DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Claims 1 and 3-9 are currently pending and have been examined in this application. This Non-final communication is the first action on the merits.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/30/2025 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Arguments and Amendments
Applicant’s arguments, filed on 8/7/2025, with respect to the rejection of Claims 1 and 3-9 under 35 USC 102 and 35 USC 103 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection provided below, which was necessitated based on Applicant’s amendments to the claims, which changed the scope of the claims. Examiner notes wherein Applicant’s arguments are directed towards the newly amended claim limitation(s), which are addressed by the newly found prior art, as indicated below.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 7 are allowed.
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 1, 3, 8, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takahashi (US 20100292842 A1) hereafter referred to as Takahashi ‘2842 as modified by Mayumi (JP-2012006097-A) and Moreno (US 20220402125 A1)
Claim 1:
Takahashi ‘2842 teaches the following limitations:
An object gripping method comprising: defining a gripping center coordinate system for each of a plurality of gripping postures that are able to be taken by an end effector having a plurality of fingers, the gripping center coordinate system being defined in conjunction with a fingertip position of the end effector; (Takahashi ‘2842 [0008] -… the present invention makes it possible to adjust a finger pressure, which is a load applied to an object from each of the plurality of finger mechanisms in a state wherein the object is in contact with the plurality of finger mechanisms and the palm portion, respectively, by being grasped by the hand. With this arrangement, if the object is held in a manner inappropriate for ensuring a stable grasp, e.g., if the position of the load center in the palm portion is out of a target palm area in the aforesaid state, that is, if the load distribution on the palm portion is excessively uneven, then the position of the load center can be changed so as to be included in the target palm area.) determining an initial fingertip position from the gripping center coordinate system when gripping a target object assumed to be gripped by the end effector; (Takahashi ‘2842 - [0119] … The position of the distal portion of each finger mechanism is defined as the position and the posture on the hand coordinate system calculated according to the forward kinetics calculating method on the basis of the bending angle of each joint mechanism based on an output signal of the encoder S3, the invariable position of the proximal portion of each finger mechanism on the hand coordinate system and the length or the like of the finger dactylus link of each finger mechanism.) Instructing the end effector to grip the target object at the initial fingertip position, and gripping the target object; fixing a fingertip position of the end effector with respect to the gripping center coordinate system after gripping the target object; (Takahashi ‘2842 – [0008] … Further, if the object is held in a manner inappropriate for the object to be stably held due to the deviation of a load applied to the palm portion in the aforesaid state from a target load range, that is, due to a load applied to the palm portion being too weak, then the load can be adjusted so as to fall within the target load range.; [0009] Hence, even if the load distribution on the palm portion is excessively uneven as described above, the movement of the hand, including the movements of the plurality of finger mechanisms, can be controlled such that the object may be grasped stably.)
updating the gripping center coordinate system according to a position of the fingertip in a case in which the fingertip moves when operating the target object. (Takahashi ‘2842 – [0158] … the i-th finger mechanism is detached once from the object and then brought back into contact with the object again. This makes it possible to displace the load center p0 in the palm portion 10 toward the target palm area PA by slightly changing the way the hand 1 holds the object. ; [0159] Further, during or after the adjustment of the position of the load center, the resultant force of the i-th finger pressures of all i-th finger mechanisms, the i-th finger positions Pi of which have been defined, is adjusted, thereby adjusting the load applied to the palm portion 10.)
