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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No.JP2021-193651, filed on 11/29/2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/02/2025 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 12/12/2025, has been received and made of record. In response to the Non-Final Office Action, dated on 09/12/2025. Claims 1-13 are pending in the current application. Claim 13 is newly added.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 12/12/2025 have been fully considered.
In the Arguments/Remarks:
Re: Rejection of the Claims Under 35 U.S.C. 112(b)
Rejection of the Claims under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) has been withdrawn in view of applicant’s amendments.
Re: Rejection of the Claims Under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)
Applicant’s arguments regarding rejection of the claims under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) have been fully considered but are rendered moot in view of the new grounds of rejection (see below) necessitated by the applicant’s amendments.
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 (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.
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.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsuo (JP 7178994 B2) in view of Takahashi (US 2008/0114491 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Matsuo teaches a control apparatus comprising: a hand controller that controls a hand capable of grasping an object to be grasped and including a first finger and a second finger [(see at least Fig.2, paragraph 7) “A gripping system according to the present invention includes an arm mechanism, a hand mechanism attached to the arm mechanism and gripping an object with a plurality of fingers, an acquisition unit for acquiring position information of the object, and a control device for controlling the position of the hand mechanism by controlling the arm mechanism and the hand mechanism according to a predetermined servo control structure for controlling the position of the hand mechanism, wherein the hand mechanism is provided corresponding to at least a predetermined finger portion among the plurality of finger portions and a driving portion for driving the joint portion of the plurality of finger portions”], wherein the hand controller obtains, from at least one sensor linked to the first finger and the second finger, a plurality of pieces of force information indicating force acting on the first finger and the second finger from the object to be grasped, and wherein the hand controller determines, on a basis of a relationship between the plurality of pieces of force information, whether contact areas of the first finger and the second finger in contact with the object to be grasped are appropriate [(see at least Figs.2-5, paragraphs 26-33) As in 26 “a pressure sensor 70 is provided on the tip side of the first finger link portion 211 of the finger portion 21. As shown in FIGS. The pressure sensor 70 is a sensor that detects an external force (pressure) acting on the tip of the first finger link portion 211. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the pressure sensor 70 is attached to a wall surface (hereinafter also referred to as “bending side wall surface”) 215 of the first finger link portion 211 on the bending direction side of the first joint portion 22 . and a wall surface on the extension direction side (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “extension side wall surface”) 216. Here, in this embodiment, the curved side wall surface 215 on the tip end side of the first finger link portion 211 is formed in a curved shape. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of pressure sensors 70 may be arranged side by side along the curved side wall surface 215 on the tip side of the first finger link portion 211 .” As in 33 “the hand control device 43 has a sensor information acquisition section 433 . A detection value of the pressure sensor 70 provided in the first finger link portion 211 of each finger portion 21 of the hand mechanism 2 is input to the sensor information acquisition portion 433 . Then, when each pressure sensor 70 detects that each finger 21 touches an object, the hand control unit 431 controls each motor 51, 52, 53 in each finger 21 based on the detection signal. can also be controlled. Further, when each pressure sensor 70 detects that each finger 21 touches the object, the contact position deriving unit 434 derives the contact position where each finger 21 touches the object. be done.”]
Matsuo does not explicitly disclose wherein determining whether the contact areas are appropriate comprises evaluating whether a ratio of a difference between force information from the first finger and force information from the second finger to a sum of the force information from the first finger and the force information from the second finger satisfies a predetermined threshold condition.
