DETAIL OFFICE ACTIONS
The United States Patent & Trademark Office appreciates the response filed for the current application that is submitted on 11/03/2025. The United States Patent & Trademark Office reviewed the following documents submitted and has made the following comments below.
Amendment
Applicant submitted amendments on 11/03/2025. The Examiner acknowledges the amendment and has reviewed the claims accordingly.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged that application claims priority to foreign application with application number CN202111255165.X dated 10/27/2021. Copies of certified papers required by 37 CFR 1.55 have been received. Priority is acknowledged under 35 USC 119(e) and 37 CFR 1.78.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS dated 01/03/2025 has been previously considered and placed in the application file.
Overview
Claims 1-5 and 7-18 are pending in this application and have been considered below.
Claim 6 has been cancelled.
Claims 1-5 and 7-18 are rejected.
Applicant Arguments:
In regards to Argument 1, Applicant states that “Gu therefore does not teach a plurality of limiting members each having one end and an other end having a hook part, each limiting member is provided between two adjacent carriers in the row of carriers, each limiting member between the two adjacent carriers has the one end connected to one of the two adjacent carriers and the other end having the hook part engaging with the other of the two adjacent carriers, as claimed in amended claim 1. Independent claim I and dependent claims 2-9, 11-14 and 17 are therefore allowable over the combination of Yu and Gu.” therefore, the rejection of 35 U.S.C. 103 should be withdrawn (See Remarks, page 7, paragraph 1).
In regards to Argument 2, Applicant states that “Nishimura does not teach a plurality of limiting members each having one end and an other end having a hook part, each limiting member is provided between two adjacent carriers in the row of carriers, each limiting member between the two adjacent carriers has the one end connected to one of the two adjacent carriers and the other end having the hook part engaging with the other of the two adjacent carriers, and cannot remedy the deficiencies of Yu and Gu with respect to amended claim 1. Independent claim 1 and dependent claims 10 and 15-16 are therefore allowable over the combination of Yu, Gu, and Nishimura.”, therefore, the rejection of 35 U.S.C. 103 should be withdrawn (See Remarks, page 8, paragraph 1).
In regards to Argument 3, Applicant states that “Gu therefore does not teach the separating device includes a row of carriers, each carrier in the row of carriers has a first positioning post pluggable into an insertion hole of the products to fix the products on the carrier, as claimed in claim 18. Independent claim 18 is therefore allowable over the combination of Yu and Gu.” therefore, the rejection of 35 U.S.C. 103 should be withdrawn (See Remarks, page 8, paragraph 2).
Examiner’s Responses:
In response to Argument 1, Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 11/03/25, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and the Examiner respectfully disagrees Specifically, Gu teaches on the claim limitation in Claim 1, on Pg 2 ¶11 (" Each of the carriers is sleeved on a first side, each of the carriers is located between a first step surface and a second step surface, and the carriers are driven by the first step surface and the stop portion fit and separate from each other to adjust the spacing between adjacent carriers"). Gu also teaches on the amended limitation in Claim 1 on Pg 4 ¶01 ("A plurality of carriers 51-58 are sleeved on the driving shaft 6 and located between the positioning portion 4 and the stopping portion 7"). Gu teaches a mechanical equipment that allows to step sub-pitch mechanism. The system in Gu uses a driving assembly a stop domed at a distal end of the driving shaft, where the first step includes a first surface and first step surface staggered with the first side surface. Gu also includes a base that includes a hole which is sleeved on a head end of the driving shaft. Gu contains a plurality of carriers sleeved on a drive shaft that separate from each adjacent carrier on the drive shaft. The mechanism in Gu comprises a support rod parallel to the drive shaft. Gu teaches a sub spacing mechanism in which the carriers can be attached or separated and the distance between the carriers can be adjusted depending on the processing requirements. The Applicant argues that that Gu does not teach the each having one end and an other end having a hook part, however, the Examiner finds this false. Gu teaches limiting members having two sides which make contact with both ends of the carriers in Figure 5 and an other end having a hook part on Pg 4 ¶02 “step surface” which hooks the carrier to stop it from moving forward. Furthermore, Gu reads on the claim limitation “each limiting member is provided between two adjacent carriers in the row of carriers, each limiting member between the two adjacent carriers has the one end connected to one of the two adjacent carriers and the other end having the hook part engaging with the other of the two adjacent carriers” Gu teaches a plurality of limiting members between two adjacent carriers in the row of carriers in Figure 5 with the multiple steps and the row of carriers. Therefore the Examiner will maintain the rejection below.
