DETAILED ACTION
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 .
This is Non-Final rejection on the merits of this application. Claims 1, 2, 4, and 20 have been amended; claim 3 was previously presented; and claims 5-19 have been cancelled. Therefore, claims 1-4 and 20 are pending in the instant application.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 11/13/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendments/Arguments
The amendment filed 11/13/2025 has been entered and considered as below.
Regarding claim interpretation of the claims, Applicant's arguments, see page 1 of Remarks, have been fully considered and are persuasive. The claim interpretation of the claims has been withdrawn.
Regarding the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) of the claims, Applicant's arguments, see page 1 of Remarks, have been fully considered and are persuasive in view of the amendments. The rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) of the claims has been withdrawn.
The objection to claim 13 in previous Office Action has been withdrawn because the claim is cancelled.
The rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) to claims 6-19 in previous Office Action have been withdrawn because the claims are cancelled.
The rejections under double patenting have been withdrawn because the terminal disclaimed which filed on 09/29/2025 has been reviewed and is accepted.
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimer filed on 09/29/2025 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of 17/995,238 and 17/995,235 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded.
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.
(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, 2, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nowlin et al. (US 20070013336 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Nowlin discloses a control system of a surgical robot arm (Nowlin, see at least Figs. 13, 13A, par. [0142], a controller 570for driving a surgical robot arm), the surgical robot arm 560 comprising a series of joints by which a configuration of the surgical robot arm can be altered (Nowlin, see at least Figs. 6, 13, par. [0064-0067], the surgical robot arm includes multiple joints by which a configuration of the surgical robot arm can be altered as illustrated in Fig. 6), an attachment 332 for a surgical instrument at a distal end of the surgical robot arm (Nowlin, see at least Fig. 4C, par. [0065], instrument holder 332) and one or more force or torque sensors 568, each force or torque sensor configured to sense a force or torque at a joint of the series of joints (Nowlin, see at least Fig. 13, par. [0139, 0142], force sensor 564/568/572; par. [0140], joint torque sensor); the control system 570 being configured to control the configuration of the surgical robot arm to be altered in response to an externally applied force or torque (Nowlin, see at least Fig. 13A, par. [0142], “A representative controller 570 for driving the manipulator assembly 560 in response to motion of the minimally invasive access site is shown in FIGS. 13A-13C) by:
the control system being configured to receive, in a receiving step, sensory data from the one or more force or torque sensors indicative of a sensed force or torque at a point of the surgical robot arm resulting from the externally applied force or torque (Nowlin, see at least Fig. 13A, par. [0053, 0084, 0142], a controller 570 for driving the manipulator assembly 560 in response to signals from force sensors 572 indicating an external force applied to the manipulator assembly);
the control system being configured to resolve, in a resolving step, the sensed force or torque to determine components of the sensed force or torque acting at the point of the surgical robot arm in a direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the surgical instrument attached to the attachment (Nowlin, see at least par. [0139-0142], claim 24, the controller 570 is configured to transform measured force sensor information into the reference frame of Cartesian forces to determine the force components (fx, fy, fz) of the sensed force acting on the instrument 564 in a direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the surgical instrument attached to the attachment, e.g. a cannula retraction force along a tubular axis of the cannula so as to assist with retraction of the cannula from the patient); and
the control system being configured to send, in a sending step, a command signal to the surgical robot arm to drive the surgical robot arm such that the configuration of the surgical robot arm is altered to comply with the resolved force or torque components of the sensed force or torque acting at the point of the surgical robot arm in the direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the surgical instrument attached to the attachment (Nowlin, see at least Fig. 13A, par. [0142-0143], “Hybrid controller module 584 accepts command and actual slave position and velocity signals, along with filtered cannula force error signals, and creates joint motor torque signals. The dynamics of the software center manipulator assembly are shown as 586, which interact with the dynamics of the patient environment 588”; claim 24, “wherein the processor is configured to apply a cannula retraction force along a tubular axis of the cannula so as to assist with retraction of the cannula from the patient”).
Regarding claim 2, Nowlin teaches all the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above. Nowlin further teaches the control system being further configured to iteratively perform a control loop comprising: the control system being configured to carry out the receiving step of claim 1, the control system being configured to carry out the resolving step of claim 1, and the control system being configured to carry out the sending step of claim 1 (Nowlin, see at least Fig. 13A, par. [0142-0143]).
