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 .
Priority
The applicant’s claim to priority of IT102022000022500 on 11/02/2022 is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The applicant filed an IDS on 4/30/2025. It has been annotated and considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(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, 14 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kobayashi et al. (US 20190126471 hereinafter Kobayashi).
Regarding claim 1 (and similarly 20), Kobayashi teaches a process for the automated handling of products within a plant comprising a workstation which in turn comprises a first robotic arm and a plurality of gripping tools, the process comprising (See at least: Fig. 2 items 302 “robot arm” and 102 “grasping unit”; [0028] The grasping unit 102 grasps one of the plurality of arranged grasping objects 301, moves to a different position, and arranges.):
- arranging said products randomly on a service plane of the workstation (See at least: Fig. 2 items 301 “objects” and 303 “supply tray”; [0023] In the first embodiment, an apparatus which can be applied to a case where, from objects such as a plurality of parts or the like disposed at arbitrary position orientations, the contents of the grasping operation are determined in accordance with a state of the object and the grasping is performed by using a grasping unit attached to a robot arm or the like will be described.);
- acquiring an image of the products arranged on the service plane (See at least: Fig. 2 item 101 “imaging unit”; [0027] The imaging unit 101 captures an image (hereinbelow, referred to as a captured image) and a depth image as a scene in which a plurality of grasping objects (objects) 301 are arranged. The imaging unit 101 transmits the captured image and depth image to the information processing apparatus 200. The depth image is an image including information (depth information) of a distance from the imaging unit 101 to each pixel of the captured image.);
- processing said image to obtain geometric characteristics of each of the products arranged on the service plane (See at least: [0027]; [0034] FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing an example of a data construction of the grasping condition 500.);
- for each of said products :
-identifying, based on the geometric characteristics which have been respectively obtained, a respective gripping tool among said plurality of gripping tools (See at least: Fig. 5A);
associating the respective identified gripping tool with the first robotic arm (See at least: [0171] In the grasping system of the embodiment, a grasping unit changing unit 103 is added as compared with the whole construction of the grasping system of the second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8. A difference from the second embodiment will be described hereinbelow and a description about the same portions is properly omitted. [0172] The grasping unit changing unit 103 has a mechanism for changing the grasping unit of the grasping unit 102. For example, a tool changer or the like can be used as a grasping unit changing unit 103. In the embodiment, the grasping unit of the grasping unit 102 is changed to “suction cup” or “tweeze-type gripper” on the basis of a command from the control unit 208.”);
moving the first robotic arm to grasp the product by the respective gripping tool (See at least: Fig. 5A step s108 “Grasping Operation”)
moving the grasped product from said service plane to an operating station of the plant and releasing the product in said operating station by the respective gripping tool (See at least: Fig. 2 item 304 “ejection tray”; [0030] In the grasping system, the imaging unit 101 and the grasping unit 102 are attached to front edges of a robot arm 302. In this instance, the grasping objects 301 such as a plurality of parts or the like are disposed like a mountain in a supply tray 303 at arbitrary position orientations. The imaging unit 101 captures a scene in which the plurality of grasping objects 301 were arranged. The grasping unit 102 grasps one of the plurality of grasping objects 301 on the basis of control from the information processing apparatus 200. After the robot arm 302 moved the grasping object 301 to a predetermined position in an ejection tray 304, the grasping unit 102 releases the grasping object 301 and arranges into the ejection tray 304.”).
Regarding claim 14, Kobayashi teaches wherein the gripping tools are selected from the group consisting of: suction cups, callipers, soft callipers, pouring hoppers, hooks and any combination thereof (See at least: [0171] In the grasping system of the embodiment, a grasping unit changing unit 103 is added as compared with the whole construction of the grasping system of the second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8. A difference from the second embodiment will be described hereinbelow and a description about the same portions is properly omitted. [0172] The grasping unit changing unit 103 has a mechanism for changing the grasping unit of the grasping unit 102. For example, a tool changer or the like can be used as a grasping unit changing unit 103. In the embodiment, the grasping unit of the grasping unit 102 is changed to “suction cup” or “tweeze-type gripper” on the basis of a command from the control unit 208.”).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2-9 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi in view of Wellman et al. (US 20160167227 hereinafter Wellman).
