DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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(s) 1-32 are pending and are rejected.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDSs) submitted on 09/30/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 30 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 30:
Claim recites, “The apparatus of claim 29,” but it’s erroneous, because claim 29 is a system claim and not an apparatus claim. This seems to be a typographical error.
For the examination purpose, in broadest reasonable interpretation, it is construed that claim 30 depends from the system claim 29, and thus this limitation is construed as, The system of claim 29.
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 filling 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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-8, 10 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bacigalupi et al. (US20240253174A1) [hereinafter Bacigalupi] and in view of Kim (US20220055178A1) [hereinafter Kim].
Regarding claim 1:
Bacigalupi discloses, An apparatus for conditioning at least one surface of a user device, the apparatus comprising: [¶8: “kits, systems, devices (e.g., hardware storage devices, computer numerical control (CNC) machines/devices, etc.), and methods for dynamically polishing and repairing a mobile device's surface”];
a platform configured to support the user device; [¶100: “FIG. 4 also shows a staging area 415, which includes a platform 420 on which a device can be positioned.”];
a conditioning device configured to engage a tool comprising a tool head; [¶99: “The CNC machine 400 includes a candle bit 405. Attached to an end of the candle bit 405 is a sponge 410. This sponge 410 can be coated with a scratch-repairing or removing paste.” “CNC machine 400 causes the candle bit 405 (and hence the sponge 410) to rotate”… ¶98: “coating an applicator with a paste using a computer numerical control (CNC) machine. Notably, the applicator is attached to a candle bit of the CNC machine. Furthermore, the device is disposed on a staging area of the CNC machine. The applicator can be a sponge, pad, brush, or any other type of application tool. FIG. 4 is illustrative.”];
…reservoir is fluidically coupled with the compound pot to dispense a conditioning compound therein; [¶103: “The staging area 500 also includes a recessed area labeled as a reservoir tray 510 and optionally another recessed area labeled as reservoir tray 515. Although two reservoir trays are illustrated, the embodiments can include 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or more than 5 reservoir trays.”… ¶105: “the paste container 520 is inserted into one of the reservoir trays 510, 515 while water or some other liquid substance is inserted into the other one of the reservoir trays 510, 515. The water can potentially be used to hydrate and liquify the paste 535 if in powder form.”… ¶107: “the CNC machine is equipped with a larger container of paste, such as perhaps a tub that uses tubing to fill the reservoir trays 510, 515.”];
a positioning assembly configured to move the conditioning device relative to the user device and the compound pot; and [¶100: “When the device is positioned on the platform 420 of the staging area 415, the CNC machine 400 can move the sponge 410 in an x-y dimensional plane. The CNC machine 400 can move the staging area 415 in a z dimension to raise or lower the device.” “the CNC machine 400 can move the sponge 410 in any x-y-z direction. In some cases, the CNC machine 400 can move the staging area 415 in any x-y-z direction.”… ¶115: “The candle bit 1000 is rotated by a motor of the CNC machine and is moved to different positions in order to polish the device's screen.”… ¶120: “Act 325 then includes moving the applicator and/or the staging area using the CNC machine in accordance with a predetermined pattern, which pattern is selected to enable the paste coated on the applicator to polish the screen of the device, including a scratch on the screen.”];
at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium including computer program code stored thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, configures the apparatus to: [¶203: “FIG. 23 illustrates an example computer system configured to perform any of the disclosed operations. FIG. 23 will be discussed in more detail later.”… ¶240: “computer system 2300 includes various different components. FIG. 23 shows that computer system 2300 includes one or more processor(s) 2305 (aka a “hardware processing unit”) and storage 2310.”… ¶246: “Computer storage media (aka “hardware storage device”) are computer-readable hardware storage devices,” “that can be used to store desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions, data, or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.”];
control…the conditioning device, and the positioning assembly to execute at least one conditioning operation to operably engage the tool head with both the compound in the compound pot and with a plurality of locations on the at least one surface of the user device. [¶172: “Act 1505 involves moving the end-mounted sponge, which is mounted on the candle bit, to a position above the reservoir. For instance, the preparation stage 1405 of FIG. 14A shows how the candle bit 1430 can be moved to a position above the paste 1435. Act 1505 can be performed by the computer system instructing the CNC machine to perform this movement.”…¶173: “Act 1510 can be performed by the computer system instructing the CNC machine to perform this dipping operation. In some cases, the sponge is rotated in a single direction or perhaps back and forth while immersed in the paste.”… ¶176: “Act 1520 includes moving the end-mounted sponge to a home position relative to a device that is to be polished, where the device is disposed on the staging area”… ¶178: “Act 1525 involves rotating the candle bit at a predetermined rate such that the end-mounted sponge also rotates.”… ¶180: “Act 1530 includes causing the rotating end-mounted sponge to contact the screen of the device while moving in accordance with a predetermined pattern such that the end-mounted sponge polishes the screen of the device using the paste.”], but Bacigalupi doesn’t explicitly disclose, and
