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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 3-6 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Re. claim 3: The phrase “a housing space for housing a tape feeder” as recited in lines 2-3 appears to be --the housing space for housing the tape feeder--.
Re. claim 4: The phrase “for exchanging a tape feeder” as recited in line 4 appears to be --for exchanging the tape feeder--.
Re. claim 5: The phrase “wherein the housing formed with a housing space” as recited in line 3 appears to be --wherein the housing formed with the housing space--.
Re. claim 6: The phrase “for exchanging a tape feeder” as recited in line 3 appears to be --for exchanging the tape feeder--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kawai (US PAT. 11,943,870) .
The applied reference has a common inventor and an assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
Kawai teaches a mounting work system comprising: at least one feeder automatic exchange work machine (26, Fig. 1) configured to mount a component, which is supplied by a tape feeder (14, Fig. 2) mounted on a mounting stand (24, Fig. 2), on a board (11, Fig. 2) conveyed by a conveyance device (16, Fig. 2), the tape feeder mounted on the mounting stand being configured to be automatically exchanged by an operation of a tape feeder exchange device (see also col. 3, lines 1-23 and line 53 to col. 4, line 8); at least one feeder manual exchange work machine (Fig. 3 and Fig. 5) configured to mount a component, which is supplied by a tape feeder (42, Fig. 3) mounted on a mounting stand (24, Fig. 3), on the board conveyed by a conveyance device (16, Fig. 3), the tape feeder mounted on the mounting stand being configured to be manually exchanged by an operator (see also col. 4, lines 54-67 and col. 5,lines 1-11); and a housing (19, Fig. 1) formed with a housing space for housing at least one tape feeder, arranged in a conveyance direction of the conveyance devices, and disposed adjacent to the at least one feeder automatic exchange work machine (see also col. 4, lines 9-19 and col. 6, lines 29-33).
Re. claim 2: The at least one feeder manual exchange work machine is disposed adjacent to the at least one feeder automatic exchange work machine on a side opposite to the housing as shown in Fig. 5 (col. 5, lines 16-22).
Re. claim 3: Each of the at least one feeder automatic exchange work machine has the housing space for housing the tape feeder by utilizing an entire width of a space formed below the mounting stand as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.
Re. claim 5: The housing is formed with a housing space having multiple stages (such as an upper and a lower stage) is provided as shown in Fig. 1.
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.
Claims 4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawai as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ito et al. (WO-2014118995 A1).
Kawai teaches all imitations as set forth above, but silent an exchange mechanism for exchanging the tape feeder. Ito et al. teach an exchange system for cassette type feeder of component mounting machine (as per claim 4), or a process for exchanging a tape feeder (as per claim 6) including an exchange mechanism (43, Figs. 1, 3 and 4), for exchanging the tape feeder (14), which is configured to collect the used cassette type feeders (11), while accommodating a following cassette type feeder which is replaced with the used cassette type feeder of an attachment work area (41, see also abstract). 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 mounting work system of Kawai by an exchange mechanism for exchanging the tape feeder as taught by Ito et al. in order to provide a feeder replacement system for a component mounter capable of automating a feeder exchange operation during operation of a component mounter.
As per claim 6, Ito et al. teach a process of collectively exchanging multiple tape feeders housed in a housing space for housing the tape feeder by using the exchange mechanism (43) for exchanging the tape feeder as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 (see also paragraphs [0034]-[0036]).
The Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Nakayama (US PAT. 12,552,031), Iisaka et al. (US PAT. 10,925,200), and Sugimoto et al. (US PAT. 10,902,161) are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to a mounting work 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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