In response to Argument 2, Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 11/03/25, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and the Examiner respectfully disagrees. Specifically, Gu teaches on the claim limitation in Claim 1, on Pg 2 ¶11 (" Each of the carriers is sleeved on a first side, each of the carriers is located between a first step surface and a second step surface, and the carriers are driven by the first step surface and the stop portion fit and separate from each other to adjust the spacing between adjacent carriers"). Gu also teaches on the amended limitation in Claim 1 on Pg 4 ¶01 ("A plurality of carriers 51-58 are sleeved on the driving shaft 6 and located between the positioning portion 4 and the stopping portion 7"). Gu teaches a mechanical equipment that allows to step sub-pitch mechanism. The system in Gu uses a driving assembly a stop domed at a distal end of the driving shaft, where the first step includes a first surface and first step surface staggered with the first side surface. Gu also includes a base that includes a hole which is sleeved on a head end of the driving shaft. Gu contains a plurality of carriers sleeved on a drive shaft that separate from each adjacent carrier on the drive shaft. The mechanism in Gu comprises a support rod parallel to the drive shaft. Gu teaches a sub spacing mechanism in which the carriers can be attached or separated and the distance between the carriers can be adjusted depending on the processing requirements. Gu teaches limiting members having two sides which make contact with both ends of the carriers in Figure 5 and an other end having a hook part on Pg 4 ¶02 “step surface” which hooks the carrier to stop it from moving forward. Furthermore, Gu reads on the claim limitation “each limiting member is provided between two adjacent carriers in the row of carriers, each limiting member between the two adjacent carriers has the one end connected to one of the two adjacent carriers and the other end having the hook part engaging with the other of the two adjacent carriers” Gu teaches a plurality of limiting members between two adjacent carriers in the row of carriers in Figure 5 with the multiple steps and the row of carriers. The Applicant argues that Nishimura does not teach a plurality of limiting members each having one end and an other end having a hook part, each limiting member is provided between two adjacent carriers in the row of carriers, each limiting member between the two adjacent carriers has the one end connected to one of the two adjacent carriers and the other end having the hook part engaging with the other of the two adjacent carriers, and cannot remedy the deficiencies of Yu and Gu with respect to amended claim 1. Thus, the Examiner finds that Gu teaches the separation of the product in the processing method while Yu teaches the image capturing device and the rotation of the products. Furthermore when the Examiner reviews applicants remarks applicant is referencing Nishimura in reference to Claim 1, Nishimura is not used as a reference until dependent Claim 10. Therefore the Examiner will maintain the rejection below.
In response to Argument 3, Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 11/04/25, with respect to claim 18, a new ground(s) of rejection is made for Claim 18 under 35 U.S.C. 103 in view of Yu in view of Gu in further view of Zhang et al CN213580708U (using machine translation from espace.net) (hereafter Zhang) .
The Examiner finds that Yu and Gu teach on the amended claim language of “the separating device includes a row of carriers” and “a plurality of limiting members each having one end and an other end having a hook part, each limiting member is provided between two adjacent carriers in the row of carriers, each limiting member between the two adjacent carriers has the one end connected to one of the two adjacent carriers and the other end having the hook part engaging with the other of the two adjacent carriers”.
Specifically, Yu teaches a product inspection system using an image capturing device and rotating device to capture images of the row of products in Pg 1 and Pg 4. Gu teaches a separating device that have a plurality of carriers that are separated by limiting members with hooks to stop the movement of the carriers in Pg 4, Figure 5, Figure 3, and Figure 2. Applicant argues that “Gu therefore does not teach the separating device includes a row of carriers, each carrier in the row of carriers has a first positioning post pluggable into an insertion hole of the products to fix the products on the carrier, as claimed in claim 18.” However, the Examiner interprets that Yu and Gu teaches the main concept of a system that utilizes an image capturing device and separating device to hold and rotate the product for inspection, the additional details of the function and characteristics of the main concepts as stated above by the applicant in the amendments is taught by Zhang in the details of the rejection below. The Examiner will maintain prior art Yu and Gu and details of the rejection are below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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 no obviousness.