Kim discloses, a dispenser assembly comprising an actuatable reservoir and compound pot, wherein the actuatable reservoir is fluidically coupled with the compound pot to dispense a conditioning compound therein; [¶41: “Each of slurry dispenser controllers 101 and 102 control operation of a slurry dispenser, which serves as a reservoir of polishing slurry that is dispensed onto a mobile device surface during a polishing operation. Base component 106 houses components relating to electronic circuitry and pumping and/or circulating water through polishing system 100 during a polishing operation.”… ¶6: “(4) a slurry dispenser arranged adjacent to the spindle and designed to store and dispense polishing slurry on surface of mobile device; and (5) a central controller programmed to control operation of the jig, the spindle, and the slurry dispenser.”];
control the actuatable reservoir…to execute at least one conditioning operation to operably engage the tool head with both the compound in the compound pot and with a plurality of locations on the at least one surface of the user device [¶6: “(4) a slurry dispenser arranged adjacent to the spindle and designed to store and dispense polishing slurry on surface of mobile device; and (5) a central controller programmed to control operation of the jig, the spindle, and the slurry dispenser.”…¶47: “a slurry dispensing controller and a rotational movement controller, to cease operation of the component they control.”… ¶11: “the slurry dispensing controller controls operation of the slurry dispenser during an operational state of the jig and the spindle, to either dispense or cease dispensing polishing slurry.”];
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filling date of the claimed invention to have combined a dispenser assembly comprising an actuatable reservoir and compound pot, wherein the actuatable reservoir is fluidically coupled with the compound pot to dispense a conditioning compound therein; and combined the capability of controlling the actuatable reservoir…to execute at least one conditioning operation to operably engage the tool head with both the compound in the compound pot and with a plurality of locations on the at least one surface of the user device in order to provide efficient polishing of the user device with high throughput processing taught by Kim with the apparatus taught by Bacigalupi as discussed above in order to have reasonable expectation of success such as to provide efficient polishing of the user device with high throughput processing [Kim: ¶53: “allow present systems and methods to provide efficient polishing of the mobile device. In the market of pre-owned or refurbished mobile device sales, the present arrangements and teachings that allow for different types of displacement paths, contribute to high throughput processing”].
Regarding claim 2:
Bacigalupi and Kim disclose, The apparatus of claim 1, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, further comprising a calibration tool configured to set a reference position for the positioning assembly, [¶127: “auto-calibrate the z-axis to potentially facilitate the automatic calculation and determination of the home position 1455.” “CNC machine moves the candle bit 1430 to a location above the touch-off point. The CNC machine then causes the candle bit 1430 to contact the touch-off point/groove.” “Lowering the candle bit 1430 onto the touch-off point/groove 1480 calibrates a z-height of the staging area 1410 and the platform 1415.”… ¶128: “auto-calibrate a z-height of the device 1420. This may also be referred to as finding or calibrating the “z zero” for a device. Some devices may have multiple, varied z zeroes, necessitating calibration in multiple locations of surface of the device.”].
wherein the reference position is relative to one or more of the platform, the tool head, and the dispenser assembly. [Examiner notes that claim requires one or more of the optional features, and one of those options is given the patentable weight.
Bacigalupi discloses, the reference position is relative to the platform, the tool head etc.
¶127: “Lowering the candle bit 1430 onto the touch-off point/groove 1480 calibrates a z-height of the staging area 1410 and the platform 1415…. ”¶128: “auto-calibrate a z-height of the device 1420. This may also be referred to as finding or calibrating the “z zero” for a device. Some devices may have multiple, varied z zeroes, necessitating calibration in multiple locations of surface of the device. The CNC machine moves the candle bit 1430 to a location above the device 1420. The CNC machine then causes the candle bit 1430 to contact the surface of the device 1420 at a home position 1455 or another position on the device 1420. This contacting action can occur by lowering the candle bit 1430 onto the surface of the device 1420. Lowering the candle bit 1430 onto the surface of the device 1420 calibrates a z-height of the device 1420.”].
Regarding claim 3:
Bacigalupi and Kim disclose, The apparatus of claim 1, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, wherein the conditioning device further comprises a tool changer configured to operably engage the tool comprising the tool head. [¶115: “The candle bit 1000 includes a cushion 1005 section and a hook-and-loop fastener 1010. The hook-and-loop fastener 1010 is provided to enable a sponge to be attached to the end portion of the cushion 1005.”… ¶170: “different applicator head than the candle bit 1430. For example, the candle bit 1430 may be swapped out for a sprayer or mister attachment. The sprayer or mister attachment may spray or mist the oleophobic coating onto the surface or screen of the device.”].
