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 .
Double Patenting
The non-statutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A non-statutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on non statutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a non statutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claim 1 is rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. US12156634B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the limitations of the instant application are same as the Patent No. US12156634B2 except the patent includes some more limitations. And removing inherent and/or unnecessary limitation(s)/step(s) or adding an element and its function would be within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art. It is well settled that the adding or deleting of an element and its function(s) in the claim of the present application are an obvious expedient if the remaining elements perform the same function as before. In re Karlson, 136 USPQ 184 (CCPA 1963). Also note Ex parte Rainu, 168 USPQ 375 (Bd. App. 1969). Omission of a referenced element or step whose function is not needed would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art. Examiner further notes wherein although the claims are not identical (slightly broader), they are commensurate in scope to the claim limitations provided in the issued U.S. Patent, and likewise would anticipate the currently provided claim limitations.
Instant Application No. 18943108
U.S. Patent No. US12156634B2
1. A continuum robot control device configured to control operations of a continuum robot having a bendable portion that is bent by driving at least part of a plurality of wires, the continuum robot control device comprising: a first computing device configured to compute a driving amount of the at least part of the plurality of wires, based on a target bending angle that is a target value for a bending angle of the bendable portion, and based on a target rotation angle that is a target value for a rotation angle of the bendable portion; a second computing device configured to compute a compensation amount for compensation of an error in the driving amount due to stretching and contraction of the wires, based on the target bending angle, the target rotation angle, and a displacement of one of the plurality of wires at the target bending angle and the target rotation angle; and a setting device configured to set a driving control amount of performing driving control of the at least part of the plurality of wires, based on the driving amount calculated at the first computing device and the compensation amount calculated at the second computing device.
1. A continuum robot control device configured to control operations of a continuum robot having a bendable portion that is bent by driving at least part of a plurality of wires, the continuum robot control device comprising :a first computing device configured to compute a driving amount of the at least part of the plurality of wires, based on a target bending angle that is a target value for a bending angle of the bendable portion, and based on a target rotation angle that is a target value for a rotation angle of the bendable portion; a second computing device configured to compute a compensation amount for compensation of an error in the driving amount due to stretching and contraction of the wires, based on the target bending angle, the target rotation angle and a displacement of one of the plurality of wires at the target bending angle and the target rotation angle; and a setting device configured to set a driving control amount of performing driving control of the at least part of the plurality of wires, based on the driving amount calculated at the first computing device and the compensation amount calculated at the second computing device wherein the second computing device is further configured to: update, in accordance with input of the target bending angle, and a first candidate value of the displacement at the one wire, to a second candidate value at another one wire, calculate a compensation amount regarding the another one wire using the second candidate value as the displacement of the another one wire, output the second candidate value to calculate the compensation amount as the displacement of the another wire in a case where the second candidate value has converged to a constant value, and output the second candidate value to update candidate value of the displacement as the first candidate value in a case where the second candidate value has not converged to a constant value.
2. The continuum robot control device according to claim 1, wherein the continuum robot has a plurality of the bendable portions disposed serially to each other, wherein the first computing device computes the driving amount based on the target bending angle, for each bendable portion of the plurality of bendable portions, wherein the second computing device computes the compensation amount for each bendable portion of the plurality of bendable portions, and wherein the setting device sets the driving control amount based on the driving amount calculated by the first computing device and the compensation amount calculated by the second computing device, for each bendable portion of the plurality of bendable portions.
2. The continuum robot control device according to Claim 1, wherein the continuum robot has a plurality of the bendable portions disposed serially to each other, wherein the first computing device computes the driving amount based on the target bending angle, for each bendable portion of the plurality of bendable portions, wherein the second computing device computes the compensation amount for each bendable portion of the plurality of bendable portions, and wherein the setting device sets the driving control amount based on the driving amount calculated by the first computing device and the compensation amount calculated by the second computing device, for each bendable portion of the plurality of bendable portions.
3. The continuum robot control device according to claim 1 wherein the second computing device calculates displacement of one wire of the plurality of wires in accordance with input of the target bending angle, and wherein the second computing device computes a compensation amount of another one of the wires based on the calculated displacement of the one wire of the plurality of wires.
