DETAILED ACTION
This is the first Office action on the merits of Application No. 19/139,679. Claims 1-7, 13, 15-19, 21, 23-25 and 31-33 are currently pending.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 26, 2026 has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(u)(1) and PCT Rule 11.13(k) because Figs. 1-5, 8 and 16 each include multiple figures which should be separately numbered and referred to in the brief description of the drawings and the detailed description.
The drawings are further objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) and PCT Rule 11.13(m) because reference character “102” has been used to designate both the first electrode and the second electrode and reference character “105” has been used to designate both the input connection member and the output connection member.
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.
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.
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 1-7, 13, 15-19, 21, 23-25, 31 and 33 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Lines 5-8 of independent claim 1 are unclear with regards to which element(s) the input connection element and the output connection element are associated with, and also with regards to the manner in which the elements are “associated with” one another. With the phrase “at least one of” in line 5 and the alternative “or” in line 7, the claim appears to cover embodiments which are not disclosed and perhaps not even possible. Fig. 1 shows an embodiment where the input connection member is connected to the first electrode, and the output connection member is connected to the second electrode as described in paragraph [0029]. However, the claim also covers, for example, an embodiment wherein the input connection member is “associated with” both the first electrode and the second electrode and the output connection member is also “associated with” the second electrode. There does not appear to be any disclosure of such an embodiment, and it is unclear how such an embodiment would operate. As such, the claim does not particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention.
Claims 2-7, 13, 15-19, 21, 23-25 and 31 which are dependent on claim 1 are indefinite for the same reasons.
It is unclear which of the disclosed structure corresponds to the “hollow mechanical feature” and the “matching positive mechanical feature” recited in claim 33 since these elements do not appear to be described in the specification. The claim is indefinite since it cannot be determined which of the disclosed elements corresponds to the claimed structure.
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.
Claims 1-5 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2017/0222576 A1 (Majidi).
Regarding claim 1, Majidi discloses an electrostatic clutch (100 in Fig. 1) comprising: a first electrode (101); a second electrode (102); a dielectric material (203, see Figs. 4A and 4B and paragraph [0036] lines 3-6) disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode; an input connection member associated with at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode (one substrate 201 can be construed as an input connection member associated with the first electrode 101, see Figs. 4A and 4B and paragraph [0032] lines 3-5); and an output connection member associated with the second electrode or the dielectric material (the other substrate 201 shown in Figs. 4A and 4B can be construed as an output connection member associated with the second electrode 102). As can be seen by comparing the annotated copy of Figs. 4A and 4B below, when of the input connection member is displaced relative to the output connection member from the position shown in Fig. 4A to the position shown in Fig. 4B, there is no resultant change in the overlap area of the first electrode and the second electrode.
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Regarding claims 2-5 and 21, note the embodiments shown in Figs. 11A-11B which include a winding device (shafts 711, 712 which form a roller or spool as broadly claimed) and a belt (710).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 7, 13, 15-19 and 23-25 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.
Claim 32 is allowed.
Claim 33 would be allowable if rewritten or amended 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Neither Majidi nor any of the other prior art taken alone or in combination discloses or renders obvious an electrostatic clutch wherein: the output connection member comprises a shuttle as recited in claim 6; the second electrode is configured with a 180 degree turn around at least one roller attached to the input connection member, and the second electrode wraps around one or more additional moving rollers that are attached to one or more tensioners as recited in claim 7; the output connection member comprises a cable that terminates on a second link that makes a rotary joint connection to a first link attached to the input connection member to direct torque at the rotary joint as recited in claim 17; the input connection member connects to the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the output connection member connects to the dielectric material as recited in claim 18; the clutch further comprises a flexible housing comprising a shuttle guide and a spacer such that compression of the housing does not cause friction between the first electrode, the second electrode, or the dielectric material as recited in claim 19; or a belt that interfaces with a second link that makes a rotary joint connection to a first link attached to the input connection member, allowing the clutch to effectively produce torque at the rotary joint as recited in claim 23, in combination with the other recited structure. Claims 13, 15 and 16 are dependent on claim 7 and allowable for at least the same reasons. Claims 24 and 25 are dependent on claim 23 and allowable for at least the same reasons. Claim 31 is dependent on claim 17 and allowable for at least the same reasons.
Neither Majidi nor any of the other prior art taken alone or in combination discloses or renders obvious an electrostatic clutch comprising an electrically insulating flexible substrate disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, and wherein the clutch is coiled such that a voltage applied across the first electrode and the second electrode causes a change in friction between an overlapping area between the first electrode and the second electrode causing resistance to relative translation or rotation of the input connection member and the output connection member, in combination with the other structure recited in claim 32.
Neither Majidi nor any of the other prior art taken alone or in combination discloses or renders obvious an electrostatic clutch comprising an input connection member and an output connection member as specified in claim 33 in combination with the other recited structure, in particular an input connection member which includes a hollow mechanical feature; an output connection member which includes a matching positive mechanical feature of a size equal to or smaller than the input connection member hollow mechanical feature and that is positioned inside the hollow mechanical feature of the input connection member, wherein applying a voltage across the first electrode and the second electrode causes resistance to relative rotation of the mechanical features about a common axis, and/or causes resistance to relative translation of the mechanical features along the common axis.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 2022/0209689 A1 discloses an electrostatic clutch 200 in Figs. 2A and 2B comprising a first electrode 202, a second electrode 208, and a dielectric material 206, 212 disposed between the electrodes.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Richard M. Lorence whose telephone number is 571-272-7094. The examiner can normally be reached Tuesday-Thursday from 11:00 AM-7:00 PM.
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/RICHARD M LORENCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617
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