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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20 are pending and examined below.
Priority
The actual filing date for the instant application is 14 Aug 24. However, the instant application requests domestic benefit to a provisionally filed application 63/360350, filed 25 Sep 21. As such, the effective filing date of each of the instant application’s claims under examination may be as recent as the instant application’s actual filing date of 14 Aug 24, or potentially as early as the filing date of 25 Sep 21 (filing date of 63/360350), depending on whether there is appropriate specification support for each particular claim in the earlier-filed specification. In the case that a prior art rejection to one or more claims made in an Office action during prosecution of the instant application includes one or more prior art references that fall somewhere between 14 Aug 24 and 25 Sep 21 (an "intervening" reference), if Applicant can specifically identify appropriate specification support for each of these claims in the earlier filed provisional application, then the Examiner may determine that one or more of these prior art rejections against one or more of these claims will need to be withdrawn.
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 1-7 and 11-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20210146553 A1 (“Wu”).
As per Claim 1, Wu discloses an apparatus for providing controlled movement of a robotic appendage, comprising:
a digit comprising a first joint and a second joint, the first joint and the second joint positioned at an angle with respect to each other (¶ 5--“each of the mechanical digits respectively comprised of at least three mechanical links, at least two curl joints…the mechanical links of each pair of successive mechanical links along each of the mechanical digits between the tip and the base pivotally coupled to one another via a respective one of the at least two curl joints”); and
an actuator configured to control a degree of freedom of the digit (¶ 64—“The cables may be attached to actuators (e.g., electric motors, solenoids, pneumatic or hydraulic pistons) that are part of a robot.”);
wherein the actuator causes the first joint to bend at a first rate from a first position to a second position and the second joint to bend at a second rate from a third position to a fourth position (¶ 70—“Tensioning of the cable shortens a path the cable takes through the mechanical finger 100, causing the first finger link 1004 to rotate clockwise around the pin joint 1007a… Tensioning of the cable also causes the second finger link 1006 to rotate clockwise around pin joint 1007b”).
As per Claim 2, Wu further discloses wherein the actuator comprises a servo, motor, stepper, or linear actuator (¶ 64—“The cables may be attached to actuators (e.g., electric motors, solenoids, pneumatic or hydraulic pistons) that are part of a robot.”).
As per Claim 3, Wu further discloses wherein the digit comprises a wire, wherein the actuator is configured to control a degree of freedom of the digit by exerting a force on the wire (¶ 9—“each of the mechanical tendons are respectively comprised by at least one cable and the at least one cable is coupled to at least one of the mechanical links”; ¶ 70—“Tensioning of the cable shortens a path the cable takes through the mechanical finger 100, causing the first finger link 1004 to rotate”).
As per Claim 4, Wu further discloses wherein the digit comprises a channel configured to house the wire (¶ 9—“each of the cables passing through at least one of the tubes”; ¶ 59—“threading the cable 305 along a tendon pathway (illustrated by broken line arrow) 304 at least partially delimited by a tube 308 or channel”).
As per Claim 5, Wu further discloses wherein the digit comprises a bearing surface relative to an exterior of the channel, and wherein the wire is in contact with the bearing surface when a force is exerted on the wire to control the degree of freedom of the digit (¶ 70—“threaded through a path in the finger base 1022, around a cylindrical surface…around a cylindrical surface, along a path through the first finger link 1024, and around a cylindrical surface on the second finger link”).
As per Claim 6, Wu further discloses one or more return actuators, wherein the one or more return actuators are configured to return the first joint to the first position and return the second joint to the third position (¶ 59—“A restoring spring or similar bias mechanism (e.g., resilient elastomer) may be placed…Alternatively or additionally, an elastomer (e.g., silicone) skin which envelopes the mechanical hand skeleton 100, 200 may provide the restoring force”; ¶ 70—“A spring or other bias member can be coupled between connection points 1026 and 1028 on the finger base 1002 and second finger link 1006 respectively, to apply a restorative force”).
As per Claim 7, Wu further discloses wherein the apparatus comprises a body, wherein the body comprises an arm, wherein the arm comprises the digit (¶ 5—“a palm; at least three mechanical digits, each of the mechanical digits respectively comprised of at least three mechanical links, at least two curl joints, and having a tip and a base, the base of each of the mechanical digits coupled to the palm”).
As per Claim 11, Wu discloses a digit for robotic movement, the digit comprising:
a first joint and a second joint, configured to be driven by a wire (¶ 5—“ at least two curl joints, and having a tip and a base, the base of each of the mechanical digits coupled to the palm, the mechanical links of each pair of successive mechanical links along each of the mechanical digits between the tip and the base pivotally coupled to one another via a respective one of the at least two curl joints”);
a channel connecting from the first joint to the second joint, the channel configured to house the wire (¶ 59—“threading the cable 305 along a tendon pathway (illustrated by broken line arrow) 304 at least partially delimited by a tube 308 or channel”); and
a bearing surface relative to an exterior of the channel, wherein the wire is in contact with the bearing surface when driving the first joint and the second joint (¶ 70—“around a cylindrical surface, along a path through the first finger link 1024, and around a cylindrical surface on the second finger link, and attached to an attachment point 1025 on the second finger link”).
As per Claim 12, Wu further discloses wherein the first joint is hyperextended to increase a force when the wire is driving the first joint and the second joint (¶ 17—“The curl joints of each of the mechanical digits that pivotally couple the links of each of the pair of links to one another may be a respective flexure joint”).
