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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I, claims 1-6 in the reply filed on 11/06/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 7-16 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/06/2025.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/30/2023 is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "in particular" in line 6. This limitation renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claim 3 depends from indefinite claim 2.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-asdf are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by GUAN (CN 109551510; previously cited).
Regarding claim 1, GUAN discloses a robot drive module for driving a rotary joint movement of a robot, particularly a metrology robot and/or humanoid robot, wherein the robot drive module comprises:
a rotary drive (see para [0034]) comprising a motor circuit board (300), a stator (11), and a rotor (12), wherein the rotor (12) is configured to rotate, controlled by the motor circuit board (300), relative to the stator (11) about an axis of rotation (see Fig. 2),
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a gearbox (30) configured to transform, according to a defined gear ratio, a rotary motion of the rotor (12) about the axis of rotation into a rotary motion of a gearbox output component (200) about the axis of rotation, wherein – axially with respect to the axis of rotation – the motor circuit board (300) and the stator (11) are arranged on one side of the gearbox (30), denoted gearbox input side, and the gearbox output component (200) engages the gearbox (30) from the other side of the gearbox (30), denoted gearbox output side (see Fig. 2), and
a rotary encoder (41, 42) configured to detect a rotation of the gearbox output component (200) about the axis of rotation (see para [0039]),
a connecting part (50, 51) which extends from the gearbox output side to the gearbox input side and is configured to pick up the rotation of the gearbox output component (200) in a rigid manner, thereby providing rotation of the connecting part (50, 51) identical to the rotation of the gearbox output component (200) (see Fig. 2 and para [0044]), and
the rotary encoder (41, 42) is arranged on the gearbox input side and configured to detect a rotation of the connecting part (50, 51) about the axis of rotation (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 2, GUAN discloses the robot drive module according to claim 1, wherein the rotary encoder (41, 42) comprises a code carrier (41) and a sensor arrangement, wherein the code carrier (41) and the sensor arrangement (42) are rotatable with respect to one another about the axis of rotation, and the sensor arrangement (42) is configured to provide derivation of a rotary position or a change in rotary position of the code carrier (41) relative to the axis of rotation, wherein the code carrier (41) is arranged on a distal end of the connecting part (50) on the gearbox input side (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 3, GUAN discloses the robot drive module according to claim 2, wherein the sensor arrangement (42) is arranged on the motor circuit board (300) (as broadly claimed, see para [0039]).
Regarding claim 4, GUAN discloses the robot drive module according to claim 1, wherein the connecting part (50, 51) extends past the gearbox (30) in an area located radially on the inside of the gearbox (30) (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 5, GUAN discloses the robot drive module according to claim 1, wherein the robot drive module comprises a hollow part axially extending through the drive module and being located radially on the inside of the gearbox (30), in particular with a magnet (41) at one distal end of the hollow part and a hall sensor (42) on the motor circuit board (300) for measuring an absolute rotary angle (see Fig. 2 and para [0039]).
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.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GUAN in view of KIM (US 20230356417).
Regarding claim 6, GUAN discloses the robot drive module according to claim 1, wherein the robot drive module comprises a further rotary encoder configured to provide detection of a rotation, about the axis of rotation, of a rotating component driven by the further rotary drive, wherein a sensing arrangement of the further rotary encoder is arranged on the motor circuit board on the side of the motor circuit board facing away from the gearbox, and/or the robot drive module comprises a rotation sensor configured to provide control data for driving movement of the rotor, wherein the rotation sensor is embodied as hall sensor or wherein the rotation sensor is configured to provide the control data based on magnetic feedback from motor coils of the rotary drive, and/or the rotary drive is configured to use position information from the rotary encoder to control movement of the rotor (see para [0040]).
However, GUAN does not disclose the robot drive module comprises a further rotary drive comprising a stator and a rotor, wherein the further rotary drive's rotor is configured to rotate relative to the further rotary drive's stator about the axis of rotation, wherein: the further rotary drive's stator is arranged on a side of the motor circuit board facing away from the gearbox and the rotary drive's stator is arranged on a side of the motor circuit board facing towards the gearbox, the further rotary drive's rotor axially extends from the gearbox input side to the gearbox output side in an area located radially on the inside of the rotary drive.
KIM discloses a robot drive module comprising a pair of rotary drives (91, 92) with rotors configured to rotate relative to the same axis of rotation, wherein: the further rotary drive's (92) stator is arranged on a side of the motor circuit board facing away from the gearbox and the rotary drive's (91) stator is arranged on a side of the motor circuit board facing towards the gearbox, the further rotary drive's rotor axially extends from the gearbox input side to the gearbox output side in an area located radially on the inside of the rotary drive (see Fig. 3).
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It 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 to provide the robot drive module of GUAN with a further rotary drive comprising a stator and a rotor, wherein the further rotary drive's rotor is configured to rotate relative to the further rotary drive's stator about the axis of rotation, wherein: the further rotary drive's stator is arranged on a side of the motor circuit board facing away from the gearbox and the rotary drive's stator is arranged on a side of the motor circuit board facing towards the gearbox, the further rotary drive's rotor axially extends from the gearbox input side to the gearbox output side in an area located radially on the inside of the rotary drive, similar to KIM
A person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains would have been motivated to make such modification in order to provide a drive that reacts quickly to detected conditions, for collision avoidance, but that is also compact (see paras [0004-00010]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN STEFANON whose telephone number is (703)756-4648. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday and alternate Fridays 8AM - 5PM EDT.
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/JUSTIN STEFANON/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834