19. Claims 1-5, 7-9, 11-14 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Yu et al. CN105836417A (using machine translation from espace.net) (hereafter Yu) in view of Gu at al. CN107381003A (using machine translation from espace.net) (hereafter Gu).
20. Regarding independent Claim 1, Yu teaches a product inspection system (Yu et al. Pg 1 Abstract "conveying device and a detecting system"), comprising:
an image capturing device (Yu et al. Pg 3 ¶07, "an image detection device") simultaneously capturing a plurality of images of a plurality of surfaces of all the products of the row of products that have been separated by the separating device; (Yu et al. Pg 4 ¶01, "continuously take a picture of the detecting object");
and a rotating device simultaneously rotating the products in the row of products separated by the separating device, the surfaces to be inspected of each product in the row of products are successively rotated to an orientation facing the image capturing device (Yu et al. Pg 4 ¶02, "continuously photograph the detecting object that moves linearly in the axial direction through the photographing region and rotates at the same time, and detects the chamfer of the detected object;").
Yu do not explicitly teach all of a separating device separating a pair of adjacent products in a row of products by a predetermined distance, the separating device includes a row of carriers, each limiting member is provided between two adjacent carriers in the row of carriers, each limiting member between the two adjacent carriers has the one end connected to one of the two adjacent carriers and the other end having the hook part engaging with the other of the two adjacent carriers.
Gu is in the same field of automated product inspection. Further, Gu teach a separating device separating a pair of adjacent products in a row of products by a predetermined distance (Gu Pg 2 ¶11 " Each of the carriers is sleeved on a first side, each of the carriers is located between a first step surface and a second step surface, and the carriers are driven by the first step surface and the stop portion fit and separate from each other to adjust the spacing between adjacent carriers") the separating device includes a row of carriers (Gu Pg 4 ¶01 "A plurality of carriers 51-58 are sleeved on the driving shaft 6 and located between the positioning portion 4 and the stopping portion 7")
a plurality of limiting members (Gu Pg 4 ¶02 "each of the carriers abuts the first step surface 612 and the second step surface 212 on both sides," and Gu Fig 5 disclose a plurality of steps) each having one end (Gu Figure 5 211 and 212 disclose the limiting members having two sides which make contact with both ends of the carriers) and an other end having a hook part (Gu Pg 4 ¶02 and Gu 212 Figure 3, "step surface"),
each limiting member is provided between two adjacent carriers (Gu Pg 4 ¶02 the carrier is attached to the second side surfaces 211 on both sides") in the row of carriers (Gu Pg 4 ¶01 "A plurality of carriers 51-58 are sleeved on the driving shaft 6 and located between the positioning portion 4 and the stopping portion 7"), each limiting member (Gu Pg 4 ¶02 "each of the carriers abuts the first step surface 612 and the second step surface 212 on both sides," and Gu Fig 5 disclose a plurality of steps) between the two adjacent carriers (Gu Figure 2 57 and 58 disclose two adjacent carriers) has the one end connected to one of the two adjacent carriers (Gu Pg 4 ¶02 the carrier is attached to the second side surfaces 211 on both sides") and the other end having the hook part(Gu Pg 4 ¶02 and Gu 212 Figure 3, "step surface") engaging with the other of the two adjacent carriers (Gu Pg 4 ¶01 “The drive shaft 6 is located between the two stoppers 2,” Gu 2 and 3 in Figure 3, "stoppers").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Yu to include a separating device that separates two adjacent carriers in the preprocessing for the products that is taught by Gu, to make the invention that separates, conveys and inspects the products and is adaptable to different types of products; thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine the references since an object of the present invention is to provide a system for all types of products “in practical applications, the position of each carrier on the stepped sub-spacing mechanism is fixed and cannot be adjusted according to the processing requirements, which makes it difficult to adapt the current vehicle to different types of products…..The embodiments of the present invention provide a stepped sub-spacing mechanism that can be adapted to different types of products." (Background and content on the invention, Gu).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
21. Regarding Claim 2, Yu in view of Gu teaches wherein the image capturing device simultaneously takes images of a plurality of first surfaces of the products in the row of products (Yu et al. Pg 4 ¶04 "The control device records the photographed image of each surface of the object to be detected,") when the first surfaces are rotated to face the image capturing device. (Yu et al. Pg 5 ¶06 "The detection object 001 is rotated in a loop."). Similar motivation to combine as Claim 1.
