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 .
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Saito.
PNG
media_image1.png
644
480
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Claim 1, Saito discloses a robot (10) with a modular control system associated with an end-effector (7) comprising;
a mobile robotic arm base (6) coupled to a robotic arm comprising two or more arm links;
a first robotic arm link (11) coupled to said mobile robotic arm base (6) and controlled by a first
robotic arm link actuator (1);
a second robotic arm link (12) coupled to said first robotic arm link and controlled by a second
robotic arm link actuator (4);
an end-effector (7) coupled to a distal portion of said mobile robotic arm (13) and controlled by
an end-effector actuator (7); and
a whole-body controller (8), configured to receive a plurality of user parameters (8c) for using
sensing data retrieved from a plurality of sensors (31-36) associated with the end-effector (7)
for actuating an end-effector (7) tool coupled to the end-effector (7).
Claim 2, Saito discloses a robot of claim 1, wherein at least two actuators (1 & 5) operate independent of each other.
Claim 3, Saito discloses a robot of claim 1, wherein said end-effector (7) comprises an active revolute wrist [0054] with a plurality of actuators (5) that enable active control of an orientation of a gripper (7).
PNG
media_image2.png
497
689
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Claim 4, Saito discloses a robot of claim 1, wherein said robotic arm is associated with a tool for non-prehensile pushing of objects. (Note based on the capability of the robot it has the non-prehensile ability to push objects. See MPEP § 2114 II.)
Claim 5, Saito discloses a robot of claim 1, wherein a user of said robot provides said whole-body controller (8) with parameters for actuator orientation.
Claim 6, Saito discloses a robot of claim 1, wherein said user parameters comprise end-effector mass (Fig. 14), end effector radius (S204), and tool-frame transformation parameters(S201).
PNG
media_image3.png
497
472
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Claim 7, The robot of claim 1, wherein said robotic arm (13) is enabled for three directions of
movement including a yaw-pitch-roll configuration (Claim 1).
Claim 8, Saito discloses a method for a robotic modular control system associated with an end-effector (7)
comprising;
coupling a mobile robotic arm base (6) to a robotic arm (11), wherein said robotic arm comprises
two or more arm links (Fig.1);
coupling a proximal portion of a first robotic arm link (11) and controlled by a first robotic
arm link actuator (1) to said robotic arm base (6);
coupling a proximal portion of a second robotic arm link (12) and controlled by a second
robotic arm link actuator (4) to a distal portion of said first robotic arm link (11);
coupling an end-effector (7) controlled by an end-effector actuator (5) to a distal portion of the
second robotic arm link (13);
configuring a whole-body controller (8) to receive a plurality of user parameters (8c) for using
sensing data retrieved from a plurality of sensors (31-36) associated with the end-effector (7);
and
executing an actuating movement of an end-effector tool coupled to the end-effector (7).
PNG
media_image4.png
647
472
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Claim 9, Saito discloses the method of claim 8, wherein at least two actuators [0052] operate independent of each other.
Claim 10, Saito discloses a method of claim 8, wherein said end-effector (7) includes an active revolute wrist with a plurality of actuators that enable active control of an orientation of a gripper (7).
Claim 11, Saito discloses a method of claim 8, wherein said robotic arm is associated with said end-effector tool for non-prehensile pushing of objects. (Note based on the capability of the robot it has the non-prehensile ability to push objects. See MPEP § 2114 II.)
Claim 12, Saito discloses a method of claim 8, wherein a user of said robot provides a whole-body controller (8) with parameters for actuator orientation. (Fig 3)
Claim 13, Saito discloses a method of claim 8, wherein said user parameters (8c) include end-effector mass, end effector radius, and tool-frame transformation parameters.
Claim 14, discloses a method of claim 8, wherein said robotic arm is enabled for three directions of
movement including a yaw-pitch-roll configuration (claim 1).
Claim 15, discloses a robot with a modular control system (8) associated with an end-effector (7) comprising; a mobile robotic arm base (6) coupled to a robotic arm (11) comprising two or more arm links;
a first robotic arm (11) link coupled to the robotic arm base (6) and controlled by a first robotic
arm link actuator (1);
a second robotic arm link (12) coupled to the first robotic arm (11) link and controlled by a second
robotic arm link actuator (5);
an end-effector (7) coupled to the second robotic arm link (12) and controlled by a tool actuator (5);
a whole-body controller (8), configured to receive a plurality of user parameters (8c) associated
with a modular control system to effectuate movement of the actuators; and
a hierarchal actuating process for said plurality of actuators, wherein the tool actuator is
controlled first during said hierarchal actuating process.
Claim 16, Saito discloses a method of claim 15, wherein the whole-body controller (8) executes a collision avoidance mechanism for said robotic arm base and the end-effector using a radius of the
end-effector (Fig 11).
Claim 17, Saito discloses a method of claim 15, wherein the mobile robotic arm base (6) is compatible with the actuators (1-5).
Claim 18, Saito discloses the method of claim 15, wherein the user parameters (8c) received by the whole body include tool frame transform parameters.
Claim 19, Saito discloses the method of claim 18, wherein the tool frame transforms parameters include a user adjustable payload mass for the end effector (Fig. 14).
Claim 20, Saito discloses a method of claim 15, wherein the whole-body controller (8) is a servo controller.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure ‘323, ‘960, ‘246, and ‘676 cited on the 892 discloses a system and method for a decoupled wrist- agnostic control for modular robotic arm.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAUREAN LLOYD MCMICHAEL whose telephone number is (571)272-2411. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 7:30AM - 5:00PM.
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, Saul Rodriguez can be reached at (571) 272-7097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/T.L.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3652 /SAUL RODRIGUEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3652