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. JP2021-193652, filed on 11/29/2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/19/2025 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 09/16/2025. Claims 1-19 are pending in the current application. Claims 18 and 19 are 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. 102(a)(1) and 103
Applicant’s arguments regarding the rejection of the claims have been fully considered. Applicant’s arguments/remarks regarding newly added claims 18 and 19 have been considered but are directed towards newly added claims that have not been previously examined (see rejection below).
For the sake of brevity and clarity the following the response to arguments are directed towards each of independent claims 1 and 17 and their corresponding dependent claims. Applicant argues, beginning on page 7 of applicant’s remarks, that Chen fails to disclose that “the grasping state is one of a normal grasping state, an abnormal grasping state, a grasping correction state, or an ungraspable state”. However, examiner respectfully disagrees. The newly amended claim language of claim 1 recites “a grasping state in which the hand is grasping the object to be grasped, wherein the grasping state is one of a normal grasping state, an abnormal grasping state, a grasping correction state, or an ungraspable state.”. Examiner submits that the claim language as written under the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) of the claim requires the claimed grasping state to be or include one of the four claimed states (normal grasping state (1), abnormal grasping state (2), grasping correction state (3) and ungraspable state (4)). Examiner submits that Chen discloses a normal grasping state (1) [Chen para 27 “the determining unit 14 in a state where the object W is gripped by the hand”], an abnormal grasping state (2) [Chen para 23 “it is determined by the determining unit 14 that the gripped state of the object W is inappropriate.”] and grasping correction state (3) [Chen para 23 “a gripped state correcting unit 15 which corrects at least one of the gripping position and the posture calculated by the position and posture calculating unit 12”]. Examiner submits under BRI of the amended claim language, that Chen teaches or suggests the argued claim limitation. If applicant intends to require that the claimed grasping state that consists and includes all of the options (a normal grasping state, an abnormal grasping state, a grasping correction state, and an ungraspable state), then applicant should amend the claims to recite that language. Examiner submits that upon consideration of applicant’s arguments, the arguments are non-persuasive (see rejection below).
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 (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 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 1-2, 5-6, 9-11, 13-14 and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen (US 2019/0308333 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Chen teaches a control apparatus comprising: a hand controller that controls a hand capable of grasping an object to be grasped and including a plurality of sensors [(see at least Figs.1-2, paragraphs 22-23) “and a driving unit (hand driving unit) 13 which controls the robot 3 and the hand 4 to grip the object W on the basis of the calculated gripping position of the object W and posture of the hand 4. Further, the control apparatus 1 includes a determining unit 14 which determines whether or not a gripped state of the object W is appropriate on the basis of information acquired by at least one of the camera 2, the force sensor 9 and the tactile sensor 8, and a gripped state correcting unit 15 which corrects at least one of the gripping position and the posture calculated by the position and posture calculating unit 12”], wherein the hand controller is configured to obtain information regarding grasping force acting on the object to be grasped from the hand or information regarding a moment acting on the object to be grasped in the hand, the information regarding the grasping force and the information regarding the moment being based on outputs of the plurality of sensors, and wherein the hand controller estimates, on a basis of the information regarding the grasping force or the information regarding the moment, a grasping state in which the hand is grasping the object to be grasped [(see at least paragraphs 23-27) As in 23 “Further, the control apparatus 1 includes a determining unit 14 which determines whether or not a gripped state of the object W is appropriate on the basis of information acquired by at least one of the camera 2, the force sensor 9 and the tactile sensor 8, and a gripped state correcting unit 15 which corrects at least one of the gripping position and the posture calculated by the position and posture calculating unit 12 in the case where it is determined by the determining unit 14 that the gripped state of the object W is inappropriate.” As in 27 “According to the hand control apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, determination is performed by the determining unit 14 in a state where the object W is gripped by the hand 4 on the basis of the grip pattern extracted from the library, and correction operation is performed by the gripped state correcting unit 15 on the basis of the determination result.”] wherein the grasping state is one of a normal grasping state, an abnormal grasping state, a grasping correction state, or an ungraspable state. [(see at least paragraph 27) “According to the hand control apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, determination is performed by the determining unit 14 in a state where the object W is gripped by the hand 4 on the basis of the grip pattern extracted from the library, and correction operation is performed by the gripped state correcting unit 15 on the basis of the determination result”]
Regarding claim 2, Chen teaches wherein, when the grasping state is the grasping correction state, the hand controller corrects the grasping mode of the hand. [(see at least paragraphs 23-27) As in 23 “Further, the control apparatus 1 includes a determining unit 14 which determines whether or not a gripped state of the object W is appropriate on the basis of information acquired by at least one of the camera 2, the force sensor 9 and the tactile sensor 8, and a gripped state correcting unit 15 which corrects at least one of the gripping position and the posture calculated by the position and posture calculating unit 12 in the case where it is determined by the determining unit 14 that the gripped state of the object W is inappropriate” As in 27 ”determination is performed by the determining unit 14 in a state where the object W is gripped by the hand 4 on the basis of the grip pattern extracted from the library, and correction operation is performed by the gripped state correcting unit 15 on the basis of the determination result.”]
