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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 11/07/2025, has been received and made of record. In response to the Non-Final Office Action, dated on 08/11/2025. Claims 1, 4-14, 16-17 and 21 are pending in the current application. Claim 21 is newly amended.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 11/07/2025 have been fully considered.
In the Arguments/Remarks:
Re: Rejection of the Claims Under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)
Examiner submits to clarify that during the 10/07/2025 interview that the applicant’s arguments were fully considered however examiner stated that further considerations would be needed to definitively determine if the applicant’s arguments regarding independent claim 1 were persuasive. Upon further consideration, examiner finds the applicant’s arguments non-persuasive. For the sake of brevity, examiner’s arguments will be similarly applied to corresponding dependent claims and independent claim 16 and it’s corresponding dependent claims.
Claim 1 recites “A control system, comprising: a discharge control circuit configured to control an application device such that a coating is discharged from a discharge circuit” examiner cited paragraph 19 of Shirasaki “the sealer applying apparatus 1 executes control of the coating robot 2, an applying robot 2 that applies a sealer S to the work W, an imaging device 3 that images the sealer S applied to the work W”. Examiner submits under broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) that paragraph 19 of Shirasaki discloses or suggests the above-mentioned limitation of claim 1.
Claim 1 further recites “a robot control circuit configured to cause an articulated robot to change a position and an orientation of the discharge circuit such that the coating discharged by the discharge circuit is applied to a workpiece, wherein the articulated robot comprises one or more actuators that each drive a corresponding joint of the articulated robot”. Shirasaki discloses in paragraph 24 “The driving device 11 includes an actuator 12 for driving the image sensor 10 and a support member 13 for movably supporting the actuator 12.” And in paragraph 43 “First, the sealer applying apparatus 1 drives the multi-joint arm 7 of the coating robot 2 to move the sealer gun 8 to the coating start position. At the coating start position, the nozzle 9 of the sealer gun 8 is disposed at an upper position apart from the workpiece W. At this time, the image sensor 10 is supported by the support member 13 at the initial position (standby position).”. In the cited portions of Shirasaki discloses a robot control circuit configured to cause an articulated robot to change a position (start position and initial position) and an orientation of the discharge circuit such that the coating discharged by the discharge circuit is applied to a workpiece (drives the multi-joint arm 7 of the coating robot 2 to move the sealer gun 8 to the coating start position), wherein the at least one or more actuators that drive a corresponding joint of the articulated robot (driving device 11-para 24). Examiner submits that under the BRI that Shirasaki discloses or suggests the above-mentioned limitation of claim 1
Claim 1 further recites “an application abnormality detection circuit configured to detect an abnormality in an application state of the coating based on a state of the articulated robot acquired from the articulated robot, wherein the state of the articulated robot is based on drive state information indicating a drive state of each of the one or more actuators”. Examiner submits that the drive state is being interpreted as the state in which the actuators are in use (rotational position, speed, torque, driving force) during the use of the robot. Shirasaki discloses that when an abnormality/defect is detected the position of the sealer gun/nozzle attached to the robot is transmitted to the arithmetic processing unit and the control unit is then able to recorrect the positioning of the sealer gun/nozzle and correct the detected defections. The time and position of the gun/nozzle (drive state) is taken into account when an abnormality is detected. Shirasaki further discloses in paragraph 65 “In this example, the application robot 2 is configured to specify the application position of the sealer S and the position of the sealer gun 8 according to the distance from the application start position SP in the application pattern. Therefore, the application robot 2 can specify the position of the application defect portion NG in the application pattern, according to the distance to the application start position SP application failure position NG in the application pattern”. Examiner submits that under the broadest reasonable interpretation that the cited passages of Shirasaki disclose or suggest the above-mentioned limitation of claim 1.
Claim 1 further recites “an application position calculation circuit configured to calculate an application position of the coating, on the workpiece, applied from the discharge circuit based on the state of the articulated robot acquired from the articulated robot”. Shirasaki discloses in paragraph 5 “The sealer coating apparatus monitors the position and coating width of the sealer applied to the workpiece in accordance with this coating pattern with a sensor attached to the sealer gun, and when the sensor detects a coating defect, detects the time stored in the storage means or From the position coordinate data, the position of this coating defect is specified, and the sealer is re-coated with a sealer gun at this position”. Examiner notes submits under the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) that Shirasaki discloses or suggests the above-mentioned limitation of claim 1.