Regarding claim 5:
Bacigalupi and Kim disclose, The apparatus of claim 1, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, wherein the positioning assembly comprises at least one movable frame and at least one actuator, wherein the at least one actuator is configured to operably engage with the movable frame and move relative to the movable frame. [¶100: “When the device is positioned on the platform 420 of the staging area 415, the CNC machine 400 can move the sponge 410 in an x-y dimensional plane. The CNC machine 400 can move the staging area 415 in a z dimension to raise or lower the device. Of course, these are example scenarios only. In some cases, the CNC machine 400 can move the sponge 410 in any x-y-z direction. In some cases, the CNC machine 400 can move the staging area 415 in any x-y-z direction.”… ¶115: “In the preparation stage 1445, the candle bit 1430 is separated from the paste 1435, such as by raising the candle bit 1430 and/or by lowering the staging area 1410. The x-y-z axis illustrates the various movement directions, with the z-axis reflecting a vertical movement while the x and y axes reflect orthogonal movements.”].
Regarding claim 6:
Bacigalupi and Kim disclose, The apparatus of claim 5, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, wherein the movable frame is a three-axis gantry configured to move the conditioning device above the user device. [¶100: “When the device is positioned on the platform 420 of the staging area 415, the CNC machine 400 can move the sponge 410 in an x-y dimensional plane. The CNC machine 400 can move the staging area 415 in a z dimension to raise or lower the device. Of course, these are example scenarios only. In some cases, the CNC machine 400 can move the sponge 410 in any x-y-z direction. In some cases, the CNC machine 400 can move the staging area 415 in any x-y-z direction.”… ¶115: “In the preparation stage 1445, the candle bit 1430 is separated from the paste 1435, such as by raising the candle bit 1430 and/or by lowering the staging area 1410. The x-y-z axis illustrates the various movement directions, with the z-axis reflecting a vertical movement while the x and y axes reflect orthogonal movements.”].
Regarding claim 7:
Bacigalupi and Kim disclose, The apparatus of claim 1, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, wherein the conditioning device is configured to emit a signal when the at least one conditioning operation is complete.
[¶166: “the process flow 1400 includes a conclusion stage, where an oleophobic coating is re-applied to the screen of a device 1420 after a polishing and/or repair process has been performed and completed. Similar to removing the oleophobic coating, in some cases, the candle bit 1430 of the CNC machines is coated with the oleophobic coating and applies the oleophobic coating to the screen of the device 1420.”].
Regarding claim 8:
Bacigalupi and Kim disclose, The apparatus of claim 1, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, wherein the conditioning compound is a non-aqueous polishing paste. [¶105: “The paste 535 can be in” “powder form.”].
Regarding claim 10:
Bacigalupi and Kim disclose, The apparatus of claim 1, and
Kim further discloses, wherein the platform comprises one or more movable actuators configured to position and orient the user device into one or more positions and one or more orientations. [¶52: “Jig 132 includes one or more jig bases, each of which is designed to receive a mobile device that will undergo polishing, according to the present teachings. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, jig 132 includes a first jig base 144 for securing a first mobile device and a second jig base 146 for securing a second mobile device during a polishing operation. Jig 132 is slidably engaged with a first set of linear motion guides (“LM guides”) or, in the alternative, “jig guides” 134, which are disposed above first tray 138. In the configuration of FIG. 4, jig guides 134 extend in the X-direction and, jig 132 accordingly is capable of movement only along the X-axis using these guides. Top tray, similarly, slidably engages with a second set of LM guides or, in the alternative, “tray guides” 140, which are disposed above second tray 140. Tray guides 140 extend in the Y-direction and, therefore, first tray 138 is capable of movement only along the Y-axis using these guides. Thus, device support subassembly 130 is configured to displace one or more mobile devices, each positioned on a corresponding jig base, both in the X-direction and in the Y-direction.”].
Regarding claim 12:
Bacigalupi and Kim disclose, The apparatus of claim 1, and
Kim further discloses, further comprising a movable cart configured to support one or more of the platform, the conditioning device, the dispenser assembly, and the positioning assembly. [Examiner notes that claim requires one or more of the optional features, and one of those options is given the patentable weight.
Kim discloses, movable cart support one of the platform 130, the conditioning device 108, the dispenser assembly 116, and the positioning assembly 108 etc. as shown in fig. 2.
¶42: “To this end, FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a polishing system 100′,” “includes base component” “a spindle motor subassembly 108 disposed a top device support subassembly 130.” “device support subassembly includes components that are capable of undergoing linear displacement in an X-direction and a Y-direction,” “Spindle motor subassembly 108, however, is capable of linear displacement in the Z-direction,” “a Z-axis motor 110 is responsible for displacement of spindle motor subassembly 108 in the Z-direction”… ¶43: “spindle motor subassembly 108 also includes two slurry dispensers, i.e., a first slurry dispenser 116 that is disposed adjacent to first polishing head 112, and a second slurry dispenser 118 that is disposed adjacent to second polishing head 114”].
Claim(s) 4, 16-23, 25, 27 and 31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bacigalupi and Kim and further in view of Kurogouchi (US20040185750A1) [hereinafter Kurogouchi].
