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 .
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.
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.
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(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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Alvite (US 4,784,421).
Claim 1:
Alvite discloses a robot system (abstract) comprising:
an arm part (30) (figs. 1-2, col. 5, lines 25-27);
a tool part (18) (figs. 1-2, col. 5, lines 6-15); and
a connection part (16) comprising a receiving part (70, 72) and a projection part (56, 58), wherein the receiving part (70, 72) is provided on one of the arm part and the tool part, and the projection part (56, 58) is provided on the other one of the arm part and the tool part, and wherein the receiving part (70, 72) is configured to connect the arm part and the tool part by securely receiving the projection part (56, 58), and to disconnect the arm part from the tool part by releasing the projection part (56, 58) (figs. 1-2, col. 5, lines 61-68 and col. 5, lines 42-51).
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nicholson (US 4,913,617).
Nicholson discloses a robot system (abstract) comprising:
an arm part (14) (figs. 1-2, col. 3, lines 30-33);
a tool part (10) (figs. 1-2, col. 5, lines 30-33); and
a connection part (32) comprising a receiving part (72) and a projection part (38), wherein the receiving part (72) is provided on one of the arm part and the tool part, and the projection part (38) is provided on the other one of the arm part and the tool part, and wherein the receiving part (72) is configured to connect the arm part and the tool part by securely receiving the projection part (38), and to disconnect the arm part from the tool part by releasing the projection part (38) (figs. 1-5, col. 4, lines 6-10 and col. 4, lines 42-45).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Asano et al. (US 2022/0016789 A1).
Claim 13:
Asano discloses a robot system (abstract) comprising:
an arm part (100) comprising a first connection part (250) (fig. 23, [0168]);
a tool part (300c’) comprising a second connection part (301) (fig. 23, [0168]);
and, at least one processor (600) (fig. 1, [0058], [0061] and [0208]-[0212]),
wherein the first connection part (250) comprises one of a receiving part (392, 393) and a projection part (252, 253), and the second connection part comprises the other one of the receiving part (392, 393) and the projection part (252, 253) (fig. 23, [0175] and [0176]); and,
wherein the at least one processor (600) is configured to: control the arm part to connect to the tool part by securely receiving the projection part (252, 253) with the receiving part (392, 393), and control the arm part to disconnect from the tool part by causing the receiving part (392, 393) to release the projection part (252, 253) (figs. 1 and 23, [0058], [0061], [0175] and [0176]).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asano as applied to claim 13 above, and further in view of Nicholson (US 4,913,617).
Claim 14:
Asano discloses the robot system of claim 13; and Asano fails to disclose a plurality of claws configured to fit between a front end part and the foundation part.
Nicholson discloses a robot system (abstract) further comprising
a projection part including a front end part (38), a groove part (47), and a foundation part (44) (fig. 2, col. 4, lines 6-10), and
a receiving part including a plurality of claws (46) configured to fit between the front end part (38) and the foundation part (44) in the groove part (47) (fig. 2, col. 4, lines 6-10).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the connection structure of Asano to incorporate the claw-and-groove engagement mechanism of Nicholson in order to provide a known alternative retention mechanism for securing a projection within a receiving structure, yielding predictable results in the form of reliable engagement and disengagement of the tool. See MPEP § 2143 A which describes the prima facie obviousness of combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. The results would have been predictable because both Asano and Nicholson are directed to mechanisms for attaching and detaching components in robotic or manipulator systems, and thus are reasonably combinable.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-12 and 15-20 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 Lee Holly whose telephone number is (571)270-7097. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 to 5:00 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Hong can be reached at (571) 272-0993. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Lee A Holly/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726
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