3. The continuum robot control device according to Claim 1 wherein the second computing device calculates displacement of one wire of the plurality of wires in accordance with input of the target bending angle, and wherein the second computing device computes a compensation amount of another one of the wires based on the calculated displacement of the one wire of the plurality of wires.
4. The continuum robot control device according to claim 1, wherein the second computing device is further configured to: compute wire length for each of the plurality of wires at the bendable portion, in accordance with input of the target bending angle and the first candidate value, compute bending moment for each of the plurality of wires, in accordance with input of the target bending angle and the wire length of the plurality of wires, compute, in accordance with input of the bending moment at the plurality of wires, tensile force at the plurality of wires, and compute the second candidate value in accordance with input of the tensile force.
5. The continuum robot control device according to Claim 1,wherein the second computing device is further configured to: compute wire length for each of the plurality of wires at the bendable portion, in accordance with input of the target bending angle and the first candidate value, compute bending moment for each of the plurality of wires, in accordance with input of the target bending angle and the wire length of the plurality of wires, compute, in accordance with input of the bending moment at the plurality of wires, tensile force at the plurality of wires, and compute the second candidate value in accordance with input of the tensile force.
5. The continuum robot control device according to claim 1, wherein the second computing device the updating unit is further configured to: update a candidate value in displacement of the plurality of wires including the another wire, as the first candidate value, compute wire length for each of the plurality of wires at the bendable portion, in accordance with input of the target bending angle and the first candidate value, compute bending moment for each of the plurality of wires, in accordance with input of the target bending angle, a target rotation angle that is a target value of a rotation angle of the bendable portion, and the wire length of the plurality of wires, compute tensile force of the plurality of wires, in accordance with input of the bending moment at the plurality of wires, and compute the second candidate value in the displacement of the plurality of wires including the another wire, in accordance with input of the tensile force at the plurality of wires
6. The continuum robot control device according to Claim 1,wherein the second computing device the updating unit is further configured to: update a candidate value in displacement of the plurality of wires including the another wire, as the first candidate value, compute wire length for each of the plurality of wires at the bendable portion, in accordance with input of the target bending angle and the first candidate value, compute bending moment for each of the plurality of wires, in accordance with input of the target bending angle, a target rotation angle that is a target value of a rotation angle of the bendable portion, and the wire length of the plurality of wires, compute tensile force of the plurality of wires, in accordance with input of the bending moment at the plurality of wires, and compute the second candidate value in the displacement of the plurality of wires including the another wire, in accordance with input of the tensile force at the plurality of wires.
6. The continuum robot control device according to claim 1, wherein the length of the wires is ten times or more the length of the bendable portion.
8. The continuum robot control device according to claim 1, wherein the length of the wires is ten times or more the length of the bendable portion.
7. A continuum robot control method configured to control operations of a continuum robot having a bendable portion that is bent by driving at least part of a plurality of wires, the continuum robot control method comprising: computing a driving amount of the at least part of the plurality of wires, based on a target bending angle that is a target value for a bending angle of the bendable portion and based on a target rotation angle that is a target value for a rotation angle of the bendable portion; computing a compensation amount for compensation of an error in the driving amount due to stretching and contraction of the wires, based on the target bending angle, the target rotation angle and a displacement of one wire of the plurality of wires at the target bending angle and the target rotation angle; and setting a driving control amount of performing driving control of the at least part of the plurality of wires, based on the calculated driving amount and the calculated compensation amount.