Regarding claim 4:
Bacigalupi and Kim disclose, The apparatus of claim 3, but they do not explicitly disclose, and
Kurogouchi discloses, wherein the tool changer comprises a chuck. [¶26: “A spindle motor 9 is mounted on the end of the second up-and-down driving shaft 8 to fix a spindle 10 to which a polisher 11 is chucked.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filling date of the claimed invention to have combined the tool changer comprises a chuck in order to perform polishing with high efficiency and high accuracy taught by Kurogouchi with the apparatus taught by Bacigalupi and Kim as discussed above in order to have reasonable expectation of success such as to perform polishing with high efficiency and high accuracy [Kurogouchi: ¶53: “Polishing can thus be performed with high efficiency and high accuracy.”].
Regarding claim 16:
Bacigalupi discloses, A system for conditioning at least one surface of a user device, the system comprising: [¶8: “kits, systems, devices (e.g., hardware storage devices, computer numerical control (CNC) machines/devices, etc.), and methods for dynamically polishing and repairing a mobile device's surface”];
a platform configured to support the user device; [¶100: “FIG. 4 also shows a staging area 415, which includes a platform 420 on which a device can be positioned.”];
a conditioning device configured to engage a tool comprising a tool head; [¶99: “The CNC machine 400 includes a candle bit 405. Attached to an end of the candle bit 405 is a sponge 410. This sponge 410 can be coated with a scratch-repairing or removing paste.” “CNC machine 400 causes the candle bit 405 (and hence the sponge 410) to rotate”… ¶98: “coating an applicator with a paste using a computer numerical control (CNC) machine. Notably, the applicator is attached to a candle bit of the CNC machine. Furthermore, the device is disposed on a staging area of the CNC machine. The applicator can be a sponge, pad, brush, or any other type of application tool. FIG. 4 is illustrative.”];
…reservoir is fluidically coupled with the compound pot to dispense a conditioning compound therein; [¶103: “The staging area 500 also includes a recessed area labeled as a reservoir tray 510 and optionally another recessed area labeled as reservoir tray 515. Although two reservoir trays are illustrated, the embodiments can include 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or more than 5 reservoir trays.”… ¶105: “the paste container 520 is inserted into one of the reservoir trays 510, 515 while water or some other liquid substance is inserted into the other one of the reservoir trays 510, 515. The water can potentially be used to hydrate and liquify the paste 535 if in powder form.”… ¶107: “the CNC machine is equipped with a larger container of paste, such as perhaps a tub that uses tubing to fill the reservoir trays 510, 515.”];
a positioning assembly configured to move the conditioning device relative to the user device and the compound pot; and [¶100: “When the device is positioned on the platform 420 of the staging area 415, the CNC machine 400 can move the sponge 410 in an x-y dimensional plane. The CNC machine 400 can move the staging area 415 in a z dimension to raise or lower the device.” “the CNC machine 400 can move the sponge 410 in any x-y-z direction. In some cases, the CNC machine 400 can move the staging area 415 in any x-y-z direction.”… ¶115: “The candle bit 1000 is rotated by a motor of the CNC machine and is moved to different positions in order to polish the device's screen.”… ¶120: “Act 325 then includes moving the applicator and/or the staging area using the CNC machine in accordance with a predetermined pattern, which pattern is selected to enable the paste coated on the applicator to polish the screen of the device, including a scratch on the screen.”];
at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium including computer program code stored thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, configures the apparatus to: [¶203: “FIG. 23 illustrates an example computer system configured to perform any of the disclosed operations. FIG. 23 will be discussed in more detail later.”… ¶240: “computer system 2300 includes various different components. FIG. 23 shows that computer system 2300 includes one or more processor(s) 2305 (aka a “hardware processing unit”) and storage 2310.”… ¶246: “Computer storage media (aka “hardware storage device”) are computer-readable hardware storage devices,” “that can be used to store desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions, data, or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.”];
control…the conditioning device, and the positioning assembly to execute at least one conditioning operation to operably engage the tool head with both the compound in the compound pot and with a plurality of locations on the at least one surface of the user device. [¶172: “Act 1505 involves moving the end-mounted sponge, which is mounted on the candle bit, to a position above the reservoir. For instance, the preparation stage 1405 of FIG. 14A shows how the candle bit 1430 can be moved to a position above the paste 1435. Act 1505 can be performed by the computer system instructing the CNC machine to perform this movement.”…¶173: “Act 1510 can be performed by the computer system instructing the CNC machine to perform this dipping operation. In some cases, the sponge is rotated in a single direction or perhaps back and forth while immersed in the paste.”… ¶176: “Act 1520 includes moving the end-mounted sponge to a home position relative to a device that is to be polished, where the device is disposed on the staging area”… ¶178: “Act 1525 involves rotating the candle bit at a predetermined rate such that the end-mounted sponge also rotates.”… ¶180: “Act 1530 includes causing the rotating end-mounted sponge to contact the screen of the device while moving in accordance with a predetermined pattern such that the end-mounted sponge polishes the screen of the device using the paste.”], but Bacigalupi doesn’t explicitly disclose, and