Examiner Note: Load Center corresponds to Gripping Center
Takahashi ‘2842 does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Mayumi teaches:
determining an operation amount of the gripping center coordinate system according to a desired operation amount of the target object, and operating the target object according to an operation of the gripping center coordinate system, (Mayumi - [0030] The hand posture calculation unit 45 is configured to calculate the postures of the respective finger parts 21, 22, and 23 based on the gripping form of the gripping target object 110 stored in the gripping form selection unit 46, and to output operation commands (operation commands for the six joint parts 21b to 23b and 21c to 23c) for moving the respective finger parts 21, 22, and 23 so as to take the calculated postures to the hand control unit 42. ; [0034] … a relative coordinate transformation matrix that associates the coordinate system set for the multi-fingered hand 20 with the coordinate system set for the gripping target object 110 is used.) the gripping center coordinate system being defined for each taxonomy (Mayumi - [0034] … Specifically, base d on the coordinate transformation matrix and the position information, the orientation information, and the shape information of the gripping target 110, the hand orientation calculation unit 45 calculates the orientations of the fingers 21 to 23 of the multi-fingered hand 20 in the respective gripping modes …)
including a gripping center which is a balance center of a gripping force of the end effector and an orientation of the end effector, and
(Mayumi - [0035] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the joint-torque calculation unit 47 is configured to calculate joint torques (load torques applied to the joints) of the respective joints (the joints 21b to 23b and the joints 21c to 23c) of the fingers 21 to 23 based on the information on the gripping posture of the multi-fingered hand 20 and the information on the arrangement of the fingers21 to 23 stored in the gripping mode selection unit 46 corresponding to the gripping mode of the gripping target object 110, the information on the assumed mass of the gripping target object 110 stored in the gripping mode selection unit 46, and the information on the necessary gripping force. Then, the joint torque calculation unit 47 is configured to select one gripping mode from the plurality of gripping mode candidates extracted by the gripping mode selection unit 46 based on the calculated joint torque of the multi-fingered hand 20.)
Takahashi ‘2842 does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Moreno teaches:
which is classification of gripping postures of a person and
(Moreno - [0083] The disclosed method determines a grasping hand model. The disclosed method takes as input an RGB image, which is proposed so as to determine a coarse grasping hand model; i.e., a hand configuration a translation and a rotation vector. The coarse grasping hand model is obtained by using a neural network as a classification problem, wherein a grasp taxonomy is selected from a group of taxonomies. Then, the coarse grasping hand model is refined by optimizing one or more loss functions, thus obtaining a refined hand shape and pose.)
Therefore, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been
obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Takahashi ‘2842 to include an initial gripping coordinate system associated with the given hand posture and target object as taught in Mayumi and to further provide a database of predetermined hand postures based on human gripping postures as taught in Moreno. Having the ability to establish an initial hand posture prior to engaging with a given target object and to further have a database of various gripping postures based on human gripping postures provides a consistent and well understood starting position for the gripping fingers prior to any gripping adjustments made based on the handling of the real world target objects.
Claim 3:
Takahashi ‘2842 teaches the following limitations:
The object gripping method according to claim 1, wherein the initial fingertip position is determined at a time of operating the target object so that a variation from the gripping center coordinate system is maximized.
(Takahashi ‘2842 – [0158] … the i-th finger mechanism is detached once from the object and then brought back into contact with the object again. This makes it possible to displace the load center p0 in the palm portion 10 toward the target palm area PA by slightly changing the way the hand 1 holds the object. ; [0159] Further, during or after the adjustment of the position of the load center, the resultant force of the i-th finger pressures of all i-th finger mechanisms, the i-th finger positions Pi of which have been defined, is adjusted, thereby adjusting the load applied to the palm portion 10.)