Claim 1 further recites “and an abnormality notification circuit configured to send a notification of a site of the abnormality in the application state on the workpiece based on a detection result of the abnormality in the application state and a calculation result of the application position”. Examiner cited paragraphs 70-74 of Shirasaki, paragraph 72 discloses “The arithmetic processing unit 23 compares the value of the measured coating width with the reference value to determine whether the coating state is acceptable or not. The arithmetic processing section 23 displays the determination result on the monitor of the image processing apparatus 6. FIG. 12 shows an example of the determination result displayed on the monitor of the image processing device 6. As shown in FIG. 12, this determination result includes a first display area 30 for displaying the divisions of the first group G 1 to the third group G 3, and curves CL 11 to CL 15 belonging to each group G 1 to G 3, A second display area 31 showing the determination result of the coating width corresponding to CL 25, CL 31 to CL 35, and a third display area 32 displaying the position information of the image data acquired by the imaging device 3, that is, the identification number. In FIG. 12, illustration of the determination results of the fourth group G 4 and the fifth group G 5 is omitted”, paragraph 74 discloses “in the second display area 31, five-digit numbers are displayed corresponding to the five curves CL 11 to CL 15, CL 21 to CL 25, and CL 31 to CL 35 belonging to the respective groups G 1 to G 3. In this example, the judgment result is displayed by the numeral "0" or "1". That is, in this example, "1" means abnormality (coating failure) and "0" means normal (coating width is within the range of the reference value).”. Examiner further notes that paragraphs 75-82 of Shirasaki further provide more detail. Examiner submits that the cited portions and the other portions previously cited in the other areas of claim 1 of Shirasaki under the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) disclose or suggests the above-mentioned limitation of claim 1.
Examiner notes that upon further consideration that the applicant’s arguments are non-persuasive and the previous rejections of claim 1 and similarly independent claim 16 and their corresponding dependent claims are still applied. Examiner has augmented the rejection of claim 21 (see below) in view of applicant’s amendments.
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)(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, 4, 6, 8-10, 16-17 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shirasaki (JP 2017-44680 A).
Regarding claim 1, Shirasaki teaches a control system, comprising: a discharge control circuit configured to control an application device such that a coating is discharged from a discharge circuit [(see at least paragraph 19) “the sealer applying apparatus 1 executes control of the coating robot 2, an applying robot 2 that applies a sealer S to the work W, an imaging device 3 that images the sealer S applied to the work W”]; a robot control circuit configured to cause an articulated robot to change a position and an orientation of the discharge circuit such that the coating discharged by the discharge circuit is applied to a workpiece, wherein the articulated robot comprises one or more actuators that each drive a corresponding joint of the articulated robot [(see at least Fig.1, 24-25,43) As in 24 “The driving device 11 includes an actuator 12 for driving the image sensor 10 and a support member 13 for movably supporting the actuator 12.” 43 “ First, the sealer applying apparatus 1 drives the multi-joint arm 7 of the coating robot 2 to move the sealer gun 8 to the coating start position. At the coating start position, the nozzle 9 of the sealer gun 8 is disposed at an upper position apart from the workpiece W. At this time, the image sensor 10 is supported by the support member 13 at the initial position (standby position).”]
Shirasaki teaches an application abnormality detection circuit configured to detect an abnormality in an application state of the coating based on a state of the articulated robot acquired from the articulated robot, wherein the state of the articulated robot is based on drive state information indicating a drive state of each of the one or more actuators; [(see at least paragraphs 5,15,25-28, 43-44, 60) As in 5 “The sealer coating apparatus monitors the position and coating width of the sealer applied to the workpiece in accordance with this coating pattern with a sensor attached to the sealer gun, and when the sensor detects a coating defect, detects the time stored in the storage means or From the position coordinate data, the position of this coating defect is specified, and the sealer is re-coated with a sealer gun at this position.” As in 15 “The distance from the coating start position to the poor coating position in the sealer application pattern can be obtained by the arithmetic processing unit. The application robot can specify the application position of the sealer, that is, the position of the sealer gun, according to the distance from the application start position in the application pattern. Therefore, by inputting this distance obtained by the arithmetic processing unit to the coating robot, it becomes possible to cause the coating robot to repair the defective coating portion. As described above, in the sealer applying apparatus according to the present invention, since the position of the sealer gun can be controlled by the distance from the coating start position, in the case of repairing the poor coating position, the calculation based on the tool coordinate system set for the coating robot It is possible to move the sealant without doing it.” As in 44 “The robot control unit 20 of the robot control board 4 drives the multi-joint arm 7 to move the sealer gun 8 along a predetermined track. Simultaneously with the movement of the sealer gun 8, the robot control unit 20 activates the sealer gun 8 to discharge the sealer S from the nozzle 9. Along with this operation, the application robot 2 always transmits the position data (coordinate data) of the tip portion of the nozzle 9 to the arithmetic processing unit 18 of the robot control board 4.” As in 60 “when the arithmetic processing unit 23 determines that the coating state of the sealer S is defective, the image processing device 6 transmits the fact to that effect to the robot control board 4 together with the position data (coordinate data) of the nozzle 9. Upon receiving this defect determination information, the robot control board 4 drives the multi-joint arm 7 by the arithmetic processing unit 18 and the robot control unit 20 to move the sealer gun 8 to a position (coordinates) determined to be in a defective state. Thereafter, the robot control unit 20 operates the sealer gun 8 to discharge the sealer S from the nozzle 9, and corrects the defective portion.”] Examiner notes that the drive state is being interpreted as the state in which the actuators are in use (rotational position, speed, torque, driving force) during the use of the robot. Shirasaki discloses that when an abnormality/defect is detected the position of the sealer gun/nozzle attached to the robot is transmitted to the arithmetic processing unit and the control unit is then able to recorrect the positioning of the sealer gun/nozzle and correct the detected defections.
