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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claim 12 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.
Claim 12 recites the limitation "the one or more grooves" in line 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Examiner interprets claim 12 to be dependent on claim 2 in which the “grooves” are introduced.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 6-7, 9-12, 14-18, & 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP H0722542 U (Hereinafter “JP ‘542”).
Regarding claim 1, the work transfer hand of JP ‘542 discloses a lead gripper configured to grip and transport an electrode lead (30; Abstract; Industrial Applications), the lead gripper comprising: an upper arm (10) and a lower arm (27) together configured to grip the electrode lead (30, Fig 4A-D), wherein one or more grip surfaces of a first one of the upper arm or the lower arm comprise one or more lead fixing protrusions (22) that are each configured to pass through the electrode lead (Fig 4D).
Regarding claim 2, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 1 as described above, JP ‘542 further discloses a grip surface (Lower Grip Surface, Annotated Fig 4A below) of a second one of the upper arm or the lower arm comprises one or more grooves (28) configured to accommodate the one or more lead fixing protrusions therein (Fig 4A-D).
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Regarding claim 3, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 2 as described above, JP ‘542 further teaches the one or more lead fixing protrusions (22) each are configured to pass through the electrode lead (30) and be inserted into the one or more grooves (Fig 4D; Pg 3 last body).
Regarding claim 6, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 1 as described above, JP ‘542 further teaches the one or more lead fixing protrusions are two or more lead fixing protrusions (lead fixing protrusion 20 is a part of pin unit 21, Fig 3A-B; Abstract), and the two or more lead fixing protrusions are located on one of the grip surfaces spaced apart from each other (Fig 3A-B; Abstract).
Regarding claim 7, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 6 as described above, JP ‘542 further teaches the two or more lead fixing protrusions are spaced apart from each other in a horizontal direction or in a vertical direction (lead fixing protrusion 20 is a part of pin unit 21, Fig 3A-B).
Regarding claim 9, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 1 as described above, JP ‘542 further teaches the lead gripper is configured to transport the electrode lead (Abstract), and the electrode lead comprises one or more lead fixing holes (31, Fig 4A-D).
Regarding claim 10, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 1 as described above, JP ‘542 further teaches the one or more lead fixing holes each have circular or polygonal shape (31, Fig 2A).
Regarding claim 11, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 10 as described above, JP ‘542 further teaches the one or more lead fixing holes each have a circular shape (31, Fig 2A).
Regarding claim 12, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 2 as described above, JP ‘542 further teaches the one or more lead fixing protrusions are two or more lead fixing protrusions that are each configured to pass through the electrode lead (lead fixing protrusion 20 is a part of pin unit 21, Fig 3A-B; Abstract), the two or more lead fixing protrusions are spaced apart from each other in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction (Fig 3A-B), and the one or more grooves are two or more grooves that accommodate the two or more lead fixing protrusions therein (28, Fig 3A).
Regarding claim 14, the work transfer hand of JP ‘542 discloses a method of gripping an electrode lead with a lead gripper (Abstract; Industrial Applications), the method comprising:
passing one or more lead fixing protrusions (22) of the lead gripper through the electrode lead (30, Fig 4A-B); and gripping the electrode lead between an upper arm (10) and a lower arm (27) of the lead gripper (Fig 4A-D), one or more grip surfaces of a first one of the upper arm or the lower arm comprising the one or more lead fixing protrusions (Fig 4A-D).
Regarding claim 15, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 14 as described above, JP ‘542 further teaches a grip surface (Lower Grip Surface, Annotated Fig 4A above) of a second one of the upper arm or the lower arm comprises one or more grooves (28) that accommodates the one or more lead fixing protrusions therein (Fig 4A-D).
Regarding claim 16, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 15 as described above, JP ‘542 further teaches inserting the one or more lead fixing protrusions into the one or more grooves (Fig 4A-D; Pg 3 last body).
Regarding claim 17, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 14 as described above, JP ‘542 further teaches the one or more lead fixing protrusions are two or more lead fixing protrusions (lead fixing protrusion 20 is a part of pin unit 21, Fig 3A-B; Abstract), and the two or more lead fixing protrusions are located on one of the grip surfaces spaced apart from each other (Upper Grip Surface, Annotated 4A above).
Regarding claim 18, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 17 as described above, JP ‘542 further teaches the two or more lead fixing protrusions are spaced apart from each other in a horizontal direction or in a vertical direction (lead fixing protrusion 20 is a part of pin unit 21, Fig 3A-B).