However, Takahashi teaches wherein determining whether the contact areas are appropriate comprises evaluating whether a ratio of a difference between force information from the first finger and force information from the second finger to a sum of the force information from the first finger and the force information from the second finger satisfies a predetermined threshold condition. [(see at least paragraphs 36-46) As in 40 “Subsequently, a correction coefficient .beta.(k) represented by formula (8) is calculated such that a maximum value F.sub.max(k) (=max(|F.sub.10(k)|, |F.sub.20(k)|) of target maximum forces |F.sub.10(k)| and |F.sub.20(k) | to the object from each of the first finger mechanism 11 and the second finger mechanism 12 different from the third finger mechanism 13 separated from the object w among target application forces F.sub.10(k) to F.sub.30(k) temporarily set is conformed to its upper limit value F.sub.ltd.” As in 45 “In accordance with the robot hand 1 fulfilling the above function, when force F.sub.3 applied to the object w from the third finger mechanism 13 among the plurality of finger mechanisms 11 to 13 is changed, the operation of each of the finger mechanisms 11 to 13 is controlled such that contacts c.sub.1, c.sub.2, c.sub.3 of the respective finger mechanisms 11 to 13 in the object w, and target application forces F.sub.10(k), F.sub.20(k), F.sub.30(k) from the respective finger mechanisms 11 to 13 to the object w, in its turn, application forces F.sub.1, F.sub.2, F.sub.3 satisfy the "stable gripping condition" (see FIG. 3/S002 to S014). The "stable gripping condition" is a condition in which (1) the sum of each of forces and moments applied from the plurality of finger mechanisms 11 to 13 to the object w becomes zero (see formulas (1) to (3)), and (2) the slip index s1 becomes minimum (see formulas (4) and (5)). Since the condition of setting forces F.sub.1, F.sub.2, F.sub.3 and moments M.sub.1, M.sub.2, M.sub.3 applied from the plurality of finger mechanisms 11 to 13 to the object w to zero is satisfied, the situation of greatly changing the position and posture of the object w with respect to the robot hand 1 is avoided.”]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Matsuo to incorporate the teachings of Takahashi of determining whether the contact areas are appropriate comprises evaluating whether a ratio of a difference between force information from the first finger and force information from the second finger to a sum of the force information from the first finger and the force information from the second finger satisfies a predetermined threshold condition in order to satisfy and execute a stable gripping condition. [(Takahashi 8)]
Regarding claim 2, In view of the above combination of references, Matsuo further teaches wherein the hand controller determines, on a basis of whether the contact areas are appropriate, whether a grasp and contact state of the hand in relation to the object to be grasped is an operable state, in which an operation can be performed on the object to be grasped. [(see at least paragraphs 90-95) As in 90 “it is determined whether or not the pressure sensors 70 of the gripping fingers have detected contact with the object. If a negative determination is made in S213, the process of S212 is continued. On the other hand, if an affirmative determination is made in S213, then in S214, the motors of the gripping fingers whose contact with the object is detected by the pressure sensor 70 are stopped. Next, in S215, it is determined whether or not contact with the object has been detected for all gripping fingers in gripping the object this time. If a negative determination is made in S215, the process of S212 is executed again. This continues the operation of the motors in the gripping fingers that are not in contact with the object. However, even in this case, the state in which the operation of each motor is stopped is maintained for the gripping fingers for which contact with the object is detected. Then, by repeating the processing from S212 to S215, until all the gripping fingers contact the predetermined gripping surface of the object, the pressure sensor 70 detects the contact of 10 with the object. , the operation of each motor in each gripping finger is temporarily stopped. Note that the processing of S212 and S214 is executed by the hand control unit 431. FIG. Further, the processes of S213 and S215 are executed by the sensor information acquisition unit 433. FIG.” As in 94 “in S219, it is determined whether or not the grasping fingers have completely grasped the object. Whether or not the grasping of the object by the grasping fingers is completed is determined based on the position of the tip of each grasping finger or the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 70 of each grasping finger. can be discriminated. If a negative determination is made in S219, the process of S218 is continued. On the other hand, if the determination in S219 is affirmative, then in S220, the operation of each motor of each gripping finger is stopped. As a result, the position of the tip of each gripping finger or the pressure applied to the object by each gripping finger at that time is maintained. Then, the current gripping motion control is completed.”]
Regarding claim 3, In view of the above combination of references, Matsuo further teaches wherein the hand controller determines whether the contact areas are appropriate on a basis of the plurality of pieces of force information regarding a plurality of contact force sensors provided for the first finger and the second finger. [(see at least Figs.13A-E, paragraphs 55-63) As in 60 “the vertical position of the object 10 can be grasped with high accuracy. However, the horizontal position information about the object 10 may still contain some error. Therefore, when the hand mechanism 2 is in the second approach mode and the hand mechanism 2 is brought closer to the object 10 with a predetermined grippable position as the target hand position, as shown in FIG. 13B, One gripping finger (the second finger 21B in FIG. 13B) may contact the upper surface S1 of the object 10 before the position of the hand mechanism 2 reaches a predetermined grippable position.” As in 62 “As shown in FIG. 13C, by moving the hand mechanism 2 to the side of the second finger portion 21B in contact with the object 10, the horizontal position of the hand mechanism 2 can be changed between the second finger portion 21B and the third finger. It can be corrected so that the object 10 is positioned below between the part 21C. After correcting the horizontal position of the hand mechanism 2 in this way, as shown in FIG. ) [sic]. In addition, in FIG. 13D as well, the white arrow indicates the moving direction of the hand mechanism 2. This allows the hand mechanism 2 to reach a predetermined grippable position.”]
