CTNF 18/646,885 CTNF 89897 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement filed 11 July 2024 is acknowledged and the information referred to therein has been considered. 07-30-03-h AIA Claim Interpretation 07-30-03 AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f): (f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof. The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph: An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof. 07-30-05 The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked. As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph: (A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function; (B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and (C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function. Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: Claim(s) Generic placeholder or "means for" Functional language Corresponding structure (citations as-filed) 9 a displacement amount acquisition unit that acquires a displacement amount of the movable unit detected by the sensor None given. The only mentions of this unit are in [0074], [0075], [0080], and [0092]. However, these all merely repeat the functional language of the claim and do not discuss any specific structure. 9 a force calculation unit that calculates magnitude of the force applied to the movable unit from the displacement amount of the movable unit acquired by the displacement amount acquisition unit None given. The only mentions of this unit are also in [0074], [0075], [0080], and [0092]. However, these all merely repeat the functional language of the claim and do not discuss any specific structure. Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof. If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-01 AIA The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. 07-31-01 Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 9 is directed to a device comprising a displacement amount acquisition unit that acquires a displacement amount of the movable unit detected by the sensor, and a force calculation unit that calculates magnitude of the force applied to the movable unit from the displacement amount of the movable unit acquired by the displacement amount acquisition unit. However, the written description does not link or associate any specific structure, material, or acts to the functions recited in relation to the displacement amount acquisition unit or the force calculation unit. Moreover, the written description does not describe any algorithm or processes for implementing this functionality in any specific capacity. The specification therefore does not describe the claimed invention in sufficient detail that one skilled in the art can reasonably conclude that the inventor had possession of said "displacement amount acquisition unit" and "force calculation unit," and claim 9 is found to lack an adequate written description under 35 U.S.C. 112(a). 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claim 9 is 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. 07-34-23 The claim limitations "a displacement amount acquisition unit" and "a force calculation unit" in claim 9 invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. However, the written description fails to disclose the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the entire claimed function and to clearly link the structure, material, or acts to the function. However, the written description fails to disclose the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the entire claimed function and to clearly link the structure, material, or acts to the function. Therefore, the claim is indefinite and is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph. Applicant may: (a) Amend the claim so that the claim limitation will no longer be interpreted as a limitation under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph; (b) Amend the written description of the specification such that it expressly recites what structure, material, or acts perform the entire claimed function, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)); or (c) Amend the written description of the specification such that it clearly links the structure, material, or acts disclosed therein to the function recited in the claim, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)). If applicant is of the opinion that the written description of the specification already implicitly or inherently discloses the corresponding structure, material, or acts and clearly links them to the function so that one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize what structure, material, or acts perform the claimed function, applicant should clarify the record by either: (a) Amending the written description of the specification such that it expressly recites the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function and clearly links or associates the structure, material, or acts to the claimed function, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)); or (b) Stating on the record what the corresponding structure, material, or acts, which are implicitly or inherently set forth in the written description of the specification, perform the claimed function. For more information, see 37 CFR 1.75(d) and MPEP §§ 608.01(o) and 2181. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-5 and 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by JP S63-277945 to Takanashi (cited by applicant) . With regards to claim 1 , Takanashi discloses a force detection device (see fig. 1) comprising: an elastic body (elastic body 12 and optionally the base of elastic body 10) that biases a movable unit (at least the free portion of elastic body 10) in a direction in which displacement of the movable unit is suppressed when a force is applied to the movable unit to displace the movable unit (being fixed, the base of body 10 acts against force applied to body 10, and when force F acts on body 10, force from body 12 also acts in the opposite direction); and in a sensor that detects the displacement of the movable unit (displacement detection sensors 11, 13), wherein the elastic body includes a plurality of portions having different rigidities (the thinner and thicker portions of body 12, and the base part of body 10, all have different rigidities). PNG media_image1.png 495 453 media_image1.png Greyscale With regards to claim 2 , Takanashi discloses the force detection device according to claim 1. Takanashi further discloses a portion of the elastic body that biases the movable unit changing when the movable unit is displaced (according to at least the abstract, the device deforms according to the sum of the spring constants of bodies 10, 12). With regards to claim 3 , Takanashi discloses the force detection device according to claim 1. Takanashi further discloses the elastic body being a leaf spring (see fig. 1), and the leaf spring includes a plurality of portions having different spring constants (the thinner and thicker portions of body 12, and the base part of body 10, all have different rigidities, and thus different spring constants). With regards to claim 4 , Takanashi discloses the force detection device according to claim 3. Takanashi further discloses, in a state where the movable unit is not displaced, distances between the plurality of portions of the leaf spring and portions of the movable unit that abut on the plurality of portions of the leaf spring when the movable unit is displaced are different (see the undisplaced configuration in fig. 1, here the distance between the top and bottom ends of body 10 to elastic body 12 are different). With regards to claim 5 , Takanashi discloses the force detection device according to claim 4. Takanashi further discloses wherein the movable unit is configured to cause the portions of the