7. A continuum robot control device configured to control operations of a continuum robot having a bendable portion that is bent by driving at least part of a plurality of wires, the continuum robot control device comprising: a first computing device configured to compute a driving amount of the at least part of the plurality of wires, based on a target bending angle that is a target value for a bending angle of the bendable portion, and based on a target rotation angle that is a target value for a rotation angle of the bendable portion; a second computing device configured to compute a compensation amount for compensation of an error in the driving amount due to stretching and contraction of the wires, based on the target bending angle, the target rotation angle and a displacement of one of the plurality of wires at the target bending angle and the target rotation angle; and a setting device configured to set a driving control amount of performing driving control of the at least part of the plurality of wires, based on the driving amount calculated at the first computing device and the compensation amount calculated at the second computing device, the continuum robot control device according to Claim 1, the continuum robot further comprising: a third computing device configured to compute an amount of movement of a distal end of the bendable portion, in accordance with input of a movement amount of the continuum robot in a longitudinal direction, and a first driving control amount candidate value in the driving control amount of wires, and a reference angle updating device configured to update the target bending angle, in accordance with input of amount of movement of the distal end of the bendable portion, wherein the setting device computes a second driving control amount candidate value for the driving control amount of wires, based on a driving amount calculated based on the target bending angle that the first computing device has updated at the reference angle updating device, and a compensation amount calculated based on the target bending angle that the second computing device has updated at the reference angle updating device, sets the second driving control amount candidate value as the driving control amount in a case where the second driving control amount candidate value has converged to a constant value, and outputs the second driving control amount candidate value to the third computing device as the first driving control amount candidate value in a case where the second driving control amount candidate value has not converged to a constant value.
8. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program configured to cause a computer to function as the devices of the continuum robot control device according to claim 1.
10. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program configured to cause a computer to function as the devices of the continuum robot control device according to claim 1.
9. The continuum robot control device according to claim 1, wherein the compensation amount for the stretching and contraction of first wire of the plurality of wires is based on amount of displacement of the first wire and a second wire of the plurality of wires.
12. The continuum robot control device according to claim 1, wherein the compensation amount for the stretching and contraction of first wire of the plurality of wires is based on amount of displacement of the first wire and a second wire of the plurality of wires.
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(s) 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being read upon by Yoon et al. (H. -S. Yoon, J. Jeon, J. H. Chung and B. -J. Yi, "Error compensation for a 2 DOF bendable endoscope mechanism," 2013 13th International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems (ICCAS 2013), Gwangju, Korea (South), 2013, pp. 862-865) (Hereinafter Yoon).
Regarding claim 1, Yoon teaches a continuum robot control device configured to control operations of a continuum robot having a bendable portion that is bent by driving at least part of a plurality of wires (See at least Page 862 Col 1 and Col 2 “2.1 Length of Structure for the Planar Model - Fig. 2(a) represents the side view of the continuum module when it is bent in the global X-Z plane. When tension is given to wires, the continuum module (more precisely, the spring backbone) will be deformed because wires are placed with eccentricities from the center of the continuum module.”), the continuum robot control device comprising:
a first computing device configured to compute a driving amount of the at least part of the plurality of wires (See at least Page 862 Col 1 “2. KINEMATICS OF A BEND ABLE ENDOSCOPE MECHANISM - A spring backbone type endoscope mechanism was proposed by Yoon et al. [3]. It consists of a continuum module and a driving unit as shown in Fig. 1.”, Fig 1 Driving unit, Fig 6 – Compute desired output pose, Page 864 Col 1 “Step 1. Compute a desired output pose ϕ––d using the forward kinematic model and the input information l–n.”), based on a target bending angle that is a target value for a bending angle of the bendable portion (See at least Page 862 Col 1 and Col 2 “2.1 Length of Structure for the Planar Model Fig. 2(a) represents the side view of the continuum module when it is bent in the global X-Z plane. When tension is given to wires, the continuum module (more precisely, the spring backbone) will be deformed because wires are placed with eccentricities from the center of the continuum module. β denotes the bending angle of the continuum mechanism at the distal end.”, Page 863 Col 1 Para 4 “Fig. 3 denotes the bending geometry of the continuum module in the 3-dimensional space…”, Fig. 3 Bending geometry, Page 963 Col 2 “2.3 Jacobian The velocity relationship between the input (I) and the output (¢) can be obtained by differentiating (10) with respect to time as …where i–=[i1 i2]T, ϕ––=[β˙ γ˙]T.”, discloses β which denotes the bending angle and γ which represents the rotation angle), and based on a target rotation angle that is a target value for a rotation angle of the bendable portion (See at least Page 863 Col 1 Para 4 “Fig. 3 denotes the bending geometry of the continuum module in the 3-dimensional space. γ represents the rotation angle of the whole continuum module about the Z^A axis. The rotation angle γ only transforms coordinates.”, Page 963 Col 2 “2.3 Jacobian The velocity relationship between the input (I) and the output (¢) can be obtained by differentiating (10) with respect to time as …where i–=[i1 i2]T, ϕ––=[β˙ γ˙]T.”, discloses β which denotes the bending angle and γ which represents the rotation angle);
a second computing device configured to compute a compensation amount for compensation of an error in the driving amount due to stretching and contraction of the wires (See at least “Introduction - …However, tendon-driven continuum mechanisms commonly have degraded or more less positional accuracy as compared to mechanical joint-driven robotic system. This is due to friction and elongation of wires in the transmission mechanism. To cope with this, it is required to employ error compensation algorithm.”, Fig 6 shows compensation algorithm), based on the target bending angle (See at least Page 862 Col 1 and Col 2 “2.1 Length of Structure for the Planar Model Fig. 2(a) represents the side view of the continuum module when it is bent in the global X-Z plane. When tension is given to wires, the continuum module (more precisely, the spring backbone) will be deformed because wires are placed with eccentricities from the center of the continuum module. β denotes the bending angle of the continuum mechanism at the distal end.”, Page 963 Col 2 “2.3 Jacobian The velocity relationship between the input (I) and the output (¢) can be obtained by differentiating (10) with respect to time as …where i–=[i1 i2]T, ϕ––=[β˙ γ˙]T.”, discloses β which denotes the bending angle and γ which represents the rotation angle), the target rotation angle and a displacement of one of the plurality of wires at the target bending angle and the target rotation angle (See at least Page 863 Col 1 Para 4 “Fig. 3 denotes the bending geometry of the continuum module in the 3-dimensional space. γ represents the rotation angle of the whole continuum module about the Z^A axis. The rotation angle γ only transforms coordinates.”, Fig 6, Page 864 Col 1 “Step 1. Compute a desired output pose ϕ––d using the forward kinematic model and the input information l–n.”, Page 963 Col 2 “2.3 Jacobian The velocity relationship between the input (I) and the output (¢) can be obtained by differentiating (10) with respect to time as …where i–=[i1 i2]T, ϕ––=[β˙ γ˙]T.” discloses β which denotes the bending angle and γ which represents the rotation angle); and
a setting device configured to set a driving control amount of performing driving control of the at least part of the plurality of wires, based on the driving amount calculated at the first computing device and the compensation amount calculated at the second computing device (See at least Fig 6, Page 864 Col 1 “Step 1. Compute a desired output pose ϕ––d using the forward kinematic model and the input information l–n. Step 2. Calculate the pose error between the desired output ϕ––d and the measured actual output ϕ––m. dϕ––=ϕ––m−ϕ––n … Step 3. Using a differential model between input and output, compute the differential change of the input.” ).