Regarding claim 2, Kobayashi fails to teach the following limitations, but Wellman teaches wherein identifying the respective gripping tool, among said plurality of gripping tools, for each of the products arranged on the service plane comprises:
- accessing, based on the geometric characteristics obtained by processing the image, a database comprising instances of product data relating to a predefined plurality of reference products, wherein the product data comprises geometric characteristics of the reference products and each instance of product data is associated with a gripping tool among said plurality of gripping tools , said gripping tool being associated with a respective score indicative of the a probability of having a successful gripping;
- retrieving from the database instances of the product data having geometric characteristics corresponding to the geometric characteristics obtained by processing the image, and
- identifying said respective gripping tool among the gripping tools which are associated with the instances retrieved from the database based on the scores associated therewith (See at least: [0087] The grasping strategy evaluation module 740 can evaluate the success of the grasping strategy instructed by the grasping strategy instruction module 735. For example, the grasping strategy evaluation module 740 may evaluate different factors of success of a grasping operation, such as, but not limited to, whether the robotic arm was able to grasp and maintain a grip of the target item, a time elapsed to complete the grasping action, and an indication of whether the target item reached the intended destination and/or in the intended configuration. Such factors may be utilized, for example, for ranking a preference of grasping strategies for certain items and/or item characteristics. The database update module 745 can update records and/or grasping strategies stored in databases, such as the item database 37 and/or the item grasping database 36 of FIG. 1. For example, the database update module 745 may update an item database 37 to update a virtual model of an item having a certain SKU based on sensed attributes determined by the attribute detection module 710 for another item of that SKU. In this way, attributes of an item may be updated over time, by information gathered by different combinations of sensors or different instances of attribute detection. This may be useful, as attributes detected by a single instance of sensing may be based on a single face of an item or otherwise yield less than all information available about that item. The database update module 745 may also update grasping strategies for particular items (e.g., stored in the item grasping database 36 of FIG. 1), such as in response to information received from the grasping strategy evaluation module 740, the human-based grasping strategy module 720, the constraints module 725, or any combination thereof. In this way, a strategy that was successfully implemented by one robotic arm in one location may be rapidly deployed for implementation of a robotic arm in another location in the same workspace or another inventory system having access to database 36.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of Wellman to teach the above limitations so that the database can be maintained and updated to track which gripping tools were best for specific products to improve gripping success over time.
Regarding claim 3, Kobayashi teaches wherein the geometric characteristics comprise at least one of: shape, size, centre of gravity, volume and spatial arrangement with respect to the service plane (See at least: [0037] The grasping object state label 530 is a label for identifying the state of the grasping object 301. Conditions for validating the grasping condition element 510 are described in the grasping object state label 530. In the embodiment, an available orientation in a three-dimensional space of the grasping object 301 is classified into a front surface, a back surface, and a side surface and it is defined as a state of the grasping object 301. For example, values 1 to 3 corresponding to those orientations are set into the grasping object state label 530. The state of the grasping object 301 is recognized by the recognizing unit 205. When the state of the grasping object 301 coincides with the state described in the grasping object state label 530, the grasping condition element 510 is valid. Such a process will be described hereinafter.).
