile for dynamic management.

• Evaluating a Freshness Metric based on History and Preferred Ranges:

  • The "Shelf life modelling" reference explicitly describes prediction models that assess product quality changes based on handling and transport conditions, including "dynamic expiry dates calculated from application of the shelf life prediction algorithm to recorded temperature". Similarly, "Freshness and Shelf Life of Foods" discusses correlating temperature history with the "quality level of the food" using TTIs to indicate remaining shelf life. A PHOSITA would find it obvious to apply such known models or TTI principles to the condition data collected by the US8914275B2 system to generate a quantitative "freshness metric."

• Determining a Delivery Time Window and Extending Delivery Distance:

  • Once a freshness metric or remaining shelf life (effectively a "delivery time window") is determined, extending the delivery distance for products with a longer remaining window is a straightforward logistical optimization. "The Integrated Production and Transportation Scheduling Problem" already highlights optimizing delivery for products with a limited lifespan. A PHOSITA would realize that an actively managed environment that preserves freshness (as implied by US8914275B2's goal to "improve food distribution") would naturally allow for extended delivery times and distances, maximizing the product's market reach.

• Receiving Updated Food Product History:

  • In a real-time monitoring system like that described in US8914275B2, the continuous collection and updating of product condition data ("characteristics") is an inherent and necessary feature for any dynamic decision-making process. Thus, "receiving updated food product history" is an obvious step.

• Prioritized Delivery Scheme (Lower Freshness First) and Sending to Driver/Dispatcher:

  • The "Shelf life modelling" reference explicitly advocates for a "first-expired-first-out (FEFO) strategy" where "products with the shortest remaining shelf life are sold first". This directly teaches the prioritization logic of delivering food products with a "relatively lower freshness metric" (i.e., those closer to expiration) ahead of others. Integrating this known FEFO prioritization logic into a computer-implemented delivery scheme, and then communicating that scheme to a driver or dispatcher, would be an obvious application of existing inventory and routing optimization techniques. "The Integrated Production and Transportation Scheduling Problem" also describes optimizing delivery routes within limited lifespans, providing a foundation for such schemes.

• Removing Products Below a Predefined Freshness Threshold:

  • The automatic disqualification of perishable products that fall below an acceptable quality or safety threshold is a fundamental and obvious practice in food safety and waste management. If a computed freshness metric indicates that a product is no longer fit for consumption or sale, its removal from the delivery scheme is an essential step that a PHOSITA would implement to prevent health risks and economic losses. This is implied by the concept of "dynamic expiry dates" and quality monitoring.

In conclusion, Claim 1 of US11037093 presents an obvious combination of existing technologies and well-known principles in food logistics and perishable product management. The system described in US8914275B2 provides the foundation for monitoring food item characteristics, and the integration of freshness metrics, dynamic shelf life, and FEFO-based prioritization into a delivery scheme would be an obvious step for a PHOSITA motivated to further "improve the process of distributing food" and reduce spoilage.