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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 10A, 10B and 81. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 2 are objected to because of the following informalities: in claim 1, line 1 should be amended to include a return after “comprising:” in order to separate the preamble from the body of the claim. In claim 2, line 1 should be amended to recite --comprises:--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 USC 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 USC 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the pad" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 USC 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 USC 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 USC 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 USC 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 USC 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Nagatsuka (US 9,833,908 B2) and in view of Leidenfrost (US 10,864,641 B2).
Referring to claim 1: Nagatsuka teaches a hand mechanism 1 comprising: a plurality of finger units 80A,B equipped with a first finger link unit 101 including a fingertip, a first joint unit 107, 125 provided at an end portion on a finger base side of the first finger link unit, a second finger link unit 91 connected to the first finger link unit via the first joint unit, and a second joint unit 97, 123 provided at an end portion on a finger base side of the second finger link unit,
wherein the hand mechanism comprising a suction mechanism 400 provided on a dorsal surface of the second finger link unit in at least one predetermined finger unit of the plurality of finger units, and configured to suction and retain a target object by generating negative pressure (Second Embodiment, beginning in column 20).
Nagatsuka does not specifically teach a suction mechanism provided on a dorsal surface of the first finger link unit. Leidenfrost teaches a mechanism comprising: a plurality of finger units 110, 120, 130 equipped with a first finger link unit including a fingertip, a first joint unit (near 112, 122, 132) provided at an end portion on a finger base side of the first finger link unit,
wherein the hand mechanism comprising a suction mechanism 119, 129, 139 provided on a dorsal surface of the first finger link unit in at least one predetermined finger unit of the plurality of finger units (Figs. 1-4), and configured to suction and retain a target object by generating negative pressure.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the mechanism taught by Nagatsuka to include the suction mechanism provided on a dorsal surface of the first finger link unit as taught by Leidenfrost with a reasonable expectation of success in order to have the suction mechanism as the most distal point on the finger unit(s), thereby making it easier to grasp and retain target objects.
Referring to claim 2: Nagatsuka teaches the suction mechanism comprises
a suction nozzle 402 extending toward a fingertip side from the finger base side of the first finger link unit (once modified above with claim 1), and
a pad 403 mounted on a tip end of the suction nozzle and formed to be contractible toward the finger base side from the fingertip side of the first finger link unit,
wherein the suction mechanism is mounted on the first finger link unit so that a position of the tip end of the suction nozzle is positioned on the finger base side from an end portion on the fingertip side of the first finger link unit, in an axial direction of the first finger link unit (Fig. 1).
Referring to claims 3 and 4: Nagatsuka (Figs. 1, 17 and 18) and Leidenfrost (Figs. 1 and 14) both teach the suction mechanism is mounted on the first finger link unit so that a position of a tip end surface of the pad in the axial direction of the first finger link unit is at a position in a fingertip direction relative to the end portion on the fingertip side of the first finger link unit, when the pad is in an uncontracted state and that the pad is formed so that the position of the tip end surface of the pad in the axial direction of the first finger link unit contracts to a position relative to the end portion on the fingertip side of the first finger link unit, when an external force different from an external force at a time of suction of the target object is applied to the pad. However, Nagatsuka and Leidenfrost do not specifically teach the suction mechanism is mounted so that a position of a tip end surface of the pad in the axial direction of the first finger link unit is at a position protruding in a fingertip direction from the end portion on the fingertip side of the first finger link unit, when the pad is in an uncontracted state, and wherein the pad is formed so that the position of the tip end surface of the pad in the axial direction contracts to a position equivalent to the end portion on the fingertip side of the first finger link unit, when an external force different from an external force at a time of suction of the target object is applied to the pad. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the mechanism taught by Nagatsuka and Leidenfrost to include the suction mechanism protruding from the fingertip in an uncontracted state and the pad being equivalent to the fingertip when an external force is applied with a reasonable expectation of success since Nagatsuka and Leidenfrost both teach various configurations of the suction mechanism/pad relative to the fingertip, which one of skill in the art could select as a matter of design choice.
Referring to claim 5: Nagatsuka teaches the hand mechanism is configured to be switchable between a first mode for suctioning and picking up the target object by the suction mechanism of the predetermined finger unit (Figs. 17 and 18), and a second mode for grasping and picking up the target object by at least two finger units of the plurality of finger units (Figs. 10, and 12-14).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 USC 112(b) or 35 USC 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Leidenfrost (US 2021/0069916 A1) also teaches a mechanism with finger units comprising suction mechanisms on the dorsal surfaces of the finger units.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CATHERINE A LOIKITH whose telephone number is (571)270-7822. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5:30pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Doug Hutton can be reached at 571-272-4137. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Catherine Loikith/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3674
25 June 2026
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