Regarding claim 4, teaches wherein identifying the respective gripping tool comprises identifying an optimal pair formed by the respective gripping tool and a respective gripping mode (See at least: [0087] The grasping strategy evaluation module 740 can evaluate the success of the grasping strategy instructed by the grasping strategy instruction module 735. For example, the grasping strategy evaluation module 740 may evaluate different factors of success of a grasping operation, such as, but not limited to, whether the robotic arm was able to grasp and maintain a grip of the target item, a time elapsed to complete the grasping action, and an indication of whether the target item reached the intended destination and/or in the intended configuration. Such factors may be utilized, for example, for ranking a preference of grasping strategies for certain items and/or item characteristics. The database update module 745 can update records and/or grasping strategies stored in databases, such as the item database 37 and/or the item grasping database 36 of FIG. 1. For example, the database update module 745 may update an item database 37 to update a virtual model of an item having a certain SKU based on sensed attributes determined by the attribute detection module 710 for another item of that SKU. In this way, attributes of an item may be updated over time, by information gathered by different combinations of sensors or different instances of attribute detection. This may be useful, as attributes detected by a single instance of sensing may be based on a single face of an item or otherwise yield less than all information available about that item. The database update module 745 may also update grasping strategies for particular items (e.g., stored in the item grasping database 36 of FIG. 1), such as in response to information received from the grasping strategy evaluation module 740, the human-based grasping strategy module 720, the constraints module 725, or any combination thereof. In this way, a strategy that was successfully implemented by one robotic arm in one location may be rapidly deployed for implementation of a robotic arm in another location in the same workspace or another inventory system having access to database 36.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of Wellman to teach the above limitations so that the best grip can be made to pick up a product with the best available tool.
Regarding claim 5, Kobayashi fails to teach the following limitations, but Wellman teaches wherein: - each instance of the product data in the database is associated with a gripping tool among said plurality of gripping tools , said gripping tool being associated with a plurality of gripping modes, each pair formed by the gripping tool and one of the plurality of gripping modes being associated with a respective score indicative of the probability of having a successful gripping for the pair; and
- identification of the optimal pair is performed among the gripping tools and the gripping modes associated therewith in the instances retrieved from the database based on the score associated with each pair (See at least: [0087] The grasping strategy evaluation module 740 can evaluate the success of the grasping strategy instructed by the grasping strategy instruction module 735. For example, the grasping strategy evaluation module 740 may evaluate different factors of success of a grasping operation, such as, but not limited to, whether the robotic arm was able to grasp and maintain a grip of the target item, a time elapsed to complete the grasping action, and an indication of whether the target item reached the intended destination and/or in the intended configuration. Such factors may be utilized, for example, for ranking a preference of grasping strategies for certain items and/or item characteristics. The database update module 745 can update records and/or grasping strategies stored in databases, such as the item database 37 and/or the item grasping database 36 of FIG. 1. For example, the database update module 745 may update an item database 37 to update a virtual model of an item having a certain SKU based on sensed attributes determined by the attribute detection module 710 for another item of that SKU. In this way, attributes of an item may be updated over time, by information gathered by different combinations of sensors or different instances of attribute detection. This may be useful, as attributes detected by a single instance of sensing may be based on a single face of an item or otherwise yield less than all information available about that item. The database update module 745 may also update grasping strategies for particular items (e.g., stored in the item grasping database 36 of FIG. 1), such as in response to information received from the grasping strategy evaluation module 740, the human-based grasping strategy module 720, the constraints module 725, or any combination thereof. In this way, a strategy that was successfully implemented by one robotic arm in one location may be rapidly deployed for implementation of a robotic arm in another location in the same workspace or another inventory system having access to database 36.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of Wellman to teach the above limitations so that the best grip can be made to pick up a product with the best available tool.