22. Regarding Claim 3, Yu in view of Gu teaches wherein a plurality of second surfaces of the products are rotated to face the image capturing device (Yu et al. Pg 7 ¶06 "continuously photograph the detected object 001 that moves linearly in the axial direction through the photographing region and simultaneously rotates to detect the surface of the detected object;") and the image capturing device simultaneously takes images of the second surfaces of the products after the images of the first surfaces are captured.(Yu et al. Pg 7 ¶07 "controls the second detecting portion 22 disposed on the side of the transport fixing portion 132 to continuously photograph the detected object 001 that moves linearly in the axial direction through the photographing region and rotates at the same time"). Similar motivation to combine as Claim 1.
23. Regarding Claim 4, Yu in view of Gu teaches the product inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the separating device includes: a support; (Gu Pg 2 ¶17 "the stepped sub-spacing mechanism further comprises a support rod") a plurality of support rods fixed to the support and parallel to each other; (Gu Pg 3 ¶01 "support rod is parallel to the drive shaft.") and the row of carriers slidably mounted on the support rods, the row of carriers is movable along the support rod between an initial state in which the carriers are close to each other and a separated state in which the carriers are separated by the predetermined distance from each other.(Gu Pg 3 ¶04 "carriers can be attached to or separated from each other by being driven by the first step surface and the stopper portion, and the distance between the adjacent carriers can be adjusted according to the processing requirement and flexibly"). See motivation to combine for Claim 1 (parent claim).
24. Regarding Claim 5, Yu in view of Gu teaches the product inspection system according to claim 4, wherein the row of products is simultaneously loaded (Yu et al. Pg 6 ¶11 " the detection object can be linearly moved on the conveying device,") on the row of carriers in the initial state, (Gu Pg 4 ¶01 "A plurality of carriers 51-58 are sleeved on the driving shaft 6 and located between the positioning portion 4 and the stopping portion 7") and after the row of products is loaded on the row of carriers, the row of carriers is switched to the separated state so that any two adjacent products in the row of products are separated by the predetermined distance. (Gu Pg 4 ¶01 "A plurality of carriers 51 58 are engaged with and separated from each other by the first step surface 612 and the stopping portion 7 to adjust the spacing between the adjacent carriers."). See motivation to combine for Claim 1 (parent claim).
25. Regarding Claim 7, Yu in view of Gu teaches the product inspection system according to claim 6, wherein the hook part of each limiting member (Gu Pg 4 ¶02 "each of the carriers abuts the first step surface 612 and the second step surface 212 on both sides," and Gu Fig 5 disclose a plurality of steps) between the two adjacent carriers (Gu Figure 2 57 and 58 disclose two adjacent carriers) is engaged with the other of the two adjacent carriers to limit the spacing between two adjacent carriers to the predetermined distance when the row of carriers is in the separated state, (Gu Pg 4 ¶01 "A plurality of carriers 51 58 are engaged with and separated from each other by the first step surface 612 and the stopping portion 7 to adjust the spacing between the adjacent carriers.") and the hook part of each limiting member (Gu Pg 4 ¶02 "each of the carriers abuts the first step surface 612 and the second step surface 212 on both sides," and Gu Fig 5 disclose a plurality of steps) between the two adjacent carriers (Gu Figure 2 57 and 58 disclose two adjacent carriers) is separated from the other of the two adjacent carriers by the predetermined distance to allow the two adjacent carriers to move relative to each other (Gu Pg 4 ¶10 "When the axis of the carrier 58 moves in the opposite direction of the first direction S1, the first step surface 612 pushes the carrier 58 to move in the opposite direction to the first direction S1 until the carrier 58 contacts the first step surface 612.") when the row of carriers is in an initial state. See motivation to combine for Claim 1 (parent claim).
26. Regarding Claim 8, Yu in view of Gu teaches the product inspection system according to claim 7, wherein each of the carriers has a convex part engageable with the hook part of the limiting member (Gu Pg 4 ¶01 "211 each of which includes a second side surface 211 parallel to the extending direction of the drive shaft") and, when the row of carriers is in the separated state, the hook part of the limiting member engages the convex part on the other of the two adjacent carriers. (Gu Pg 4 ¶02 "each of the carriers abuts the first step surface 612 and the second step surface 212 on both sides,"). See motivation to combine for Claim 1 (parent claim).
