DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
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 .
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to the application filed on 06/03/2025. Claims 1-4 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
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 01/28/2025 and 06/04/2025 were filed and are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the Information Disclosure Statement is being considered by the Examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, a fifth-axis bevel gear (B) configured to mesh with the gear teeth of the fifth-axis bevel gear (A) at one end of the fifth-axis shaft, as required by claim 1, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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.
Abstract
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because:
The Abstract exceeds 150 words.
A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claims 1-4 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 line 5 reads “other end”, --another end-- is suggested.
Claim 1 line 15 reads “a sixth-axis”, --the sixth-axis-- is suggested.
Claim 1 line 15 reads “with bevel”, --with the bevel-- is suggested.
Claim 1 line 16 reads “other end”, --another end-- is suggested.
Claim 1 line 18 reads “other end”, --another end-- is suggested.
Claim 1 line 20 reads “a sixth-axis”, --the sixth-axis-- is suggested.
Claim 1 line 21 reads “other end”, --another end-- is suggested.
Claims 2-4 line 1 reads “a vertical”, --the vertical-- is suggested.
Claim 3 lines 3-4 read “the sixth-axis bevel”, --the fifth-axis bevel-- is suggested.
Claim 4 line 3 reads “bevel gear teeth formed at one end”, --the bevel gear teeth formed at the one end-- is suggested.
Claim 4 line 4 reads “and spur gear teeth formed at other end”, --the spur gear teeth formed at the other end-- is suggested.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1-4 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claims 1-4 recite the limitations “a fifth-axis bevel gear (A)”, “a fifth-axis bevel gear (B)”, “a sixth-axis bevel gear (A)”, “a sixth-axis bevel gear (B)”, “a sixth-axis bevel gear (C)” and “a sixth-axis bevel gear (D)”. First, the Examiner notes that MPEP 608.01(m) states that “[w] here a claim sets forth a plurality of elements or steps, each element or step of the claim should be separated by a line indentation…reference characters, however, should be enclosed within parentheses so as to avoid confusion with other numbers or characters which may appear in the claims. Generally, the presence or absence of such reference characters does not affect the scope of a claim”. As such, limitations in parentheses are not read into claims and it is therefore unclear what limitations are required in the claims. Second, since the reference characters in the parentheses are not read into the claims, it is unclear which bevel gears are being referred to throughout the claims.
Claim 1 lines 7-8 recite the limitation “a fifth-axis bevel gear (B) configured to mesh with the gear teeth of the fifth-axis bevel gear (A) at one end of the fifth-axis shaft”. It is unclear how these two bevel gears mesh at one end of the shaft, when the shaft is shown in the figures to be remote from the meshing point.
Claim 1 line 8 recites the limitation “a rotation axis”. It is unclear what element this is referring to. For example, the claim recites many elements which have a rotational axis to which the limitation could be referring to.
Claim 1 line 11 recites the limitation “a sixth-axis bevel gear (A) positioned while fixed”. It is unclear how an element can be positioned while being fixed.
Claim 1 line 13 recites the limitation “a rotation axis”. It is unclear what element this is referring to. For example, the claim recites many elements which have a rotational axis to which the limitation could be referring to.
Accordingly, from the above, the claims and disclosure are generally narrative and indefinite, appearing to be a literal translation into English from a foreign document. A great deal of confusion and uncertainty exists as to the proper interpretation of the claim limitations. In accordance with MPEP § 2173 the examiner has applied the prior art elsewhere below under 35 U.S.C. 102 and/or 103 in as best as the claims can be understood in the interest of compact prosecution. See In re Wilson, 424 F.2d 1382, 1385 (CCPA 1970); In re Steele, 305 F.2d 859, 134 USPQ 292 (CCPA 1962).
