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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group 1 (claims 1-17) in the reply filed on 1 July 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 18-24 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The replacement drawing sheets filed 16 June 2023 are acknowledged. The Examiner notes that, in addition to the changes to FIGS. 1, 7, and 10 identified in the amendment, reference character “510” in FIG. 18 was changed to “510_1.” This change is consistent with original FIG. 19 and has been accepted.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Paragraph [0001] appears twice. The paragraph containing the cross-reference to the international and Korean applications and the paragraph beginning “The disclosure relates to” are both numbered [0001]. The paragraphs of the specification should be numbered consecutively. See 37 CFR 1.52(b)(6).
In [0038], “the method of laser-cutting display materials may include a rotation device” should be replaced with “the device for laser-cutting display materials may include a rotation device,” as the elements that follow are components of the device rather than the method.
Appropriate correction is required.
The amendment filed 16 June 2023 is objected to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure. 35 U.S.C. 132(a) states that no amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention. The added material which is not supported by the original disclosure is as follows.
Paragraph [0043] of the substitute specification recites that the display panel PL “may have a quadrangular shape, e.g., rectangular shape.” The original disclosure describes only a rectangular shape (see para. [43] of International Application No. PCT/KR2021/011036, which describes the display panel as having a rectangular shape), and does not describe the display panel as having a quadrangular shape generally.
Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 12, 13, and 16 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, “loading display materials from a tray” should be replaced with “loading the display materials from a tray,” as the display materials are introduced in the preamble.
In claim 12, “the primarily-rotated display materials” should be replaced with “the reversed display materials,” as the claims do not otherwise recite a primary rotation.
In claim 12, “is reflected in the cutting the dummy portions” should be replaced with “is used in the cutting the dummy portions” or similar language, as “reflected in” is not idiomatic in this context. Consistent with [0071], the limitation has been treated as requiring that the alignment information be used in performing the cutting.
In claim 13, “acquiring alignment information regarding the display materials” should be replaced with “acquiring additional alignment information regarding the cut display materials,” and “after the acquiring alignment information” should be replaced with “after the acquiring the additional alignment information,” to distinguish this step from the acquiring of alignment information recited in claim 11. See [0073].
In claim 13, “the secondarily-rotated display materials” should be replaced with “the display materials reversed after the acquiring the additional alignment information,” as the claims do not otherwise recite a secondary rotation.
In claim 16, “a pickup pad of the pickup pads picking up the printed circuit film” should be replaced with “the one of the pickup pads that picks up the printed circuit film,” for consistency with claim 15.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
Claim 1 recites loading display materials, aligning pickup pads of a loader robot with the display materials, and picking up the display materials with the pickup pads. As set forth in claim 3, each display material includes a display panel and a polarizer member, so the recited plurality refers to a plurality of display materials rather than to the components of a single display material. Accordingly, the aligning and the picking up are performed for each of the display materials that is loaded.
Claim 1 further recites that the pickup pads are aligned with the display materials “in accordance with the same standard regardless of a size of the display materials,” and that the pickup pads pick up the display materials “regardless of center positions of the display materials”. In light of the specification (see [0045]-[0050] and [0061]), the former limitation is interpreted to mean that one alignment criterion is applied to every display material that is loaded, and that the criterion itself does not depend on the size of the display materials, so that no change in the criterion, in the arrangement of the pickup pads, or in a calibration is required when the size changes. Measuring an individual display material in the course of applying the criterion does not cause the criterion to depend on size. For example, determining a line that divides a display material into equal parts, as recited in claim 3, requires measuring that display material, but it neither makes the criterion depend on size nor amounts to determining the center position of the display material. The latter limitation is interpreted to mean that the position at which the pickup pads pick up a display material is not determined by the location of the center of the display material. A pickup position that happens to be symmetric about a line of the display material is not excluded, provided the center did not determine it. These limitations do not require any particular means of performing the alignment and pickup, and are met whether the alignment is controlled by software, set by a mechanical arrangement, or performed manually.