Claim 8:
Takahashi ‘2842 teaches the following limitations:
A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium having a program stored therein, the program causing a computer to execute: (Takahashi ‘2842 - [0094] The controller 2 is constituted of a computer, which is constructed of a CPU, memories, such as a ROM and a RAM, and circuits, including an A/D circuit and an I/O circuit. In the controller 2, the CPU reads a control program from a memory, as necessary, and the movement of the hand 1 is controlled according to the program that has been read.) defining a gripping center coordinate system for each of a plurality of gripping postures that are able to be taken by an end effector having a plurality of fingers, the gripping center coordinate system being defined in conjunction with a fingertip position of the end effector; (Takahashi ‘2842 [0008] -… the present invention makes it possible to adjust a finger pressure, which is a load applied to an object from each of the plurality of finger mechanisms in a state wherein the object is in contact with the plurality of finger mechanisms and the palm portion, respectively, by being grasped by the hand. With this arrangement, if the object is held in a manner inappropriate for ensuring a stable grasp, e.g., if the position of the load center in the palm portion is out of a target palm area in the aforesaid state, that is, if the load distribution on the palm portion is excessively uneven, then the position of the load center can be changed so as to be included in the target palm area.) determining an initial fingertip position from the gripping center coordinate system when gripping a target object assumed to be gripped by the end effector; (Takahashi ‘2842 - [0119] … The position of the distal portion of each finger mechanism is defined as the position and the posture on the hand coordinate system calculated according to the forward kinetics calculating method on the basis of the bending angle of each joint mechanism based on an output signal of the encoder S3, the invariable position of the proximal portion of each finger mechanism on the hand coordinate system and the length or the like of the finger dactylus link of each finger mechanism.) instructing the end effector to grip the target object at the initial fingertip position, to thereby cause the end effector to grip the target object; fixing a fingertip position of the end effector with respect to the gripping center coordinate system after gripping the target object; (Takahashi ‘2842 – [0008] … Further, if the object is held in a manner inappropriate for the object to be stably held due to the deviation of a load applied to the palm portion in the aforesaid state from a target load range, that is, due to a load applied to the palm portion being too weak, then the load can be adjusted so as to fall within the target load range.; [0009] Hence, even if the load distribution on the palm portion is excessively uneven as described above, the movement of the hand, including the movements of the plurality of finger mechanisms, can be controlled such that the object may be grasped stably.)
updating the gripping center coordinate system according to a position of the fingertip in a case in which the fingertip moves when operating the target object. (Takahashi ‘2842 – [0158] … the i-th finger mechanism is detached once from the object and then brought back into contact with the object again. This makes it possible to displace the load center p0 in the palm portion 10 toward the target palm area PA by slightly changing the way the hand 1 holds the object. ; [0159] Further, during or after the adjustment of the position of the load center, the resultant force of the i-th finger pressures of all i-th finger mechanisms, the i-th finger positions Pi of which have been defined, is adjusted, thereby adjusting the load applied to the palm portion 10.)
Examiner Note: Load Center corresponds to Gripping Center
Takahashi ‘2842 does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Mayumi teaches:
determining an operation amount of the gripping center coordinate system according to a desired operation amount of the target object, and operating the target object according to an operation of the gripping center coordinate system, (Mayumi - [0030] The hand posture calculation unit 45 is configured to calculate the postures of the respective finger parts 21, 22, and 23 based on the gripping form of the gripping target object 110 stored in the gripping form selection unit 46, and to output operation commands (operation commands for the six joint parts 21b to 23b and 21c to 23c) for moving the respective finger parts 21, 22, and 23 so as to take the calculated postures to the hand control unit 42. ; [0034] … a relative coordinate transformation matrix that associates the coordinate system set for the multi-fingered hand 20 with the coordinate system set for the gripping target object 110 is used.) the gripping center coordinate system being defined for each taxonomy (Mayumi - [0034] … Specifically, base d on the coordinate transformation matrix and the position information, the orientation information, and the shape information of the gripping target 110, the hand orientation calculation unit 45 calculates the orientations of the fingers 21 to 23 of the multi-fingered hand 20 in the respective gripping modes …)
including a gripping center which is a balance center of a gripping force of the end effector and an orientation of the end effector, and
(Mayumi - [0035] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the joint-torque calculation unit 47 is configured to calculate joint torques (load torques applied to the joints) of the respective joints (the joints 21b to 23b and the joints 21c to 23c) of the fingers 21 to 23 based on the information on the gripping posture of the multi-fingered hand 20 and the information on the arrangement of the fingers21 to 23 stored in the gripping mode selection unit 46 corresponding to the gripping mode of the gripping target object 110, the information on the assumed mass of the gripping target object 110 stored in the gripping mode selection unit 46, and the information on the necessary gripping force. Then, the joint torque calculation unit 47 is configured to select one gripping mode from the plurality of gripping mode candidates extracted by the gripping mode selection unit 46 based on the calculated joint torque of the multi-fingered hand 20.)
