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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because of the following:
Fig. 10 depicts reference number (44) drawn to the mechanical part and (54) drawn to the gripper head.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-12 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 Ln 1, please amend to --A [[Linking]] linking device--.
Claim 1 Ln 3, please amend to --along [[the]] a periphery--.
Claim 2-8 Ln 1, please amend to --The [[Linking]] linking device--.
Claim 3 Ln 1-2, please amend to --the [[linking]] deformable fastening means--.
Claim 5 Ln 1-2, please amend to --wherein [[the]] a thickness … in [[the]] a range--.
Claim 6 Ln 1-2, please amend to --wherein [[the]] a thickness … in [[the]] a range--.
Claim 7 Ln 2, please amend to --wherein [[the]] a maximum lateral dimension … in [[the]] a range --.
Claim 8 Ln 1, please amend to --1, further comprising--.
Claim 9 Ln 1-2, please amend to --A [[Magnetic]] magnetic gripper… and [[a]] the linking device--.
Claim 10-12 Ln 1, please amend to --A [[Magnetic]] magnetic gripper--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
-(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4 and 8-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1), 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by KANDA; Kouichirou et al. US 20160184981 A1, hereinafter Kanda. An annotated Fig. 3 is included below for additional reference call outs.
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Regarding claim 1, Kanda discloses (Fig. 3) linking device (16) for a magnetic gripper comprising a membrane (101) having first (103) and second (105) opposite surfaces, a ring-shaped portion (107) projecting from the second surface along the periphery of the membrane and deformable fastening means (109) projecting from the ring-shaped portion.
Regarding claim 2, Kanda discloses (Fig. 3) the membrane (101) and the ring-shaped portion (107) form a monoblock part (depicted as a single piece).
Regarding claim 3, Kanda discloses (Fig. 3) the linking means (40) comprise a deformable lip (109) [0042].
Regarding claim 4, Kanda discloses (Fig. 3) the membrane (101) and the ring-shaped portion (107) are made of a flexible material [0042].
Regarding claim 8, Kanda discloses (Fig. 3) comprising an axis of symmetry of revolution (depicted centerline of the circular (28)).
Regarding claim 9, Kanda discloses (Fig. 3) magnetic gripper (abstract) comprising a magnetic gripping tool (10) and a linking device (16) according to claim 1.
Regarding claim 10, Kanda discloses (Fig. 3) magnetic gripper according to claim 9, wherein the magnetic gripping tool (10) comprises a head (25) having a third surface (111), the membrane (101) entirely covering the third surface, the second surface (105) being in physical contact with the third surface.
Regarding claim 11, Kanda discloses (Fig. 3) magnetic gripper according to claim 9, wherein the third surface (111) is planar (depicted as planar).
Regarding claim 12, Kanda discloses (Fig. 3) magnetic gripper according to claim 9, comprising a groove (113) into which the deformable fastening means (109) at least partially penetrate.
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 of this title, 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 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanda.
Regarding claim 5, Kanda discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for Claim 1 except fails to explicitly state that the thickness of the membrane is in the range from 0.05 mm to 5 mm. Instead, Kanda discloses the thickness of the membrane as generic.
Since applicant has not disclosed that having the thickness of the membrane in the range from 0.05 mm to 5 mm solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose, and
it appears that the generic thickness of the membrane of Kanda would perform equally well with the thickness of the membrane is in the range from 0.05 mm to 5 mm as claimed by applicant,
it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to further modify the thickness of the membrane of Kanda by utilizing the thickness of the membrane to the range of 0.05 mm to 5 mm as claimed for the purpose of alleviating stresses and damage on the gripper head [0084].
Regarding claim 6, Kanda discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for Claim 1 except fails to explicitly state that the thickness of the ring-shaped portion is in the range from 5 mm to 15 mm. Instead, Kanda discloses the thickness of the ring-shaped portion as generic.
Since applicant has not disclosed that having the thickness of the ring-shaped portion in the range from 5 mm to 15 mm solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose, and
it appears that the generic thickness of the ring-shaped portion of Kanda would perform equally well with the thickness of the ring-shaped portion in the range from 5 mm to 15 mm as claimed by applicant,
it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to further modify the generic thickness of the ring-shaped portion of Kanda by utilizing the thickness of the ring-shaped portion from the range of 5 mm to 15 mm as claimed for the purpose of alleviating stresses and damage on the gripper head [0084].
Regarding claim 7, Kanda discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for Claim 1 except fails to explicitly state that the maximum lateral dimension of the membrane is in the range from 10 mm to 100 mm. Instead, Kanda discloses the lateral dimension of the membrane as generic.
Since applicant has not disclosed that having the membrane in the range from 10 mm to 100 mm solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose, and
it appears that the generic lateral dimension of the membrane of Kanda would perform equally well with the membrane is in the range from 10 mm to 100 mm as claimed by applicant,
it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to further modify the generic lateral dimension of Kanda by utilizing the membrane in the range from 10 mm to 100 mm as claimed for the purpose of alleviating stresses and damage on the gripper head [0084].
Relevant Art
The following is a listing of relevant art:
US 4504088 A, US 6538544 B1, US 10286560 B1, US 6086125 A and US 4121865 A discloses magnetic grippers comprising linking devices.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW WIBLIN whose telephone number is (571)272-9836. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NATHANIEL WIEHE can be reached on 571-272-8648. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW WIBLIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
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