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 .
Claims 1-6 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 23, 2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claims 4 and 6 the term “learned model generated through machine learning” is used it is unclear as to what is being claimed as to what a learned model refers to and what is machine learning as this can be any computer program that access data. Clarification is needed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Publication No. 2020/0307776 to Coco et al.
Regarding claim 1, the Coco publication teaches a pallet comprising: an upper plate 240 on which a load is to be placed; a lower frame 120 disposed so as to face the upper plate; at least three force sensors 230 disposed on a lower surface of the upper plate or an upper surface of the lower frame; at least three raising and lowering mechanisms 620 that are disposed between the upper plate and the lower frame via the at least three force sensors and that are able to raise and lower the upper plate with respect to the lower frame; and a controller 210 configured to perform control to drive the at least three raising and lowering mechanisms on the basis of output signals from the at least three force sensors. See paragraphs 0027-0035 and Figs. 1-6b.
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. 2020/0307776 to Coco et al.
Regarding claim 2, the Coco publication teaches that the mechanisms balance the load laterally, see paragraph 0029 and that it can also balance in all three axes. See paragraph 0033.
However, Coco lacks a specific teaching that the controller performs control to drive the at least three raising and lowering mechanisms so as to make the upper plate closer to horizontal, on the basis of output signals outputted from the at least three force sensors when the upper plate is in a horizontal state and current output signals from the at least three force sensors.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the subject invention to have the Coco publication have the raising and lowering mechanisms make the upper plate closer to horizontal, as this would be combining known prior art elements using known methods as the Coco publication already states the actuators can move in all three axes and this in turn would mean a horizontal orientation of the top place can be achieved.
Claims 3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. 2020/0307776 to Coco et al. in view of U.S. Publication No. 2002/0154986 to Leblanc et al.
Regarding claim 3, the Coco publication teaches the pallet with the three force sensors and the three raising and lowering mechanism as described earlier in the action.
However, the Coco publication lacks a teaching of a robot and a robot arm with a force sensor.
The Leblanc publication teaches a robot in which a robot hand 20 is attached to a tip end portion of a robot arm via a hand force sensor 7; and a loading control device configured to perform control to cause the robot to place a load on the pallet. See paragraphs 0044-0063 and Figs. 1-7.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the subject invention to modify the Coco device to have the robot arm as taught by the Leblanc publication as it would have been combining known prior art elements using known methods to provide the predictable result of having a way load the pallet evenly without the use of humans for more efficient loading.
Regarding claim 5, the Coco publication teaches that the mechanisms balance the load laterally, see paragraph 0029 and that it can also balance in all three axes. See paragraph 0033.
However, Coco lacks a specific teaching that the controller performs control to drive the at least three raising and lowering mechanisms so as to make the upper plate closer to horizontal, on the basis of output signals outputted from the at least three force sensors when the upper plate is in a horizontal state and current output signals from the at least three force sensors.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the subject invention to have the Coco publication have the raising and lowering mechanisms make the upper plate closer to horizontal, as this would be combining known prior art elements using known methods as the Coco publication already states the actuators can move in all three axes and this in turn would mean a horizontal orientation of the top place can be achieved.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 6 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Publication No. 20200283279 to Chow et al. teaches load sensors.
Chinese Patent No. CN116534410 to Zhou et al. teaches a load leveling device with load sensors.
Chinese Patent No. CN215591306 to Zhang teaches a pallet with load sensors.
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/JUSTIN HOLMES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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