27. Regarding Claim 9, Yu in view of Gu teaches the product inspection system according to claim 4, wherein the separating device includes a driving mechanism mounted (Gu Pg 2 ¶10 "a driving assembly including a driving shaft and a stop formed at a distal end of the driving shaft,") on the support (Gu Pg 4 ¶06 "comprises a support rod 8 located between the two stoppers 2, 3."), the driving mechanism drives the row of carriers to be switched between the initial state and the separated state.(Gu Pg 4 ¶09 "a plurality of carriers 51-58 in the stepped sub-spacing mechanism are separated from each other, and the carrier spacing is a first distance D1. When the driving shaft 6 is moved in the first direction S1 along the axis thereof, The blocking portion 7 drives the carrier 58 adjacent to the stopping portion 7 to move in the first direction S1 and the carrier 58 engages with the carrier 57."). See motivation to combine for Claim 1 (parent claim).
28. Regarding Claim 11, Yu in view of Gu teaches product inspection system according to claim 4, wherein each carrier in the row of carriers has a first positioning post pluggable into an insertion hole of the products to fix the products on the carrier. (Gu Pg 2 ¶11 "the positioning portion comprises a through hole which is sleeved on a head end of the driving shaft;"). See motivation to combine for Claim 1 (parent claim).
29. Regarding Claim 12, Yu in View of Gu teaches wherein the rotating device includes: a support frame; (Yu et al. Pg 3 ¶02 "two parallel rack-like structures") a row of gears rotatably mounted on the support frame and meshed with each other; a row of second positioning posts fixed to the row of gears to coaxially rotate with the gears; and a rack movably mounted on the support frame and meshed with an outermost gear in the row of gears to drive the row of gears to simultaneously rotate. (Yu et al Pg 77 ¶05 "While the conveyance conveying portion 132 linearly moves in the axial direction, the pair of parallel racks 13111 and 13112 on the conveyance fixing portion 131 urges the pair of gears 13211 and 13212 on the conveyance conveying portion 132 to rotate, and the pair of gears 13211 and 13212 rotates through Friction drives the second rotating wheel 13213 to rotate, and the rotating wheels 1313 and 13214 adjacent to the same direction on the conveying and conveying portion 132 drive the detecting object 001 to rotate cyclically;"). Similar motivation to combine as Claim 1.
30. Regarding Claim 13, Yu in view of Gu teaches the product inspection system according to claim 12, wherein a distance between a pair of axes of two adjacent gears in the row of gears is equal to the predetermined distance, (Yu et al Pg 4 ¶05 "The wheel rotates, so that the second rotating wheel adjacent to the same direction rotates the detecting object placed on the gap between the adjacent rotating second rotating wheels to rotate,”) the row of second positioning posts are simultaneously insertable into the insertion holes of the row of products separated by the separating device. (Gu Pg 2 ¶11 "the positioning portion comprises a through hole which is sleeved on a head end of the driving shaft;"). See motivation to combine for Claim 1 (parent claim).
31. Regarding Claim 14, Yu in view of Gu teaches wherein the rotating device includes a driving device (Yu et al. Pg 10 ¶12 "wherein the driving portion is a driving motor, the first rotating mechanism and the second rotating mechanism") installed on the support frame to drive the rack to move in a direction perpendicular to the axes of the gears. (Yu et al. Pg 3 ¶02 "two parallel rack-like structures"). Similar motivation to combine as Claim 1.
32. Regarding Claim 17, Yu in view of Gu further comprising a determination device determining whether a quality of the product is qualified according to the images of all surfaces to be inspected of the product. (Yu et al Pg 11 ¶6 "The control device records the photographed image of each surface of the object to be detected, and selects the object to be detected as a defective product by filtering the screening device, and the object to be detected without the flaw in the filtered image is a good product.") Similar motivation to combine as Claim 1.
33. Claim 10, 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Yu in view of Gu in further view of NISHIMURA et al. US Patent Publication US US20200165073A1 (hereafter NISHIMURA).