Regarding claim 5, Chen teaches wherein the hand controller obtains positional information regarding the hand on a basis of information from at least one of the plurality of sensors, and wherein the hand controller estimates the grasping state on a basis of the positional information regarding the hand. [(see at least paragraphs 23-26) As in 26 “The position and posture calculating unit 12 calculates a gripping position by the hand 4 with respect to the object W that is, a position and an posture of the hand 4 on the basis of the grip pattern read out by the extracting unit 11. Because the calculated position and posture are based on the grip pattern for the object W having a close shape stored in the library, there is a case where the calculated position and posture are not optimum.”]
Regarding claim 6, Chen teaches wherein, when a position of the hand indicated by the positional information regarding the hand is within a certain range and the information regarding the grasping force is smaller than or equal to a first grasping force threshold, the hand controller estimates that the grasping state of the hand is the grasping correction state, and wherein the hand controller corrects grasping force for the hand to grasp the object to be grasped. [(see at least Fig.7A-B, paragraphs 40-44) As in 42 “Further, the operability of the hand 4 is optimized using Math 2. FIG. 7A illustrates the operability of the hand before optimization. FIG. 7B illustrates the operability of the hand after optimization. In FIG. 7B, because the angle of the joint 6 of each finger 7 approaches the median in the restricted angle range, it is possible to make the gripped state a state where the angle of the joint 6 of the finger 7 can be easily changed in any direction while the object W remains to be gripped. By this means, an advantage is provided that it is possible to perform operation such as change of an angle by rotating the object W.”]
Regarding claim 9, Chen teaches wherein, when the information regarding the grasping force is smaller than or equal to a second grasping force threshold smaller than a first grasping force threshold, the hand controller estimates that the grasping state is the abnormal grasping state, and wherein the hand controller increases reference grasping force to be used in a next grasping opportunity. [(see at least paragraphs 23-25) As in 23 “ the control apparatus 1 includes a determining unit 14 which determines whether or not a gripped state of the object W is appropriate on the basis of information acquired by at least one of the camera 2, the force sensor 9 and the tactile sensor 8, and a gripped state correcting unit 15 which corrects at least one of the gripping position and the posture calculated by the position and posture calculating unit 12 in the case where it is determined by the determining unit 14 that the gripped state of the object W is inappropriate.” As in 24 “the storage unit 10 stores types of the object W, image examples and grip patterns in association with each other as a library. A plurality of image examples may be stored for one type of the object W. Examples of the grip patterns can include, for example, gripping force in accordance with the type of the object W, arrangement of contact positions of the respective fingers 7 of the hand 4 with respect to the object W, or the like.”]
Regarding claim 10, Chen teaches wherein the hand controller corrects, on a basis of information from at least one of the plurality of sensors, grasping force such that an amount of increase in the grasping force becomes smaller than or equal to a certain amount of increase. [(see at least paragraphs 27, 50) As in 50 “ a determining unit configured to determine whether or not a griped state of the object is appropriate on the basis of information acquired by at least one of the shape acquiring unit, the force sensor and the tactile sensor, and a gripped state correcting unit configured to correct at least one of the gripping position and the posture, which are calculated by the position and posture calculating unit in the case where it is determined by the determining unit that the gripped state of the object is inappropriate.”]