Regarding claim 2, Yoon has all the elements of claim 1. Yoon further teaches the continuum
robot control device according to claim 1, wherein the continuum robot has a plurality of the bendable portions disposed serially to each other (See at least Fig 1, Fig 2(a) shows the continuum robot has a plurality of the bendable portions disposed serially to each other),
wherein the first computing device computes the driving amount based on the target bending angle, for each bendable portion of the plurality of bendable portions (See at least Fig 2, Page 862 Col 1 “2. KINEMATICS OF A BEND ABLE ENDOSCOPE MECHANISM - A spring backbone type endoscope mechanism was proposed by Yoon et al. [3]. It consists of a continuum module and a driving unit as shown in Fig. 1.”, Fig 1 Driving unit, Fig 6 – Compute desired output pose, Page 864 Col 1 “Step 1. Compute a desired output pose ϕ––d using the forward kinematic model and the input information l–n.”, Page 963 Col 2 “2.3 Jacobian The velocity relationship between the input (I) and the output (¢) can be obtained by differentiating (10) with respect to time as …where i–=[i1 i2]T, ϕ––=[β˙ γ˙]T.”, discloses β which denotes the bending angle and γ which represents the rotation angle), based on a target bending angle that is a target value for a bending angle of the bendable portion (See at least Page 862 Col 1 and Col 2 “2.1 Length of Structure for the Planar Model Fig. 2(a) represents the side view of the continuum module when it is bent in the global X-Z plane. When tension is given to wires, the continuum module (more precisely, the spring backbone) will be deformed because wires are placed with eccentricities from the center of the continuum module. β denotes the bending angle of the continuum mechanism at the distal end.”, Page 863 Col 1 Para 4 “Fig. 3 denotes the bending geometry of the continuum module in the 3-dimensional space…”, Fig. 3 Bending geometry),
wherein the second computing device computes the compensation amount for each bendable portion of the plurality of bendable portions (See at least “Introduction - …However, tendon-driven continuum mechanisms commonly have degraded or more less positional accuracy as compared to mechanical joint-driven robotic system. This is due to friction and elongation of wires in the transmission mechanism. To cope with this, it is required to employ error compensation algorithm.”, Fig 6 shows compensation algorithm), and
wherein the setting device sets the driving control amount based on the driving amount calculated by the first computing device and the compensation amount calculated by the second computing device, for each bendable portion of the plurality of bendable portions (See at least Fig 6, Page 864 Col 1 “Step 1. Compute a desired output pose ϕ––d using the forward kinematic model and the input information l–n. Step 2. Calculate the pose error between the desired output ϕ––d and the measured actual output ϕ––m. dϕ––=ϕ––m−ϕ––n … Step 3. Using a differential model between input and output, compute the differential change of the input.” ).
Regarding Claim 7, Yoon teaches a continuum robot control method configured to control operations of a continuum robot having a bendable portion that is bent by driving at least part of a plurality of wires (See at least Page 862 Col 1 and Col 2 “2.1 Length of Structure for the Planar Model - Fig. 2(a) represents the side view of the continuum module when it is bent in the global X-Z plane. When tension is given to wires, the continuum module (more precisely, the spring backbone) will be deformed because wires are placed with eccentricities from the center of the continuum module.”), the continuum robot control method comprising:
computing a driving amount of the at least part of the plurality of wires (See at least Page 862 Col 1 “2. KINEMATICS OF A BEND ABLE ENDOSCOPE MECHANISM - A spring backbone type endoscope mechanism was proposed by Yoon et al. [3]. It consists of a continuum module and a driving unit as shown in Fig. 1.”, Fig 1 Driving unit, Fig 6 – Compute desired output pose, Page 864 Col 1 “Step 1. Compute a desired output pose ϕ––d using the forward kinematic model and the input information l–n.”), based on a target bending angle that is a target value for a bending angle of the bendable portion (See at least Page 862 Col 1 and Col 2 “2.1 Length of Structure for the Planar Model Fig. 2(a) represents the side view of the continuum module when it is bent in the global X-Z plane. When tension is given to wires, the continuum module (more precisely, the spring backbone) will be deformed because wires are placed with eccentricities from the center of the continuum module. β denotes the bending angle of the continuum mechanism at the distal end.”, Page 863 Col 1 Para 4 “Fig. 3 denotes the bending geometry of the continuum module in the 3-dimensional space…”, Fig. 3 Bending geometry) and based on a target rotation angle that is a target value for a rotation angle of the bendable portion (See at least Page 863 Col 1 Para 4 “Fig. 3 denotes the bending geometry of the continuum module in the 3-dimensional space. γ represents the rotation angle of the whole continuum module about the Z^A axis. The rotation angle γ only transforms coordinates.”, discloses β which denotes the bending angle and γ which represents the rotation angle);