Kim discloses, wherein the handling device is configured to operably engage the user device [¶6: “a jig designed to secure mobile device;”… ¶10: “both the jig and the first tray are capable of being displaced, at the same time, in the X-direction and the Y-direction, respectively. A combination of displacement, at the same time, in the X-direction and the Y-direction, of one or more mobile devices is referred to herein as “slanted displacement.” In a slanted displacement, one or more mobile devices move at an angle to the X-axis and at an angle to the Y-axis.”];
…and deliver the user device to an apparatus for conditioning the user device selected from a group of apparatuses for conditioning the user device, the apparatus for conditioning the user device comprising: [¶11: “during displacement of the jig and of the spindle and operating under control of the slurry dispenser controller, one implementation of the slurry dispenser is capable of dispensing polishing slurry on portion of mobile device surface before, e.g., a few seconds before, that portion undergoes polishing by the polishing head.”… ¶54: “operates in conjunction with jig guide 134 to displace jig 132 in the X-direction.” “Y-axis motor, operates in conjunction with tray guide 140, displaces first tray 138 in the Y-direction. In a slanted displacement path of the mobile device, both X-axis motor and Y-axis motor, simultaneously, operate to displace jig 132 and first tray 138 in the X-direction and the Y-direction, respectively, at the same time.”];
a dispenser assembly comprising an actuatable reservoir and compound pot, wherein the actuatable reservoir is fluidically coupled with the compound pot to dispense a conditioning compound therein; [¶41: “Each of slurry dispenser controllers 101 and 102 control operation of a slurry dispenser, which serves as a reservoir of polishing slurry that is dispensed onto a mobile device surface during a polishing operation. Base component 106 houses components relating to electronic circuitry and pumping and/or circulating water through polishing system 100 during a polishing operation.”… ¶6: “(4) a slurry dispenser arranged adjacent to the spindle and designed to store and dispense polishing slurry on surface of mobile device; and (5) a central controller programmed to control operation of the jig, the spindle, and the slurry dispenser.”];
control the actuatable reservoir…to execute at least one conditioning operation to operably engage the tool head with both the compound in the compound pot and with a plurality of locations on the at least one surface of the user device [¶6: “(4) a slurry dispenser arranged adjacent to the spindle and designed to store and dispense polishing slurry on surface of mobile device; and (5) a central controller programmed to control operation of the jig, the spindle, and the slurry dispenser.”…¶47: “a slurry dispensing controller and a rotational movement controller, to cease operation of the component they control.”… ¶11: “the slurry dispensing controller controls operation of the slurry dispenser during an operational state of the jig and the spindle, to either dispense or cease dispensing polishing slurry.”];
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filling date of the claimed invention to have combined the handling device is configured to operably engage the user device and deliver the user device to an apparatus for conditioning the user device selected from a group of apparatuses for conditioning the user device; and combined a dispenser assembly comprising an actuatable reservoir and compound pot, wherein the actuatable reservoir is fluidically coupled with the compound pot to dispense a conditioning compound therein; and combined the capability of controlling the actuatable reservoir…to execute at least one conditioning operation to operably engage the tool head with both the compound in the compound pot and with a plurality of locations on the at least one surface of the user device in order to provide efficient polishing of the user device with high throughput processing taught by Kim with the apparatus taught by Bacigalupi as discussed above in order to have reasonable expectation of success such as to provide efficient polishing of the user device with high throughput processing [Kim: ¶53: “allow present systems and methods to provide efficient polishing of the mobile device. In the market of pre-owned or refurbished mobile device sales, the present arrangements and teachings that allow for different types of displacement paths, contribute to high throughput processing”], but doesn’t explicitly disclose, and
Kurogouchi discloses, a handling device comprising an end effector, wherein the handling device is configured to operably engage the user device with the end effector and deliver the user device to an apparatus for conditioning the user device selected from a group of apparatuses for conditioning the user device [¶24: “A chuck 4 is provided on the rotating worktable 3 to fix the material 5 to be polished. If the material 5 is shaped like a lens such that its center should be obtained, it is favorable that the rotating worktable 3 and chuck 4 have a centering mechanism. The centering mechanism has a function of conforming the center of rotation of the rotating worktable 3 to a desired center of the material 5. The centering of the centering mechanism can be achieved if the chuck 4 can finely be adjusted in the XY direction on the rotating worktable 3. If the surface of the material 5 is flat and thus its center need not be obtained, a fixed chuck is used for the chuck 4.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filling date of the claimed invention to have combined handling device and handling device is configured to operably engage the user device with the end effector and deliver the user device to an apparatus for conditioning the user device selected from a group of apparatuses for conditioning the user device in order to perform polishing with high efficiency and high accuracy taught by Kurogouchi with the apparatus taught by Bacigalupi and Kim as discussed above in order to have reasonable expectation of success such as to perform polishing with high efficiency and high accuracy [Kurogouchi: ¶53: “Polishing can thus be performed with high efficiency and high accuracy.”].