Regarding claim 6, Kobayashi fails to teach the following limitations, but Wellman teaches wherein the gripping mode defines at least one gripping point on the product and operating parameters adapted to drive the gripping tool (See at least: [0087] The grasping strategy evaluation module 740 can evaluate the success of the grasping strategy instructed by the grasping strategy instruction module 735. For example, the grasping strategy evaluation module 740 may evaluate different factors of success of a grasping operation, such as, but not limited to, whether the robotic arm was able to grasp and maintain a grip of the target item, a time elapsed to complete the grasping action, and an indication of whether the target item reached the intended destination and/or in the intended configuration. Such factors may be utilized, for example, for ranking a preference of grasping strategies for certain items and/or item characteristics. The database update module 745 can update records and/or grasping strategies stored in databases, such as the item database 37 and/or the item grasping database 36 of FIG. 1. For example, the database update module 745 may update an item database 37 to update a virtual model of an item having a certain SKU based on sensed attributes determined by the attribute detection module 710 for another item of that SKU. In this way, attributes of an item may be updated over time, by information gathered by different combinations of sensors or different instances of attribute detection. This may be useful, as attributes detected by a single instance of sensing may be based on a single face of an item or otherwise yield less than all information available about that item. The database update module 745 may also update grasping strategies for particular items (e.g., stored in the item grasping database 36 of FIG. 1), such as in response to information received from the grasping strategy evaluation module 740, the human-based grasping strategy module 720, the constraints module 725, or any combination thereof. In this way, a strategy that was successfully implemented by one robotic arm in one location may be rapidly deployed for implementation of a robotic arm in another location in the same workspace or another inventory system having access to database 36.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of Wellman to teach the above limitations so that the best grip can be made to pick up a product with the best available tool.
Regarding claim 7, Kobayashi fails to teach the following limitations, but Wellman teaches a process comprising obtaining at least one characteristic parameter of the products arranged on the service plane selected from: weight, material, colour and surface characteristics (See at least: [0073] The attribute detection module 710 can interact with any number and/or type of sensors to determine attributes of an item to be grasped. For example, the attribute detection module 710 can receive information from imaging devices or optical sensors to determine physical characteristics, such as size, shape, position, orientation, and/or surface characteristics (e.g., how porous and/or slippery the item is based on the surface appearance). Any suitable optical technology can be utilized, including, but not limited to, two-dimensional cameras, depth sensors, time of flight sensing (e.g., broadcasting a source of light and determining a time of reflection for each pixel to determine a distance from the sensor for each pixel to determine a three-dimensional array of data points representing a virtual model of the sensed item and environment), structured light sensing (e.g., projecting a known image from a light source, observing the image as distorted by variations in the surface of the detected item, and analyzing the distortions with respect to the projected image to determine positioning of the features that caused the distortion), stereo sensing (e.g., analyzing differences in images collected from multiple cameras arranged at known offsets from one another to generate a point cloud or digital model), active stereo sensing (e.g., projecting a pattern of light to improve precision of detection of features while using stereo sensing), any other optically-based methodology of observing light for generating a digital representation of a physical object, or any combination thereof.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of Wellman to teach a process comprising obtaining at least one characteristic parameter of the products arranged on the service plane selected from: weight, material, colour and surface characteristics so that the best grip can be made to pick up a product with the best available tool based on characteristics of the product.
Regarding claim 8, Kobayashi fails to teach the following limitations, but Wellman teaches a process wherein the product data in the database comprises, in addition to the geometric characteristics, at least one characteristic parameter of the products of the predefined plurality of reference products selected from: weight, material, colour and surface characteristics (See at least: [0077] A database query module 715, as mentioned above, may access information about item grasping strategy from a database, such as the item grasping database 36 of FIG. 1. The database query module 715 may additionally or alternatively access records about items from a database, such as from the item database 37 of FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the database query module 715 may receive grasping strategy information based on a detected item being a recognized item (e.g., corresponding to a particular SKU). In some embodiments, the database query module 715 may access grasping strategy information based on detected physical attributes of the item (e.g., a size, shape, position, orientation, weight, or other attributes of the item regardless of a SKU of the item). The database query module 715 may receive information about grasping strategies based on the recognized item and/or characteristics.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of Wellman to teach a process wherein the product data in the database comprises, in addition to the geometric characteristics, at least one characteristic parameter of the products of the predefined plurality of reference products selected from: weight, material, colour and surface characteristics so that the best grip can be made to pick up a product with the best available tool based on characteristics of the product.
