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 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)(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.
Claims 1, 3-5, 7-9, 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Haas (US 20190241374 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Haas discloses a module for transferring objects (10, Fig. 1) comprising:
a frame with a longitudinal axis (see horizontal dashed line in Fig. 6),
at least two first rotation systems (Fig. 6, para. [0094] “the transport mechanism 10 is herein subdivided into two partial transport mechanisms which in this case form an upper rail 15 and a lower rail 16”) each comprising at least one individually and independently operable rotator (each system has a corresponding pair of rotator pulleys 13,14), each rotator connected to one of the at least two first rotation systems;
at least one carrier (20) per rotation system, each carrier connected to the at least one rotator of one of the at least two first rotation systems and each carrier being independently operable in rotation (para. [0094] “component-receiving units 20 may then be suspended independently from each other at the two rails 15, 16”, see right, left, and top view in Fig. 6),
a gondola per carrier (Fig. 6, para. [0094] “a kind of slide is indicated as part of a component-receiving unit 20”), the gondola connected to the carrier, wherein said gondola is adapted to move within the carrier in a direction (“z-direction”, para. [0022]) perpendicular to a movement (“x direction”, para. [0024]) of the carrier, per gondola an individually and independently operable gondola driver for moving the gondola within the carrier (implicit from independently-operated receiving units 20, para. [0027,0046]),
each gondola comprising at least one object transferrer (e.g. “grippers”/”gripping elements”),
characterized in that
each rotator individually and independently operable for rotating the carrier along a continuous track (para. [0097] “each of the robotic partial transport devices may be moved independently from one another”), wherein said track comprises two substantially linear track parts and two curved track parts in between said two linear parts, wherein said two substantially linear track parts are spaced apart and parallel to said longitudinal axis (Fig. 1, para. [0061] “transport mechanism 10 thus has an approximately oval shape that comprises two elongated ribbon-shaped sections between two deflection pulleys 13 and 14”),
at least one controller for controlling the individually and independently operable rotator and the gondola driver such that a gondola is at a given position at a given time (para. [0068] “A control unit…influences the circling speed…of the component-receiving units 20” and para. [0073] “the component-receiving units 20 are controlled in such a way that they detect a small component 30, pick it up and store it at the correct location”), and
at least one driving system for driving the first rotation system ( para. [0068] “one drive unit or to a plurality of drive units for the transport mechanism 10”) and moving the gondola (e.g. para. [0027] “multiaxial drive mechanism or a moveable design” and para. [0068] “component-receiving units…have a multiaxial drive mechanism or a moveable design”).
Regarding claim 3, Haas discloses the module according to claim 1, characterized in that per carrier (20) two rotators are provided (system 15 has a corresponding pair of rotator pulleys 13,14, while system 16 has a different corresponding pair of rotator pulleys 13,14), wherein the two rotators are coupled to the carrier above and below one and another, respectively (implicit from Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 4, Haas discloses the module according to claim 1, characterized in that at least n carriers (20) are coupled to the same rotator, wherein n is two or more (Fig. 6, para. [0095] each level 15,16 has two carriers 20 such that four carriers total may be operated and travel relative to each other).
Regarding claim 5, Haas discloses the module according to claim 1, characterized in a feedback loop for spatially cycling each carrier (20) from a back side to a front side of the frame and from a front side to a back side of the frame (para. [0063] “If the belt of the transport mechanism 10 circles, the component-receiving units 20 each circle, as well”, and Haas claim 9 “the transport mechanism comprises an endless circular transport system by which one or a plurality of component-receiving units are forwarded from the first region to the second region and, after storing of the small components, back to the first region in a circular continuous movement”).
Regarding claim 7, Haas discloses the module according to claim 1, characterized in a carrier guidance (15,16), wherein the carrier guidance is adapted to move at a constant or zero speed (para. [0068, 0074] control unit can control the transport speed or the start or stop of the movement of the transport mechanism 10).
Regarding claim 8, Haas discloses the module according to claim 1, characterized in that the frame comprises at least one passage for allowing rotation of the at least one carrier (20) in a cyclic manner (implicit from Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 9, Haas discloses the module according to claim 1, characterized in that the gondola comprises the object transferrer movable in a direction selected from:
a horizontal direction (“y direction”) perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (para. [0037] entire transport mechanism and thus the carriers 20 comprising the slides and/or grippers are movable perpendicular to the longitudinal axis is a horizontal plane, i.e. in the y-direction, para. [0024]),
a vertical direction (“z direction”) perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (para. [0022,0027] grippers of carriers may travel in the vertical Z direction individually, or the entire transport mechanism 10 including the carriers 20 may be lifted/lowered in the z-direction, para. [0023]), and
a combination thereof.