Regarding claim 11, Chen teaches wherein the hand controller permits, on a basis of the information from the at least one of the plurality of sensors, correction of the grasping force with an amount of increase in the grasping force exceeding the certain amount of increase. [(see at least paragraphs 52-59) As in 52 “in the case where it is determined by the determining unit that the gripped state is inappropriate, at least one of the gripping position of the object and the posture of the hand, which are calculated by the position and posture calculating unit, is corrected by the gripped state correcting unit.” As in 59 “it is possible to store the gripping position and the posture which are corrected on the basis of information acquired by at least one of the shape acquiring unit, the force sensor and the tactile sensor in the storage unit in association with the shape of the object, so that it is possible to increase items in a library available in next and subsequent gripping operation.”]
Regarding claim 13, Chen teaches wherein the hand controller obtains, as the information regarding the grasping force, force acting in a horizontal direction with respect to a surface of a finger included in the hand and estimates the grasping state on a basis of the force. [(see at least Fig.2, paragraphs 20,38) As in 20 “as illustrated in FIG. 2, the hand 4 includes a hand base 5 fixed at a tip of the robot 3, and a plurality of (for example, three) fingers 7 which are movable with respect to the hand base 5 and which have a plurality of joints 6 for gripping an object W. At each finger 7, a tactile sensor 8 which detects contact with the object W, a force sensor 9 which detects a contact pressure with the object W and an encoder which is not illustrated and which detects an angle of each joint 6 are provided.” As in 38 “the extracting unit 11 detects a grip pattern stored within the library in association with the searched type of the object W and transmits the grip pattern to the position and posture calculating unit 12 (step S4). The position and posture calculating unit 12 calculates a position and an posture of each finger 7 of the hand 4 on the basis of the transmitted grip pattern and outputs the position and the posture to the driving unit 13 (step S5). The driving unit 13 controls the robot 3 and the hand 4 to grip the object W at the position and with the posture transmitted from the position and posture calculating unit 12 (step S6).”]
Regarding claim 14, Chen teaches further comprising: a robot controller that controls an approach operation of the hand to the object to be grasped, wherein, when the hand controller estimates that the grasping state of the hand is an ungraspable state, the robot controller corrects the approach operation of the hand. [(see at least paragraphs 21-27) As in 22 “ the control apparatus 1 includes a position and posture calculating unit 12 which calculates a gripping position with respect to the object W and an posture of the hand 4 in accordance with the grip pattern extracted by the extracting unit 11, and a driving unit (hand driving unit) 13 which controls the robot 3 and the hand 4 to grip the object W on the basis of the calculated gripping position of the object W and posture of the hand 4.” As in 27 “According to the hand control apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, determination is performed by the determining unit 14 in a state where the object W is gripped by the hand 4 on the basis of the grip pattern extracted from the library, and correction operation is performed by the gripped state correcting unit 15 on the basis of the determination result.”]
Regarding claim 16, Chen teaches a robot control system comprising: the control apparatus according to claim 1 and a robot including a hand. [(see at least Figs.1-2, paragraphs 18-19) “A hand control apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the hand control apparatus (hereinafter, simply referred to as a control apparatus) 1 according to the present embodiment is an apparatus which controls a robot 3 including a camera (shape acquiring unit) 2 and a hand 4 provided at the robot 3. The control apparatus 1 includes a processor and a memory, and controls the robot 3 and the hand 4 by the processor processing an operation program stored in the memory.”]