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 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haniya (US 5934148 A) in view of Ibrahim (US 7331873 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Haniya discloses a wrist axis fastening structure of a vertical multi-joint robot (see Fig. 1), comprising: a fifth-axis shaft (2) and a sixth-axis shaft (3) configured to be driven by respective motors (not shown); a fifth-axis bevel gear (21) having one end formed with bevel gear teeth (teeth of 21) and other end connected to the fifth-axis shaft (2), and being rotatably supported on the sixth-axis shaft (3) via a bearing (301); a fifth-axis bevel gear (44) configured to mesh with the gear teeth (teeth of 21) of the fifth-axis bevel gear (21) at one end of the fifth-axis shaft (2) to convert a rotation axis into a perpendicular direction, the fifth-axis bevel gear (44) being coupled to an input shaft (42) of a fifth-axis reducer (4); a sixth-axis bevel gear (31) at a tip end of the sixth-axis shaft (3), and having bevel gear teeth (teeth of 31) to mesh with bevel gear teeth (teeth of 5) formed at one end of a sixth-axis bevel gear (5) configured to convert a rotation axis into a perpendicular direction; a sixth-axis bevel gear (5) having one end formed with bevel gear teeth (teeth of 5) to mesh with the sixth-axis bevel gear (31) and other end formed with spur gear teeth (teeth of 51); a sixth-axis bevel gear (6) having one end formed with bevel gear teeth (teeth of 6) to mesh with a sixth-axis bevel gear (73) and other end formed with spur gear teeth (teeth of 61) to mesh with the sixth-axis bevel gear (5); and a sixth-axis bevel gear (73) having one end formed with bevel gear teeth (teeth of 73) to mesh with the sixth-axis bevel gear (6) and other end fixed to an input shaft (71) of a sixth- axis reducer (7), wherein the fifth-axis bevel gear (44) and the sixth-axis bevel gear (5) are arranged in an up-down direction with respect to the sixth-axis shaft (3), and a position where the fifth-axis bevel gear (21) and the fifth-axis bevel gear (31) mesh and a position where the sixth-axis bevel gear (31) and the sixth-axis bevel gear (5) mesh are determined so that respective rotation axes of the fifth-axis bevel gear (44) and the sixth-axis bevel gear (5) are aligned on the same straight line (see Fig. 1). Haniya fails to disclose the gears are secured via a nut. However, Ibrahim teaches the gears (see Fig. 2-3; 16) are secured via a nut (30). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date to modify the gears of Haniya to be secured via a nut, as taught by Ibrahim, to allow for the repair and/or replacement of the individual gears without requiring the replacement of the entire shaft assembly. The combination above would necessarily result in the following limitations: the fifth-axis bevel gear (Haniya; 44) being coupled to an input shaft (Haniya; 42) of a fifth-axis reducer (Haniya; 4) and fixed by a first nut (Ibrahim; 30); a sixth-axis bevel gear (Haniya; 31) positioned while fixed by a second nut (Ibrahim; 30); and a sixth-axis bevel gear (Haniya; 73) having one end formed with bevel gear teeth (Haniya; teeth of 73) to mesh with the sixth-axis bevel gear (Haniya; 6) and other end fixed to an input shaft (Haniya; 71) of a sixth-axis reducer (Haniya; 7) by a third nut (Ibrahim; 30).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of claim 1 elsewhere above would necessarily result in the following limitations: a fastening surface of the first nut (Ibrahim; 30) has an inclined surface (Ibrahim; 30b), and the fifth-axis bevel gear (Haniya; 21) has an inclined groove (Ibrahim; 16b) to be correspondingly fastened thereto, and a shim projection surface (Ibrahim; 28) that acts as a shim is formed between the fifth-axis bevel gear (Haniya; 21) and the fifth-axis reducer (Haniya; 4) on an opposite side to the inclined groove (Ibrahim; 16b).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of claim 1 elsewhere above would necessarily result in the following limitations: a fastening surface of the second nut (Ibrahim; 30) has an inclined surface (Ibrahim; 30b), and the sixth-axis bevel gear (Haniya; 24) has an inclined groove (Ibrahim; 16b) to be correspondingly fastened thereto, and a fastening surface of the third nut (Ibrahim; 30) has an inclined surface (Ibrahim; 30b), and the sixth-axis bevel gear (Haniya; 73) has an inclined groove (Ibrahim; 16b) to be correspondingly fastened thereto.
Regarding claim 4, Haniya discloses each of the sixth-axis bevel gear (5) and the sixth-axis bevel gears (6) is formed as an integral structure including a shaft (shaft of 5, shaft of 6), bevel gear teeth formed at one end of the shaft (bevel gear teeth of 5, bevel gear teeth of 6), and spur gear teeth formed at other end thereof (teeth of 51, teeth of 61).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892.
KR 19980026319 U and WO 8805714 A1 disclose robot joints with bevel gears.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH BROWN whose telephone number is (313)446-6568. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs: 8:00am - 5:00pm EST.
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/JOSEPH BROWN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
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