Regarding claim 4, In view of the above combination of references, Matsuo further teaches wherein the hand controller determines whether the contact areas are appropriate on a basis of the plurality of pieces of force information regarding at least one force torque sensor provided for the hand. [(see at least paragraphs 43-45) As in 45 “Disable the position servo loop and the velocity servo loop, and keep the current servo loop active. In this case, in the above example, only the torque generated by the first motor 51 of the first finger portion 21A is controlled according to the predetermined torque command so as to become the desired torque. The desired torque in this case is preferably the torque of the first motor 51 before the first finger 21A contacts the object, or the torque that does not damage the object or the first finger 21A. Also in the case of the second example, the correlation between the desired torque and the force that the first finger link portion 211A of the first finger portion 21A receives from the object causes the first joint portion 22 of the first finger portion 21A to bend.”]
Regarding claim 5, In view of the above combination of references, Matsuo further teaches wherein the hand controller determines whether the contact areas are appropriate on a basis of contact positions and contact angles relative to the object to be grasped in contact with the first finger and the second finger. [(see at least paragraphs 13, 91-95) As in 13 “More preferably, the control device further determines the position of the predetermined contact portion when the contact of the predetermined finger with the object is detected by the contact detection unit. A contact position may be derived, and the position information of the object acquired by the acquisition unit may be corrected based on the contact position information regarding the contact position. Here, until the contact of the predetermined contact portion of the predetermined finger with the object is detected by the contact detection unit, the driving unit of the predetermined finger receives the predetermined contact according to the predetermined servo control structure. The position of the part is in a state of being servo-controlled. Therefore, the reaction force generated by contact with the object can be detected by the contact detection section. As a result, it is possible to detect the contact of the predetermined finger with the object. Therefore, in the present invention, the control device derives the contact position of the predetermined contact portion when the contact of the predetermined finger portion with the object is detected by the contact detection unit, and the contact position is detected.” As in 91 “If an affirmative determination is made in S215, then the process of S216 is executed. In S216, the contact position derivation unit 434 derives the contact position of each gripping finger on the object. Next, in S217, based on the contact position information regarding the contact position of each gripping finger on the object derived in S216, it is determined whether or not the contact position of each gripping finger needs to be corrected.”]
Regarding claim 6, In view of the above combination of references, Matsuo further teaches wherein the hand controller determines, on a basis of the relationship between the plurality of pieces of force information, whether contact force of the first finger and the second finger in contact with the object to be grasped is appropriate, and wherein the hand controller determines, on a basis of whether the contact force is appropriate, whether a grasp and contact state of the hand in relation to the object to be grasped is an operable state, in which an operation can be performed on the object to be grasped. [(see at least paragraphs 88-95) As in 88 “in S210, it is determined whether or not the gripping fingers have left the object. The process of S201 is executed by the sensor information acquisition unit 433 based on the detection value of the pressure sensor 70 of the gripping finger that is in contact with the object.” As in 91 “If an affirmative determination is made in S215, then the process of S216 is executed. In S216, the contact position derivation unit 434 derives the contact position of each gripping finger on the object. Next, in S217, based on the contact position information regarding the contact position of each gripping finger on the object derived in S216, it is determined whether or not the contact position of each gripping finger needs to be corrected. Even if all the gripping fingers come into contact with the object by the series of positioning control and gripping motion control so far, the contact position of each gripping finger on the object does not match the object. In some cases, the position may not be suitable for gripping. That is, when the gripping fingers press the object while the contact position of each gripping finger on the object is the position at the time when the process of S217 is executed, a moment or the like is applied to the object. In some cases, it may be expected that it will be difficult to stably grip the object. In such a case, a negative determination is made in S217. If a negative determination is made in S217, then in S221, the contact position of at least one of the plurality of gripping fingers on the object is changed. At this time, the contact position of the at least one gripping finger with respect to the object is changed to a position where it is assumed that the object can be gripped more stably.”]
