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
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 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 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 of this title, 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, 8-17 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hoffman et al. (US Pub No. 20210399470 A1) in view of Chang et al. (US Pub No. 20180047150 A1).
Regarding Claim 1,
Hoffman discloses A method for cable wire insertion monitoring, the method comprising: receiving, from a camera system, an inspection image of a connector of a housing inspection system; (Hoffman, [0041], Fig. 3, discloses a system for identifying wire contact insertion holes 18 of a connector 10, inserting wire contacts into corresponding wire contact insertion holes 18, and providing error correction for automated wire contact insertion is depicted. As shown, the system 30 includes cameras 32 configured the acquire images of the connector 10. While plural cameras are indicated in fig. 3, embodiments may employ a single camera, or may employ a single camera operating with mirrors to provide various perspectives of the connector 10 using a single camera. The cameras described herein are a type of image acquisition device, where a variety of image acquisition device types may be used in place of a camera. Image acquisition devices, generally, acquire an image of the field of view of the device. A camera, as described herein, acquires an image of the field of view in the visible light spectrum and processes the image accordingly. The cameras 32 may be configured to acquire a gray scale image of the connector 10. Alternatively, the cameras 32 may be configured to acquire color images of the connector 10. In an embodiment in which color images of the connector 10 are acquired, the image associated with each different color channel of the cameras 32, such as the red, green and blue color channels, may be averaged to create a composite image for subsequent analysis and review. Alternatively, the different color channels of the cameras 32 may be separately analyzed. The cameras 32 are generally configured to acquire images of the front face of the connector 10, such as shown in FIG. 2, such that the plurality of wire contact insertion holes 18 defined by the rubber grommet 16 are clearly visible. The cameras 32 may also be configured to acquire images of the wire contacts during alignment of the wire contacts with the connector 10. As such, the image acquired by the cameras 32 of an example embodiment may be acquired at a plurality of angles to provide different perspectives of the connector 10 and wire contacts; inspection system for connector cable is disclosed)
detecting insertion of a cable wire into a corresponding cable cavity of the connector housing via an insertion monitoring machine vision system; (Hoffman, [0034], discloses system, and computer program product are provided in accordance with an example embodiment described herein for automated alignment of wire contacts with insertion holes of a connector and to provide error correction thereof, and more particularly, to provide correction of improperly inserted wire contacts during automated contact insertion into connectors. The process described herein detects wire contact and insertion holes simultaneously using robotic-end-effector-mounted cameras. Using simultaneous detection, embodiments of the disclosed method provide feedback for corrective movements of a robot arm used to insert the wire contacts into the insertion holes of the connector. The movements of the robot arm align the wire contact with a target insertion hole for successful insertion into an appropriate hole of a connector; wire connector (cable wire) and holes (cavity) are detected in the image simultaneously)
estimating an insertion depth of the cable wire into the corresponding cable cavity based at least in part on the inspection image; (Hoffman, [0077], discloses if the wire contact is established to be at the target hole of the connector whereby operation 318 is established to be true, the process of insertion continues as shown in FIG. 14. As shown, the insertion process begins at 322. During insertion, the robot end effector and/or wire gripper monitors the insertion force, F, at 324. If the force is above a predetermined value at 326, for example 16 Newtons, a value which may be dependent on the type of contact and the type of connector, the insertion may be temporarily halted. Once temporarily halted, a determination is made with respect to the depth of the insertion at 328. The insertion depth can is estimated based on the initial distance to the connector and the travel distance of the robot end effector. The initial distance can be estimated through vision, such as through the image processing described above identifying the location of the connector relative to the wire connector. If the depth of insertion d is above a minimum depth d.sub.min, a pull test is conducted at 332. The pull test will be described further below; insertion depth is determined between the connector (cable wire contact) and hole (cavity)) and
outputting an indication of the insertion depth of the cable wire. (Hoffman, [0045], discloses user interface 40 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 36 and the memory 38 to receive user input and/or to provide an audible, visual, mechanical, or other output to a user. As such, the user interface 40 may include, for example, a display for providing an image acquired by the camera 32 and/or an image visually depicting the closest match between the candidate contacts and a predetermined template as described below. Other examples of the user interface 40 include a keyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a microphone and/or other input/output mechanisms; output is provided to the user using user interface)
Hoffman does not explicitly disclose housing held in a housing retainer
Chang discloses housing held in a housing retainer (Chang, Fig. 1A-1B, [0020-0021], [0057], discloses a system for characterizing through image analysis tube trays and tubes held in a drawer, according to an embodiment; an exemplary drawer vision system test harness including an image capture system positioned above a tube tray disposed on a drawer, according to an embodiment; using image-based tube-top circle detection may be implemented as part of the method 300. For example, after the images are acquired at step 302 and the tray grid is aligned at step 304, embodiments described herein using image-based tube top circle detection may be used to extract tube top patches at step 316 of FIG. 3 prior to proceeding to steps 318-324 to determine a tube type. Embodiments may, however, be used as part of other methods to determine tube types. The following description is directed to embodiments using image-based tube top circle detection. housing retainer is disclosed housing of connecter of tray tubes (cable or wire type structures) and top circles (holes))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to combine the teachings of Hoffman in view of Chang having a method of aligning cavities within connector housing with cable wire contact with use of captured images, with the teachings of Chang having, the method, aligning top circles with tube tops with use of images that includes housing retainers to house assembly in order to accurately align cables precisely with their respective cavities in cable applications.