Shirasaki teaches an application position calculation circuit configured to calculate an application position of the coating, on the workpiece, applied from the discharge circuit based on the state of the articulated robot acquired from the articulated robot [(see at least paragraph 5) “The sealer coating apparatus monitors the position and coating width of the sealer applied to the workpiece in accordance with this coating pattern with a sensor attached to the sealer gun, and when the sensor detects a coating defect, detects the time stored in the storage means or From the position coordinate data, the position of this coating defect is specified, and the sealer is re-coated with a sealer gun at this position.”]; and an abnormality notification circuit configured to send a notification of a site of the abnormality in the application state on the workpiece based on a detection result of the abnormality in the application state and a calculation result of the application position. [(see at least paragraphs 70-74) “In the second display area 31, five-digit numbers are displayed corresponding to the five curves CL 11 to CL 15, CL 21 to CL 25, and CL 31 to CL 35 belonging to the respective groups G 1 to G 3. In this example, the judgment result is displayed by the numeral "0" or "1". That is, in this example, "1" means abnormality (coating failure) and "0" means normal (coating width is within the range of the reference value).”]
Regarding claim 4, Shirasaki teaches wherein the application abnormality detection circuit detects the abnormality in the application state based on a position and an orientation of the discharge circuit with respect to the workpiece. [(see at least paragraph 15) “when it is determined that the coating width of the sealer is defective, the information (for example, identification information) of the image data including the poor coating position, the position information on the coating defect position included in the image data, The distance from the coating start position to the poor coating position in the sealer application pattern can be obtained by the arithmetic processing unit. The application robot can specify the application position of the sealer, that is, the position of the sealer gun, according to the distance from the application start position in the application pattern. Therefore, by inputting this distance obtained by the arithmetic processing unit to the coating robot, it becomes possible to cause the coating robot to repair the defective coating portion.”]
Regarding claim 6, Shirasaki teaches further comprising: an application state estimation circuit configured to estimate a state of the coating applied to the workpiece based on a state of the application device acquired from the application device and the state of the articulated robot acquired from the articulated robot [(see at least paragraphs 5-6) As in 5 “The sealer coating apparatus monitors the position and coating width of the sealer applied to the workpiece in accordance with this coating pattern with a sensor attached to the sealer gun, and when the sensor detects a coating defect, detects the time stored in the storage means or From the position coordinate data, the position of this coating defect is specified, and the sealer is re-coated with a sealer gun at this position.”], wherein the abnormality notification circuit, based on a detection result of the abnormality in the application state and an estimation result of the state of the coating, further sends a notification of the state of the coating at the site of the abnormality on the workpiece. [(see at least paragraphs 59-60) As in 60 “when the arithmetic processing unit 23 determines that the coating state of the sealer S is defective, the image processing device 6 transmits the fact to that effect to the robot control board 4 together with the position data (coordinate data) of the nozzle 9. Upon receiving this defect determination information, the robot control board 4 drives the multi-joint arm 7 by the arithmetic processing unit 18 and the robot control unit 20 to move the sealer gun 8 to a position (coordinates) determined to be in a defective state. Thereafter, the robot control unit 20 operates the sealer gun 8 to discharge the sealer S from the nozzle 9, and corrects the defective portion.”]
Regarding claim 8, Shirasaki teaches further comprising: an abnormality cause estimation circuit configured to estimate a cause of the abnormality in the application state based on at least one of a state of the application device acquired from the application device or the state of the articulated robot acquired from the articulated robot, wherein the abnormality notification circuit further sends a notification of the cause. [(see at least paragraphs 15,60) As in 15 “when it is determined that the coating width of the sealer is defective, the information (for example, identification information) of the image data including the poor coating position, the position information on the coating defect position included in the image data, The distance from the coating start position to the poor coating position in the sealer application pattern can be obtained by the arithmetic processing unit. The application robot can specify the application position of the sealer, that is, the position of the sealer gun, according to the distance from the application start position in the application pattern. Therefore, by inputting this distance obtained by the arithmetic processing unit to the coating robot, it becomes possible to cause the coating robot to repair the defective coating portion” As in 60 “when the arithmetic processing unit 23 determines that the coating state of the sealer S is defective, the image processing device 6 transmits the fact to that effect to the robot control board 4 together with the position data (coordinate data) of the nozzle 9. Upon receiving this defect determination information, the robot control board 4 drives the multi-joint arm 7 by the arithmetic processing unit 18 and the robot control unit 20 to move the sealer gun 8 to a position”]
Regarding claim 9, Shirasaki teaches wherein the abnormality cause estimation circuit further estimates whether the cause is in the application device or the articulated robot based on the state of the application device acquired from the application device and the state of the articulated robot acquired from the articulated robot, and the abnormality notification circuit further sends a notification of which one of the application device and the articulated robot the cause is in. [(see at least paragraphs 59-61) As in 59 “The arithmetic processing unit 23 causes the storage unit 24 to store the determination result on whether the sealer S is OK or not and displays the result on the monitor of the image processing device 6. When the measured coating width does not reach the reference value and it is determined that the application state of the sealer S at that position is defective, the arithmetic processing unit 23 determines the position (coordinate) of the coating failure to eliminate the coating defect, To the robot control panel 4.”]