Regarding claim 7, In view of the above combination of references, Matsuo further teaches wherein, when determining that the grasp and contact state is the operable state, the hand controller controls the hand in such a way as to maintain the grasp and contact state as the operable state. [(see at least paragraph 88-95) As in 89 “Then, as shown in FIG. 20, each process related to gripping motion control is executed from S212 onward. In S212, in the hand mechanism 2 in the state where the current positioning operation control is completed, the motors of the gripping fingers that are not in contact with the object are actuated. This causes the tip of each gripping finger to move toward the corresponding predetermined gripping surface on the object. Immediately after an affirmative determination is made in S206, that is, immediately after the current positioning operation control is completed, none of the gripping fingers are in contact with the predetermined gripping surface of the object. So, in this case, at S212, the motors in all the gripping fingers are activated.”]
Regarding claim 8, In view of the above combination of references, Matsuo further teaches wherein, when the grasp and contact state is not the operable state, the hand controller controls the hand in such a way as to change a way the hand grasps the object to be grasped. [(see at least paragraphs 90-95) As in 91 “In such a case, a negative determination is made in S217. If a negative determination is made in S217, then in S221, the contact position of at least one of the plurality of gripping fingers on the object is changed. At this time, the contact position of the at least one gripping finger with respect to the object is changed to a position where it is assumed that the object can be gripped more stably.”]
Regarding claim 9, In view of the above combination of references, Matsuo further teaches teaches wherein, when the grasp and contact state is not the operable state, the hand controller estimates, on a basis of the plurality of pieces of force information, whether a reason why the grasp and contact state is not the operable state is a position at which each finger is grasping the object to be grasped or a posture in which the object to be grasped is being grasped. [(see at least paragraphs 90-95) As in 94 “Next, in S219, it is determined whether or not the grasping fingers have completely grasped the object. Whether or not the grasping of the object by the grasping fingers is completed is determined based on the position of the tip of each grasping finger or the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 70 of each grasping finger. can be discriminated. If a negative determination is made in S219, the process of S218 is continued. On the other hand, if the determination in S219 is affirmative, then in S220, the operation of each motor of each gripping finger is stopped. As a result, the position of the tip of each gripping finger or the pressure applied to the object by each gripping finger at that time is maintained. Then, the current gripping motion control is completed.”]
Regarding claim 10, In view of the above combination of references, Matsuo further teaches wherein the hand controller further obtains force information indicating force acting on a third finger included in the hand from a sensor linked to the third finger and determines whether the contact areas are appropriate. [(see at least paragraphs 93-95, 38-44) As in 94 “Next, in S219, it is determined whether or not the grasping fingers have completely grasped the object. Whether or not the grasping of the object by the grasping fingers is completed is determined based on the position of the tip of each grasping finger or the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 70 of each grasping finger.” As in 40 “each finger 21 of the hand mechanism 2 will be referred to as a first finger 21A, a second finger 21B, a third finger 21C, and a fourth finger 21D. Further, in the search operation control, a predetermined finger portion among the four finger portions 21 of the hand mechanism 2 is brought into contact with the object. FIGS. 12A to 12C show the operation when the first finger portion 21A is used as the predetermined finger portion to be brought into contact with the object 10. FIG. 12A to 12C show only the first finger portion 21A, the second finger portion 21B, and the third finger portion 21C of the hand mechanism 2 for the sake of convenience, and the fourth finger portion 21D is shown”]
Regarding claim 11, In view of the above combination of references, Matsuo further teaches a robot control system comprising: the control apparatus according to claim 1 and a robot including a hand. [(see at least Fig.1, paragraph 7) “A gripping system according to the present invention includes an arm mechanism, a hand mechanism attached to the arm mechanism and gripping an object with a plurality of fingers, an acquisition unit for acquiring position information of the object, and a control device for controlling the position of the hand mechanism by controlling the arm mechanism and the hand mechanism according to a predetermined servo control structure for controlling the position of the hand mechanism, wherein the hand mechanism is is provided corresponding to at least a predetermined finger portion among the plurality of finger portions and a driving portion for driving the joint portion of the plurality of finger portions”]