Regarding claim 20, Nowlin discloses A method of controlling a surgical robot arm, the surgical robot arm 560 comprising a series of joints by which a configuration of the surgical robot arm can be altered (Nowlin, see at least Figs. 6, 13, par. [0064-0067], the surgical robot arm includes multiple joints by which a configuration of the surgical robot arm can be altered as illustrated in Fig. 6), an attachment 332 for a surgical instrument at a distal end of the surgical robot arm (Nowlin, see at least Fig. 4C, par. [0065], instrument holder 332) and one or more force or torque sensors 568, each force or torque sensor configured to sense a force or torque at a joint of the series of joints (Nowlin, see at least Fig. 13, par. [0139, 0142], force sensor 564/568/572; par. [0140], joint torque sensor); the method comprising controlling the configuration of the surgical robot arm to be altered in response to an externally applied force or torque (Nowlin, see at least Fig. 13A, par. [0139-0144], method comprising controlling the configuration of the surgical robot arm to be altered in response to an externally applied force or torque) by:
receiving, in a receiving step, sensory data from the one or more force or torque sensors indicative of a sensed force or torque at a point of the surgical robot arm resulting from the externally applied force or torque (Nowlin, see at least Fig. 13A, par. [0053, 0084, 0139, 0142], receiving signals from force sensor/joint torque sensor indicative of a sensed force or torque at a point of the surgical robot arm resulting from the externally applied force or torque, e.g. external force acting on a pivotal center of motion 562 of a robotic instrument 564 with movement of an associated port site);
resolving, in a resolving step, the sensed force or torque to determine components of the sensed force or torque acting at the point of the surgical robot arm in a direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the surgical instrument attached to the attachment (Nowlin, see at least par. [0139-0142], claim 24, transforming measured force sensor information into the reference frame of Cartesian forces to determine the force components (fx, fy, fz) of the sensed force acting on the instrument 564 in a direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the surgical instrument attached to the attachment, e.g. a cannula retraction force along a tubular axis of the cannula so as to assist with retraction of the cannula from the patient); and
sending, in a sending step, a command signal to the surgical robot arm to drive the surgical robot arm such that the configuration of the surgical robot arm is altered to comply with the resolved force or torque components of the sensed force or torque acting at the point of the surgical robot arm in the direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the surgical instrument attached to the attachment (Nowlin, see at least Fig. 13A, par. [0142-0143], “Hybrid controller module 584 accepts command and actual slave position and velocity signals, along with filtered cannula force error signals, and creates joint motor torque signals. The dynamics of the software center manipulator assembly are shown as 586, which interact with the dynamics of the patient environment 588”; claim 24, “wherein the processor is configured to apply a cannula retraction force along a tubular axis of the cannula so as to assist with retraction of the cannula from the patient”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nowlin et al. (US 20070013336 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Randle (US 20180008359 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Nowlin teaches all the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above. Nowlin further teaches wherein the control system is configured to cause the surgical robot arm to operate in: a surgical mode in which the surgical instrument attached to the attachment is inside a patient's body (Nowlin, see at least claim 5, “manipulation mode comprises a master-slave controller configured to derive the desired movement of the end effector within an internal surgical space so that the shaft passes through a minimally invasive aperture site”). Nowlin fails to specifically teach an instrument retract mode in which the surgical instrument is retractable from the patient's body in response to the externally applied force or torque.
Randle teaches, see at least par. [0055], a retraction mode which the surgical instrument is retractable from the patient's body in response to the externally applied force or torque.
In view of Randle’s teachings, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the instant application to include, with Nowlin’s system, an instrument retract mode in which the surgical instrument is retractable from the patient's body in response to the externally applied force or torque, with a reasonable expectation of success, since A teaches, see at least par. [0055], a retraction mode which the surgical instrument is retractable from the patient's body in response to the externally applied force or torque. This modification would allow to reduce the static friction between the port and the tool, thereby reducing the likelihood of the port pulling out of the patient as the tool is withdrawn from the patient (Randle, see par. [0055]).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Nowlin and Randle teaches all the limitations of claims 1 and 3 as discussed above. The combination of Nowlin and Randle further teaches , the control system being further configured to: in the instrument retract mode (Randle, see at least Fig. 3, par. [0067-0068], selectively compliant mode for tool retraction), send the command signal to the surgical robot arm to drive the surgical robot arm in dependence on the resolved force or torque components of the sensed force or torque acting at the point of the surgical robot arm in the direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the surgical instrument attached to the attachment such that the surgical instrument is retractable from the patient's body in the direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the surgical instrument attached to the attachment (Randle, see at least Fig. 3, par. [0069], “The processor detects that an external force has been applied to the arm by means of force sensors attached to the robot arm. Alternatively, or in addition, force sensors may be attached to the tool 33. The sensors provide sensor input to the control unit 50. The processor uses this sensor input to determine if an external force has been applied to the arm or the tool, and hence to determine to respond by signaling the appropriate motors to drive the appropriate joints to comply with the applied external force if it is along the longitudinal axis of the tool away from the port”).
Conclusion
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/TRANG DANG/Examiner, Art Unit 3656 /KHOI H TRAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3656