34. Regarding Claim 10, Yu in view of Gu, teaches the product inspection system according to claim 9; a nut threaded with the ball screw and connected to a forward most carrier in the row of carriers(Gu Pg 3 ¶17 "stop portion 7").
Yu in view of Gu do not explicitly teach wherein the driving mechanism includes: a ball screw rotatably mounted on the support; and a driver installed on the support to drive the ball screw to rotate.
Nishimura is in the same field of automated product inspection. Further, NISHIMURA teaches a ball screw rotatably mounted on the support (NISHIMURA ¶ 0031, "Further, in this embodiment, a driver as a combination of a rotary motor and a ball screw mechanism, a driver including a linear motion mechanism using a linear motor or the like can be used as the X-driver 65a.") and a driver installed on the support to drive the ball screw to rotate (NISHIMURA ¶ 0031, "a rotary motor and a ball screw mechanism, a driver including a linear motion mechanism using a linear motor").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Yu in view of Gu to include a ball screw that drives rotation to the invention separating device that is taught by NISHIMURA to make the invention that separates, coveys and inspects the products powered and moved by the ball screw and drive; thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine the references since the present invention is more efficient by improving speed for the drive, "Here, a moving speed of the workpieces needs to be further increased for further improvement of the tact time. However, since the workpieces are metal products, such as connecting rods and relatively heavy, it is difficult to increase the moving speed merely by enhancing the capacity of a drive source such as a motor for workpiece conveyance. "(¶0006, NISHIMURA).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
35. Regarding Claim 15, Yu in view of Gu teach the product inspection system according to claim 1.
Yu and Gu do not explicitly teach further comprising a loading device, simultaneously clamping the row of products to simultaneously load the row of products onto the separating device or the rotating device.
Nishimura is in the same field of automated product inspection. Further, NISHIMURA teach further comprising a loading device (NISHIMURA ¶0053, "Further, the feeders 66a to 66d respectively function as a "loading unit") simultaneously clamping the row of products to simultaneously load the row of products onto the separating device or the rotating device. (NISHIMURA ¶0053, "The chuck members 231, 231 can grip the workpiece WK conveyed to a front surface imaging position Pil via a loading position).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the invention of Yu and Gu to include a loading and clamping device to the process of the separating device that is taught by NISHIMURA to make the invention that separates, coveys and inspects the products have a more efficient process when separating; thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine the references since the present invention is more efficient by including a loading device to improve tact time, " In addition, since the moving operations and the feeding operations are simple operations, each operation can be easily speeded up and a time required for workpiece conveyance can be shortened as compared to a conventional technique for conveying workpieces while linking a plurality of operations."(¶0011, NISHIMURA).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
36. Regarding Claim 16, Yu in view of Gu teaches the product inspection system according to claim 1, any two adjacent products in the row of products are close to each other before being separated by the separating device.(Gu Pg 4 ¶01 “A plurality of carriers 51 58 are engaged with and separated from each other by the first step surface 612 and the stopping portion 7 to adjust the spacing between the adjacent carriers.”)
However, Yu and Gu do not explicitly teach further comprising a supply device supplying the row of products.
Nishimura is in the same field of automated product inspection. Further, NISHIMURA teach further comprising a supply device supplying the row of products, any two adjacent products in the row of products are close to each other before being separated by the separating device. (NISHIMURA, ¶0031, "the stage 63a and the X-driver 65a function as a feeder 66a for feeding the workpiece WK from the loading position Pld to the upstream transfer position Ptl.").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the invention of Yu and Gu to include a supply device to the pre process of the separating device that is taught by NISHIMURA to make the invention that separates, conveys and inspects the products have a more efficient preprocess before separating; thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine the references since the present invention is more efficient by including a supply device to improve tact time, " In addition, since the moving operations and the feeding operations are simple operations, each operation can be easily speeded up and a time required for workpiece conveyance can be shortened as compared to a conventional technique for conveying workpieces while linking a plurality of operations."(¶0011, NISHIMURA).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
37. Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Yu in view of Gu in further view of Zhang et al CN213580708U (using machine translation from espace.net) (hereafter Zhang) .