Regarding independent claim 11, all the limitations have been analyzed in view of claim 1; therefore, claim 11 is also rejected over the same rationale as claim 1.
Regarding claim 12, Haas discloses the machine according to claim 11, wherein the machine is selected from harvesting machines, from packaging machines, from pick-and-place machines, from surface mount technology component placement systems, from pick-and-order machines, from non-static machines, and from postal selection machines (transport mechanism 10 is a pick-and-place machine).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 6, 14-17, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haas as applied to claims 1 and 11 above, and further in view of Jeanty et al. (US 20210337734 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Haas discloses the module according to claim 1, wherein the object transferrer is a gripper, but does not explicitly detail tongs.
Jeanty discloses a similar module (Figs. 12A-12G) for grasping/releasing objects of interest wherein the module comprises a controller for permitting real-time position and/or speed adjustments of a pick and place robot (1200) that reacts to real-time sensor input (para. [0117, 0032]), wherein each robot comprises a carrier (1230) which travels along a track (1240), and a slidable gondola (1220) including an object transferrer comprising tongs (1210).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to utilize tongs for the object transferrer of Haas, as taught by Jeanty, as a mere simple substitution of one known type of gripper for another to yield predictable results.
Regarding claim 14, Haas discloses the machine according to claim 11, but fails to teach wherein the machine comprises a movable frame, the movable frame comprising a motor and wheels, a speed controller.
Jeanty discloses a pick and place device detailed above configured for implementation on a mobile machine (1300), wherein the machine comprises a movable frame (1310), the movable frame comprising a motor (1326) and wheels (1322), a speed controller (1328, para. [0038]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use a similar mobile machine for carrying the pick and place module of Haas, as taught by Jeanty, in order to provide a mobile pick and place machine capable of moving from one operating location to another (Jeanty at para. [0003]).
Regarding claim 15, Haas discloses the machine according to claim 11, wherein the machine comprises a central bottom passage (Fig. 1), but fails to teach for allowing free movement of the machine over a row of vegetables.
Jeanty discloses a similar pick and place device detailed above configured for implementation on a mobile machine (1300), wherein the machine has a plurality of bottom passages for movement over a row of crops (para. [0130]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use a similar mobile machine for carrying the pick and place module of Haas in order to provide a mobile pick and place machine capable of moving from one operating location to another (Jeanty at para. [0003]).
Regarding claim 16, Haas discloses the machine according to claim 11, comprising a controller for controlling the at least one carrier and gondola (para. [0073] “the component-receiving units 20 are controlled in such a way that they detect a small component 30, pick it up and store it at the correct location) and feedback loop speed (para. [0068]), but fails to teach controlling a frame speed.
Jeanty discloses a pick and place device detailed above configured for implementation on a mobile machine (1300) comprising a movable frame (1310) having a controllable frame speed (para. [0038]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use a similar mobile machine for carrying the pick and place module of Haas in order to provide a mobile pick and place machine capable of moving from one operating location to another at a desired speed (Jeanty at para. [0003]).
Regarding claim 17, Haas discloses the machine according to claim 11, comprising at least one location sensor (50) for detecting an individual object (30) (para. [0073]), but does not explicitly detail wherein the object is a vegetable.
Jeanty discloses a pick and place device detailed above configured for implementation on a mobile machine (1300), wherein the machine comprises a movable frame (1310) and a location sensor for detecting an individual object or crop (cameras or other imaging devices, para. [0036]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use the machine of Haas for grasping any object of interest, such as a vegetable, as a mere simple substitution of one object of interest for another to yield predictable results.
Regarding claim 19, Haas discloses the machine according to claim 11, but fails to teach wherein the gondola is a cutting module comprising a vegetable locator, and wherein the vegetable locator comprises at least two horizontally rotatable tactile sensors spaced apart at a distance of 1-10 cm, and oriented in a tapered geometry.
Jeanty discloses a pick and place device (1200, Figs. 12A-12G) described above comprising a cutting module (bottom of para. [0145] discloses one or more blades or snipping elements) and a vegetable locator (para. [0070-0071] each finger 540 of the gripping assembly may comprise a force sensor for locating and grasping an outer surface of the vegetable to indicate to the controller that a finger has contacted the vegetable and/or for determining a stem direction), wherein the vegetable locator comprises at least two horizontally rotatable tactile sensors (force sensors are rotatable with fingers about horizontal axis 1207b, rotational motion indicated by 1206b, Figs. 12B-12C) spaced apart and oriented in a tapered geometry (tapered fingers 540, Figs. 5A-5C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to utilize a similar cutting module for the machine of Haas, as taught by Jeanty, in order to provide a pick and place system capable of harvesting in addition to handling fragile fruits/vegetables thereby enhancing operational versatility of the device.