Regarding claim 9, Kobayashi fails to teach the following limitations, but Wellman teaches a process wherein if for one of the products arranged on the service plane the database is lacking an instance of product data whose geometric characteristics correspond to the geometric characteristics obtained by processing the image, the identification of the respective gripping tool, among said plurality of gripping tools, is performed by real-time processing the acquired image (See at least: [0077] A database query module 715, as mentioned above, may access information about item grasping strategy from a database, such as the item grasping database 36 of FIG. 1. The database query module 715 may additionally or alternatively access records about items from a database, such as from the item database 37 of FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the database query module 715 may receive grasping strategy information based on a detected item being a recognized item (e.g., corresponding to a particular SKU). In some embodiments, the database query module 715 may access grasping strategy information based on detected physical attributes of the item (e.g., a size, shape, position, orientation, weight, or other attributes of the item regardless of a SKU of the item). The database query module 715 may receive information about grasping strategies based on the recognized item and/or characteristics.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of Wellman to teach a process wherein if for one of the products arranged on the service plane the database is lacking an instance of product data whose geometric characteristics correspond to the geometric characteristics obtained by processing the image, the identification of the respective gripping tool, among said plurality of gripping tools, is performed by real-time processing the acquired image so that data can be obtained to pick up a new product and updated to the database so the best grip can be made to pick up a product with the best available tool based on the new information gathered for a product and so that the new information can be stored for future use.
Regarding claim 15, Kobayashi fails to teach the following limitations, but Wellman teaches wherein the service plane is at least in part elastically deformable (See at least: [0094] FIG. 11 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a tray 1118, such as may correspond to a tray 918 of FIG. 9. The tray can include a layer or surface of deformable material 1136. ).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of Wellman to teach wherein the service plane is at least in part elastically deformable so that the service plan can deform under pressure when a robotic arm is working on it to be more durable and provide more protection for the robotic arm and products on the service plane.
Claims 10-13 and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi in view of WO 2018005367 A1 (hereinafter ‘367).
Regarding claim 10, Kobayashi fails to teach the following limitations, but ‘367 teaches wherein before arranging said products randomly on the service plane, said products are contained in a container and wherein arranging said products randomly on the service plane comprises:
- picking up said container by an automated transfer device ;
- tilting or overturning said container above said service plane by moving said automated transfer device (See at least: Figs. 4-5, [0056]-[0065] specifically [0057] via “Transition of the items from the tote to the receiving area may be controlled by a rate of rotation of the tote 403 by the robotic unit 402. For example, in some implementations, the robotic unit 402 may receive instructions that cause the first robotic unit 402 to slowly rotate the tote so that different items are transitioned out of the tote and onto the receiving area 406 at different times refer to tote.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of ‘367 to teach the above limitations so that a robotic arm can be trained to pick up a container of items and place them in the service plane to further automate a product arranging process.
Regarding claim 11, Kobayashi fails to teach the following limitations, but ‘367 teaches wherein said container is arranged in a transport tray containing a plurality of containers, each container comprising a plurality of identical products (See at least: [0029]-[0031] specifically [0029] via “The tote receiving area 220 may be any space or configuration that is adjacent the first robotic unit for receiving totes that may be engaged and manipulated by the first robotic unit 202. In some implementations, a pallet or cart containing multiple totes, each tote containing multiple items may be positioned at the tote receiving area 220. In some implementations, the totes may include items that were picked from an inventory area of the materials handling facility by one or more agents and the items may correspond to various shipment sets. Likewise, the totes may be of various sizes and shapes, each of which may include an engagement area that allows engagement by the first robotic unit.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of ‘367 to teach the above limitations so that a robotic arm can be trained to pick up a container of items and place them in the service plane to further automate a product arranging process.