The preamble of claim 1 recites “[a] method of laser-cutting display materials.” However, the body of the claim sets forth a complete method of loading display materials and does not recite a cutting step. Accordingly, the recitation of laser-cutting in the preamble is considered a statement of intended use that does not further limit the claimed method. See MPEP 2111.02.
Claim 1 recites “arranging a loader robot near the tray.” Although “near” is a relative term, its meaning is clear in context: the loader robot is positioned such that it can pick up the display materials from the tray (see [0040]). Accordingly, the term does not render the claim indefinite, and “near the tray” is interpreted to mean within reach of the loader robot for picking up the display materials from the tray.
The term “laser pointer” is ordinarily used to refer to a device that emits a beam of light. However, the claims use the term to refer to the light itself (e.g., claim 2 recites “a laser pointer emitted from the loader robot”), consistent with the specification, which describes the laser pointer LP as being irradiated by a laser irradiation part 190 (see [0052] and [0056] and FIG. 5). Accordingly, “laser pointer” is interpreted as a beam or projected pattern of laser light.
The term “teaching point” is commonly used in the robotics art to refer to a position taught to a robot controller. In the present claims, however, the “first teaching point” is a reference location of each display material (claims 2-4), and the “second teaching point” is a reference location of the rotation table (claims 8-10). The first teaching point is not required to be physically marked on the display material. As recited in claim 3, it is defined geometrically as an intersection between a dividing line and an edge of the polarizer member.
Although the terms “laser pointer” and “teaching point” are used in the claims in a manner that departs from their ordinary meanings, the specification consistently uses both terms in the manner set forth above, including through the reference characters assigned to them (e.g., laser pointer LP and first teaching point TP, as shown in at least FIGS. 5, 7A-7B, and 10A-10B). In some cases, the meaning of a particular claim term may be defined by implication, that is, according to the usage of the term in the context in the specification. MPEP 2111.01(IV)(A) (citing Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1320-21 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (en banc), and Vitronics Corp. v. Conceptronic Inc., 90 F.3d 1576, 1583 (Fed. Cir. 1996)). Because the specification makes the intended meanings of these terms reasonably clear, the terms are not considered to render the claims indefinite.
Claim 16 recites that the pickup pad picking up the printed circuit film “is movable in one direction.” The claim does not specify that the movement is relative to the other pickup pads or to any other component. Accordingly, under the broadest reasonable interpretation, the limitation is met by a pickup pad that is movable in at least one direction, including by movement of the loader robot as a whole.
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.
Claims 6-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 6 recites “reversing the loaded display materials in a front-to-rear direction.” It is unclear whether this limitation requires turning the display materials over, such that the front surface becomes the rear surface, or rotating the display materials within their plane, such that the front end and rear end of the display materials exchange positions. The specification does not clarify which meaning is intended, as it largely repeats the claim language (see [0062]-[0063]).
Although the former meaning appears to be the more natural reading, the drawings do not support it. FIG. 5 shows the pickup pads 171 engaging the side of the display material 1 bearing the polarizer member before the reversal, and FIG. 17 shows the polarizer member POL above the display panel PL, again engaged by the pickup pads 171, on the pre-alignment table 500 after the reversal. Similarly, FIG. 13 shows the display material 1 arranged on the rotation table 200 before the reversal, and FIG. 16 shows the display material 1 arranged on the pre-alignment table 500 after the reversal. In both figures, the printed circuit film FPCB extends toward the bottom of the page and bends toward the left. Neither type of reversal is reflected in these figures unless the figures are viewed from different vantage points, which is not indicated by the drawings or the specification. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the limitation.
For purposes of examination, claim 6 is interpreted as encompassing either type of reversal. Claim 13 recites “reversing the display materials in the front-to-rear direction” and is indefinite for the same reason. Claims 7-14 are rejected based on their dependency from claim 6.
Claim 12 recites “wherein the method further comprises cutting dummy portions of the loaded display materials.” Claim 6, from which claim 12 depends, already recites “cutting the display materials.” It is unclear whether the cutting of dummy portions recited in claim 12 is the same step as the cutting recited in claim 6, or an additional cutting step. The specification describes a single cutting operation S50 in which the dummy portions are cut (see [0039] and [0054]). For purposes of examination, the cutting of dummy portions recited in claim 12 is interpreted as being part of the cutting recited in claim 6. The Examiner suggests replacing “wherein the method further comprises cutting dummy portions” with “wherein the cutting the display materials comprises cutting dummy portions” to clarify this relationship. Claims 13 and 14 are rejected based on their dependency from claim 12.
