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 .
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 1-5 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Peng et al. (CN110802604; as cited by Applicant) in view of Xue (CN111113482A).
With respect to claim 1, Peng et al. disclose a counterweight structure, comprising an electromagnetic device (73), a counterweight block (72) and a reset piece (74), wherein: the reset piece is clamped between the electromagnetic device and the counterweight block (Fig 1); and the electromagnetic device is magnetic after being powered on, to attract the counterweight block to move towards the electromagnetic device (page 4, lines 1-12 of attached translation) but do not disclose that the reset piece is compressed when the electromagnetic device moves the counterweight. Xue, however, disclose a reset spring (27) sleeved on a slide bar that is compressed when a counterweight (26) moves off center. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was filed to modify the invention of Peng et al. to substitute the rubber band reset piece with the compression spring of Xue et al., since the substitution would yield nothing more than predictable results, namely, that the counterweight would be biased to the center position when not activated by the electromagnet.
With respect to claim 2, wherein the electromagnetic device comprises: an inner core provided at a position corresponding to the counterweight block (Fig 1, electromagnet 73), wherein the reset piece (74) is clamped between the inner core and the counterweight block (Fig 1); and a coil winding around an outer periphery of the inner core (electromagnet 73), wherein after the coil is powered on, the inner core is magnetized to attract the counterweight block to move towards the inner core (page 4, lines 1-12 of attached translation of Peng et al.).
With respect to claim 3, wherein the inner core is provided with a mating hole, the counterweight block is provided with a sliding rod (71), the sliding rod is movably provided in the mating hole (page 3, lines 59-60 of attached translation), and the reset piece is sleeved on the sliding rod (as modified by Xue).
With respect to claim 4, wherein: the counterweight structure comprises two electromagnetic devices and two reset pieces; the two electromagnetic devices are respectively provided at two opposite sides of the counterweight block, and each of the two reset pieces is clamped between the counterweight block and one of the two electromagnetic devices; and/or the reset piece is a spring (Fig 1 of Peng et al and modified with the springs of Xue).
With respect to claim 5,the combination discloses a robot body provided with an installation cavity (6), wherein a control component (5) is provided in the installation cavity; and the counterweight structure of claim 1, wherein the counterweight structure is provided in the installation cavity (Fig 1), the electromagnetic device of the counterweight structure is electrically connected to the control component, and the control component is configured to control the electromagnetic device to be powered on or off (page 4, lines 5-8 of attached translation).
With respect to claim 10, comprising following steps: obtaining an operation state of the robot (such as foot being raised; claim 2 of attached translation); and controlling the electromagnetic device of the counterweight structure to be powered on or off to adjust a center of gravity of the robot according to the operation state of the robot (page 4, lines 1012 of attached translation).
Claim 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Peng et al. (CN110802604; as cited by Applicant) in view of Xue (CN111113482A), as applied to claims 1 and 5 discussed above, and further in view of Li (CN112873167A).
With respect to claim 5, the combination of Peng et al. and Xue discloses the claimed invention discussed above but does not disclose wherein a cavity wall of the installation cavity is provided with a limiting groove, and a part of the counterweight block of the counterweight structure is movably limited in the limiting groove. Li, however, disclose a limiting groove (12) which a counterweight block (11) slides through. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was filed to further modify the invention of Peng et al. in view of the teachings of Li to have a limiting groove in a cavity wall in order to guide the counterweight block and ensure consistent balance as it moves upon activation by the electromagnet.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-9 are 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DREW J BROWN whose telephone number is (571)272-1362. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday.
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, Paul Dickson can be reached on 571-272-7742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
DREW BROWN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3616
/DREW J BROWN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3614