Regarding claim 10, Shirasaki teaches wherein the abnormality cause estimation circuit further estimates a section where the cause occurs in the application device based on states at a plurality of sections in the application device, and the abnormality notification circuit further sends a notification of the section where the cause occurs. [(see at least paragraphs 60-74) As in 66 “when coating failure occurs in the sealer S at a position corresponding to the image data of the identification number "0032" as described above, the information of the identification number and the position information of the defective coating position NG are transmitted from the image processing device 6 To the robot control panel 4. Based on the received information, the robot control board 4 calculates the distance in the application pattern from the application start position SP to the defective application position NG. As a result, the position of the coating start position SP in the application pattern can be specified.” As in 74 “five-digit numbers are displayed corresponding to the five curves CL 11 to CL 15, CL 21 to CL 25, and CL 31 to CL 35 belonging to the respective groups G 1 to G 3. In this example, the judgment result is displayed by the numeral "0" or "1". That is, in this example, "1" means abnormality (coating failure) and "0" means normal (coating width is within the range of the reference value).”]
Regarding claim 16, Shirasaki teaches a monitoring method, comprising: acquiring a state of an application device from the application device including a discharge circuit configured to discharge a coating [(see at least paragraph 19) “the sealer applying apparatus 1 executes control of the coating robot 2, an applying robot 2 that applies a sealer S to the work W, an imaging device 3 that images the sealer S applied to the work W”]; acquiring a state of an articulated robot from the articulated robot configured to change a position and an orientation of the discharge circuit such that the coating discharged by the discharge circuit is applied to a workpiece, wherein the articulated robot comprises one or more actuators that each drive a corresponding joint of the articulated robot [(see at least Fig.1, 24-25,43) As in 24 “The driving device 11 includes an actuator 12 for driving the image sensor 10 and a support member 13 for movably supporting the actuator 12.” 43 “ First, the sealer applying apparatus 1 drives the multi-joint arm 7 of the coating robot 2 to move the sealer gun 8 to the coating start position. At the coating start position, the nozzle 9 of the sealer gun 8 is disposed at an upper position apart from the workpiece W. At this time, the image sensor 10 is supported by the support member 13 at the initial position (standby position).”]
Shirasaki teaches detecting an abnormality in an application state of the coating based on the state of the articulated robot acquired from the articulated robot, wherein the state of the articulated robot is based on drive state information indicating a drive state of each of the one or more actuators; [(see at least paragraphs 5,15,25-28, 43-44, 60) As in 5 “The sealer coating apparatus monitors the position and coating width of the sealer applied to the workpiece in accordance with this coating pattern with a sensor attached to the sealer gun, and when the sensor detects a coating defect, detects the time stored in the storage means or From the position coordinate data, the position of this coating defect is specified, and the sealer is re-coated with a sealer gun at this position.” As in 15 “The distance from the coating start position to the poor coating position in the sealer application pattern can be obtained by the arithmetic processing unit. The application robot can specify the application position of the sealer, that is, the position of the sealer gun, according to the distance from the application start position in the application pattern. Therefore, by inputting this distance obtained by the arithmetic processing unit to the coating robot, it becomes possible to cause the coating robot to repair the defective coating portion. As described above, in the sealer applying apparatus according to the present invention, since the position of the sealer gun can be controlled by the distance from the coating start position, in the case of repairing the poor coating position, the calculation based on the tool coordinate system set for the coating robot It is possible to move the sealant without doing it.” As in 44 “The robot control unit 20 of the robot control board 4 drives the multi-joint arm 7 to move the sealer gun 8 along a predetermined track. Simultaneously with the movement of the sealer gun 8, the robot control unit 20 activates the sealer gun 8 to discharge the sealer S from the nozzle 9. Along with this operation, the application robot 2 always transmits the position data (coordinate data) of the tip portion of the nozzle 9 to the arithmetic processing unit 18 of the robot control board 4.” As in 60 “when the arithmetic processing unit 23 determines that the coating state of the sealer S is defective, the image processing device 6 transmits the fact to that effect to the robot control board 4 together with the position data (coordinate data) of the nozzle 9. Upon receiving this defect determination information, the robot control board 4 drives the multi-joint arm 7 by the arithmetic processing unit 18 and the robot control unit 20 to move the sealer gun 8 to a position (coordinates) determined to be in a defective state. Thereafter, the robot control unit 20 operates the sealer gun 8 to discharge the sealer S from the nozzle 9, and corrects the defective portion.”] Examiner notes that the drive state is being interpreted as the state in which the actuators are in use (rotational position, speed, torque, driving force) during the use of the robot. Shirasaki discloses that when an abnormality/defect is detected the position of the sealer gun/nozzle attached to the robot is transmitted to the arithmetic processing unit and the control unit is then able to recorrect the positioning of the sealer gun/nozzle and correct the detected defections.
