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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01 May 2023 and 24 January 2024 were filed prior to the mailing date of this office correspondence. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-4 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claims 1-4, “mounting-related system” should read:
-- component mounting-related system --
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ao (US 20190313554) in view of Kitayama (US 20150206086).
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Annotated Fig. 1, Ao.
Regarding claim 1, Ao teaches, a mounting-related system (component-mounting system 10, Fig. 1) which includes a mounting-related facility (component-mounting system, comprising multiple component mounting machines installed, para. [0002, 0007]) for performing a mounting process (each component mounting machine mounting components supplied from component supply units to the mounting target object, para. [0007]) and in which a member (feeder 30, or mounting head 22, or suction nozzles, Fig. 1) used in the mounting process is automatically conveyed to the mounting-related facility by an automatic conveyance vehicle (first feeder moving robot 50, or second moving robot 70, Fig. 1, first feeder moving robot 50 for moving feeder 30 between multiple component mounting machines 20…and second feeder moving robot 70 for moving feeder 30 within feeder storage container 60…first feeder moving robot 50 is movable along X-axis rail 18…second feeder moving robot 70…is movable along the same X-axis rail 18, para. [0032]), the mounting-related system comprising:
a storage section (management device 80, Fig. 7, see HDD 80c, Fig. 10) configured to store instruction content for performing an instruction for travel of the automatic conveyance vehicle (management device 80 receives information…about the driving state of first feeder moving robot 50…, and receives information about the driving state of second feeder moving robot 70, para. [0043]), for each of multiple types of the automatic conveyance vehicle as an instruction block (see the instruction blocks in management device 80 in Figs. 7 and 10) capable of being displayed on a screen (display 82, management device 80 is composed of well-known CPU 80a, ROM 80b, HDD 80c, RAM 80d, and the like, and includes display 82, para. [0043]);
a display section (display 82, Fig. 7, management device 80 1s composed of well-known CPU 80a, ROM 80b, HDD 80c, RAM 80d, and the like, and includes display 82, in which it is obvious that a display section, see para. [0043, 0052-0053]) configured to display the instruction of the multiple types of the automatic conveyance vehicle on the screen to be selectable by an operator (management device 80 may visually display the storage area information and the supply area information on display 82 based on a request from the operator… when CPU 80a determines that the target feeder is stored in storage area 60B to 60D other than storage area 60A, CPU 80a transmits a control command to second feeder moving robot 70 so that the target feeder moves to the lowest storage area 60A in step S220 and proceeds to the process of step S225, para. [0052-0053]);
a setting section (CPU 80a, see the management device 80) configured to set a travel instruction flow (CPU 80a transmits a control command to second feeder moving robot 70 so that the target feeder moves to the lowest storage area 60A…, CPU 80a transmits a control command to first feeder moving robot 50 so that first feeder moving robot 50 moves to a retracted position, para. [0053]) of the automatic conveyance vehicle configured to perform the automatic conveyance in the mounting-related system; and
a control section (robot control device 79, Fig. 7 robot control device 79 for controlling the entire robot, para. [0039]) configured to perform a travel control of the automatic conveyance vehicle based on the set travel instruction flow (management device 80…receives information about the driving state of first feeder moving robot 50 from robot control device 59, and receives information about the driving state of second feeder moving robot 70 from robot control device 79, para. [0043]).
Ao does not explicitly teach display section displays the instruction blocks or based on the instruction blocks selected by the operator from among the instruction blocks displayed on the screen. However, Kitayama teaches a production management system for a component mounter including a member 12, storage sections 31 and 32, a display section 38, a setting section 3 and a control section, in which, a display section displays the instruction blocks; and based on the instruction blocks selected by the operator from among the instruction blocks displayed on the screen (see annotated Fig.5 below, data display means for displaying the configuration data, the work data, and the distribution data on a display device, and data rearrangement means for rearranging the displayed distribution data, para. [0010], operator drags and drops or the like the identifier IDs of work data DW to be rearranged among distribution data DDA to DDE displayed on the display device 39 with a touch pen or the like, Fig. 5, para. [0040]).
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Annotated Fig. 5, Kitayama.