Regarding Claim 2,
The combination of Hoffman and Chang further discloses wherein outputting the indication of the insertion depth of the cable wire includes outputting a confirmation that the insertion depth exceeds an insertion threshold. (Hoffman, [0035], discloses during insertion of the wire contact into the target connector insertion hole, a force feedback sensor of the robot arm or robotic end effector monitors the insertion force. If the force exceeds a predetermined value, the insertion is temporarily stopped. A check of the insertion depth is performed based on an initial distance to the connector and a travel distance of the robotic end effector. The initial distance can be estimated through vision using the aforementioned cameras or based on measured robot movement relative to the connector. If the insertion depth is above a minimal distance, established based on the type of wire contact and connector, a pull test is carried out. If the depth is below the predetermined value, the wire connector is identified as stuck and an error-correction maneuver is needed. The correction of the wire contact direction is performed only if the number of such corrections is below a threshold number of attempts. If the number of such corrections exceeds the threshold number of attempts, the robot end effector moves the wire contact outside the connector hole and alignment of the wire contact with the connector hole is repeated; insertion depth is compared with predetermined value (exceeding or below) and the value is output based on the depth value). Additionally, the rational and motivation to combine the references Hoffman and Chang as applied in rejection of claim 1 apply to this claim.
Regarding Claim 3,
The combination of Hoffman and Chang further discloses wherein the corresponding cable cavity includes a retention mechanism, and wherein the insertion threshold corresponds to a retention depth at which the retention mechanism engages and resists removal of the cable wire from the corresponding cable cavity. (Hoffman, [0073-0074], discloses the alignment of the wire contact with the target hole of the connector is performed, the wire contact may be inserted into the target hole for assembly of the connector and wire bundle thereof. Initially, a wire contact may be moved by the wire gripper of the end-effector of the robot to a preparation position proximate the target hole. The alignment is performed in a plane parallel to the surface of the connector, while insertion is performed on an axis orthogonal to the plane of the surface of the connector; during insertion, the robot end effector 100 and/or the wire gripper 108 may include one or more sensors for determining one or more forces acting on the wire 111 or the wire contact 114. Forces may be sensed by virtue of resistance encountered by the motive force of the robot (e.g., a servo motor, a hydraulic pump, etc.). Forces may optionally be sensed by a strain gauge arrangement which may be disposed on the wire gripper and configured to sense resistance to movement of the wire gripper or wire/wire contact held therein. Various other force sensing arrangements may be employed as necessary to determine forces acting on the wire contact 114 of the wire 111 held by the wire gripper 108; force sensing mechanism detects alignment of wire contact within the cavity and restrains). Additionally, the rational and motivation to combine the references Hoffman and Chang as applied in rejection of claim 1 apply to this claim.