Regarding claim 17, Chen teaches a method for controlling a robot, the method comprising: obtaining information regarding grasping force acting on an object to be grasped from a hand or information regarding a moment acting on the object to be grasped in the hand; and estimating, on a basis of the information regarding the grasping force or the information regarding the moment, a grasping state in which the hand is grasping the object to be grasped [(see at least paragraphs 23-27) As in 23 “Further, the control apparatus 1 includes a determining unit 14 which determines whether or not a gripped state of the object W is appropriate on the basis of information acquired by at least one of the camera 2, the force sensor 9 and the tactile sensor 8, and a gripped state correcting unit 15 which corrects at least one of the gripping position and the posture calculated by the position and posture calculating unit 12 in the case where it is determined by the determining unit 14 that the gripped state of the object W is inappropriate.” As in 27 “According to the hand control apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, determination is performed by the determining unit 14 in a state where the object W is gripped by the hand 4 on the basis of the grip pattern extracted from the library, and correction operation is performed by the gripped state correcting unit 15 on the basis of the determination result.”] wherein the grasping state is one of a normal grasping state, an abnormal grasping state, a grasping correction state, or an ungraspable state. [(see at least paragraph 27) “According to the hand control apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, determination is performed by the determining unit 14 in a state where the object W is gripped by the hand 4 on the basis of the grip pattern extracted from the library, and correction operation is performed by the gripped state correcting unit 15 on the basis of the determination result”]
Regarding claim 18, Chen teaches wherein the plurality of sensors comprises one or more contact force sensors provided on fingers of the hand and a force sensor provided at a base part of the hand, and the hand controller is configured to obtain, as the grasping force, a force detected by the contact force sensors [(see at least paragraph 5) “An aspect of the present disclosure is a hand control apparatus that controls a hand which is provided at a robot including a shape acquiring unit, wherein the hand grips an object using a plurality of fingers each including a force sensor and a tactile sensor, the hand control apparatus including an extracting unit configured to extract a grip pattern of the object having a shape closest to a shape of the object acquired by the shape acquiring unit from a storage unit which stores shapes of a plurality of types of the objects and grip patterns by the hand in association with each other”]; and estimate the grasping state on a basis of the information regarding the grasping force and the information regarding the moment. [(see at least paragraphs 27-35) As in 27 “According to the hand control apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, determination is performed by the determining unit 14 in a state where the object W is gripped by the hand 4 on the basis of the grip pattern extracted from the library, and correction operation is performed by the gripped state correcting unit 15 on the basis of the determination result.” As in 28 “Specifically, gripping stability, operability of the hand 4 and the contact force are optimized.” As in 35 “Expression (8) is an evaluation function indicating equilibrium among the contact force f, the gravity and the external force, and Q.sub.3 indicates a degree of equilibrium. Expressions (9) and (10) are restriction conditions for expression (8), expression (9) is kinetic relation including the contact force, the angle q.sub.m of the joint 6 of each finger 7 and torque τ, and expression (10) is restriction on the contact force”]
Regarding claim 19, Chen teaches wherein the hand controller is configured to: obtain the information regarding the grasping force and the information regarding the moment; and estimate the grasping state on a basis of the information regarding the grasping force and the information regarding the moment. [(see at least paragraphs 20, 27-35) As in 20 “At each finger 7, a tactile sensor 8 which detects contact with the object W, a force sensor 9 which detects a contact pressure with the object W and an encoder which is not illustrated and which detects an angle of each joint 6 are provided.” As in 35 “Expression (8) is an evaluation function indicating equilibrium among the contact force f, the gravity and the external force, and Q.sub.3 indicates a degree of equilibrium. Expressions (9) and (10) are restriction conditions for expression (8), expression (9) is kinetic relation including the contact force, the angle q.sub.m of the joint 6 of each finger 7 and torque τ, and expression (10) is restriction on the contact force.”]
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Nagakari (US 2022/0274262 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Chen has all of the elements of claim 1 as discussed above.
Chen does not explicitly teach wherein the hand controller obtains, on a basis of information from at least one of the plurality of sensors, weight information regarding the object to be grasped, and wherein the hand controller estimates the grasping state on a basis of the weight information.
However, Nagakari teaches wherein the hand controller obtains, on a basis of information from at least one of the plurality of sensors, weight information regarding the object to be grasped, and wherein the hand controller estimates the grasping state on a basis of the weight information. [(see at least paragraphs 162-167) As in 162 “the robot hand 11 and the object 300 is larger than the friction coefficient μ.sub.N between the finger of the hand 301 and the object 300 (μ.sub.R>μ.sub.H). In this case, the gripping force (normal force) Δf.sub.nR of the robot hand 11 becomes smaller than the gripping force Δf.sub.nH of the hand 301 (Δf.sub.nR<Δf.sub.nH). In this case, a force supported by the robot hand 11 and the hand 301 increases with respect to the weight of the object 300, and the object 300 moves in the direction opposite to the gravity Mg. This means that a deviation δ between the positions of the fingers of the robot hand 11 increases as shown in the following formula (21).”]
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 Chen to incorporate the teachings of Nagakari of wherein the hand controller obtains, on a basis of information from at least one of the plurality of sensors, weight information regarding the object to be grasped, and wherein the hand controller estimates the grasping state on a basis of the weight information in order to avoid an object being deformed or damaged by applying an excessive force. [(Nagakari 167)]
Regarding claim 4, Modified Chen has all of the elements of claim 3 as discussed above.