Takahashi ‘2842 does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Moreno teaches:
which is classification of gripping postures of a person and
(Moreno - [0083] The disclosed method determines a grasping hand model. The disclosed method takes as input an RGB image, which is proposed so as to determine a coarse grasping hand model; i.e., a hand configuration a translation and a rotation vector. The coarse grasping hand model is obtained by using a neural network as a classification problem, wherein a grasp taxonomy is selected from a group of taxonomies. Then, the coarse grasping hand model is refined by optimizing one or more loss functions, thus obtaining a refined hand shape and pose.)
Therefore, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been
obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Takahashi ‘2842 to include an initial gripping coordinate system associated with the given hand posture and target object as taught in Mayumi and to further provide a database of predetermined hand postures based on human gripping postures as taught in Moreno. Having the ability to establish an initial hand posture prior to engaging with a given target object and to further have a database of various gripping postures based on human gripping postures provides a consistent and well understood starting position for the gripping fingers prior to any gripping adjustments made based on the handling of the real world target objects.
Claim 9:
Takahashi ‘2842 teaches the following limitations:
An object gripping control device comprising: a processor configured to: (Takahashi ‘2842 - [0094] The controller 2 is constituted of a computer, which is constructed of a CPU, memories, such as a ROM and a RAM, and circuits, including an A/D circuit and an I/O circuit. In the controller 2, the CPU reads a control program from a memory, as necessary, and the movement of the hand 1 is controlled according to the program that has been read.) define a gripping center coordinate system for each of a plurality of gripping postures that are able to be taken by an end effector having a plurality of fingers, the gripping center coordinate system being defined in conjunction with a fingertip position of the end effector, and (Takahashi ‘2842 [0008] -… the present invention makes it possible to adjust a finger pressure, which is a load applied to an object from each of the plurality of finger mechanisms in a state wherein the object is in contact with the plurality of finger mechanisms and the palm portion, respectively, by being grasped by the hand. With this arrangement, if the object is held in a manner inappropriate for ensuring a stable grasp, e.g., if the position of the load center in the palm portion is out of a target palm area in the aforesaid state, that is, if the load distribution on the palm portion is excessively uneven, then the position of the load center can be changed so as to be included in the target palm area.) determine an initial fingertip position from the (Takahashi ‘2842 - [0119] … The position of the distal portion of each finger mechanism is defined as the position and the posture on the hand coordinate system calculated according to the forward kinetics calculating method on the basis of the bending angle of each joint mechanism based on an output signal of the encoder S3, the invariable position of the proximal portion of each finger mechanism on the hand coordinate system and the length or the like of the finger dactylus link of each finger mechanism.) instruct the end effector to grip the target object at the initial fingertip position, to thereby cause the end effector to grip the target object, fix a fingertip position of the end effector with respect to the gripping center coordinate system after gripping the target object, (Takahashi ‘2842 – [0008] … Further, if the object is held in a manner inappropriate for the object to be stably held due to the deviation of a load applied to the palm portion in the aforesaid state from a target load range, that is, due to a load applied to the palm portion being too weak, then the load can be adjusted so as to fall within the target load range.; [0009] Hence, even if the load distribution on the palm portion is excessively uneven as described above, the movement of the hand, including the movements of the plurality of finger mechanisms, can be controlled such that the object may be grasped stably.)
update the gripping center coordinate system according to a position of the fingertip in a case in which the fingertip moves when operating the target object. (Takahashi ‘2842 – [0158] … the i-th finger mechanism is detached once from the object and then brought back into contact with the object again. This makes it possible to displace the load center p0 in the palm portion 10 toward the target palm area PA by slightly changing the way the hand 1 holds the object. ; [0159] Further, during or after the adjustment of the position of the load center, the resultant force of the i-th finger pressures of all i-th finger mechanisms, the i-th finger positions Pi of which have been defined, is adjusted, thereby adjusting the load applied to the palm portion 10.)