Regarding Claim 4,
The combination of Hoffman and Chang further discloses wherein the camera system is a stereo camera system, and wherein the insertion depth of the cable wire is estimated through stereo triangulation. (Hoffman, [0049], discloses images are acquired of the wire 111 and wire contact 114 along with the connector 110 from more than one perspective. Using the different perspectives, a line is identified that extends in the direction of the wire and wire contact and a hole in the connector that is the target hole for the wire is identified. FIG. 5 illustrates images 120, 122 acquired by two different image acquisition devices, such as the cameras 102 and 104 of FIG. 4 of the wire 111 including wire contact 114 and the connector 110, specifically the identified target insertion hole 116 of the connector into which the wire 111 is to be inserted. A line, identified through multiple perspectives, provides at least a stereoscopic indication of the relationship between the wire contact and the target hole of the connector into which the wire is to be inserted, and may be identified based on the axial projection of the wire 111 and wire contact 114. Based on the identified line from the images, a movement command may be computed that would place the hole on the line in at least two images. This may initially establish a rotation of the end-effector to bring the tip of the wire gripper 108 perpendicular to the connector surface. To place the hole on the line, a movement is established in parallel to the connector surface to align the line with the appropriate target hole of the connector. A movement command is the desired displacement of the robot end-effector in three-dimensional cartesian space. Aligning the wire contact with the hole places the wire in a proper position to enable the robot to move the wire along the line toward the appropriate hole of the connector for insertion; insertion depth is determined by stereo camera triangulation). Additionally, the rational and motivation to combine the references Hoffman and Chang as applied in rejection of claim 1 apply to this claim.
Regarding Claim 5,
The combination of Hoffman and Chang further discloses performing a monitoring precision evaluation process by, for each evaluation cable wire of a plurality of evaluation cable wires and a corresponding plurality of cable cavities of the connector housing, estimating an insertion depth for each evaluation cable wire at a full insertion position within the corresponding cable cavity, and estimating an insertion depth for each evaluation cable wire at a partial retraction position within the corresponding cable cavity. (Hoffman, [0049], discloses images are acquired of the wire 111 and wire contact 114 along with the connector 110 from more than one perspective. Using the different perspectives, a line is identified that extends in the direction of the wire and wire contact and a hole in the connector that is the target hole for the wire is identified. FIG. 5 illustrates images 120, 122 acquired by two different image acquisition devices, such as the cameras 102 and 104 of FIG. 4 of the wire 111 including wire contact 114 and the connector 110, specifically the identified target insertion hole 116 of the connector into which the wire 111 is to be inserted. A line, identified through multiple perspectives, provides at least a stereoscopic indication of the relationship between the wire contact and the target hole of the connector into which the wire is to be inserted, and may be identified based on the axial projection of the wire 111 and wire contact 114. Based on the identified line from the images, a movement command may be computed that would place the hole on the line in at least two images. This may initially establish a rotation of the end-effector to bring the tip of the wire gripper 108 perpendicular to the connector surface. To place the hole on the line, a movement is established in parallel to the connector surface to align the line with the appropriate target hole of the connector. A movement command is the desired displacement of the robot end-effector in three-dimensional cartesian space. Aligning the wire contact with the hole places the wire in a proper position to enable the robot to move the wire along the line toward the appropriate hole of the connector for insertion; connector cable wire contact and its corresponding cavity (hole) among the multiple holes are determined and inserted and depth is measured). Additionally, the rational and motivation to combine the references Hoffman and Chang as applied in rejection of claim 1 apply to this claim.
Regarding Claim 8,
The combination of Hoffman and Chang further discloses comparing the inspection image to a template connector image to confirm that the connector housing is an intended connector housing type. (Hoffman, [0063], discloses processing circuitry 36 may then be used to compute the square distance between a hole template and a local image patch from the intensity image for each patch location over the image as shown at 182. An example of a hole template may include an 18×18 pixel wide intensity gradient that mimics the shading inside a hole, where the intensity along the gradient may follow a function f(x)=1/(1+exp(−x/1.7)). The intensity of the template may be scaled to match minimum and maximum values of the color-filtered intensity image. This scaling increases the robustness to changes in lighting. The result of this operation may include an intensity image in which low intensity areas (black) are areas of short distance to the hole template; template image is provided to compare with local image patch of the inspection image). Additionally, the rational and motivation to combine the references Hoffman and Chang as applied in rejection of claim 1 apply to this claim.