computing a compensation amount for compensation of an error in the driving amount due to stretching and contraction of the wires (See at least “Introduction - …However, tendon-driven continuum mechanisms commonly have degraded or more less positional accuracy as compared to mechanical joint-driven robotic system. This is due to friction and elongation of wires in the transmission mechanism. To cope with this, it is required to employ error compensation algorithm.”, Fig 6 shows compensation algorithm), based on the target bending angle (See at least Page 862 Col 1 and Col 2 “2.1 Length of Structure for the Planar Model Fig. 2(a) represents the side view of the continuum module when it is bent in the global X-Z plane. When tension is given to wires, the continuum module (more precisely, the spring backbone) will be deformed because wires are placed with eccentricities from the center of the continuum module. β denotes the bending angle of the continuum mechanism at the distal end.”, Page 963 Col 2 “2.3 Jacobian The velocity relationship between the input (I) and the output (¢) can be obtained by differentiating (10) with respect to time as …where i–=[i1 i2]T, ϕ––=[β˙ γ˙]T.”), the target rotation angle and a displacement of one wire of the plurality of wires at the target bending angle and the target rotation angle (See at least Page 863 Col 1 Para 4 “Fig. 3 denotes the bending geometry of the continuum module in the 3-dimensional space. γ represents the rotation angle of the whole continuum module about the Z^A axis. The rotation angle γ only transforms coordinates.”, Fig 6, Page 864 Col 1 “Step 1. Compute a desired output pose ϕ––d using the forward kinematic model and the input information l–n.”, Page 963 Col 2 “2.3 Jacobian The velocity relationship between the input (I) and the output (¢) can be obtained by differentiating (10) with respect to time as …where i–=[i1 i2]T, ϕ––=[β˙ γ˙]T.”, discloses β which denotes the bending angle and γ which represents the rotation angle); and
setting a driving control amount of performing driving control of the at least part of the plurality of wires, based on the calculated driving amount and the calculated compensation amount (See at least Fig 6, Page 864 Col 1 “Step 1. Compute a desired output pose ϕ––d using the forward kinematic model and the input information l–n. Step 2. Calculate the pose error between the desired output ϕ––d and the measured actual output ϕ––m. dϕ––=ϕ––m−ϕ––n … Step 3. Using a differential model between input and output, compute the differential change of the input.” ).
Regarding Claim 8, Yoon has all the elements of claim 1. Yoon further teaches a computer-readable storage medium storing a program configured to cause a computer to function as the devices of the continuum robot control device (See at least Fig 6 discloses computing desired output pose which requires a computer-readable storage medium storing a program configured to cause a computer to function as the devices of the continuum robot control device) according to claim 1 (as addressed above with respect to claim 1).
Regarding Claim 9, Yoon has all the elements of claim 1. Yoon further teaches the continuum robot control device according to claim 1, wherein the compensation amount for the stretching and contraction of first wire of the plurality of wires is based on amount of displacement of the first wire and a second wire of the plurality of wires (See at least Page 863 Col 1 “2.2 Length of Structure for the Spatial Model Fig. 3 denotes the bending geometry of the continuum module in the 3-dimensional space. r represents the rotation angle of the whole continuum module about the ZA axis. The rotation angle r only transforms coordinates. So it doesn't affect the length change of the structure. Thus, the length of the inner boundary (L,) and the length of the outer boundary (Lf) in the spatial model are equal to ones m the planar model. Now, the relationship between the two boundary lengths and the lengths of four wires (l1 l2, l3 , and l4) is obtained from the bending geometry of Fig. 3 and the cross-sectional area of the spring backbone structure given in Fig. 4… From the geometry in Figs. 3 and 4, the deformed length of the wire li can be found as li = L+12(Lt−Ls)(1−cosθdi).”, Page 864 Col 1 “Step 1. Compute a desired output pose ϕ––d using the forward kinematic model and the input information l–n. Step 2. Calculate the pose error between the desired output ϕ––d and the measured actual output ϕ––m. dϕ––=ϕ––m−ϕ––n … Step 3. Using a differential model between input and output, compute the differential change of the input.”).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoon et al. (H. -S. Yoon, J. Jeon, J. H. Chung and B. -J. Yi, "Error compensation for a 2 DOF bendable endoscope mechanism," 2013 13th International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems (ICCAS 2013), Gwangju, Korea (South), 2013, pp. 862-865) (Hereinafter Yoon) in view of Tian et al. (Y. Tian, S. Yang, H. Geng, W. Wang and L. Li, "Kinematic modeling of the constant curvature continuum line drive robot," 2016 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO), Qingdao, China, 2016, pp. 289-294) (Hereinafter Tian).