Examiner Note: Load Center corresponds to Gripping Center
Takahashi ‘2842 does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Mayumi teaches:
determine an operation amount of the gripping center coordinate system according to a desired operation amount of the target object, and operate the target object according to an operation of the gripping center coordinate system, (Mayumi - [0030] The hand posture calculation unit 45 is configured to calculate the postures of the respective finger parts 21, 22, and 23 based on the gripping form of the gripping target object 110 stored in the gripping form selection unit 46, and to output operation commands (operation commands for the six joint parts 21b to 23b and 21c to 23c) for moving the respective finger parts 21, 22, and 23 so as to take the calculated postures to the hand control unit 42. ; [0034] … a relative coordinate transformation matrix that associates the coordinate system set for the multi-fingered hand 20 with the coordinate system set for the gripping target object 110 is used.) the gripping center coordinate system being defined for each taxonomy (Mayumi - [0034] … Specifically, base d on the coordinate transformation matrix and the position information, the orientation information, and the shape information of the gripping target 110, the hand orientation calculation unit 45 calculates the orientations of the fingers 21 to 23 of the multi-fingered hand 20 in the respective gripping modes …)
including a gripping center which is a balance center of a gripping force of the end effector and an orientation of the end effector, and
(Mayumi - [0035] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the joint-torque calculation unit 47 is configured to calculate joint torques (load torques applied to the joints) of the respective joints (the joints 21b to 23b and the joints 21c to 23c) of the fingers 21 to 23 based on the information on the gripping posture of the multi-fingered hand 20 and the information on the arrangement of the fingers21 to 23 stored in the gripping mode selection unit 46 corresponding to the gripping mode of the gripping target object 110, the information on the assumed mass of the gripping target object 110 stored in the gripping mode selection unit 46, and the information on the necessary gripping force. Then, the joint torque calculation unit 47 is configured to select one gripping mode from the plurality of gripping mode candidates extracted by the gripping mode selection unit 46 based on the calculated joint torque of the multi-fingered hand 20.)
Takahashi ‘2842 does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Moreno teaches:
which is classification of gripping postures of a person and
(Moreno - [0083] The disclosed method determines a grasping hand model. The disclosed method takes as input an RGB image, which is proposed so as to determine a coarse grasping hand model; i.e., a hand configuration a translation and a rotation vector. The coarse grasping hand model is obtained by using a neural network as a classification problem, wherein a grasp taxonomy is selected from a group of taxonomies. Then, the coarse grasping hand model is refined by optimizing one or more loss functions, thus obtaining a refined hand shape and pose.)
Therefore, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been
obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Takahashi ‘2842 to include an initial gripping coordinate system associated with the given hand posture and target object as taught in Mayumi and to further provide a database of predetermined hand postures based on human gripping postures as taught in Moreno. Having the ability to establish an initial hand posture prior to engaging with a given target object and to further have a database of various gripping postures based on human gripping postures provides a consistent and well understood starting position for the gripping fingers prior to any gripping adjustments made based on the handling of the real world target objects.
Claim(s) 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takahashi (US 20100292842 A1) hereafter referred to as Takahashi ‘2842 as modified by Mayumi (JP-2012006097-A) and Moreno (US 20220402125 A1 in view of Takeuchi (US 20190275678 A1)
Claim 4:
Takahashi ‘2842 in combination with Mayumi (JP-2012006097-A) and Moreno (US 20220402125 A1 does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Takeuchi teaches:
The object gripping method according to claim 1, wherein, when the target object is moved, (Takeuchi - [0060] As described above, the robot control device 40 drives the robot 1 under the force control and the position control. However, in the embodiment, since the target object W which is a work target is moved by the transport device 50, the robot control device 40 has a configuration to perform work on the target object W which is being moved.) the end effector is controlled using an integral value of a deviation between a measurement object position based on a measured posture of the target object and a goal object position serving as a goal position of a movement destination of the target object. (Takeuchi - [0009] The robot control device may be configured to include a position control unit that obtains the target position and the first position correction amount, a force control unit that obtains the second position correction amount, and an instruction integration unit that obtains the control target position by adding the first position correction amount and the second position correction amount to the target position and executes feedback control using the control target position. ; [0059] The position control is control in which the robot 1 (including a region such as the end effector 20 interlocked with the robot 1) is moved to a scheduled position. … Of course, in the control, a control amount of a motor may be acquired by feedback control such as proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control.)