Regarding Claim 9,
The combination of Hoffman and Chang further discloses generating a homography matrix to account for a rotation of the connector housing in the inspection image relative to the template connector image. (Hoffman, [0049], discloses images are acquired of the wire 111 and wire contact 114 along with the connector 110 from more than one perspective. Using the different perspectives, a line is identified that extends in the direction of the wire and wire contact and a hole in the connector that is the target hole for the wire is identified. FIG. 5 illustrates images 120, 122 acquired by two different image acquisition devices, such as the cameras 102 and 104 of FIG. 4 of the wire 111 including wire contact 114 and the connector 110, specifically the identified target insertion hole 116 of the connector into which the wire 111 is to be inserted. A line, identified through multiple perspectives, provides at least a stereoscopic indication of the relationship between the wire contact and the target hole of the connector into which the wire is to be inserted, and may be identified based on the axial projection of the wire 111 and wire contact 114. Based on the identified line from the images, a movement command may be computed that would place the hole on the line in at least two images. This may initially establish a rotation of the end-effector to bring the tip of the wire gripper 108 perpendicular to the connector surface. To place the hole on the line, a movement is established in parallel to the connector surface to align the line with the appropriate target hole of the connector. A movement command is the desired displacement of the robot end-effector in three-dimensional cartesian space. Aligning the wire contact with the hole places the wire in a proper position to enable the robot to move the wire along the line toward the appropriate hole of the connector for insertion; template image is acquired). Additionally, the rational and motivation to combine the references Hoffman and Chang as applied in rejection of claim 1 apply to this claim.
Regarding Claim 10,
The combination of Hoffman and Chang further discloses wherein the corresponding cable cavities of the connector housing extend from an insertion face of the connector housing to an observation face of the connector housing, and wherein the inspection image of the connector housing depicts the observation face. (Hoffman, [0041], Fig. 3, discloses a system for identifying wire contact insertion holes 18 of a connector 10, inserting wire contacts into corresponding wire contact insertion holes 18, and providing error correction for automated wire contact insertion is depicted. As shown, the system 30 includes cameras 32 configured the acquire images of the connector 10. While plural cameras are indicated in FIG. 3, embodiments may employ a single camera, or may employ a single camera operating with mirrors to provide various perspectives of the connector 10 using a single camera. The cameras described herein are a type of image acquisition device, where a variety of image acquisition device types may be used in place of a camera. Image acquisition devices, generally, acquire an image of the field of view of the device. A camera, as described herein, acquires an image of the field of view in the visible light spectrum and processes the image accordingly. The cameras 32 may be configured to acquire a gray scale image of the connector 10. Alternatively, the cameras 32 may be configured to acquire color images of the connector 10. In an embodiment in which color images of the connector 10 are acquired, the image associated with each different color channel of the cameras 32, such as the red, green and blue color channels, may be averaged to create a composite image for subsequent analysis and review. Alternatively, the different color channels of the cameras 32 may be separately analyzed. The cameras 32 are generally configured to acquire images of the front face of the connector 10, such as shown in FIG. 2, such that the plurality of wire contact insertion holes 18 defined by the rubber grommet 16 are clearly visible. The cameras 32 may also be configured to acquire images of the wire contacts during alignment of the wire contacts with the connector 10. As such, the image acquired by the cameras 32 of an example embodiment may be acquired at a plurality of angles to provide different perspectives of the connector 10 and wire contacts; front surface (face observation) images are obtained of connector and housing of cable wire contact and holes). Additionally, the rational and motivation to combine the references Hoffman and Chang as applied in rejection of claim 1 apply to this claim.
