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 .
This office action is a response to the election of species filed on 1/8/2026.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species B, claims 1 and 3, in the reply filed on 1/8/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 2, 4 and 5 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 1/8/2026.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 3 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Re. claim 1: The phrase “in a video to store image data” as recited in line 8 appears to be --in a video to store an image data--.
The phrase “to extract image data” as recited in line 9 appears to be --to extract the image data--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Re. claim 1: The phrase “output the image data to an outside” as recited in lines 10 and 11 renders the claim vague and indefinite. It is unclear as to what the outside is indicated.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi et al. (US PAT. 11,464,150) in view of Hachiya et al. (PGPub 2015/0026974 A1).
Kobayashi et al. teach a component mounting system comprising: a mounting machine (23, Fig. 2, col. 2, lines 38-41) configured to perform a mounting process of a component on a board (S) by an operation of a unit (34) for the mounting process; and an inspector (M, Fig. 2) configured to perform an inspection process by using an image of the board after the mounting process and output abnormality information capable of specifying a defective board having an abnormality detected in the inspection process (col. 3, lines 51-59).
However, Kobayashi et al. silent a camera configured to image the operation of the unit in the mounting machine during the mounting process in a video to store image data in a memory; and a data output section configured to extract image data during the mounting process of the defective board from the memory based on the abnormality information and output the image data to an outside. Hachiya et al. teach a component mounting system including a camera (113, Fig. 8) configured to image the operation of the unit in the mounting machine during the mounting process in a video to store image data in a memory; and a data output section (137, Fig. 8) configured to extract image data during the mounting process of the defective board from the memory based on the abnormality information and output the image data to an outside (see also paragraph [0062]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify a component mounting system of Kobayashi et al. by a camera configured to image the operation of the unit in the mounting machine and a data output section configured to extract image data as taught by Hachiya et al. in order to obtain accurate images for the component during the mounting process of the defective board.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. AO (PGPub 2020/0413582 A1), Ohashi et al. (US PAT. 10,542,650), and Hara (US PAT. 10,278,317) are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to a component mounting system.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL D KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-4565. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 6:00 AM-2:00 PM.
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/PAUL D KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
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