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 .
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 10/17/25, 7/7/25, and 4/10/24 were filed and the submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. However, the provided Foreign References, filed on 10/27/2025, have been crossed out and not considered because the provided references are already listed in IDS, filed Juny 7, 2025.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Goumas et al. (4,680,523) (see IDS).
RE claim 1, Goumas et al. (4,680,523) discloses a gripper assembly (see Figs. 1-5) for a robotic manipulator, the gripper assembly comprising: first (14) and second finger assemblies (15); a ball screw actuator assembly comprising: a first ball screw nut (see Col. 4, lines 39-53) connected to the first finger assembly (14); and, a ball screw shaft or a lead screw shaft (26 or 27) comprising a first section upon which the first ball screw nut is movably mounted, the ball screw shaft being rotatable about its longitudinal axis; and, an actuator [31 or 33] directly connected to the ball screw shaft [26 or 27] and configured to rotate the ball screw shaft about its longitudinal axis, wherein the ball screw nut and ball screw shaft (26 or 27) are configured to move the first finger assembly in a direction of the second finger assembly when the ball screw shaft (26 or 27) is rotated in one of a clockwise or anticlockwise direction and to move the first finger assembly in a direction away from the second finger assembly when the ball screw shaft is rotated in the other of the clockwise or anticlockwise directions.
RE claims 2 and 3, Goumas et al. gripper assembly (4,680,523) discloses one or more guide rails (20, 21, or 22) (See Figs. 3, 4, and 5); a first carriage assembly (19a or 19b) (see Fig. 2 or 5) movably mounted to the one or more guide rails; and, a first support assembly (18) configured to connect the first ball screw nut and the first finger assembly to the carriage wherein the first support assembly is configured to provide a rigid connection (See Fig. 4) between the first finger assembly (14 or 15) and the first carriage assembly and a movable connection between the first ball screw nut and the first carriage assembly.
Exhibit A
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RE claims 4 and 5, Goumas et al. gripper assembly (4,680,523) also teaches a second ball screw nut nut (see Col. 4, lines 39-53) connected to the second finger assembly and wherein the ball screw shaft further comprises a second section upon (See Figs. 3 and 4) which the second ball screw nut is movably mounted wherein the gripper assembly further comprising: a second carriage assembly (19a or 19b) (see Fig. 2 or 5) movably mounted to the one or more guide rails; and a second support assembly (19) configured to connect the second ball screw nut and the second finger assembly to the second carriage assembly.
RE claim 6, Fig. 4 of Goumas et al. gripper assembly (4,680,523) shows the second support assembly is configured to provide a rigid connection (See Fig. 4) between the second finger assembly (14 or 15) and the second carriage assembly and a movable connection between the first ball screw nut and the first carriage assembly.
RE claim 7, Fig. 5 of Goumas et al. gripper assembly (4,680,523) displays two guide rails (20, 21, or 22), each guide rails of the two guide rails being positioned either side of the ball screw shaft. Note that each guide rails (20 or 22) of the two guide rails being positioned either side of the ball screw shaft (26 or 27) as shown in Fig. 5.
RE claim 8, Fig. 3 of Goumas et al. gripper assembly (4,680,523) shows that the actuator (31 or 33) is located between the first and second sections of the ball screw shaft. Note that the provided Fig. 3 (top view) shows a first section, an upper section where a ball screw (26) is located and a second section, a lower section where a ball another screw (27) is located wherein an actuator (31 or 33) is located between the first and second sections.
RE claim 9, Fig. 3 of Goumas et al. gripper assembly (4,680,523) also discloses that the actuator (31 or 33) is located at one end of the ball screw shaft.
RE claims 10, 11, and 12, Figs. 3 and 5 of Goumas et al. gripper assembly (4,680,523) provide a second ball screw nut (see Col. 4, lines 39-53) connected to the second finger assembly and wherein the ball screw shaft (26 or 27) further comprises a second section upon which the second ball screw nut (see Col. 4, lines 39-53) is movably mounted. It is pointed out that the provided ball screw shaft (26 or 27) could be a right-hand or a left-hand helical raceway (see Col. 4, lines 39-57).
RE claim 12, Goumas et al. gripper assembly (4,680,523) also discloses a second actuator (31) directly connected to the second ball screw shaft (26) (See Fig. 3) or a second actuator (33) directly connected to the second ball screw shaft (27).
RE claims 13 and 14, Goumas et al. gripper assembly (4,680,523) is designed to be used in a robotic manipulator and arms (see Col. 1, lines 14-20).
Claims 1-11, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Moronaga et al. (8,616,599).
RE claim 1, Moronaga et al. (8,616,599) discloses a gripper assembly (see Figs. 1-17) for a robotic manipulator, the gripper assembly comprising: first (136 or 236) and second finger assemblies (136 or 236); a ball screw actuator assembly comprising: a first ball screw nut [(144, 1542) (see Fig. 4G) or 2440 of Fig. 16E) connected to the first finger assembly (136 or 236); and, a ball screw shaft or a lead screw shaft (1420) (see Col. 7, lines 54-59) or (2420 of Fig. 16C) comprising a first section upon which the first ball screw nut (1440; 2440) is movably mounted, the ball screw shaft being rotatable about its longitudinal axis; and, an actuator (1410; 2410) directly connected to the ball screw shaft (1420) configured to rotate the ball screw shaft about its longitudinal axis, wherein the ball screw nut and ball screw shaft (1420) are configured to move the first finger assembly in a direction of the second finger assembly when the ball screw shaft (1420) is rotated in one of a clockwise or anticlockwise direction and to move the first finger assembly in a direction away from the second finger assembly when the ball screw shaft is rotated in the other of the clockwise or anticlockwise directions.
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RE claims 2, 3, 6, and 7, Moronaga et al. gripper assembly (8,616,599) discloses one or more guide rails (1541 or 2541) (See Figs. 4G, 4H, 16C); a first carriage assembly (1551; 2551) movably mounted to the one or more guide rails; and, a first support assembly (142, 242) configured to connect the first ball screw nut and the first finger assembly to the carriage wherein the first support assembly is configured to provide a rigid connection (1555 of See Fig. 4H) between the first finger assembly (136; 236) and the first carriage assembly and a movable connection between the first ball screw nut and the first carriage assembly.
RE claim 6, Figs. 4G, H, and 16C of Moronaga et al. gripper assembly (8,616,599) show the second support assembly is configured to provide a rigid connection.
RE claims 8 and 9, Moronaga et al. gripper assembly (8,616,599) substantially shows that the actuator (1410 or 2410) is located between the first and second sections of the ball screw shaft and also is located at one end of the ball screw shaft.
RE claims 10, 11, and 12, Figs. 4G, H, and 16C of Moronaga et al. gripper assembly (8,616,599) provide a second ball screw nut (1542, 2542) connected to the second finger assembly and wherein the ball screw shaft (1410, 2410) further comprises a second section upon which the second ball screw nut is movably mounted.
RE claims 13 and 14, Fig. 1 of Moronaga et al. gripper assembly (8,616,599) is designed to be used in a robotic manipulator 111 and arms and picking system 110 with a controller 124 (see Col. 3, lines 47-65).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL T CHIN whose telephone number is (571) 272-6922. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:00-4:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert Hodge, can be reached on (571) 272-2097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PAUL T CHIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3654
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