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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 & 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hawes (US 8,210,586) in view of Jens (EP 4 059 672) (see also US publication at US 12,036,661) and Adams (US 4,124,128).
Interpretative note 1. With respect to forming a "common product receiving surface" (claim 1, line 14) the size of an article supported is dependent upon a user's own requirements. However, if the art forms a surface which can support a single, large item that requires the surfaces of the first and second grippers then it can provide the means for the function of a common product receiving surface. In this case, Hawes' FIGS. 16 & 30 disclose first and second grippers 20, 20 arranged side-by-side and in a receiving position while defining a common plane. Although Hawes explicitly discloses supporting two articles 11A, 11C, one on each gripper 20, 20, it is enough to read on the limitation because they form a common surface.
Interpretative note 2. Claims 3-6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 & 15 recite functions and positions enabled by the recited structure in claim 1 which have been addressed in the rejection thereof.
Hawes discloses a gripper assembly, comprising:
a control device;
a main body 26 configured to be attached to a "robotic arm", e.g. travel device;
a first gripper 8/20 (see FIG. 16 & 30) attached to a main body; and
a second gripper 8/20 attached to a main body;
wherein a first gripper comprises a first product carrier 8/20 and a first drive (C4/L24,25; C4/L37-40), wherein a first drive is configured to move a first product carrier parallel to a transverse direction that is defined relative to a main body between a first release position (FIG. 30) and a first receiving position (FIG. 40);
wherein a second gripper comprises a second product carrier 8/20 and a second drive (C4/L24,25; C4/L37-40), wherein a second drive is configured to move a second product carrier parallel to a transverse direction between a second release position (FIG. 30) and a second receiving position (FIG. 40); and
wherein a first and second grippers 20, 20 ( FIG. 30) are disposed consecutively along a longitudinal direction (indicated generally as supporting elements 11A, 11C in FIG. 40) that is perpendicular to a transverse direction so that a first product carrier and a second product carrier jointly form a part of a common product receiving surface (FIG. 40) when a first product carrier is in a first receiving position and a second product carrier in a second receiving position.
Hawes discloses that first and second surfaces 20, 20 are independently driven as shown in FIG. 40. Hawes does not disclose that a control device is configured to determine or receive information whether a product drop with rotation or a product drop without rotation is to take place, and to control a first drive and a second drive as a function of whether a product drop with rotation or a product drop without rotation is to take place.
Jens discloses system for food handling, especially soft or delicate products like meat or fish, disclosing a first and second product carriers 201, 201 that form a common product receiving surface. Jens discloses that the operation of the carriers 201, 201 thusly:
As is shown in Figure 2b, at the releasing location, the food product is released from the gripper device 200 to the receiving location by moving the first jaw 201 relative to the second jaw 202 from the gripping position to the open position such that one side 208 of the food product 209 is un-supported from the first jaw 201 while an other side 207 of the food product is temporarily resting on the second jaw 202 so as to cause a tilting of the food product around a longitudinal axis 205 of the food product.
Subsequent to moving the first jaw 201 relative to the second jaw 202 from the gripping position to the open position, the second jaw may be moved in an upward direction as indicated by arrow 222 in Figure 2b, either by means of moving the gripper device upwards by the robot device (not shown) or by means of moving the second jaw upwards relative to the first jaw via the moving mechanism, e.g. 103 as shown in figure 1. The tilting of the food product 208 may thus be enhanced which may result in that the height 206 of the gripper to the receiving location may be lowered. In this manner, the predictability of how the food product will land on the receiving location is improved.
In an embodiment, the moving mechanism may further move the second jaw 202 away from the first jaw 201 as indicated by arrow 223 while or subsequent to moving the second jaw upwards.
Thus, the food product is released to the receiving location 210 and into a tray or box, for example, as is shown in Figure 2c.
(Paras, 31-34.)
In other words, Jens discloses controlling first and second drives to drop a product with rotation. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the invention of Hawes to perform rotation of a product by independently retracting one product carrier from a product receiving position to a product release position while leaving the other product carrier in a product receiving position thereby causing rotation of a product, as taught by Jens, which allows placement of for product such to be oriented in a particular manner such as skin-to-skin contact as identified in Jens' para. 3.
And, Adams discloses a first product carrier 32 and a second product carrier 33 and respective first and second drives 61, 62. (see FIGS. 4 & 6), both carriers forming a common product receiving surface for a product S. Adams teaches that a control device (FIG. 9 and counter 26 described at C2/L27-30) is configured to determine or receive information from counter 26 whether a product drop with rotation or a product drop without rotation is to take place, and to control a first drive 61 and a second drive 62 as a function of whether a product drop with rotation or a product drop without rotation is to take place. Adams further discloses that product S "which are being delivered one at a time to the shingle supporting shelves a of starwheels 32 and 33 may be dropped…with or without flipping." It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the invention of Hawes to provide a control device that is configured to determine or receive information whether a product drop with rotation or a product drop without rotation is to take place, and to control a first drive and a second drive as a function of whether a product drop with rotation or a product drop without rotation is to take place, as taught by Adams, thereby providing stack with the same height at opposite edges where individual products are thicker on one edge than the other.
Claim(s) 7 & 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hawes in view of Jens and Adams (US 4,124,128) and further in view of Morency (US 9,914,601)
Hawes does not disclose a down-holder body and down-holder drive. Morency discloses a gripper assembly that comprises a down-holder body 40, 48 and a down-holder drive 54. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the invention of Hawes to include a down-holder body and down-holder drive, as taught by Morency, such that when gripping and moving an article the gripper precisely adapts to the real product's dimension because the exact dimensions of the cases are rarely their nominal values, and gripping under these conditions without crushing the article.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 18 is allowed. Claims 8, 9 & 17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) s 1 & 3-18 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY W ADAMS whose telephone number is (571)272-8101. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri, 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Saul Rodriguez can be reached at (571)272-7097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GREGORY W ADAMS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3652