From the teachings of Kitayama in Fig. 5 and para. [0038-0040], “the upper portion of the screen of the display device 39, a plan view showing the entire substrate B with components P1 to P16 scheduled for mounting mounted thereon is displayed. In the lower portion of the screen of the display device 39, the component mounting machines 5A1 to 5A4 which configure the mounting line 2A and the mounting line 2A capable of mounting the components P1 to P16 on the substrate B are displayed in a tree shape”, one of ordinary skill in the art would have known that the display section displays the mounting work as instruction blocks. Therefore, in view of the teachings of Kitayama, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the display system of Ao and to display the mounting instructions as instruction blocks so that it enables an operator to select an optimum mounting line from a plurality of mounting lines according to manufacturing planning of the substrate as Kitayama disclosed in para. [0038]. Moreover, there is no indication in the instant invention that any surprising results were derived, or that any special steps were devised in order to configure the display section to display the instruction blocks. Such a combination would have been done by one of ordinary skill in the art without any need for experimentation and with reasonable expectations of success.
Regrading claim 4, Ao further teaches, the mounting-related system according to claim 1, further comprising: configured to receive a type of the automatic conveyance vehicle and the instruction content and register the instruction block of the received instruction content in the storage section in association with the type of the automatic conveyance vehicle (CPU 80a then updates the feed area information by registering the feeder information in HDD 83 in association with the positional information, see Fig. 9, para. [0027]). Ao does not teach a registration section. However, Kitayama further teaches, management computer 3 stores configuration data…are created and registered based on the read configuration data…The management computer 3 reads the registered distribution data DDA to DDE, see Fig. 3, para. [0041-0042]). Therefore, in view of the teachings of Kitayama, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the mounting system of Ao and to include a registration section as Kitayama taught in Fig. 3 so that it enables management system to control and manage component mounting line based on the registered data.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 are 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 following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for indicating allowable subject matter:
Claim 2 would be allowable for disclosing a mounting-related system, wherein the display section displays, on the same screen, a block display field for displaying the instruction blocks to be classified for each type of the automatic conveyance vehicle, and a flow display field capable of displaying the travel instruction flow by arranging the instruction blocks selected from the block display field by a drag-and-drop operation performed by the operator, and the setting unit sets the travel instruction flow based on display content of the flow display field.
Claim 3 would be allowable for disclosing a mounting-related system, wherein the storage section stores the instruction block that is the instruction content for the automatic conveyance vehicle of the same type and is capable of being randomly selected by the operator as to whether to be included in the travel instruction flow.
Though, prior art of record Kitayama teaches a mounting system including a data rearrangement means for rearranging the displayed distribution data, and operator drags and drops or the like the work data to be rearranged among distribution data displayed on the display device with a touch pen or the like, Kitayama fails to teach, the display section displays, on the same screen, a block display field for displaying the instruction blocks to be classified for each type of the automatic conveyance vehicle, and a flow display field capable of displaying the travel instruction flow by arranging the instruction blocks selected from the block display field, and the setting unit sets the travel instruction flow based on display content of the flow display field; or the storage section stores the instruction block that is the instruction content for the automatic conveyance vehicle of the same type and is capable of being randomly selected by the operator as to whether to be included in the travel instruction flow.
Prior art of record Ao does not teach the display section displays, on the same screen, a block display field for displaying the instruction blocks to be classified for each type of the automatic conveyance vehicle, and a flow display field capable of displaying the travel instruction flow by arranging the instruction blocks selected from the block display field, and the setting unit sets the travel instruction flow based on display content of the flow display field; or the storage section stores the instruction block that is the instruction content for the automatic conveyance vehicle of the same type and is capable of being randomly selected by the operator as to whether to be included in the travel instruction flow.
Therefore, claims 2-3 would be allowable.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Prior art Kondo (US 20180242485, US 20210015012) teaches a component mounting line including an automatic conveyance vehicle, a storage section, a display section, a setting section and a control section.
Prior art Hanamura (US 20120266457) teaches a component mounter including an automatic conveyance vehicle, a storage section, a display section, a setting section and a control section.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSE K. ABRAHAM whose telephone number is (571)270-1087. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30-4:30 EST.
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/JOSE K ABRAHAM/Examiner, Art Unit 3729