Shirasaki teaches calculating an application position of the coating, on the workpiece, applied from the discharge circuit based on the state of the articulated robot acquired from the articulated robot [(see at least paragraph 5) “The sealer coating apparatus monitors the position and coating width of the sealer applied to the workpiece in accordance with this coating pattern with a sensor attached to the sealer gun, and when the sensor detects a coating defect, detects the time stored in the storage means or From the position coordinate data, the position of this coating defect is specified, and the sealer is re-coated with a sealer gun at this position.”]; and sending a notification of a site of the abnormality in the application state on the workpiece on based on a detection result of the abnormality in the application state and a calculation result of the application position. [(see at least paragraphs 70-74) “In the second display area 31, five-digit numbers are displayed corresponding to the five curves CL 11 to CL 15, CL 21 to CL 25, and CL 31 to CL 35 belonging to the respective groups G 1 to G 3. In this example, the judgment result is displayed by the numeral "0" or "1". That is, in this example, "1" means abnormality (coating failure) and "0" means normal (coating width is within the range of the reference value).”]
Regarding claim 17, Shirasaki teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a device to execute the monitoring method according to claim 16. [(see at least paragraph 27) “The robot control panel 4 can implement various hardware such as CPU, ROM, RAM, HDD, monitor, input interface, and the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the robot control panel 4 includes an arithmetic processing unit 18 constituted by a CPU, a storage unit 19 including a ROM, a RAM, an HDD, and the like, a robot control unit 20 controlling the coating robot 2, A drive device control unit 21 that controls the drive device 11, and a communication control unit 22.”]
Regarding claim 21, Shirasaki teaches wherein the application abnormality detection circuit is further configured to detect the abnormality in an application state of the coating based on at least the position and the orientation of the discharge circuit acquired from the articulated robot [(see at least paragraphs 5,15,25-28, 43-44, 60) As in 5 “The sealer coating apparatus monitors the position and coating width of the sealer applied to the workpiece in accordance with this coating pattern with a sensor attached to the sealer gun, and when the sensor detects a coating defect, detects the time stored in the storage means or From the position coordinate data, the position of this coating defect is specified, and the sealer is re-coated with a sealer gun at this position.” As in 15 “The distance from the coating start position to the poor coating position in the sealer application pattern can be obtained by the arithmetic processing unit. The application robot can specify the application position of the sealer, that is, the position of the sealer gun, according to the distance from the application start position in the application pattern. Therefore, by inputting this distance obtained by the arithmetic processing unit to the coating robot, it becomes possible to cause the coating robot to repair the defective coating portion. As described above, in the sealer applying apparatus according to the present invention, since the position of the sealer gun can be controlled by the distance from the coating start position, in the case of repairing the poor coating position, the calculation based on the tool coordinate system set for the coating robot It is possible to move the sealant without doing it.” As in 44 “The robot control unit 20 of the robot control board 4 drives the multi-joint arm 7 to move the sealer gun 8 along a predetermined track. Simultaneously with the movement of the sealer gun 8, the robot control unit 20 activates the sealer gun 8 to discharge the sealer S from the nozzle 9. Along with this operation, the application robot 2 always transmits the position data (coordinate data) of the tip portion of the nozzle 9 to the arithmetic processing unit 18 of the robot control board 4.” As in 60 “when the arithmetic processing unit 23 determines that the coating state of the sealer S is defective, the image processing device 6 transmits the fact to that effect to the robot control board 4 together with the position data (coordinate data) of the nozzle 9. Upon receiving this defect determination information, the robot control board 4 drives the multi-joint arm 7 by the arithmetic processing unit 18 and the robot control unit 20 to move the sealer gun 8 to a position (coordinates) determined to be in a defective state. Thereafter, the robot control unit 20 operates the sealer gun 8 to discharge the sealer S from the nozzle 9, and corrects the defective portion.”] Examiner notes that the drive state is being interpreted as the state in which the actuators are in use (rotational position, speed, torque, driving force) during the use of the robot. Shirasaki discloses that when an abnormality/defect is detected the position of the sealer gun/nozzle attached to the robot is transmitted to the arithmetic processing unit and the control unit is then able to recorrect the positioning of the sealer gun/nozzle and correct the detected defections., and the application position calculation circuit is further configured to calculate the application position of the coating, on the workpiece, applied from the discharge circuit based on the position and the orientation of the discharge circuit acquired from the articulated robot [(see at least paragraph 5) “The sealer coating apparatus monitors the position and coating width of the sealer applied to the workpiece in accordance with this coating pattern with a sensor attached to the sealer gun, and when the sensor detects a coating defect, detects the time stored in the storage means or From the position coordinate data, the position of this coating defect is specified, and the sealer is re-coated with a sealer gun at this position.”]