Regarding claim 12, Matsuo teaches a method for controlling a robot, the method comprising: obtaining, from at least one sensor linked to a first finger and a second finger using a control apparatus that controls a hand capable of grasping an object to be grasped and including a first finger and a second finger, a plurality of pieces of force information indicating force acting on the first finger and the second finger from the object to be grasped [(see at least Fig.2, paragraphs 7, 25-30) As in 7 “A gripping system according to the present invention includes an arm mechanism, a hand mechanism attached to the arm mechanism and gripping an object with a plurality of fingers, an acquisition unit for acquiring position information of the object, and a control device for controlling the position of the hand mechanism by controlling the arm mechanism and the hand mechanism according to a predetermined servo control structure for controlling the position of the hand mechanism, wherein the hand mechanism is is provided corresponding to at least a predetermined finger portion among the plurality of finger portions and a driving portion for driving the joint portion of the plurality of finger portions” As in 26 “a pressure sensor 70 is provided on the tip side of the first finger link portion 211 of the finger portion 21. As shown in FIGS. The pressure sensor 70 is a sensor that detects an external force (pressure) acting on the tip of the first finger link portion 211 . Further, as shown in FIG. 4 , the pressure sensor 70 is attached to a wall surface (hereinafter also referred to as “bending side wall surface”) 215 of the first finger link portion 211 on the bending direction side of the first joint portion 22 . and a wall surface on the extension direction side (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “extension side wall surface”) 216 . Here, in this embodiment, the curved side wall surface 215 on the tip end side of the first finger link portion 211 is formed in a curved shape. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10 , a plurality of pressure sensors 70 may be arranged side by side along the curved side wall surface 215 on the tip side of the first finger link portion 211 .”]; determining, on a basis of a relationship between the plurality of pieces of force information using the control apparatus, whether contact areas of the first finger and the second finger in contact with the object to be grasped are appropriate [(see at least Figs.2-5, paragraphs 26-33) As in 26 “a pressure sensor 70 is provided on the tip side of the first finger link portion 211 of the finger portion 21. As shown in FIGS. The pressure sensor 70 is a sensor that detects an external force (pressure) acting on the tip of the first finger link portion 211. Further, as shown in FIG. 4 , the pressure sensor 70 is attached to a wall surface (hereinafter also referred to as “bending side wall surface”) 215 of the first finger link portion 211 on the bending direction side of the first joint portion 22 . and a wall surface on the extension direction side (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “extension side wall surface”) 216. Here, in this embodiment, the curved side wall surface 215 on the tip end side of the first finger link portion 211 is formed in a curved shape. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of pressure sensors 70 may be arranged side by side along the curved side wall surface 215 on the tip side of the first finger link portion 211 .” As in 33 “the hand control device 43 has a sensor information acquisition section 433 . A detection value of the pressure sensor 70 provided in the first finger link portion 211 of each finger portion 21 of the hand mechanism 2 is input to the sensor information acquisition portion 433 . Then, when each pressure sensor 70 detects that each finger 21 touches an object, the hand control unit 431 controls each motor 51, 52, 53 in each finger 21 based on the detection signal. can also be controlled. Further, when each pressure sensor 70 detects that each finger 21 touches the object, the contact position deriving unit 434 derives the contact position where each finger 21 touches the object. be done.”]
Matsuo does not explicitly wherein determining whether the contact areas are appropriate comprises evaluating whether a ratio of a difference between force information from the first finger and force information from the second finger to a sum of the force information from the first finger and the force information from the second finger satisfies a predetermined threshold condition.
