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 .
This action is in response to the preliminary amendment and documents received on August 20, 2025.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claims 1- are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over RIEDEL et al. (US 2015/0127151) in view of STRAUSS et al. (US 9,492,929).
In reference to claim 1, RIEDEL et al. discloses a robot system comprising: a robot arm 1 having a plurality of links 6-11 connected by a plurality of joints 4 such that the links 6-11 are movable relative to one another (figure 2); controllables drives designed to move respective joints to a desired joint configuration according to a programed movement path (paragraph [0048]); a controller 2 designed follow a stored program (paragraph [0019]) to control the drives (paragraph [0048]); a gripper fastened to a tool flange (paragraph [0012]) of the robot arm 1. RIEDEL et al. does not definitively disclose a second gripping tool secured to the tool flange.
STRAUSS et al. teaches a robot system 100 comprising: a first gripper 324 and a second gripper 336 fastened to a tool flange of a robot arm 108. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to have modified the robot system of RIEDEL et al. to include a first and second gripping tool as taught by STRAUSS et al. since column 1 lines 25-30 of STRAUSS et al. states such a modification is beneficial for handling various objects.
Regarding claims 2 and 3, paragraphs [0054] RIEDEL et al. disclose the controller 2 designed and configured to detect forces occurring in the joints 4 of the robotic arm during movement (figure 2) of the robot arm. STRAUSS et al. teaches a controller 106 configured to detect 104 forces occurring in the robotic arm 108 and control movement of the gripper from between an open position and a closed position in response to the detected forces (column 6 lines 39-60). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to have modified the controller of REIDEL et al. to control the first and second grippers per the modification in view of STRAUSS et al. in response to forces detected in the robotic arm since column 6 lines 39-60 of STRAUSS et al. suggests such a modification ensures effective control of the grippers relative to a product and environment.
With respect to claims 4, 5 and 7-9, the first gripping tool of REIDEL et al. in view of STRAUSS et al. is characterized by a first jaw 324 and a second jaw 330 that are movable relative to one another such that a contact surface (figure 3B) of each of the first and second jaws 324, 330 are configured to grip a wall of an article.
In reference to claim 6, figures 2-3 of REIDEL et al. discloses the tool flange configured to execute various pivoting motions (angles) with the gripping tool of STRAUSS et al. secured thereto.
Regarding claim 10 and the functional limitations of the previous claim(s), Examiner would like to note that Applicant’s invention is drawn to an apparatus rather than a process/method. Although neither REIDEL et al. nor STRAUSS et al. specifically disclose using the robot system to grip and close a container upper part and latches as desired by Applicant’s invention, it has been held that recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed product from a prior art product satisfying the claimed structural limitations.1
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to the attached PTO-892 for a notice of references cited and recommended for consideration based on their disclosure of limitations related to the claimed invention. In particular, the references cited are drawn to robotic systems including arms actuated by a controller and/or grippers attachable to a robotic arm. MIYAUCHI (US 2015/0166208) teaches the knowledge in the art to utilize grippers of a robotic arm system to handle the closure of a container.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GLORIA R WEEKS whose telephone number is (571)272-4473. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-2pm & 5pm-7pm EST.
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//GLORIA R WEEKS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
May 30, 2026
1 Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (1987).
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