DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the amendment filed April 28, 2026 for the above identified patent application.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 and 3-14 are allowed.
The indicated allowability of claim 15 is withdrawn in view of the newly discovered reference(s) to Kawai (EP 193149) in view of Theobold et al. (USP 7,348,747). Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) follow.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 15 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Kawai (EP 193149) in view of Theobold et al. (USP 7,348,747).
Kawai teaches a humanoid robot, comprising: a body assembly (10); a first turret mounting assembly (11) secured to the body assembly; a first turret assembly (20,left) mounted through to the first turret mounting assembly to the body assembly; a first robot arm (30,40,left) movably secured to the first turret assembly; and a first counterbalance mechanism that includes: a first counterbalancing member (31,left) connected to the first robot arm; a first upper arm counterbalance interface rod (34,left) connected between the first turret assembly and the first counterbalancing member, wherein an adjustment of the first upper arm counterbalance interface rod caused movement of the first counterbalancing member relative to the first robot arm to allow for a setting that causes the first robot arm to float to gravity; and a second turret mounting assembly (11,right) secured to the body assembly; a second turret assembly (20,right) mounted through to the second turret mounting assembly to the body assembly; a second robot arm (30,40,right) movably secured to the second turret assembly; and a second counterbalance mechanism that includes: a second counterbalancing member (31,right) connected to the second robot arm; a second upper arm counterbalance interface rod (34,right) connected between the second turret assembly and the second counterbalancing member, wherein an adjustment of the second upper arm counterbalance interface rod caused movement of the second counterbalancing member relative to the second robot arm to allow for a setting that causes the second robot arm to float to gravity.
Kawai does not teach the body assembly secured to a mobile base. However, it was notoriously known in the art to configure a humanoid robot with a mobile base, such as a base with legs, wheels, or tracks. For example, Theobold teaches a humanoid robot having a mobile base (8) attached to a body assembly (200). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed device to provide the humanoid robot of Kawai with a mobile base, as taught by Theobold et al., motivation being to preform a predetermined operation at different working locations.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM C JOYCE whose telephone number is (571)272-7107. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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, Minnah Seoh can be reached at 571-270-7778. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/WILLIAM C JOYCE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
Prosecution Insights