Regarding Claim 11,
The combination of Hoffman and Chang further discloses wherein the housing inspection system further includes a lighting system configured to emit illumination light toward the observation face of the connector housing. (Hoffman, [0052], discloses A new position of the end-effector positions is obtained at 132. The robot loops through the list of end effector locations by moving the robot end-effector to the obtained position at 134, capturing images of the calibration rod at 136, finding the coordinates of the tip of the calibration rod in both camera images at 138, and recording the end effector position at 140. The process loops back to get a new position from the list until all end-effector positions have been used for calibration, or at least a predefined number of end-effector positions to provide a satisfactory calibration. In each image acquired, the location of the tip of the calibration rod is identified. To identify the tip, the image may be color filtered (e.g., by computing R−(G+B)/2 for each pixel, where R, G, and B are the Red, Green, and Blue color channels, respectively). The average location of all pixels having an intensity value above a predefined value may then be computed. The predefined value may be chosen such that only the tip of the calibration rod is selected. It may be beneficial to have a light source above the calibration rod such that the tip is sufficiently illuminated and may stand out in the acquired images. The result of this calibration procedure are the two-dimensional image coordinates of the tip of the calibration rod in each camera image; light source illuminates the connector housing cable wire unit). Additionally, the rational and motivation to combine the references Hoffman and Chang as applied in rejection of claim 1 apply to this claim.
Regarding Claim 12,
The combination of Hoffman and Chang further discloses wherein estimating the insertion depth of the cable wire includes, based on the inspection image, estimating a first position of an observation face of the connector housing, estimating a second position of a tip of the cable wire within the connector housing, and calculating the insertion depth based on the first position of the observation face and the second position of the tip of the cable wire. (Hoffman, [0057-0058], Fig. 8, discloses detection of the wire contact is necessary to align the contact with a target hole and to understand the movement direction for the robot end-effector once the contact is aligned. FIG. 8 depicts the process to extract the direction of a wire contact from an image. In this example embodiment, the computing device 34, such as the processing circuitry 36, may be configured to perform the various operations of extracting the direction of a wire contact and tip position from the acquired images. The first operation is to extract a window of the image 166 in which the contact is expected to be. The image in the window may be color filtered (e.g., by using a single color channel) to produce an image of only the color of interest. According to an example embodiment in which the wire contacts are gold in color, the image may be color filtered to find the gold colored areas at 167. A fit line is established at 168 based on the gold colored areas extending along a linear direction. The fit line constrains the area processed for edge detection at 170, e.g., by using a 30-pixel wide corridor around the line. This corridor cuts out distracting edges in the background, e.g., from other wires. For edge detection, the Canny edge detection algorithm may be used. Non-limiting parameters of the Canny edge detector may be a sigma or two for Gaussian blurring and thresholds of 0.005 and 0.015 for edge tracing. Second, to detect lines, a Hough transform may be carried out on the edges as shown at 172. Third, using the resulting array from the Hough transform, the maximum may be found at 174 which corresponds to the longest line. By finding the maximum, the angle and orientation of the line and its distance from one of the image corners is identified. Around the maximum, nearby maxima are sought with the same line orientation. An example for these maxima is to have a value larger than 0.5 times the maximum from the Hough transform. These maxima may correspond to parallel lines in the direction of the contact. The center of the two extremal lines may be estimated as the position and orientation of the contact as shown at 176; once the direction of the contact is obtained, such as by the processing circuitry 36 of the computing device 34, the location of the tip of the contact is computed. To find the tip, the ends of all edge lines parallel to the contact may be determined. All ends may be projected onto the contact line. The projection that is furthest away from the image corner opposite the contact tip may be identified as the location of the tip. This process to obtain the contact direction and tip location may be repeated for at least two camera images acquired from different perspectives; discloses tip position and direction of movement within the cavity to determine insertion depth within images). Additionally, the rational and motivation to combine the references Hoffman and Chang as applied in rejection of claim 1 apply to this claim.
Claims 13-17 recite system with elements corresponding to the method steps recited in Claims 1-5 respectively. Therefore, the recited elements of the system Claims 13-17 are mapped to the proposed combination in the same manner as the corresponding steps of Claims 1-5 respectively. Additionally, the rationale and motivation to combine the Hoffman and Chang references presented in rejection of Claim 1, apply to these claims.