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shirasaki in view of Yamasaki (US 2012/0187957 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Shirasaki has all of the elements of claim 1 as discussed above.
Shirasaki does not explicitly teach wherein the application abnormality detection circuit detects the abnormality in the application state based on an operating speed of the articulated robot.
However, Yamasaki teaches wherein the application abnormality detection circuit detects the abnormality in the application state based on an operating speed of the articulated robot. [(see at least paragraph 6) “According to such techniques, the following advantages are obtained. (1) In the case where the paint gun approaches the paint target object at a low speed, a high-voltage abnormality can be detected if the output voltage exceeds the maximum set value. (2) In the case where the paint gun approaches the paint target object at a high speed, a high-voltage abnormality can be detected if the amount of increase in output current per unit time exceeds the maximum set value (even if the output voltage does not exceed the maximum set value). (3) A high-voltage abnormality can be detected if a leak current increases due to a paint stain or the like on the paint gun or the like to cause the output voltage to exceed the maximum set value.”]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Shirasaki to incorporate the teachings of Yamasaki of abnormality detection circuit detects the abnormality in the application state based on an operating speed of the articulated robot in order to take effective preventive measures to ensure proper functionality.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shirasaki in view of Shin (JPH1176915A) and in further view of Yamasaki.
Regarding claim 7, Shirasaki has all of the elements of claim 6 as discussed above.
Shirasaki does not explicitly teach wherein the application state estimation circuit estimates the state of the coating applied to the workpiece based on a pressure in the application device and an operating speed of the articulated robot.
However, Shin teaches wherein the application state estimation circuit estimates the state of the coating applied to the workpiece based on a pressure in the application device [(see at least paragraph 8) “In the application operation of the fluid sealant, a step of detecting the pressure of the sealant in the vicinity of the application nozzle in the pressure feeding path between the pump for feeding the viscous fluid sealant and the application nozzle, and the preset application Comparing the permissible range of the pressure of the sealing agent with the detected pressure along with the passage of time from the start to the end, and if the detected pressure is lower than the permissible range of the pressure, the pressure feeding A step of determining that the sealing agent is clogged in the path, and a step of determining that the sealing agent is clogged in the application nozzle when the detected pressure exceeds an allowable range of the pressure; It is characterized by including a step of warning the user of the occurrence of the clogging of the sealant and the occurrence location.”]
Yamasaki teaches estimating an operating speed of the articulated robot. [(see at least paragraph 6) “According to such techniques, the following advantages are obtained. (1) In the case where the paint gun approaches the paint target object at a low speed, a high-voltage abnormality can be detected if the output voltage exceeds the maximum set value. (2) In the case where the paint gun approaches the paint target object at a high speed, a high-voltage abnormality can be detected if the amount of increase in output current per unit time exceeds the maximum set value (even if the output voltage does not exceed the maximum set value). (3) A high-voltage abnormality can be detected if a leak current increases due to a paint stain or the like on the paint gun or the like to cause the output voltage to exceed the maximum set value.”]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Shirasaki to incorporate the teachings of Shin of estimating the state of the coating applied to the workpiece based on a pressure in the application device in order to prevent the bead width of the sealant from being applied too thinly or being cut off and of Yamasaki of estimating an operating speed of the articulated robot in order to monitor and take effective preventive measures to ensure proper functionality of the robot.
Claims 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shirasaki in view of Shin.
Regarding claim 11, Shirasaki has all of the elements of claim 10 as discussed above.
Shirasaki does not explicitly teach wherein the application device further includes a liquid feeding pipe configured to guide the coating to the discharge circuit and a pump configured to supply the coating to the discharge circuit via the liquid feeding pipe, and the abnormality cause estimation circuit estimates a section where the cause occurs based on pressure at the plurality of sections located at different positions in a direction aligned with the liquid feeding pipe.