Jeanty does not explicitly detail wherein the at least two horizontally rotatable spaced apart tactile sensors (i.e. each finger) are at a distance of 1-10 cm apart. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to contrive any number of desirable ranges for the distance between the tactile sensors based on a size of the object being grasped, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haas as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Jeanty et al. (US 20210337734 A1) and Avigad et al. (US 20200128744 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Haas discloses the machine according to claim 11, but fails to teach wherein the gondola is a cutting module comprising an tongs for grasping an individual vegetable, a cutter, a vegetable locator, and wherein the cutting module is movably located in the carrier allowing movement in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.
Jeanty discloses a pick and place robot described above comprising tongs (1210) for grasping an individual vegetable (“broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus”, para. [0147]), a cutter (bottom of para. [0145] discloses one or more blades or snipping elements), and a vegetable locator (para. [0070-0071] each finger 540 of the gripping assembly may comprise a force sensor for locating and grasping an outer surface of the vegetable to indicate to the controller that a finger has contacted the vegetable and/or for determining a stem direction).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to utilize a similar cutting module for the machine of Haas, as taught by Jeanty, in order to provide a pick and place system capable of harvesting in addition to handling fragile fruits/vegetables thereby enhancing operational versatility of the device.
Jeanty does not explicitly disclose wherein the cutting module is movably located in the carrier allowing movement in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.
Avigad in the same area discloses a multi-robot harvesting machine (Fig. 1) comprising a plurality of robots (36) movable along a longitudinal rail (32, para. [0034]) plurality of crop-receiving robots (24), wherein each robot comprises a cutting module (42, para. [0040]) movable located in a carrier (68) allowing movement in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (Fig. 3, para. [0036,0055]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the cutting module of Jeanty to be further movable in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, as taught by Avigad, in order to provide optimal picking precision by maximizing the degrees of freedom of the module.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haas as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Jeanty et al. (US 20210337734 A1) and Bux (EP 0922381 A1).
It is noted that all citations to Bux (EP 0922381 A1) are in reference to the corresponding English-translated document attached by the Examiner under NPL documents.
Regarding claim 18, Haas discloses the machine according to claim 11, but fails to teach wherein the gondola is a cutting module comprising a cutter.
Jeanty discloses a pick and place robot described above comprising tongs (1210) for grasping an individual vegetable (“broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus”, para. [0147]) and a cutter (bottom of para. [0145] discloses one or more blades or snipping elements).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to utilize a similar carrier in the conveyor system of Haas, as taught by Jeanty, in order to provide a pick and place system capable of harvesting in addition to handling fragile fruits/vegetables thereby enhancing operational versatility of the device.
Jeanty does not explicitly disclose details of the cutting module comprising a cutter, the cutter comprising a vertical holder, a knife blade, and a knife blade protector, wherein the knife blade is adapted to rotate in a horizontal plane for cutting an individual vegetable.
Bux discloses a cutting module (Figs. 3-4) for harvesting vegetables comprising a vertical holder (15), a knife blade (17), and a knife blade protector (21a) (para. [0020] knife 17 may be pivoted into horizontal slot 21a to protect against mechanical damage and wear), wherein the knife blade is adapted to rotate in a horizontal plane for cutting an individual vegetable (para. [0020] knife 17 ‘performs a horizontal cutting movement when the shaft 16 rotates”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to utilize a horizontal cutter in the cutting module of Jeanty, as taught by Bux, as a mere alternative means of facilitating separating a plant stem or stalk from a vegetable (Bux at para. [0021]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 102/103
Regarding the rejection of Claims 1 and 3-19, the Examiner has considered the Applicant’s arguments; however, these arguments are moot given the new grounds of rejection as necessitated by amendment and afforded by the present RCE.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Schroll et al. (US 11202409 B1) discloses a robotic harvesting system with a gantry system. Takeda (US 20210016339 A1) discloses a conveying system for a transfer machine. Niehr (US 20200346879 A1) discloses a conveying system comprising two different drives for driving two belts independently. Zetterstrom (US 20170129716 A1) discloses a transfer arrangement. Kahani (US 20160243696 A1) discloses a multi-robot crop harvesting machine. Derby (US 7712598 B1) discloses a robotic tread system. Derby (US 6688451 B2) discloses a multi-head robot system for transferring objects.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JULIA C TRAN whose telephone number is (571) 272-8758. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joesph Rocca, can be reached on (571) 272-8971. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JULIA C TRAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3671
/CHRISTOPHER J SEBESTA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3671
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