Furthermore, the combination of Hoffman and Chang further discloses A housing inspection system, comprising: a controller configured to: receive, from a camera system, an inspection image of a connector housing held in a housing retainer of the housing inspection system; detect insertion of a cable wire into a corresponding cable cavity of the connector housing via an insertion monitoring machine vision system; estimate an insertion depth of the cable wire into the corresponding cable cavity based at least in part on the inspection image; and output an indication of the insertion depth of the cable wire. ; (Hoffman, [0041], Fig. 3, discloses a system for identifying wire contact insertion holes 18 of a connector 10, inserting wire contacts into corresponding wire contact insertion holes 18, and providing error correction for automated wire contact insertion is depicted. As shown, the system 30 includes cameras 32 configured the acquire images of the connector 10. While plural cameras are indicated in FIG. 3, embodiments may employ a single camera, or may employ a single camera operating with mirrors to provide various perspectives of the connector 10 using a single camera. The cameras described herein are a type of image acquisition device, where a variety of image acquisition device types may be used in place of a camera. Image acquisition devices, generally, acquire an image of the field of view of the device. A camera, as described herein, acquires an image of the field of view in the visible light spectrum and processes the image accordingly. The cameras 32 may be configured to acquire a gray scale image of the connector 10. Alternatively, the cameras 32 may be configured to acquire color images of the connector 10. In an embodiment in which color images of the connector 10 are acquired, the image associated with each different color channel of the cameras 32, such as the red, green and blue color channels, may be averaged to create a composite image for subsequent analysis and review. Alternatively, the different color channels of the cameras 32 may be separately analyzed. The cameras 32 are generally configured to acquire images of the front face of the connector 10, such as shown in FIG. 2, such that the plurality of wire contact insertion holes 18 defined by the rubber grommet 16 are clearly visible. The cameras 32 may also be configured to acquire images of the wire contacts during alignment of the wire contacts with the connector 10. As such, the image acquired by the cameras 32 of an example embodiment may be acquired at a plurality of angles to provide different perspectives of the connector 10 and wire contacts; inspection system for connector cable is disclosed)
Claim 20 recite method with steps corresponding to the method steps recited in Claim 1. Therefore, the recited steps of the method claim 20 are mapped to the proposed combination in the same manner as the corresponding steps of Claim 1. Additionally, the rationale and motivation to combine the Hoffman and Chang references presented in rejection of Claim 1, apply to this claim.
Furthermore, the combination of Hoffman and Chang further discloses outputting a confirmation that the insertion depth exceeds an insertion threshold corresponding to a retention depth at which a retention mechanism of the corresponding cable cavity resists removal of the cable wire from the cable cavity. (Hoffman, [0073-0074], discloses the alignment of the wire contact with the target hole of the connector is performed, the wire contact may be inserted into the target hole for assembly of the connector and wire bundle thereof. Initially, a wire contact may be moved by the wire gripper of the end-effector of the robot to a preparation position proximate the target hole. The alignment is performed in a plane parallel to the surface of the connector, while insertion is performed on an axis orthogonal to the plane of the surface of the connector; during insertion, the robot end effector 100 and/or the wire gripper 108 may include one or more sensors for determining one or more forces acting on the wire 111 or the wire contact 114. Forces may be sensed by virtue of resistance encountered by the motive force of the robot (e.g., a servo motor, a hydraulic pump, etc.). Forces may optionally be sensed by a strain gauge arrangement which may be disposed on the wire gripper and configured to sense resistance to movement of the wire gripper or wire/wire contact held therein. Various other force sensing arrangements may be employed as necessary to determine forces acting on the wire contact 114 of the wire 111 held by the wire gripper 108; force sensing mechanism detects alignment of wire contact within the cavity and restrains). Additionally, the rational and motivation to combine the references Hoffman and Chang as applied in rejection of claim 1 apply to this claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-7 and 18-19 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
EP 3772785 A1 (system has a computing device (34) is configured to process images captured by the image capture devices to establish a corrective transformation to align the wire contact with the target hole of the connector (10) in a connector surface, and to cause the robot (44) to translate the end-effector (100) to move the wire gripper (108) along the corrective transformation, and to cause the robot to advance the end-effector until contact is made with the connector surface, and to identify whether the wire contact is inside the target hole of the connector based on force measurements, and to cause the robot to advance the end-effector to move the wire contact toward the connector a predetermined additional amount, and to identify whether alignment is correct from force feedback at the wire gripper based on movement of the wire contact the predetermined additional amount)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PINALBEN V PATEL whose telephone number is (571)270-5872. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 10am - 8pm.
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, Wills-Burns Chineyere can be reached at 571-272-9752. 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.
/Pinalben Patel/Examiner, Art Unit 2673