However, Shin teaches wherein the application device further includes a liquid feeding pipe configured to guide the coating to the discharge circuit and a pump configured to supply the coating to the discharge circuit via the liquid feeding pipe [(see at least paragraphs 8,53) As in 8 “According to the method of the present invention, a viscous fluid sealant is pressure-fed by a pump of a coating device and is discharged from a coating nozzle of the coating device to perform coating. In the application operation of the fluid sealant, a step of detecting the pressure of the sealant in the vicinity of the application nozzle in the pressure feeding path between the pump for feeding the viscous fluid sealant and the application nozzle, and the preset application Comparing the permissible range of the pressure of the sealing agent with the detected pressure along with the passage of time from the start to the end, and if the detected pressure is lower than the permissible range of the pressure, the pressure feeding A step of determining that the sealing agent is clogged in the path, and a step of determining that the sealing agent is clogged in the application nozzle when the detected pressure exceeds an allowable range of the pressure; It is characterized by including a step of warning the user of the occurrence of the clogging of the sealant and the occurrence location.”] Examiner notes the liquid feeding pipe is being interpreted as hose 5., and the abnormality cause estimation circuit estimates a section where the cause occurs based on pressure at the plurality of sections located at different positions in a direction aligned with the liquid feeding pipe. [(see at least paragraphs 21-22, 37-39) As in 21- 22 “A coating apparatus according to the present invention is a pump for pumping the sealant, a nozzle for discharging the sealant, a pressure-feeding hose connecting the pump and the nozzle, a coating valve for opening and closing the nozzle, and A pressure detector that compares the pressure detector provided in the vicinity of the nozzle of the pressure feeding hose with the pressure of the sealant detected by the pressure detector and a preset allowable pressure range with respect to the time from the start to the end of coating. And a warning unit that outputs a warning based on the result of the comparison in the pressure comparison unit, the pressure comparison unit, if the detected pressure is below the allowable range of the pressure, the pressure feed By determining that the hose is clogged with the sealant, or when the detected pressure is higher than the allowable range of the pressure, it is determined that the nozzle is clogged with the sealant, Of the occurrence of clogging of the sealant and the location of the occurrence of the clogging of the sealing agent, which is transmitted from the pressure comparing section to the alarm section, and the location where the clogging occurs. It is characterized by warning to. With this coating device, the user can know the problems such as the sealant being out of coating, the occurrence of the clogging of the sealant that causes it, and the location where the clogging occurred during the coating operation, and it is possible to quickly deal with this. It will be possible.”]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Shirasaki to incorporate the teachings of Shin of the application device further includes a liquid feeding pipe configured to guide the coating to the discharge circuit and a pump configured to supply the coating to the discharge circuit via the liquid feeding pipe, and the abnormality cause estimation circuit estimates a section where the cause occurs based on pressure at the plurality of sections located at different positions in a direction aligned with the liquid feeding pipe in order to alert the occurrence and its occurrence place of clogging of the sealant to the user. [(Shin 8)]
Regarding claim 12, Modified Shirasaki has all of the elements of claim 11 as discussed above.
Shirasaki does not explicitly teach wherein the abnormality cause estimation circuit estimates the section where the cause occurs also based on a drive state of the pump.
However, Shin teaches wherein the abnormality cause estimation circuit estimates the section where the cause occurs also based on a drive state of the pump. [(see at least paragraph 15) “The detection device according to the present invention is a pressure detection means arranged in the vicinity of the coating nozzle in the pressure feeding path between the pump for feeding the viscous fluid sealant and the coating nozzle, and preset from the start to the end of coating. An allowable range of the pressure of the sealant along with the passage of time, a pressure comparison means for comparing the detected pressure, and an alarm means for outputting an alarm based on the result of comparison by the pressure comparison means, When the detected pressure is lower than the allowable range of the pressure, the pressure comparing unit determines that the sealing agent is clogged in the pressure feeding path, and the detected pressure is lower than the allowable range of the pressure. If it exceeds the above, it is judged that the sealing agent is clogged by the coating nozzle, thereby detecting the occurrence of the sealing agent clogging and specifying the occurrence location, and transmitting this to the alarm means. In this case, the user is warned of the occurrence and location of the clogging of the sealant transmitted from the pressure comparing means.”]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Shirasaki to incorporate the teachings of Shin of the abnormality cause estimation circuit estimates the section where the cause occurs also based on a drive state of the pump in order to detect the occurrence of clogging of the sealing agent or occurrence of air mixing into the sealing agent within the pump. [(Shin 19)]
Claims 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shirasaki in view of Hosek (US 2014/0201571 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Shirasaki teaches further comprising: an accumulation circuit configured to accumulate performance information in which state information indicating at least one of a state of the application device acquired from the application device or the state of the articulated robot acquired from the articulated robot and the application state on the workpiece based on a state indicated by the state information are associated with each other [(see at least paragraphs 44-45, 59) As in 59 “the arithmetic processing section 23 compares the calculated coating width of the sealer S with the reference data (reference value or threshold value) stored in the storage section 24 to judge its acceptability. The arithmetic processing unit 23 causes the storage unit 24 to store the determination result on whether the sealer S is OK or not and displays the result on the monitor of the image processing device 6. When the measured coating width does not reach the reference value and it is determined that the application state of the sealer S at that position is defective, the arithmetic processing unit 23 determines the position (coordinate) of the coating failure to eliminate the coating defect, To the robot control panel 4.”]