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 KR 10-2014-0049305 (“Baek”) (cited in an IDS) in view of US 2009/0159579 (“Nishio”) (previously cited) and US 2014/0261962 (“Sawatzky”).
Regarding claim 1, Baek discloses a method of laser-cutting display materials (the laser processing unit 150, which cuts a polarizing film attached to a display panel 1 loaded on a processing table 140; see [0043] of the provided translation), comprising:
loading display materials (the alignment table 110 in the input area A1 supports and loads a display panel 1 that is input from the outside; see [0044] and [0073]),
wherein the loading includes aligning pickup pads with the display materials and picking up the display materials with the pickup pads (the pickup unit of the change picker 130 descends to adsorb the upper surface of the display panel 1 loaded on the alignment table 110 and then ascends to raise the display panel 1; see [0052] and [0053]).
Baek does not disclose loading the display materials from a tray, or that the loading includes arranging a loader robot near the tray and picking up the display materials with pickup pads of the loader robot.
Nishio is directed to a butt-welding system for steel plate in which blank members are supplied to a welding line. See [0044]. Nishio discloses a workpiece supply device 5 that includes a robot arm 12 operating under the control of a robot control device, a pad frame 13 mounted onto the robot arm 12, and a plurality of suction pads 14 mounted on the pad frame 13. The workpiece supply device 5 positions the pad frame 13 by means of the robot arm 12 at a suction position just above a blank member loaded on a material palette 17, attaches the suction pads 14 to the blank member, and moves the pad frame 13 upward, whereby a single blank member is picked up from the material palette 17 and conveyed to a downstream conveyer. See [0045] and [0059] and FIG. 3.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have supplied the display panels of Baek from a material palette by a robot arm carrying a pad frame with suction pads, as taught by Nishio. Baek states only that the display panel is introduced from the outside onto the alignment table and does not specify how the panel is introduced, so Baek’s apparatus is a base device ready for this improvement, and Nishio’s supply device is a known technique for delivering flat workpieces one at a time from a stack to a downstream table. One of ordinary skill would have recognized that applying the technique to Baek would yield the predictable result of supplying display panels to the alignment table without manual handling. See MPEP 2143(I)(C) and (D).
Modified Baek does not disclose that the pickup pads are aligned with the display materials in accordance with the same standard regardless of a size of the display materials, or that the pickup pads pick up the display materials regardless of center positions of the display materials.
Sawatzky is directed to automated pickup and placement of flexible film sheets, in which the position and orientation of a specified sheet on a cutting table is identified, a robotic sheet pickup apparatus is moved to a position corresponding to that identified for the sheet, and the sheet is picked up by vacuum suction. See the abstract and [0043]. Sawatzky discloses that one way to identify a specific sheet’s location and orientation is by an x,y coordinate of one corner of the sheet together with an identification of the lengthwise direction of the sheet. See [0048]. Sawatzky further discloses that the sheets handled in this manner are of a size that can vary with each pickup (see [0043]), because the lack of standard window sizes requires each sheet to be cut to the required size (see [0012]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have identified the position of each display panel for pickup by the coordinate of one corner of the panel together with the lengthwise direction of the panel, as taught by Sawatzky, in the method of modified Baek. Sawatzky teaches this manner of identification for sheets whose size varies from pickup to pickup, and one of ordinary skill would have recognized that applying it to the display panels of modified Baek would yield the predictable result of locating each panel for pickup without separate provisions for each panel size. See MPEP 2143(I)(C).
In the method of modified Baek, the pickup pads are therefore aligned with the display materials in accordance with the same standard, namely the coordinate of one corner of the display material together with the lengthwise direction of the display material, regardless of a size of the display materials, and the pickup pads pick up the display materials regardless of center positions of the display materials, because the position at which the pickup pads are aligned is determined from a corner and the lengthwise direction rather than from the center of any display material.