Chen does not explicitly teach wherein, when the weight information is smaller than or equal to a certain weight, the hand controller estimates that the grasping state is the abnormal grasping state, and wherein the hand controller increases a value of reference grasping force to be used in a next grasping opportunity.
However, Nagakari teaches wherein, when the weight information is smaller than or equal to a certain weight, the hand controller estimates that the grasping state is the abnormal grasping state, and wherein the hand controller increases a value of reference grasping force to be used in a next grasping opportunity. [(see at least paragraphs 162-167) As in 167 “As a control method of the floor placing operation, it is conceivable to apply a simple control method by an existing method in which a threshold equivalent to the weight of the object 300 is determined and the gripping force is lowered, unlike the transfer operation. However, in the control by the existing method, the object 300 to be gripped is limited to a rigid body. In a case where the symmetrical object 300 to be gripped is a flexible object that is deformed or damaged by applying an excessive force, it is possible to avoid the object itself from being damaged when being placed on the floor by applying the control of the gripping force such that the balance of the forces and the balance of the moments are established in consideration of the magnitude of the external force according to the embodiment.”]
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 modified Chen to further incorporate the teachings of Nagakari of wherein, when the weight information is smaller than or equal to a certain weight, the hand controller estimates that the grasping state is the abnormal grasping state, and wherein the hand controller increases a value of reference grasping force to be used in a next grasping opportunity in order for an object to be gripped by the hand and the robot hand 11 without slipping/damaging the object. [(Nagakari 65)]
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Yamaguchi (US 2023/0010518 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Chen has all of the elements of claim 1 as discussed above.
Chen does not explicitly teach wherein, when the information regarding the moment indicates an amount of change in moment and the amount of change is larger than or equal to a first moment threshold, the hand controller estimates that the grasping state of the hand is the grasping correction state, and wherein the hand controller corrects grasping force for the hand to grasp the object to be grasped.
However, Yamaguchi teaches wherein, when the information regarding the moment indicates an amount of change in moment and the amount of change is larger than or equal to a first moment threshold, the hand controller estimates that the grasping state of the hand is the grasping correction state, and wherein the hand controller corrects grasping force for the hand to grasp the object to be grasped. [(see at least paragraphs 22-24) As in 23 “the robot controller 13 controls the robot 2 so as to place the hand 5 at the calculated holding position and make the hand 5 hold the workpiece W. And, the robot controller 13 controls the robot 2 so as to lift the hand 5, and adjusts the holding position when a moment around a horizontal axis line detected by the force sensor exceeds a second threshold Th2, which is a predetermined threshold.” As in 24 “The holding position is adjusted by shifting the holding position along to the longitudinal direction of the workpiece W toward a direction in which the moment around the horizontal axis line detected by the force sensor becomes smaller. That is to say, the workpiece W is placed on the work support 7, the holding position of the hand 5 is adjusted with respect to the placed workpiece W, the workpiece W is held at the adjusted holding position, and then the workpiece W is lifted, which is repeatedly performed until the value of the moment detected by the force sensor becomes equal to or smaller than the second threshold Th2.”]
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 Chen to incorporate the teachings of Yamaguchi of indicating an amount of change in moment and the amount of change is larger than or equal to a first moment threshold, the hand controller estimates that the grasping state of the hand is the grasping correction state, and wherein the hand controller corrects grasping force for the hand to grasp the object to be grasped in order to transfer/grasp the workpieces/objects by holding the appropriate holding position. [(Yamaguchi 13)]
Regarding claim 8, Modified Chen has all of the elements of claim 7 as discussed above.
Chen does not explicitly teach wherein, when the information regarding the moment is the amount of change in moment and the amount of change is larger than or equal to a second moment threshold larger than the first moment threshold, the hand controller estimates that the grasping state is the abnormal grasping state, and wherein the hand controller increases reference grasping force to be used in a next grasping opportunity.
