DETAILED ACTION
This application is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Drawings
The drawings are acceptable.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 102
The text of 35 U.S.C. § 102 not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 52-58 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 9,239,100 B1 to Weber et al., which discloses:
Claim 52: A radial stacked actuator, comprising:
an actuator ground 208;
a motor 102 comprising a motor ground 204 coupled to the actuator ground 208, the motor ground 204 having one or more rotational degrees of freedom relative to the actuator ground 208;
a single spring 202 (i.e., either the spring 202 shown in the left of FIG. 2 or the spring 202 shown in the right of FIG. 2. The Office understands that Applicant’s use of the term “single spring” might be an attempt to claim a negative limitation akin to “no more than one spring,” however, the Office broadly interprets the claim limitation to mean a “spring.” Furthermore, in the interest of compact prosecution, the Office notes that a negative limitation similar to “no more than one spring” may present 112(a) written description issues) coupled between the motor ground 204 and the actuator ground 208, the single spring 202 configured to deflect as the motor ground 104 rotates relative to the actuator ground 208;
an actuator output 106 having a degree of freedom relative to the actuator ground 208; and
a spring displacement sensor 112 (502 and 504 shown in FIG. 5) configured to measure a displacement of the motor ground 204 relative to the actuator ground 208.
Claim 53: The radial stacked actuator of claim 52, wherein a load path defined from the actuator ground 208 to the actuator output 106 is radial.
Claim 54: The radial stacked actuator of claim 52, comprising:
a motor housing comprising the motor ground 104; and
an actuator housing comprising the actuator ground 208.
Claim 55: The radial stacked actuator of claim 52, wherein the spring displacement sensor is configured to measure at least one of a total force or torque applied by the actuator.
Claim 56: The radial stacked actuator of claim 52, wherein the one or more rotational degrees of freedom is a single degree of rotational freedom.
Claim 57: The radial stacked actuator of claim 52, comprising a gearbox 104 coupled to the motor 102 at an input of the gearbox 104, wherein the actuator output 106 is coupled to the gearbox 104.
Claim 58: The radial stacked actuator of claim 57, wherein the gearbox 104 is circumferentially contained within the motor ground 204.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's 05/06/2026 arguments relating to Claims 1 and 27 are persuasive.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-2, 5-16, 18-19, 21-43, and 45-51 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
U.S. Patent No. 11,623,348 B2 to Kim et al. and U.S. Patent No. 9,239,100 B1 to Weber et al. are the closest prior art.
Regarding Claims 1 and 27, the closest art does not disclose or suggest the newly-added limitations recited therein.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RANDELL J KRUG whose telephone number is (313) 446-6577. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 9:00-14:00 AZ time.
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, Minnah Seoh can be reached on 571-270-7778. 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.
/RANDELL J KRUG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
Prosecution Insights