Sawatzky is analogous art. Sawatzky is directed to the robotic pickup of thin, generally planar sheets from a work surface by vacuum suction, which is the same field of endeavor as the claimed loading of display materials by pickup pads of a loader robot, and Sawatzky is in any event reasonably pertinent to the problem with which the inventor was involved, namely picking up flat workpieces whose size varies without separately establishing the pickup position for each size. See MPEP 2141.01(a).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 and 15-17 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. Claims 6-14 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter.
Claim 2 requires that the aligning of the pickup pads includes aligning a laser pointer emitted from the loader robot with a first teaching point of each of the display materials. In the method of modified Baek, the position of each display material is identified by a vision unit and by the coordinate of a corner of the display material, and neither Baek, nor Nishio, nor Sawatzky irradiates a laser pointer from the loader robot onto the display material or aligns such a laser pointer with a reference location of the display material. KR 10-2014-0025899 (“Mun”) (cited in an IDS) discloses an alignment pickup plate 60 carrying a pair of reel position detection sensors 80, in which the plate is rotated until the sensing point 81 of the irradiated laser simultaneously detects the position detection part 1a of a tape reel, after which the plate descends and vacuum pads 61 pick up the reel. See [0025] and [0029]-[0031] of the provided translation. Mun, however, uses the sensing point to determine the rotational orientation of a uniform circular article about its own center, and does not use the sensing point to register pickup pads to a reference location of display materials. Further, because the position of each display material in the method of modified Baek is already identified before pickup, there is no teaching or suggestion in the prior art of record that would have led one of ordinary skill in the art to additionally irradiate a laser pointer from the loader robot and align it with a first teaching point of each display material.
Claims 3-17 depend from claim 2 and contain allowable subject matter for at least the reasons set forth above.
Regardless, the Examiner wishes to note that claim 3 defines over the prior art independent of claim 2. Claim 3 further requires that each display material includes a display panel and a polarizer member disposed on the display panel, and that the first teaching point is an intersection between a dividing line dividing the display panel into equal parts and an edge of the polarizer member. The prior art of record locates workpieces by reference features placed elsewhere, such as a corner of the sheet (Sawatzky, [0048]) or position detection parts adjacent a label attachment surface (Mun), and does not disclose or suggest a reference location defined as the intersection of a dividing line of the display panel with an edge of a polarizer member disposed on the display panel. The specification indicates that this location is selected so that the first teaching points of display materials having different sizes lie on a common line (see [0049]-[0050] and FIG. 8), so the location of the first teaching point is not an arbitrary design choice.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Specifically, see US 2020/0189862 (“Kim”), which discloses detecting alignment marks in a pad area of a display cell, calculating a corrected coordinate from an initial position and a reference position of a first cell, and picking up subsequent cells using that corrected coordinate, such that the position at which a subsequent cell is picked up differs from the reference position of that cell. See FIGS. 5-6B and the accompanying description at [0092]-[0103].
US 2019/0088529 (“Kim”) discloses a pickup assembly having a camera that recognizes an alignment mark at a corner of a unit substrate through a vision hole before suction pickers pick up the unit substrate. See FIG. 1 and [0052], [0064]-[0065], [0077]-[0078], and [0110].
US 2021/0387301 (“O’Hare”) discloses an illuminator head 500 carried by a robot arm, having light emitters that produce fan beams crossing to form a plus or X pattern with a coincident point at its center, used to locate visual target points on a storage apparatus or on a workpiece before the robot retrieves the workpiece, and which further discloses visible laser targets on each workpiece that are located with the illuminator head before the gripper grasps the workpiece. See [0159]-[0165] and [0205]-[0212].
US 2007/0033790 (“Tsuchiya”) discloses a robot that picks a panel from a delivery cart with suction cups and positions the panel against a position stop providing a common point of contact along the edge of panels of dissimilar size and shape. See [0006]-[0008] and [0047]-[0048].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to John DeRusso whose telephone number is (571)270-1287. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Xiao (Sam) Zhao, can be reached at (571) 270-5343. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/John J. DeRusso/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1744
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