As per Claim 13., Wu further discloses wherein the bearing surface is of a cylinder shape (¶ 70—“around a cylindrical surface, along a path through the first finger link 1024, and around a cylindrical surface on the second finger link, and attached to an attachment point 1025 on the second finger link”).
As per Claim 14, Wu discloses a method for providing controlled movement of a robotic appendage, comprising:
receiving a command to control a degree of freedom of a digit, wherein the digit comprises a first joint and a second joint (¶ 64—“The cables may be attached to actuators (e.g., electric motors, solenoids, pneumatic or hydraulic pistons) that are part of a robot.”);
using an actuator to cause the first joint to bend at a first rate from a first position to a second position and the second joint to bend at a second rate from a third position to a fourth position by exerting a force on a wire (¶ 70—“Tensioning of the cable shortens a path the cable takes through the mechanical finger 100, causing the first finger link 1004 to rotate clockwise around the pin joint 1007a… Tensioning of the cable also causes the second finger link 1006 to rotate clockwise around pin joint 1007b”);
wherein the first rate is faster than the second rate (¶ 70—“Tensioning of the cable shortens a path the cable takes through the mechanical finger 100, causing the first finger link 1004 to rotate clockwise around the pin joint 1007a… Tensioning of the cable also causes the second finger link 1006 to rotate clockwise around pin joint 1007b”).
As per Claim 15, Wu further discloses wherein the digit comprises a channel configured to house the wire (¶ 59—“threading the cable 305 along a tendon pathway (illustrated by broken line arrow) 304 at least partially delimited by a tube 308 or channel”).
As per Claim 16, Wu further discloses wherein the digit comprises a bearing surface relative to an exterior of the channel, and wherein the wire is in contact with the bearing surface when a force is exerted on the wire to control the degree of freedom (¶ 70—“around a cylindrical surface, along a path through the first finger link 1024, and around a cylindrical surface on the second finger link, and attached to an attachment point 1025 on the second finger link”).
As per Claim 17, Wu further discloses using one or more return actuators to return the first joint to the first position and return the second joint to the third position (¶ 59—“A restoring spring or similar bias mechanism (e.g., resilient elastomer) may be placed in a variety of places to restore the linkages to an un-spread or relaxed configuration from a spread or tensioned configuration when the tendon is relaxed, In the illustrated implementation, the restoring spring is placed between the second ring linkage link 116b and the second index linkage link 118b. Alternatively or additionally, an elastomer (e.g., silicone) skin which envelopes the mechanical hand skeleton 100, 200 may provide the restoring 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.
Claims 8-9 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of US 9696808 B2 (“Hsu”).
As per Claim 8, Hsu teaches additional limitations not expressly disclosed by Wu, including namely wherein the apparatus comprises a user interface (Col 3 Lines 21-24--“gesture recognition interface system 10 includes a first camera 12, a second camera 14, a first IR light source 16, and a second IR light source 18 mounted above a vertical display surface 20”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Wu to include the limitations as taught by Hsu to overcome limitations of touch sensitive screens (Hsu: Col 1 Lines 24-29).
As per Claim 9, Hsu teaches additional limitations not expressly disclosed by Wu, including namely wherein the apparatus comprises a gesture recognition mechanism (Col 7 Lines 15-17--“gesture recognition device 60 interprets the three-dimensional feature data associated with the user's hand 24 and translates changes in the location data into an input gesture”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Wu to include the limitations as taught by Hsu to overcome limitations of touch sensitive screens (Hsu: Col 1 Lines 24-29).
As per Claim 18, Wu further discloses using a user interface to control the degree of freedom of the digit (Col 3 Lines 21-24--“gesture recognition interface system 10 includes a first camera 12, a second camera 14, a first IR light source 16, and a second IR light source 18 mounted above a vertical display surface 20”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Wu to include the limitations as taught by Hsu to overcome limitations of touch sensitive screens (Hsu: Col 1 Lines 24-29).
As per Claim 19, Wu further discloses using a gesture recognition mechanism to control the degree of freedom of the digit (Col 7 Lines 15-17--“gesture recognition device 60 interprets the three-dimensional feature data associated with the user's hand 24 and translates changes in the location data into an input gesture”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Wu to include the limitations as taught by Hsu to overcome limitations of touch sensitive screens (Hsu: Col 1 Lines 24-29).
Claim 10 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of US 9104271 B1 (“Adams”).
As per Claim 10, Adams teaches additional limitations not expressly disclosed by Wu, including namely wherein the apparatus comprises a physical feedback mechanism (Col 20 Lines 22-26—“Certain exemplary embodiments can provide remote telerobotic control, using the gloved hand as a master control input to a dexterous manipulator and/or providing tactile feedback to the human of sensed interactions between the remote manipulator and its environment.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Wu to include the limitations as taught by Adams to make it easier to use a standard keyboard, mouse, and/or other human-machine interfaces (Adams: Col 3 Lines 6-8).
As per Claim 20, Wu further discloses using a physical feedback mechanism to control the degree of freedom of the digit (Col 20 Lines 22-26—“Certain exemplary embodiments can provide remote telerobotic control, using the gloved hand as a master control input to a dexterous manipulator and/or providing tactile feedback to the human of sensed interactions between the remote manipulator and its environment.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Wu to include the limitations as taught by Adams to make it easier to use a standard keyboard, mouse, and/or other human-machine interfaces (Adams: Col 3 Lines 6-8).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BASIL T JOS whose telephone number is (571)270-5915. The examiner can normally be reached 11:00 - 8:00 PM.
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/Basil T. Jos/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3658