However, Yamaguchi teaches wherein, when the information regarding the moment is the amount of change in moment and the amount of change is larger than or equal to a second moment threshold larger than the first moment threshold, the hand controller estimates that the grasping state is the abnormal grasping state, and wherein the hand controller increases reference grasping force to be used in a next grasping opportunity. [(see at least paragraphs 35-39) As in 36 “the robot controller 13 holds the workpiece 5 by using the hand 5 (step S3), and lifts the hand 5 (step S4). At this time, the force in the three axis directions and the moments around the three axis lines acted on the hand 5 are detected by the force sensor. The robot controller 13 determines whether or not the moment around the horizontal axis line exceeds the second threshold Th2 or not (step S5), and when exceeded, the holding position is adjusted (Step S6), and the above steps from step S3 are repeatedly performed.” As in 38 “Firstly, the workpiece W is placed back on the work support 7 (step S7), and held at the adjusted holding position by the hand 5 (step S8). In this state, the lifting force by the balancer 3 acts on the workpiece W so that the lifting force of the balancer 3 is increased until the external force detected by the force sensor exceeds the third threshold Th3 (Steps S9, S10).”]
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 modified Chen to further incorporate the teachings of Yamaguchi of the information regarding the moment is the amount of change in moment and the amount of change is larger than or equal to a second moment threshold larger than the first moment threshold, the hand controller estimates that the grasping state is the abnormal grasping state, and wherein the hand controller increases reference grasping force to be used in a next grasping opportunity in order to grasp the workpiece/object in a state where the workpiece/object is appropriately held. [(Yamaguchi 42)]
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Nagai (US 2014/0145458 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Chen has all of the elements of claim 1 as discussed above.
Chen does not explicitly teach wherein, when the hand controller continuously estimates a plurality of times that the grasping state of the hand is the abnormal grasping state, the hand controller estimates that the grasping state of the hand is an ungraspable state, and wherein the hand controller stops a grasping operation performed by the hand.
However, Nagai teaches wherein, when the hand controller continuously estimates a plurality of times that the grasping state of the hand is the abnormal grasping state, the hand controller estimates that the grasping state of the hand is an ungraspable state, and wherein the hand controller stops a grasping operation performed by the hand. [(see at least paragraph 36) “The processor 60 outputs a grip error signal indicative of a failure in the gripping of the object. Then, the grip verification. processing S1 is finished. Upon the outputting of the grip error signal, the robot hand 10 is allowed to stop the operation to hold the object and inform an on-site operator of the failure in the gripping of the object.”]
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 Chen to incorporate the teachings of Nagai of wherein, when the hand controller continuously estimates a plurality of times that the grasping state of the hand is the abnormal grasping state, the hand controller estimates that the grasping state of the hand is an ungraspable state, and wherein the hand controller stops a grasping operation performed by the hand in order to hold the object and inform an operator/user of the failure in the gripping of the object. [(Nagai 36)]
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Tsusaka (US 2010/0286826 A1).
Regarding claim 15, Chen has all of the elements of claim 14 as discussed above.
Chen does not explicitly teach wherein the robot controller determines maintenance timing of the hand on a basis of a result of the estimation of the grasping state of the hand.
However, Tsusaka teaches wherein the robot controller determines maintenance timing of the hand on a basis of a result of the estimation of the grasping state of the hand. [(see at least paragraph 272) “As described earlier, the operation correction unit 20 allows the person 4 to grab the robot arm 5 and apply a force to the robot arm 5 so that the operation of the robot arm 5 is corrected; however, a certain fixed period of time is required from the start of the application of a force by the person 4 to the robot arm 5 until the operation of the robot arm 5 is stabilized. For this reason, the operation storage unit 15 stores operations of the robot arm 5 from a point of time after a lapse of certain fixed period of time (for example, after 3 seconds) (this time is referred to as "storage starting time") from the start of the power application by the person 4 to the robot arm 5 until the flag relating to the presence or absence of correction to be inputted from the correction method setting unit 23 to the operation storage unit 15 is switched to "0", or until, under the application of the force to the robot arm 5 by the person 4, the value of the force detected by the force detection unit 53 has become a threshold value or less.”]
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 Chen to incorporate the teachings of Tsusaka of wherein the robot controller determines maintenance timing of the hand on a basis of a result of the estimation of the grasping state of the hand in order to correct/update the operation information of the operation information database. [(Tsusaka 12)]
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMED YOUSEF ABUELHAWA whose telephone number is (571)272-3219. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30-5:00 with flex.
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, Wade Miles can be reached at 571-270-7777. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOHAMMED YOUSEF ABUELHAWA/Examiner, Art Unit 3656
/WADE MILES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3656