Shiraski teaches wherein the application abnormality detection circuit detects the abnormality in the application state based on accumulation information accumulated by the accumulation circuit. [(see at least paragraphs 70-75) AS in 72 “arithmetic processing unit 23 compares the value of the measured coating width with the reference value to determine whether the coating state is acceptable or not. The arithmetic processing section 23 displays the determination result on the monitor of the image processing apparatus 6. FIG. 12 shows an example of the determination result displayed on the monitor of the image processing device 6. As shown in FIG. 12, this determination result includes a first display area 30 for displaying the divisions of the first group G 1 to the third group G 3, and curves CL 11 to CL 15 belonging to each group G 1 to G 3, A second display area 31 showing the determination result of the coating width corresponding to CL 25, CL 31 to CL 35, and a third display area 32 displaying the position information of the image data acquired by the imaging device 3, that is, the identification number. In FIG. 12, illustration of the determination results of the fourth group G 4 and the fifth group G 5 is omitted.”]
Shiraski does not explicitly teach wherein the application abnormality detection circuit detects the abnormality in the application state based on an estimation model built to output the application state on the workpiece in accordance with input of the state information.
However, Hosek teaches wherein the application abnormality detection circuit detects the abnormality in the application state based on an estimation model built to output the application state on the workpiece in accordance with input of the state information based on accumulation information accumulated by the accumulation circuit. [(see at least paragraph 204) “Disturbance observers are commonly used in the servo control of robotic manipulators. They provide estimates of disturbances not accounted for in the robot model. These observers can be designed to be stable at higher bandwidths compared to the position servos and hence enable better tracking control of the robot manipulator. The disturbance estimate provided by a disturbance observer for each motor in the robot serves as a convenient property that can be monitored to detect abnormalities. The disturbance observer can be used to detect faults that occur abruptly or intermittently. Examples of such faults are: brake drag that occurs at certain motor positions, belts rubbing at certain motor positions, external obstructions to motion, sudden fluctuations in input voltage.”]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Shirasaki to incorporate the teachings of Hosek of detecting the abnormality in the application state based on an estimation model built to output the application state on the workpiece in accordance with input of the state information based on accumulation information accumulated by the accumulation circuit in order to detect faults/abnormalities that occur abruptly or intermittently during the coating process.
Regarding claim 14, Modified Shirasaki has all of the elements of claim 13 as discussed above.
Shirasaki does not explicitly teach further comprising: a training circuit including a storage circuit configured to store the accumulation information, and a model building circuit configured to build the estimation model by machine learning based on the accumulation information stored in the storage circuit.
However, Hosek teaches further comprising: a training circuit including a storage circuit configured to store the accumulation information, and a model building circuit configured to build the estimation model by machine learning based on the accumulation information stored in the storage circuit. [(see at least paragraphs 50-57, 202) As in 50 “Condition assessment refers to measuring characteristics, performance, outputs or other indicators of the operation of a system component to determine its condition. Fault diagnosis refers to the ability to identify a component fault from the indicators of operation, other component characteristics, or from system operations. Automated fault diagnosis may complement or relieve an operator from fault classification and troubleshooting tasks, including diagnostic error codes and interactive diagnostic screens.” As in 57 “This approach requires extremely high volumes of data to propagate from the low-level controllers all the way to the high-level controller, often in real time. In addition, the high-level controller needs to store properties of all of the components of the robotized system, such as motor parameters or kinematic and dynamic models of the robots, to be able to process the collected data.” As in 202 “As an alternative to an analytical model, data obtained from a normal robot can be used to build a neural network model of the robot dynamics. Conveniently, the same type of neural network can be used for multiple configurations of the robot arm mechanism, the training of the model can be easily automated, and neural network models typically represent well complex physical phenomena that are often difficult to describe analytically.”]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of modified Shirasaki to further incorporate the teachings of Hosek of a training circuit including a storage circuit configured to store the accumulation information, and a model building circuit configured to build the estimation model by machine learning based on the accumulation information stored in the storage circuit in order to efficiently analyze all of the data necessary for health monitoring and fault diagnostics. [(Hosek 57)]
The Examiner has cited particular paragraphs or columns and line numbers in the references applied to the claims above for the convenience of the Applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested of the Applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner. See MPEP 2141.02 [R-07.2015] VI. A prior art reference must be considered in its entirety, i.e., as a whole, including portions that would lead away from the claimed Invention. W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. v. Garlock, Inc., 721 F.2d 1540, 220 USPQ 303 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert, denied, 469 U.S. 851 (1984). See also MPEP §2123.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/MOHAMMED YOUSEF ABUELHAWA/Examiner, Art Unit 3656
/WADE MILES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3656