However, Takahashi teaches wherein determining whether the contact areas are appropriate comprises evaluating whether a ratio of a difference between force information from the first finger and force information from the second finger to a sum of the force information from the first finger and the force information from the second finger satisfies a predetermined threshold condition. [(see at least paragraphs 36-46) As in 40 “Subsequently, a correction coefficient .beta.(k) represented by formula (8) is calculated such that a maximum value F.sub.max(k) (=max(|F.sub.10(k)|, |F.sub.20(k)|) of target maximum forces |F.sub.10(k)| and |F.sub.20(k) | to the object from each of the first finger mechanism 11 and the second finger mechanism 12 different from the third finger mechanism 13 separated from the object w among target application forces F.sub.10(k) to F.sub.30(k) temporarily set is conformed to its upper limit value F.sub.ltd.” As in 45 “In accordance with the robot hand 1 fulfilling the above function, when force F.sub.3 applied to the object w from the third finger mechanism 13 among the plurality of finger mechanisms 11 to 13 is changed, the operation of each of the finger mechanisms 11 to 13 is controlled such that contacts c.sub.1, c.sub.2, c.sub.3 of the respective finger mechanisms 11 to 13 in the object w, and target application forces F.sub.10(k), F.sub.20(k), F.sub.30(k) from the respective finger mechanisms 11 to 13 to the object w, in its turn, application forces F.sub.1, F.sub.2, F.sub.3 satisfy the "stable gripping condition" (see FIG. 3/S002 to S014). The "stable gripping condition" is a condition in which (1) the sum of each of forces and moments applied from the plurality of finger mechanisms 11 to 13 to the object w becomes zero (see formulas (1) to (3)), and (2) the slip index s1 becomes minimum (see formulas (4) and (5)). Since the condition of setting forces F.sub.1, F.sub.2, F.sub.3 and moments M.sub.1, M.sub.2, M.sub.3 applied from the plurality of finger mechanisms 11 to 13 to the object w to zero is satisfied, the situation of greatly changing the position and posture of the object w with respect to the robot hand 1 is avoided.”]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Matsuo to incorporate the teachings of Takahashi of determining whether the contact areas are appropriate comprises evaluating whether a ratio of a difference between force information from the first finger and force information from the second finger to a sum of the force information from the first finger and the force information from the second finger satisfies a predetermined threshold condition in order to satisfy and execute a stable gripping condition. [(Takahashi 8)]
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsuo in view of Takahashi and in further view of Aiso (US 2015/0105907 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Matsuo teaches a control apparatus comprising: a hand controller that controls a hand capable of grasping an object to be grasped and including a first finger and a second finger [(see at least Fig.2, paragraph 7) “A gripping system according to the present invention includes an arm mechanism, a hand mechanism attached to the arm mechanism and gripping an object with a plurality of fingers, an acquisition unit for acquiring position information of the object, and a control device for controlling the position of the hand mechanism by controlling the arm mechanism and the hand mechanism according to a predetermined servo control structure for controlling the position of the hand mechanism, wherein the hand mechanism is is provided corresponding to at least a predetermined finger portion among the plurality of finger portions and a driving portion for driving the joint portion of the plurality of finger portions”], wherein the hand controller obtains, from at least one sensor linked to the first finger and the second finger, a plurality of pieces of force information indicating force acting on the first finger and the second finger from the object to be grasped, wherein the hand controller determines, on a basis of a relationship between the plurality of pieces of force information, whether contact areas of the first finger and the second finger in contact with the object to be grasped are appropriate [(see at least Figs.2-5, paragraphs 26-33) As in 26 “a pressure sensor 70 is provided on the tip side of the first finger link portion 211 of the finger portion 21. As shown in FIGS. The pressure sensor 70 is a sensor that detects an external force (pressure) acting on the tip of the first finger link portion 211. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the pressure sensor 70 is attached to a wall surface (hereinafter also referred to as “bending side wall surface”) 215 of the first finger link portion 211 on the bending direction side of the first joint portion 22. and a wall surface on the extension direction side (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “extension side wall surface”) 216. Here, in this embodiment, the curved side wall surface 215 on the tip end side of the first finger link portion 211 is formed in a curved shape. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of pressure sensors 70 may be arranged side by side along the curved side wall surface 215 on the tip side of the first finger link portion 211.” As in 33 “the hand control device 43 has a sensor information acquisition section 433. A detection value of the pressure sensor 70 provided in the first finger link portion 211 of each finger portion 21 of the hand mechanism 2 is input to the sensor information acquisition portion 433 . Then, when each pressure sensor 70 detects that each finger 21 touches an object, the hand control unit 431 controls each motor 51, 52, 53 in each finger 21 based on the detection signal. can also be controlled. Further, when each pressure sensor 70 detects that each finger 21 touches the object, the contact position deriving unit 434 derives the contact position where each finger 21 touches the object. be done.”],
Matsuo teaches wherein the hand controller determines, on a basis of the relationship between the plurality of pieces of force information, whether contact force of the first finger and the second finger in contact with the object to be grasped is appropriate, [(see at least Figs.13A-E, paragraphs 55-63) As in 60 “the vertical position of the object 10 can be grasped with high accuracy. However, the horizontal position information about the object 10 may still contain some error. Therefore, when the hand mechanism 2 is in the second approach mode and the hand mechanism 2 is brought closer to the object 10 with a predetermined grippable position as the target hand position, as shown in FIG. 13B, One gripping finger (the second finger 21B in FIG. 13B) may contact the upper surface S1 of the object 10 before the position of the hand mechanism 2 reaches a predetermined grippable position.” As in 62 “As shown in FIG. 13C, by moving the hand mechanism 2 to the side of the second finger portion 21B in contact with the object 10, the horizontal position of the hand mechanism 2 can be changed between the second finger portion 21B and the third finger. It can be corrected so that the object 10 is positioned below between the part 21C. After correcting the horizontal position of the hand mechanism 2 in this way, as shown in FIG. ) [sic]. In addition, in FIG. 13D as well, the white arrow indicates the moving direction of the hand mechanism 2. This allows the hand mechanism 2 to reach a predetermined grippable position.”]