movable unit that abut on the plurality of portions of the leaf spring to have a step when the movable unit is displaced (when body 10 is fully displaced to contact body 12, there would be a step between the top and bottom ends thereof). With regards to claim 8 , Takanashi discloses the force detection device according to claim 1. Takanashi further discloses, when a displacement amount of the movable unit increases, a portion of the elastic body that biases the movable unit is added (when body 10 is displaced by a force greater than the amount of force f1 in fig. 3, part of body 12 is added to the force detection to detect forces greater than f1). With regards to claim 9 , Takanashi discloses the force detection device according to claim 1. Takanashi further discloses a displacement amount acquisition unit (at least the signal lines connecting the displacement detection sensors 11, 13 to adder 54 in fig. 2) that acquires a displacement amount of the movable unit detected by the sensor (these lines acquire and convey the output signals from sensors 11, 13); and a force calculation unit (adder 54) that calculates magnitude of the force applied to the movable unit from the displacement amount of the movable unit acquired by the displacement amount acquisition unit (adder 54 acquires and sums the outputs of displacement detection sensors 11, 13 in fig. 2). With regards to claim 10 , Takanashi discloses a force detection method (using the device of fig. 1) comprising detecting (using sensors 11, 13), when a force (force F) is applied to a movable unit (elastic body 10) to displace the movable unit, magnitude of the force applied to the movable unit by biasing the movable unit in a direction in which displacement is suppressed by at least a first portion of an elastic body (elastic body 12) including a plurality of portions having different rigidities (the different thickness sections of body 12 have correspondingly different rigidities) until a displacement amount reaches a first value (the base of body 12 in fig. 1 applies a certain counterforce on body 10 until the point f1 in fig. 3 is reached) (see p. 4, l. 9 to the fifth line from the bottom of the page of the provided translation), biasing the movable unit in the direction in which the displacement is suppressed by at least a second portion of the elastic body (after contact is made between bodies 10 and 12, the bottom and the top of body 12 bias body 10 in the direction opposing force F) when the displacement amount exceeds the first value (after point f1 in fig. 3 is reached), and detecting the displacement amount (sensors 11, 13 are displacement detection sensors 11, 13. and according to at least the abstract, amounts of deformation corresponding to at least when bodies 10 and 12 are brought into contact are detected). With regards to claim 11 , Takanashi discloses a clothes processing (this language is not considered limiting nor of any significance to claim construction as the body of the claim describes a complete invention and this language, recited solely in the preamble, does not provide any distinct definition of any of the claimed invention's limitations. See MPEP § 2111.02) device (robot hand 500; see fig. 4) comprising; a holding device that holds a processing target (robot hand finger 100); a movable unit (elastic body 10) that is displaced when a force (force F) is applied to the holding device (when gripping an object, for example); and a force detection device (elastic body 12 and displacement detection sensors 11, 13) that detects magnitude of the force applied to the holding device (see p. 4, l. 9 to the fifth line from the bottom of the page of the provided translation), wherein the force detection device includes an elastic body (elastic body 12) that biases the movable unit in a direction in which displacement is suppressed when the force is applied to the holding device to displace the movable unit (when force F acts on body 10, force from body 12 acts in the opposite direction), and a sensor that detects the displacement of the movable unit (displacement detection sensors 11, 13), and the elastic body includes a plurality of portions having different rigidities (the thinner and thicker portions of body 12) . 07-15 AIA Claim s 1 and 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by JP S56-107534 to Ohta (cited by applicant). A duplicative rejection of claim 1 is made to address claims 6-7 . With regards to claim 1 , Ohta discloses a force detection device (see fig. 3, etc.) comprising: an elastic body (spring 32, 33) that biases a movable unit (worm shaft 31, worm gear 2) in a direction in which displacement of the movable unit is suppressed when a force is applied to the movable unit to displace the movable unit (spring 32, 33 biases worm shaft 31/worm gear 2 toward the center of the figure when worm shaft 31 is turned to compress spring 32, 33; see fig. 2); and a sensor that detects the displacement of the movable unit (limit switch 16), wherein the elastic body includes a plurality of portions having different rigidities (heavy spring 32, light spring 33). PNG media_image2.png 305 421 media_image2.png Greyscale With regards to claim 6 , Ohta discloses the force detection device according to claim 1. Ohta further discloses the movable unit including a worm of a worm gear (worm shaft 31), the elastic body biases the worm in a direction parallel to a rotation shaft of the worm (toward the left in fig. 3), and the sensor detects displacement in the direction parallel to the rotation shaft of the worm (limit switch detects displacement of worm shaft 31 in this same direction, as is clear from fig. 3 and the associated description). With regards to claim 7 , Ohta discloses the force detection device according to claim 1. Ohta further discloses, in a state where the force is not applied to the movable unit, a portion of the elastic body having a lowest rigidity biasing the movable unit (in no force situations, the light spring 33 biases worm shaft 31 as far as plate 36 allows), and a sensor (11) that detects the displacement of the movable unit. This device reads on at least the instant independent claims (note the use case depicted in fig. 10) . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. JP-2002365122-A to Hayashi discloses a force detection device comprising a moveable unit (14) and an elastic body (spring 15A, 15B) that function so as to provide a varying resistance against force depending on the amount of force applied to the moveable unit, and US 10,434,643 to Berkowitz et al discloses a force/displacement detection device substantially similar to that disclosed by Ohta above. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to James Split whose telephone number is (571)270-1524. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 3:30. 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, Judy Nguyen can be reached at (571)272-2258. 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. /JS/Examiner, Art Unit 2858 /JUDY NGUYEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/646,885 Page 2 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/646,885 Page 3 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/646,885 Page 4 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/646,885 Page 5 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/646,885 Page 6 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/646,885 Page 7 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/646,885 Page 8 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/646,885 Page 9 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/646,885 Page 10 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/646,885 Page 11 Art Unit: 2858 Application/Control Number: 18/646,885 Page 12 Art Unit: 2858
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