5A and 513, thereby exposing the sterile ends within the reactive field. As
these tabs are peeled away, the two exposed ends are moved toward one
another (arrows E and F) to form a connection. The combined peeling and
joining motion imparted on the tabs is, of course, quite complex, involving
translation along two axes as well as rotation and bending (deformation) of
the tabs. This is clearly an example of a mechanism imparting motion along
a plurality of axes within a reactive field.
12. Figures 3 and 9 illustrate yet another type of complex motion involving
a plurality of axes. In particular, these two figures illustrate situations in
which a component is permanently deformed. In Figure 3, the ends of two
components are cut off prior to joining, and in Figure 9 a container is sealed
subsequent to filling. These cutting and sealing operations clearly involve
motion along axes perpendicular to the principal joining/assembling axis.
Although these operations do not involve gross displacement of components,
they do involve motion via deformation. In this sense, they result in motion
along a plurality of axes.
13. In conclusion, I believe that there are several respects in which motion
along a plurality of directions within the reactive volume is described in the
'964 application. These include:
a. Motion imparted by the conveyor of Figure 2 combined with
joining/assembling motion as illustrated in Figures 3, 5, 6 and 8.
b. (a) combined with additional motions necessary to bring
components into alignment.
c. (a) combined with additional motions necessary to "peel" away
protective tabs.
d. (a) combined with additional motions necessary to permanently
deform (cut or seat) components.
14. Also in conclusion, I believe that one skilled in the field of automated
assembly would recognize immediately, upon reading page 3, lines 18-23,
that "assembling the ends together" would in many instances involve a
plurality of directions, even in the absence of any fin-ther discussion. The fact
of the matter is that assembly often requires motion along multiple directions.
Even an action as simple as screwing the lid onto ajar involves both rotation
and translation.
B. Ex. 2009, pp. 4-7, TT 5-14.
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