Matsuo teaches wherein the hand controller determines, on a basis of whether the contact force is appropriate and whether the contact areas are appropriate, whether a grasp and contact state of the hand in relation to the object to be grasped is an operable state, in which an operation can be performed on the object to be grasped [(see at least paragraphs 90-95) As in 90 “it is determined whether or not the pressure sensors 70 of the gripping fingers have detected contact with the object. If a negative determination is made in S213, the process of S212 is continued. On the other hand, if an affirmative determination is made in S213, then in S214, the motors of the gripping fingers whose contact with the object is detected by the pressure sensor 70 are stopped. Next, in S215, it is determined whether or not contact with the object has been detected for all gripping fingers in gripping the object this time. If a negative determination is made in S215, the process of S212 is executed again. This continues the operation of the motors in the gripping fingers that are not in contact with the object. However, even in this case, the state in which the operation of each motor is stopped is maintained for the gripping fingers for which contact with the object is detected. Then, by repeating the processing from S212 to S215, until all the gripping fingers contact the predetermined gripping surface of the object, the pressure sensor 70 detects the contact of 10 with the object. , the operation of each motor in each gripping finger is temporarily stopped. Note that the processing of S212 and S214 is executed by the hand control unit 431. FIG. Further, the processes of S213 and S215 are executed by the sensor information acquisition unit 433. FIG.” As in 94 “in S219, it is determined whether or not the grasping fingers have completely grasped the object. Whether or not the grasping of the object by the grasping fingers is completed is determined based on the position of the tip of each grasping finger or the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 70 of each grasping finger. can be discriminated. If a negative determination is made in S219, the process of S218 is continued. On the other hand, if the determination in S219 is affirmative, then in S220, the operation of each motor of each gripping finger is stopped. As a result, the position of the tip of each gripping finger or the pressure applied to the object by each gripping finger at that time is maintained. Then, the current gripping motion control is completed.”]
Matsuo does not explicitly teach wherein determining whether the contact areas are appropriate comprises evaluating whether a ratio of a difference between force information from the first finger and force information from the second finger to a sum of the force information from the first finger and the force information from the second finger satisfies a predetermined threshold condition; wherein, when determining that the grasp and contact state is the operable state, the hand controller switches to a force control mode in which the hand controller controls the hand based on feedback of grasping force derived from the force information to maintain the grasp and contact state as the operable state, and wherein, when the grasp and contact state is not the operable state, the hand controller operates in a position control mode without using feedback of the grasping force and controls the hand in such a way as to change a way the hand grasps the object to be grasped.
However, Takahashi teaches wherein determining whether the contact areas are appropriate comprises evaluating whether a ratio of a difference between force information from the first finger and force information from the second finger to a sum of the force information from the first finger and the force information from the second finger satisfies a predetermined threshold condition [(see at least paragraphs 36-46) As in 40 “Subsequently, a correction coefficient .beta.(k) represented by formula (8) is calculated such that a maximum value F.sub.max(k) (=max(|F.sub.10(k)|, |F.sub.20(k)|) of target maximum forces |F.sub.10(k)| and |F.sub.20(k) | to the object from each of the first finger mechanism 11 and the second finger mechanism 12 different from the third finger mechanism 13 separated from the object w among target application forces F.sub.10(k) to F.sub.30(k) temporarily set is conformed to its upper limit value F.sub.ltd.” As in 45 “In accordance with the robot hand 1 fulfilling the above function, when force F.sub.3 applied to the object w from the third finger mechanism 13 among the plurality of finger mechanisms 11 to 13 is changed, the operation of each of the finger mechanisms 11 to 13 is controlled such that contacts c.sub.1, c.sub.2, c.sub.3 of the respective finger mechanisms 11 to 13 in the object w, and target application forces F.sub.10(k), F.sub.20(k), F.sub.30(k) from the respective finger mechanisms 11 to 13 to the object w, in its turn, application forces F.sub.1, F.sub.2, F.sub.3 satisfy the "stable gripping condition" (see FIG. 3/S002 to S014). The "stable gripping condition" is a condition in which (1) the sum of each of forces and moments applied from the plurality of finger mechanisms 11 to 13 to the object w becomes zero (see formulas (1) to (3)), and (2) the slip index s1 becomes minimum (see formulas (4) and (5)). Since the condition of setting forces F.sub.1, F.sub.2, F.sub.3 and moments M.sub.1, M.sub.2, M.sub.3 applied from the plurality of finger mechanisms 11 to 13 to the object w to zero is satisfied, the situation of greatly changing the position and posture of the object w with respect to the robot hand 1 is avoided.”]