Regarding claim 17:
Bacigalupi, Kim and Kurogouchi disclose, The system of claim 16, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, further comprising an imaging device configured to captured one or more images of the at least one conditioning operation, and wherein the imaging device is configured to transmit the one or more images of the at least one conditioning operation to the at least one non-transitory computer readable medium. [¶96: “an image of the device can be captured using a camera.”… ¶148: “the CNC machine includes a sensor 1460, such as perhaps an optical sensor or an IR sensor that can detect the edges of the device 1420. Based on the detected edges, the embodiments can then select a start or home position to begin the polishing process.” “the sensor 1460 is a thermal imaging camera.” “the sensor 1460 may include a camera or a photodetector.” “detection of the edges of the device 1420 may trigger a change in the RPMs and/or applied pressure of the candle bit 1430.”].
Regarding claim 18:
Bacigalupi, Kim and Kurogouchi disclose, The system of claim 17, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, wherein the computer program code, when executed by the at least one processor, configures the apparatus to do one or more of:
motion plan one or more of the actuatable reservoir, the conditioning device, and the positioning assembly during the at least one conditioning operation;
perform location recognition for positioning or handling of the user device; and
perform feature recognition for classifying or orienting the user device.
[Examiner notes that claim requires one or more of the optional features, and one of those options is given the patentable weight.
Bacigalupi discloses, performing feature recognition for classifying the user device as described below:
¶148: “the CNC machine includes a sensor 1460, such as perhaps an optical sensor or an IR sensor that can detect the edges of the device 1420. Based on the detected edges, the embodiments can then select a start or home position to begin the polishing process.” “the sensor 1460 is a thermal imaging camera.” “the sensor 1460 may include a camera or a photodetector.” “detection of the edges of the device 1420 may trigger a change in the RPMs and/or applied pressure of the candle bit 1430. In some cases, the edges of the device may also be determined and/or confirmed by the sensor 1460 after accessing the device's 1420 dimension from a local and/or remote database. In some cases, the sensor 1460 may detect edges of multiple devices 1420 in an array of devices 1420 that are to be polished. Detection of the edges of multiple devices 1420 enables selecting a start or home position for each device 1420 in the array.”].
Regarding claim 19:
Bacigalupi, Kim and Kurogouchi disclose, The system of claim 17, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, wherein the computer program code, when executed by the at least one processor, configures the apparatus to use edge and/or blob find tools to analyze the one or more images captured by the imaging device. [¶148: “the CNC machine includes a sensor 1460,” “detect the edges of the device 1420.” “In some cases, the edges of the device may also be determined and/or confirmed by the sensor 1460” “the sensor 1460 may detect edges of multiple devices 1420 in an array of devices 1420 that are to be polished. Detection of the edges of multiple devices 1420 enables selecting a start or home position for each device 1420 in the array.”];
Regarding claim 20:
Bacigalupi, Kim and Kurogouchi disclose, The system of claim 16, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, wherein the positioning assembly comprises at least one movable frame and at least one actuator, wherein the at least one actuator is configured to operably engage with the movable frame and move relative to the movable frame. [¶100: “When the device is positioned on the platform 420 of the staging area 415, the CNC machine 400 can move the sponge 410 in an x-y dimensional plane. The CNC machine 400 can move the staging area 415 in a z dimension to raise or lower the device. Of course, these are example scenarios only. In some cases, the CNC machine 400 can move the sponge 410 in any x-y-z direction. In some cases, the CNC machine 400 can move the staging area 415 in any x-y-z direction.”… ¶115: “In the preparation stage 1445, the candle bit 1430 is separated from the paste 1435, such as by raising the candle bit 1430 and/or by lowering the staging area 1410. The x-y-z axis illustrates the various movement directions, with the z-axis reflecting a vertical movement while the x and y axes reflect orthogonal movements.”].
Regarding claim 21:
Bacigalupi, Kim and Kurogouchi disclose, The system of claim 20, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, wherein the movable frame is a three-axis gantry configured to move the conditioning device above the user device. [¶100: “When the device is positioned on the platform 420 of the staging area 415, the CNC machine 400 can move the sponge 410 in an x-y dimensional plane. The CNC machine 400 can move the staging area 415 in a z dimension to raise or lower the device. Of course, these are example scenarios only. In some cases, the CNC machine 400 can move the sponge 410 in any x-y-z direction. In some cases, the CNC machine 400 can move the staging area 415 in any x-y-z direction.”… ¶115: “In the preparation stage 1445, the candle bit 1430 is separated from the paste 1435, such as by raising the candle bit 1430 and/or by lowering the staging area 1410. The x-y-z axis illustrates the various movement directions, with the z-axis reflecting a vertical movement while the x and y axes reflect orthogonal movements.”].
