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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 Ln 3, please amend to --on one side of a wall of a cylinder [[wall]] thereof depending on an increase in internal pressure in [[a]] the cylinder--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-5 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.
Claim 1 Ln 8-13 states the limitation "a plurality of cylindrical finger actuators that are attached to the frame member at intervals in an extension direction of the base actuator”. It is unclear if the extension direction is distinct from the cylinder-axial direction. Ln 8-13 further states “so that the finger actuators … are each contracted and curved in the cylinder-axial direction on one side of a cylinder circumference depending on the increase in internal pressure in the cylinder”. It is unclear if this ‘cylinder-axial direction’ is the same as the cylinder-axial direction of Ln 2. The disclosure does not seem to support the fingers contracted and curved in the cylinder-axial direction of the base actuator. It appears that this limitation is attempting to layout a similar description as that of Ln 2-3 but with respect to the finger actuators.
Therefore, the scope of the claim is indeterminate. For examination, the limitation was interpreted as --a plurality of cylindrical finger actuators that are attached to the frame member at intervals along in the cylinder-axial direction having one end fixed to the frame member and another end being a free end , wherein the finger actuators extend in an intersecting direction intersecting the cylinder-axial direction, and wherein each of the finger actuators is contracted in the intersecting direction and is curved wall of a cylinder [[circumference]] thereof depending on the increase in internal pressure in the cylinder--.
Claims 2-5 are rejected for their dependence upon claim 1.
Claim interpretations
Claim 3 Ln 2 states the term “a leaf spring”. This term has been interpreted in light of the specification [0044] which states: “The expansion/contraction portion 65A is formed of a leaf spring having a semi- cylindrical shape having an axial direction (hereinafter referred to as an "axial direction Z") in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction S0, and can be expanded due to elastic deformation in a direction in which one end and the other end thereof in a circumferential direction are separated”.
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 1-2 and 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1), 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by GALLOWAY; Kevin C. et al. US 20190022875 A1, hereinafter Galloway.
Regarding claim 1, as far as is determinate, Galloway discloses (Fig. 2, 17, an annotated Fig. 17 is produced below for additional reference callouts) a robot hand comprising:
a cylindrical base actuator (199) that is contracted in a cylinder-axial direction (197) and is curved on one side of a wall (195) of a cylinder thereof depending on an increase in internal pressure in the cylinder ([0068, 0079] depicted as such in unpressurized Fig. 17A and pressurized Fig. 17B);
a frame member (240, see Fig. 2) that is disposed along the base actuator in the cylinder-axial direction, that supports the base actuator, that has an expansion/contraction portion which is expanded and contracted conforming to curved deformation of the base actuator, and that is curved and deformed conforming to the curved deformation of the base actuator [0058, 0063]; and
a plurality of cylindrical finger actuators (193) that are attached to the frame member at intervals along the base actuator in the cylinder-axial direction having one end (191) fixed to the frame member and another end (189) being a free end, wherein the finger actuators extend in an intersecting direction (187) intersecting the cylinder-axial direction, and wherein each of the finger actuators is contracted in the intersecting direction and is curved on one side of a wall of a cylinder thereof depending on the increase in internal pressure in the cylinder ([0068, 0079] depicted as such in unpressurized Fig. 17A and pressurized Fig. 17B).
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Regarding claim 2, Galloway discloses (Fig. 2, 17) the frame member (240) includes support joint members provided at respective attachment positions of the plurality of finger actuators (193), and the expansion/contraction portion connects adjacent support joint members to each other (interpreted as the portions of (240) approximate the attachment locations of (193)).
Regarding claim 4, Galloway discloses (Fig. 2, 17) the base actuator (199) has one end (185) fixed to the frame member (240) and another end being a free end (183).
Regarding claim 5, Galloway discloses (Fig. 2, 17) the frame member is integrally molded [0058, 0063].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 3, Galloway discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for Claim 2 except fails to explicitly state that the expansion/contraction portion is formed of a leaf spring that is curved conforming to the curved deformation of the base actuator.
Withstanding the formalities/rejections listed previously, Claim 3 contains allowable subject matter. The prior art does not anticipate nor render obvious the combination set forth in the independent claim, and specifically does not show the claimed leaf spring. Although Galloway discloses a frame member with expansion/contraction portions, there is no teaching in the prior art of record that would, reasonably and absent impermissible hindsight, motivate one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Galloway to incorporate the details of the expansion/contraction portion is formed of a leaf spring that is curved conforming to the curved deformation of the base actuator, along with the other claimed components of the robot hand. Therefore, when viewed as a whole and for at least the foregoing reasons, the prior art of record neither anticipates nor rendered obvious the present invention as set forth in the independent claim.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Relevant Art
The following is a listing of relevant art:
US 20200157388 A1, US 20160375590 A1, US 20190314980 A1, JP 2008032140 A, DE 102007017417 A1 disclose robot hands comprising a plurality of cylindrical finger actuators.
US 20130298759 A1 discloses a frame member that is disposed along a base actuator of McKibben type.
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