Aiso teaches wherein, when determining that the grasp and contact state is the operable state, the hand controller switches to a force control mode in which the hand controller controls the hand based on feedback of grasping force derived from the force information to maintain the grasp and contact state as the operable state [(see at least paragraphs 81-85) As in 82 “the third control unit 130 recognizes the two positions (e.g., the current position of the endpoint and the target position of the end point) from the images acquired from the image acquisition unit 120, and calculates a distance from the current position to the target position. Then, the unit sets a ratio of weights for combination of the command values in response to the length of the calculated distance. In addition, the third control unit 130 has a function of acquiring the sensor information output from the force sensor 25 of the robot 20 (may be referred to as "force detection unit"). The details of the processing of the third control unit 130 will be described later.” As in 85 “In the force control unit 110, a feedback loop for bringing the terminal of the robot into contact with the object is turned with impedance set as a target (target impedance) based on the sensor information from the force sensor 25. The second trajectory generation part 114 generates the trajectory and the command value (here, the target angles) so that the values of the acquired sensor information may be the target impedance.”], and wherein, when the grasp and contact state is not the operable state, the hand controller operates in a position control mode without using feedback of the grasping force and controls the hand in such a way as to change a way the hand grasps the object to be grasped. [(see at least paragraphs 149-152) As in 149 “The output processing of the position control unit 210 outputs the last movement command value held in the storage unit to the main control unit 202. Further, the output processing of the impedance control unit 220 outputs the last movement command value held in the storage unit to the main control unit 202. As shown in FIG. 12, the output processing of the position control unit 210 and the impedance control unit 220 outputs results of the main body processing started with the synchronization signal T1 immediately before the synchronization signal T2 as the trigger to the main control unit 202.” As in 150 “the output processing of the visual servoing control unit 230 performs interpolation processing based on the last movement command value held in the storage unit and the movement command value held at the previous time, and outputs the movement command value after the interpolation processing to the main control unit 202”]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Matsuo to incorporate the teachings of Takahashi of determining whether the contact areas are appropriate comprises evaluating whether a ratio of a difference between force information from the first finger and force information from the second finger to a sum of the force information from the first finger and the force information from the second finger satisfies a predetermined threshold condition in order to satisfy and execute a stable gripping condition [(Takahashi 8)] and to incorporate the teachings of Aiso of when determining that the grasp and contact state is the operable state, the hand controller switches to a force control mode in which the hand controller controls the hand based on feedback of grasping force derived from the force information to maintain the grasp and contact state as the operable state and wherein, when the grasp and contact state is not the operable state, the hand controller operates in a position control mode without using feedback of the grasping force and controls the hand in such a way as to change a way the hand grasps the object to be grasped in order to instruct and control a robot to operate with higher efficiency.
The Examiner has cited particular paragraphs or columns and line numbers in the references applied to the claims above for the convenience of the Applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested of the Applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner. See MPEP 2141.02 [R-07.2015] VI. A prior art reference must be considered in its entirety, i.e., as a whole, including portions that would lead away from the claimed Invention. W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. v. Garlock, Inc., 721 F.2d 1540, 220 USPQ 303 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert, denied, 469 U.S. 851 (1984). See also MPEP §2123.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
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/MOHAMMED YOUSEF ABUELHAWA/Examiner, Art Unit 3656
/WADE MILES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3656