Regarding claim 22:
Bacigalupi, Kim and Kurogouchi disclose, The system of claim 16, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, wherein the conditioning device is configured to emit a signal when the at least one conditioning operation is complete. [¶166: “the process flow 1400 includes a conclusion stage, where an oleophobic coating is re-applied to the screen of a device 1420 after a polishing and/or repair process has been performed and completed. Similar to removing the oleophobic coating, in some cases, the candle bit 1430 of the CNC machines is coated with the oleophobic coating and applies the oleophobic coating to the screen of the device 1420.”].
Regarding claim 23:
Bacigalupi, Kim and Kurogouchi disclose, The system of claim 16, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, wherein the conditioning compound is a non-aqueous polishing paste. [¶105: “The paste 535 can be in” “powder form.”].
Regarding claim 25:
Bacigalupi, Kim and Kurogouchi disclose, The system of claim 16, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, wherein the platform comprises one or more movable actuators configured to position and orient the user device into one or more positions and one or more orientations. wherein the platform comprises one or more movable actuators configured to position and orient the user device into one or more positions and one or more orientations. [¶52: “Jig 132 includes one or more jig bases, each of which is designed to receive a mobile device that will undergo polishing, according to the present teachings. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, jig 132 includes a first jig base 144 for securing a first mobile device and a second jig base 146 for securing a second mobile device during a polishing operation. Jig 132 is slidably engaged with a first set of linear motion guides (“LM guides”) or, in the alternative, “jig guides” 134, which are disposed above first tray 138. In the configuration of FIG. 4, jig guides 134 extend in the X-direction and, jig 132 accordingly is capable of movement only along the X-axis using these guides. Top tray, similarly, slidably engages with a second set of LM guides or, in the alternative, “tray guides” 140, which are disposed above second tray 140. Tray guides 140 extend in the Y-direction and, therefore, first tray 138 is capable of movement only along the Y-axis using these guides. Thus, device support subassembly 130 is configured to displace one or more mobile devices, each positioned on a corresponding jig base, both in the X-direction and in the Y-direction.”].
Regarding claim 27:
Bacigalupi, Kim and Kurogouchi disclose, The system of claim 16, and
Bacigalupi further discloses, further comprising a movable cart configured to support the apparatus for conditioning the user device. [¶42: “To this end, FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a polishing system 100′,” “includes base component” “a spindle motor subassembly 108 disposed a top device support subassembly 130.” “device support subassembly includes components that are capable of undergoing linear displacement in an X-direction and a Y-direction,” “Spindle motor subassembly 108, however, is capable of linear displacement in the Z-direction,” “a Z-axis motor 110 is responsible for displacement of spindle motor subassembly 108 in the Z-direction”… ¶43: “spindle motor subassembly 108 also includes two slurry dispensers, i.e., a first slurry dispenser 116 that is disposed adjacent to first polishing head 112, and a second slurry dispenser 118 that is disposed adjacent to second polishing head 114”
Examiner notes that, Kim discloses, movable cart support the apparatus as shown in fig. 2.].
Regarding claim 31:
Bacigalupi discloses, A method for conditioning at least one surface of a user device, the method comprising: [¶8: “kits, systems, devices (e.g., hardware storage devices, computer numerical control (CNC) machines/devices, etc.), and methods for dynamically polishing and repairing a mobile device's surface”];
a platform configured to support the user device; [¶100: “FIG. 4 also shows a staging area 415, which includes a platform 420 on which a device can be positioned.”];
a conditioning device configured to engage a tool comprising a tool head; [¶99: “The CNC machine 400 includes a candle bit 405. Attached to an end of the candle bit 405 is a sponge 410. This sponge 410 can be coated with a scratch-repairing or removing paste.” “CNC machine 400 causes the candle bit 405 (and hence the sponge 410) to rotate”… ¶98: “coating an applicator with a paste using a computer numerical control (CNC) machine. Notably, the applicator is attached to a candle bit of the CNC machine. Furthermore, the device is disposed on a staging area of the CNC machine. The applicator can be a sponge, pad, brush, or any other type of application tool. FIG. 4 is illustrative.”];
…reservoir is fluidically coupled with the compound pot to dispense a conditioning compound therein; [¶103: “The staging area 500 also includes a recessed area labeled as a reservoir tray 510 and optionally another recessed area labeled as reservoir tray 515. Although two reservoir trays are illustrated, the embodiments can include 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or more than 5 reservoir trays.”… ¶105: “the paste container 520 is inserted into one of the reservoir trays 510, 515 while water or some other liquid substance is inserted into the other one of the reservoir trays 510, 515. The water can potentially be used to hydrate and liquify the paste 535 if in powder form.”… ¶107: “the CNC machine is equipped with a larger container of paste, such as perhaps a tub that uses tubing to fill the reservoir trays 510, 515.”];