Therefore, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been
obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Takahashi ‘2842, Mayumi and Moreno to include a method of integral control to correct the position of the end effector when a difference between the target object position and the target object goal is detected as taught in Takeuchi. Having the ability to quickly and efficiently correct for position errors using integral control when the end effector is approaching an object provides a means for more accurate targeting which in turn ensures a more stable grip of the targeted objects.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takahashi (US 20100292842 A1) hereafter referred to as Takahashi ‘2842 as modified by Mayumi (JP-2012006097-A) and Moreno (US 20220402125 A1 in view of Takahashi (US 20080114491 A1) hereafter referred to as Takahashi ‘4491
Claim 5:
Takahashi ‘2842 in combination with Mayumi (JP-2012006097-A) and Moreno (US 20220402125 A1 does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Takahashi ‘4491 teaches:
The object gripping method according to claim 1, wherein, when the target object is gripped using three fingers among the plurality of fingers included in the end effector, a gripping center position in the gripping center coordinate system is a center of a circumscribed circle of a triangle connecting fingertip centers of the plurality of fingers included in the end effector, or a centroid of the triangle connecting the fingertip centers of the plurality of fingers included in the end effector.
(Takahashi ’4491 - [0031] In accordance with the robot hand 1 of the above construction, as shown in FIG. 4, when the object w of a flat plate shape is gripped by the first finger mechanism 11, the second finger mechanism 12 and the third finger mechanism 13, ; [0032] A plane including a triangle having a first contact c1, a second contact c2 and a third contact c.sub.3 set to contacts of each finger mechanism in the object was vertices is defined as a gripping plane to control the respective operations of the first finger mechanism 11, the second finger mechanism 12 and the third finger mechanism 13. Further, it is defined that the center of the triangle is an origin of the gripping plane, and the normal direction of the gripping plane is an x-direction, and a direction parallel to a line segment connecting the second contact c2 and the third contact c3 in the plane is a y-direction, and a direction perpendicular to the line segment in the gripping plane is a z-direction.)
Therefore, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been
obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Takahashi ‘2842, Mayumi and Moreno to include a method of locating the center of a triangle to establish a gripping center based on the relative locations of the gripping fingers as taught in Takahashi ‘4491 . Having the ability to establish the gripping center of an object using relative finger locations provides a means for accurately readjusting the gripping center in the event of unplanned finger movement.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure or directed to the state of the art is listed on the enclosed PTO-892.
The following is a brief description for relevant prior art that was cited but not applied:
Moon (US 20100138039 A1) describes a method of controlling a robot hand similar to a hand of a human being such that the robot hand naturally and safely grasps an object. The robot hand, including fingers and a palm, is capable of naturally and safely grasping an object, by the tip of each finger performing impedance control while following the optimal path on a Cartesian coordinate system. Also, the robot hand is capable of stably grasping the object even when moving or manipulating the object.
Wang (US 20240109181 A1) describes a technique for robotic grasp teaching by human demonstration. A human demonstrates a grasp on a workpiece, while a camera provides images of the demonstration which are analyzed to identify a hand pose relative to the workpiece. The hand pose is converted to a plane representing two fingers of a gripper. The hand plane is used to determine a grasp region on the workpiece which corresponds to the human demonstration. The grasp region and the hand pose are used in an optimization computation which is run repeatedly with randomization to generate multiple grasps approximating the demonstration, where each of the optimized grasps is a stable, high quality grasp with gripper-workpiece surface contact.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALAN LINDSAY OSTROW whose telephone number is (703)756-1854. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 - 5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Adam Mott can be reached on (571) 270 5376. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALAN LINDSAY OSTROW/ Examiner, Art Unit 3657
/ADAM R MOTT/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3657