Regarding Claim 3, Yoon teaches all the elements of claim 1.
However, Yoon does not explicitly spell out the continuum robot control device according to
claim 1 wherein the second computing device calculates displacement of one wire of the plurality of wires in accordance with input of the target bending angle, and wherein the second computing device computes a compensation amount of another one of the wires based on the calculated displacement of the one wire of the plurality of wires.
Tian discloses the continuum robot control device according to Claim 1 wherein the second
computing device calculates displacement of one wire of the plurality of wires in accordance with input of the target bending angle, and wherein the second computing device computes a compensation amount of another one of the wires based on the calculated displacement of the one wire of the plurality of wires (See at least Page 3 Col 2 Para 3, “In the movement of the line drive bionic flexible robot, 、 can be changed by changing the length of four drive wires which are distributed 90° around the center of support disk. In order to simplify the calculation ,equal the bend curve of its single joint center bracket to equivalent curve .Because there is an offset between the driving position and the center line of the bracket, so even though they have the same bending angle, but different radius of curvature .When we change the bending angle and remain the = 0 , joint bracket and the first drive wire is in the plane o0 0 0 x z ,the length of the first drive wire can be conclude by formula (5).”, Page 3 Col 2 Para 4 “…The first drive wire shows when the line drive bionic flexible robot bending angle is , showed in Fig .3. When the single unit’s bending angle is and the rotation angle is , we can conclude the relationship between 、and the four drive wires’ length
variation : l ( j =1,2,3,4) j , as the following formulas show:
ΔΙ1 = r1 β cosα
ΔΙ2 = r1 β cos(α-Π/2)
ΔΙ3 = r1 β cos(α-Π)
ΔΙ4 = r1 β cos(α-3 Π/2)”, discloses length
variation (displacement) of four drive wires).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to modify the mechanics of Yoon to incorporate the teachings of Tian computation of compensation amount regarding other wires in order to guide the movement of the continuum robot accurately.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Yoon et al. (H. -S. Yoon, J. Jeon, J. H. Chung and B. -J. Yi, "Error compensation for a 2 DOF bendable endoscope mechanism," 2013 13th International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems (ICCAS 2013), Gwangju, Korea (South), 2013, pp. 862-865) (Hereinafter Yoon) and in view of Simaan et al. (US 2014/0330432 A1) (Hereinafter Simaan).
Regarding claim 6, Yoon has all the elements of claim 1.
However, Yoon does not teach the continuum robot control device according to claim 1,
wherein the length of the wires is ten times or more the length of the bendable portion.
Simaan teaches the continuum robot control device according to claim 1, wherein the length of
the wires is ten times or more the length of the bendable portion (See at least Para [0225] “…The robot
used in this work is a 0 5 mm continuum robot with a cone that re -route the actuation lines and an
actuation line length of more than 300 mm…”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to modify the mechanism of Yoon to incorporate the teaching of Simaan which is to include length of the wires that are ten times or more the length of the bendable portion in order to create movement flexibility.
Allowable Subject Matter
17. Claim 4 and 5 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.
Conclusion
18. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Swaney et al (US 2016/0346513 A1) teaches a needle-sized bendable joint design that navigate
around sharp corners to manipulate or visualize tissue where the bendable joint includes of a
nitinol tube with several asymmetric cutouts, actuated by a tendon.
Hunter et al. (US 2017/0049298 A1) teaches propelling endoscope to the desired position, to
automate functions and to prevent perforations during procedures.
Simaan et al. (US 20160354924 A9) teaches movement control of continuum robot through
force estimation.
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/SHAHEDA HOQUE/Examiner, Art Unit 3658
/Ramon A. Mercado/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3658