a positioning assembly configured to move the conditioning device relative to the user device and the compound pot; and [¶100: “When the device is positioned on the platform 420 of the staging area 415, the CNC machine 400 can move the sponge 410 in an x-y dimensional plane. The CNC machine 400 can move the staging area 415 in a z dimension to raise or lower the device.” “the CNC machine 400 can move the sponge 410 in any x-y-z direction. In some cases, the CNC machine 400 can move the staging area 415 in any x-y-z direction.”… ¶115: “The candle bit 1000 is rotated by a motor of the CNC machine and is moved to different positions in order to polish the device's screen.”… ¶120: “Act 325 then includes moving the applicator and/or the staging area using the CNC machine in accordance with a predetermined pattern, which pattern is selected to enable the paste coated on the applicator to polish the screen of the device, including a scratch on the screen.”];
at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium including computer program code stored thereon that, may be executed by at least one processor; [¶203: “FIG. 23 illustrates an example computer system configured to perform any of the disclosed operations. FIG. 23 will be discussed in more detail later.”… ¶240: “computer system 2300 includes various different components. FIG. 23 shows that computer system 2300 includes one or more processor(s) 2305 (aka a “hardware processing unit”) and storage 2310.”… ¶246: “Computer storage media (aka “hardware storage device”) are computer-readable hardware storage devices,” “that can be used to store desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions, data, or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.”];
controlling … the conditioning device, and a polishing device, by the processor, to operably engage the tool head with the compound in the compound pot and with a plurality of locations on the at least one surface of the user device. [¶172: “Act 1505 involves moving the end-mounted sponge, which is mounted on the candle bit, to a position above the reservoir. For instance, the preparation stage 1405 of FIG. 14A shows how the candle bit 1430 can be moved to a position above the paste 1435. Act 1505 can be performed by the computer system instructing the CNC machine to perform this movement.”…¶173: “Act 1510 can be performed by the computer system instructing the CNC machine to perform this dipping operation. In some cases, the sponge is rotated in a single direction or perhaps back and forth while immersed in the paste.”… ¶176: “Act 1520 includes moving the end-mounted sponge to a home position relative to a device that is to be polished, where the device is disposed on the staging area”… ¶178: “Act 1525 involves rotating the candle bit at a predetermined rate such that the end-mounted sponge also rotates.”… ¶180: “Act 1530 includes causing the rotating end-mounted sponge to contact the screen of the device while moving in accordance with a predetermined pattern such that the end-mounted sponge polishes the screen of the device using the paste.”], but Bacigalupi doesn’t explicitly disclose, and
Kim discloses, operably engaging, with a handling device…the user device… [¶6: “a jig designed to secure mobile device;”… ¶10: “both the jig and the first tray are capable of being displaced, at the same time, in the X-direction and the Y-direction, respectively. A combination of displacement, at the same time, in the X-direction and the Y-direction, of one or more mobile devices is referred to herein as “slanted displacement.” In a slanted displacement, one or more mobile devices move at an angle to the X-axis and at an angle to the Y-axis.”];
delivering, with the handling device, the user device to an apparatus for conditioning the user device selected from a group of apparatuses for conditioning the user device, the apparatus for conditioning the user device comprising: [¶11: “during displacement of the jig and of the spindle and operating under control of the slurry dispenser controller, one implementation of the slurry dispenser is capable of dispensing polishing slurry on portion of mobile device surface before, e.g., a few seconds before, that portion undergoes polishing by the polishing head.”… ¶54: “operates in conjunction with jig guide 134 to displace jig 132 in the X-direction.” “Y-axis motor, operates in conjunction with tray guide 140, displaces first tray 138 in the Y-direction. In a slanted displacement path of the mobile device, both X-axis motor and Y-axis motor, simultaneously, operate to displace jig 132 and first tray 138 in the X-direction and the Y-direction, respectively, at the same time.”];
a dispenser assembly comprising an actuatable reservoir and compound pot, wherein the actuatable reservoir is fluidically coupled with the compound pot to dispense a conditioning compound therein; [¶41: “Each of slurry dispenser controllers 101 and 102 control operation of a slurry dispenser, which serves as a reservoir of polishing slurry that is dispensed onto a mobile device surface during a polishing operation. Base component 106 houses components relating to electronic circuitry and pumping and/or circulating water through polishing system 100 during a polishing operation.”… ¶6: “(4) a slurry dispenser arranged adjacent to the spindle and designed to store and dispense polishing slurry on surface of mobile device; and (5) a central controller programmed to control operation of the jig, the spindle, and the slurry dispenser.”];
controlling the actuatable reservoir… by the processor, to operably engage the tool head with the compound in the compound pot and with a plurality of locations on the at least one surface of the user device. [¶6: “(4) a slurry dispenser arranged adjacent to the spindle and designed to store and dispense polishing slurry on surface of mobile device; and (5) a central controller programmed to control operation of the jig, the spindle, and the slurry dispenser.”…¶47: “a slurry dispensing controller and a rotational movement controller, to cease operation of the component they control.”… ¶11: “the slurry dispen