Regarding claim 12, Kobayashi fails to teach the following limitations, but ‘367 teaches a process comprising, before picking up said container by said automated transfer device : - transferring said transport tray from an automatic driven vehicle to a first conveyor adjacent to said service plane ; - transferring the transport tray from said first conveyor to a detection station adjacent to said first conveyor ; - acquiring an image of said transport tray at said detection station (See at least: [0026]-[0031], specifically [0026] FIG. 2 illustrates a singulation station 200, according to an implementation. The singulation station includes a tote receiving area 220, a first robotic unit 202, a singulation table 205, a pick conveyor 214, a pick area 215, and a second robotic unit 204. One or more imaging elements 216-1 , 216-2 may also be included at or near the singulation station 200 and be configured to obtain images of items as the items migrate through the singulation station 200. The imaging elements 216-1, 216-2, along with the first robotic unit 202, second robotic unit 204, singulation table 205, and pick conveyor 214 may communicate with and be controlled by the singulation controller 222.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of ‘367 to teach the above limitations so that a robotic arm can be trained to pick up a container of items and place them in the service plane to further automate a product arranging process.
Regarding claim 13, Kobayashi fails to teach the following limitations, but ‘367 teaches a process comprising checking a correct positioning of the tray and of the plurality of containers with respect to predetermined reference parameters by processing the acquired image of the transport tray (Refer to claims 10-12 for reasoning and rationale).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of ‘367 to teach the above limitations so that a robotic arm can be trained to pick up a container of items and place them in the service plane to further automate a product arranging process.
Regarding claim 16, Kobayashi fails to teach the following limitations, but ‘367 teaches wherein the service plane is actuatable (See at least: [0033] In addition to the receiving area 206 of the singulation table having potentially a variety of configurations (shape, material, angle), the receiving area may be active. Specifically, the receiving area 206 of the singulation table 205 may be coupled to an actuator, such as a motor, servo, oscillator, etc. that causes the surface of the receiving area 206 onto which items are placed to vibrate, oscillate, shake, or otherwise move.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of ‘367 to teach wherein the service plane is actuatable so that the service plane can be actuated to shift the products on it as desired to prepare them for grasping.
Regarding claim 17, Kobayashi fails to teach the following limitations, but ‘367 teaches wherein the service plane is actuatable by actuators associated there with which can be driven independently from each other (See at least: [0033] via “In some implementations, the receiving area 206 may be coupled to multiple actuators such that the actuators cause different forms of movement at different times and/or along different portions of the receiving area.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of ‘367 to teach wherein the service plane is actuatable by actuators associated there with which can be driven independently from each other so that different portions of the service plane can be actuated separately to shift the products.
Regarding claim 18, Kobayashi fails to teach the following limitations, but ‘367 teaches wherein the actuators can be driven independently from each other in terms of stroke and actuation frequency (See at least: [0033] via “In some implementations, the receiving area 206 may be coupled to multiple actuators such that the actuators cause different forms of movement at different times and/or along different portions of the receiving area.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kobayashi in view of ‘367 to teach wherein the actuators can be driven independently from each other in terms of stroke and actuation frequency so that different portions of the service plane can be actuated separately to shift the products.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi in view of Wellman and further in view of ‘367
Regarding claim 19, Kobayashi in view of Well and further in view of ‘367 teaches teaches wherein the service plane is actuatable and wherein, before performing said real-time processing of the acquired image, the process comprises sequentially:
- actuating the service plane so as to move at least some of the products arranged thereon,
- processing the acquired image again to obtain updated geometric characteristics of the products arranged on the service plane ,
- accessing the database again based on the updated geometric characteristics to retrieve the instances of the product data having geometric characteristics corresponding to the updated geometric characteristics and identify said respective gripping tool among the gripping tools which are associated with the instances thus retrieved from the database based on the scores associated therewith, said real-time processing of the acquired image being performed if the database lacks an instance of product data whose geometric characteristics correspond to the updated geometric characteristics (Refer at least to claims 1, 2 and 16-18 for reasoning and rationale.).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Harry Oh whose telephone number is (571)270-5912. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday, 9:00-3:00.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abby Lin can be reached on (571) 270-3976. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/HARRY Y OH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3657
Prosecution Insights