Regarding claim 20, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 14 as described above, JP ‘542 further teaches the passing comprises passing the one or more lead fixing protrusions through one or more lead fixing holes extending through the electrode lead (Fig 4A-D; Pg 4 paragraph 3), the method further comprising transporting the electrode lead with the lead gripper (Abstract).
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.
Claims 4-5, 8, 13, & 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP ‘542 in view of JP 6094781 B1 (Hereinafter “JP ‘782”).
Regarding claims 4-5, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 1 as described above, JP ‘542 is silent on the details of the lead fixing protrusion each having a truncated conical or truncated polygonal shape. However, the transfer hand of JP ‘734 teaches one or more lead fixing protrusions each have a truncated conical shape (Fig 1 Enlarged Section; Pg 3 body 6). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, as of the effective filing date, to improve the lead transfer hand of JP ‘542 with the truncated conical lead fixing protrusion of JP ‘734 to create a sharpened section for alignment and a flat end section to avoid puncture of the delicate lead.
Regarding claim 8, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 1 as described above, JP ‘542 is silent on the details of an additional pair of arms. However, mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced (In re Harza, 124 USPQ 378). In this case the additional pair of arms is used to achieve the same result of picking up a lead frame. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, as of the effective filing date, to improve the work transfer hand of JP ‘542 with a second set of arms to grab the lead at both ends to distribute the force evenly.
In addition, the transfer hand of JP ‘734 teaches an additional pair of arms (First pair of arms 40 + 4, Second pair of arms 40a + 4a, Fig 1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, as of the effective filing date, to improve the work transfer hand of JP ‘542 with a second set of arms to grab the lead at both ends in a balanced and stable state (Pg 6 (A-4) body 2).
Regarding claim 13, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 1 as described above, JP ‘542 further teaches one or more grip surfaces (Annotated Fig 4A above) of a first one of the upper arm or the lower arm in of each pair of arms comprises one or more lead fixing protrusions (22) that are each configured to pass through the electrode lead (30; Fig 4D; Pg 3 last body), and a grip surface of a second one of the upper arm or the lower arm of each pair of arms comprises a groove (28) that is configured to accommodate the one or more lead fixing protrusions therein (Fig 4A-D). JP ‘542 is silent on the details of an additional pair of arms. However, mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced (In re Harza, 124 USPQ 378). In this case the additional pair of arms is used to achieve the same result of picking up a lead frame. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, as of the effective filing date, to improve the work transfer hand of JP ‘542 with a second set of arms to grab the lead at both ends to distribute the force evenly.
In addition, the transfer hand of JP ‘734 teaches an additional pair of arms (First pair of arms 40 + 4, Second pair of arms 40a + 4a, Fig 1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, as of the effective filing date, to improve the work transfer hand of JP ‘542 with a second set of arms to grab the lead at both ends in a balanced and stable state (Pg 6 (A-4) body 2).
Regarding claim 19, JP ‘542 teaches the limitations of claim 14 as described above, JP ‘542 further teaches the gripping further comprising gripping the electrode lead (30) between an upper arm and a lower arm of each of the one or two pairs of arms (Fig 4D; Pg 3 last body). JP ‘542 is silent on the details of an additional pair of arms. However, mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced (In re Harza, 124 USPQ 378). In this case the additional pair of arms is used to achieve the same result of picking up a lead frame. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, as of the effective filing date, to improve the work transfer hand of JP ‘542 with a second set of arms to grab the lead at both ends to distribute the force evenly.
In addition, the transfer hand of JP ‘734 teaches an additional pair of arms (First pair of arms 40 + 4, Second pair of arms 40a + 4a, Fig 1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, as of the effective filing date, to improve the work transfer hand of JP ‘542 with a second set of arms to grab the lead at both ends in a balanced and stable state (Pg 6 (A-4) body 2).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
JP 2018125228 A discloses a parallel gripping chuck for battery electrodes with protrusions and grooves on each arm contact surface.
JP H01140730 A discloses lead frame gripper with a pin and arm assembly for grasping a lead frame.
KR 20160049240 A discloses a test apparatus with grippers for a flat plat with a protrusion and receiving groove.
KR 20140048622 A discloses a battery electrode structure for receiving protrusions.
PGPub US 2013/0164585 A1 discloses a battery with battery electrode holes and protrusions for gripping the battery.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RALPH D WILKINSON whose telephone number is (571)272-6183. The examiner can normally be reached 8 - 4, M-Fr.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Victoria Augustine can be reached at (313) 446-4858. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RALPH D WILKINSON/Examiner, Art Unit 3654
/Victoria P Augustine/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3654
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