38. Regarding independent Claim 18, Yu teaches a product inspection system (Yu et al. Pg 1 Abstract "conveying device and a detecting system"), comprising:
an image capturing device (Yu et al. Pg 3 ¶07, "an image detection device") simultaneously capturing a plurality of images of a plurality of surfaces of all the products of the row of products that have been separated by the separating device; (Yu et al. Pg 4 ¶01, "continuously take a picture of the detecting object"); and
and a rotating device simultaneously rotating the products in the row of products separated by the separating device, the surfaces to be inspected of each product in the row of products are successively rotated to an orientation facing the image capturing device (Yu et al. Pg 4 ¶02, "continuously photograph the detecting object that moves linearly in the axial direction through the photographing region and rotates at the same time, and detects the chamfer of the detected object;").
Yu does not explicitly teach a separating device separating a pair of adjacent products in a row of products by a predetermined distance, the separating device includes a row of carriers, each carrier in the row of carriers.
Gu is in the same field of automated product inspection. Further, Gu teach a separating device separating a pair of adjacent products in a row of products by a predetermined distance (Gu Pg 2 ¶11 " Each of the carriers is sleeved on a first side, each of the carriers is located between a first step surface and a second step surface, and the carriers are driven by the first step surface and the stop portion fit and separate from each other to adjust the spacing between adjacent carriers"), the separating device includes a row of carriers (Gu Pg 4 ¶01 "A plurality of carriers 51-58 are sleeved on the driving shaft 6 and located between the positioning portion 4 and the stopping portion 7"), each carrier in the row of carriers (Gu Pg 4 ¶01 "A plurality of carriers 51-58 are sleeved on the driving shaft 6 and located between the positioning portion 4 and the stopping portion 7").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Yu to include a separating device that separates two adjacent carriers in the preprocessing for the products that is taught by Gu, to make the invention that separates, conveys and inspects the products and is adaptable to different types of products; thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine the references since an object of the present invention is to provide a system for all types of products “in practical applications, the position of each carrier on the stepped sub-spacing mechanism is fixed and cannot be adjusted according to the processing requirements, which makes it difficult to adapt the current vehicle to different types of products…..The embodiments of the present invention provide a stepped sub-spacing mechanism that can be adapted to different types of products." (Background and content on the invention, Gu).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Yu and Gu in combination do not explicitly disclose has a first positioning post pluggable into an insertion hole of the products to fix the products on the carrier.
Zhang is in the same field of automated product inspection. Further, Zhang teaches has a first positioning post (Zhang Pg 1 ¶12 and Pg 2 ¶12 and Figure 3 31 discloses a guide post on the carrier) pluggable into an insertion hole of the products (Zhang Pg 2 ¶03 and Figure 4 111 discloses the guide groove in which the guide post slides into to position the base) to fix the products on the carrier (Zhang Fig 1 discloses the mobile phone screen being connected to the carrier).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Yu in view of Gu to include a positioning post and grove to correctly align the product as taught by Zhang, to make the invention that can align the product to the same position for each inspection; thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine the references since an object of the present invention is to improve the image acquisition of the product profile, so as to improve the accuracy of detection the of defect detection (Zhang, Abstract and Background).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Reference Cited
39. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
US Patent Publication 20060236792 A1 to Hanna et al. discloses a workpiece inspection system that checks the quality using a probe.
US Patent Publication 20150001867 A1 to ZHU et al. discloses a clamping mechanism that is adjustable.
US Patent Publication 20150177157 A1 to Edmondson et al. discloses an article inspection apparatus that captures a plurality or images as the subject is rotated on a conveyer.
US Patent Publication 20150204798 A1 to Nygaard et al. discloses an automated system that inspects a manufactured part using an imaging device.
US Patent Publication 20160025644 A1 to Nygaard et al. discloses a method and system for optically inspecting a manufactured part on a rotational axis.
US Patent Publication 20160231253 A1 to Nygaard et al. discloses a method and system for optically inspecting manufactured parts using a loading/unloading system and a conveyer.
US Patent Publication 20200255968 A1 to MUKAIYAMA et al. discloses an inspection apparatus, a plating apparatus, and an appearance inspection apparatus that are capable of automatically inspecting a substrate holder are provided.
Conclusion
40. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL LYNN ROBERTS whose telephone number is (571)272-6413. The examiner can normally be reached Monday- Friday 7:30am- 5:00pm.
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42. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Oneal Mistry can be reached on 313-446-4912. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RACHEL L ROBERTS/Examiner, Art Unit 2674
/ONEAL R MISTRY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2674