DETAILED ACTION
This non-final Office action is in response to Applicant’s patent application filed on 10/23/23. An action on the merits follows.
Claims 1-15 are pending in the application.
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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 8, “the head contact time such that that a fastening of the screw” should recite “the head contact time such that a fastening of the screw”.
Appropriate correction(s) is/are required. No new matter should be added.
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.
Claims 1-15 are 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, the limitation “driving the screw into at least one mating part of the screw connection in a rapid speed” in combination with “changing from a rapid speed” is vague and unclear because it is unclear if the two rapid speeds are the same or different. In order to prosecute the application, Examiner assumes the two rapid speeds are the same.
The term “rapid speed” in claim 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “rapid” is not clearly defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. In order to prosecute the application, Examiner assumes any speed faster than 0 is a rapid speed.
Claim 5 (which depends on claim 1) recites the limitation “the remaining rapid speed time”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Please note that claim 3 has a specifiable remaining rapid speed time.
Claim 7 (which depends on claim 1) recites the limitation “the minimum time of the creep speed”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Please note that claim 4 has a minimum time for the creep speed.
Claim 10 (an apparatus claim) depends on claim 1 (a method claim) making the claim indefinite. Specifically, claim 10 is claiming two statutory categories (method and apparatus). Therefore, it is unclear when infringement of claim 10 occurs. Is it when apparatus structure is taught, when the method steps are taught, or when both apparatus structure and method steps are taught? See MPEP 2173.05(p) II. In order to prosecute the application, Examiner assumes only apparatus structure is required for anticipation.
Claim 13 recites the limitation “the final articulated arm link”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Any remaining claims are rejected for depending on a rejected claim.
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)(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.
(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 1-8, 10-11 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) and 102 (a)(2) as being anticipated by USPGP# 20160256213 of Kust et al. (henceforth Kust).
Regarding claim 1, Kust teaches
A method for producing a screw connection (fig. 2) via a screw (para 0022) that is set in rotational motion with a screwdriving head (16) of a screwdriving tool (10), the screwdriving head having a motor drive (12) to create the rotational motion of a screw receptacle (para 0022, (different bits or sockets for engaging screws)) of the screwdriving head, the method comprising:
driving the screw into at least one mating part (plate or bone in fig. 2) of the screw connection in a rapid speed (para 0025 and 0049, fig. 5);
detecting a torque (M) with which the screw is driven into the mating part (para 0067);
changing from a rapid speed (para 0049, fig. 5) with a higher rotational speed (para 0049) to a creep speed (para 0049) with a lower rotational speed (para 0049) at a changeover time (period 3 in fig. 3, para 0049), the changeover time being determined as a function of the detected torque during screwdriving at rapid speed (para 0053); and
further driving of the screw at creep speed until a head contact time when a head of the screw makes contact on the mating part (para 0049, figs. 2 and 5).
Regarding claim 2, as shown in claim 1, Kust teaches
wherein the screwdriving tool has a torque detection device (18) with which the torque that is present at the screw receptacle during driving of the screw into the at least one mating part is detected and processed by a controller (20) of the screwdriving tool (para 0023).
Regarding claim 3, as shown in claim 1, Kust teaches
wherein a specifiable remaining rapid speed time (para 0055, i.e. “, the threshold point and the slowdown point are separated by an amount of time (e.g., less than or equal to about 100 ms).”) is started at a triggering time when a triggering torque (“threshold point”) is reached during the detection of the torque over the process time of the rapid speed, after which the rapid speed is terminated again at the changeover time and the creep speed is continued (para 0046-0047, para 0055).
Regarding claim 4, as shown in claim 3, Kust teaches
wherein the remaining rapid speed time is specified such that there is still a minimum time for the creep speed between the end of the rapid speed at the changeover time and the head contact time (para 0055, see also para 0046-0047).
Regarding claim 5, as shown in claim 1, Kust teaches
wherein a deceleration time until a deceleration end time continues to be taken into account in the specification of the remaining rapid speed time (para 0055, see also para 0046-0047).
Regarding claim 6, as shown in claim 1, Kust teaches
(para 0049, “the screwdriver 10 can operate at a second rotational speed (e.g., less than or equal to about 900 rpm).”).
Regarding claim 7, as shown in claim 1, Kust teaches
wherein the torque continues to be monitored during the minimum time of the creep speed, wherein the minimum time of the creep speed is ended at the head contact time, which is identified by the controller on the basis of a torque increase (para 0055-0056, see also para 0046-0047).
Regarding claim 8, as shown in claim 1, Kust teaches
wherein the controller determines the torque after its increase at the head contact time such that that a fastening of the screw with a specifiable tightening torque takes place up until an end time (para 0046, 0056).
Regarding claim 10, as shown in claim 1, Kust teaches
A screwdriving tool (10) for producing a screw connection (fig. 2) via a screw (para 0022), the screwdriving tool comprising: a screwdriving head (16); and a screw receptacle (para 0022, (different bits or sockets for engaging screws)) adapted to be set in rotational motion with the screwdriving head, for which the screwdriving head has a motor drive (12), wherein the screwdriving tool is adapted to carry out the method according to claim 1 (see claim 1 above).
Regarding claim 11, as shown in claim 10, Kust teaches
wherein the screwdriving tool has a controller (20) with which the method is carried out.
Regarding claim 15, as shown in claim 10, Kust teaches
wherein the screwdriving head has a torque detection device (18).
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 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kust.
Regarding claim 9, as shown in claim 1, Kust teaches
the speed of the of the screw receptacle can be precisely controlled (para 0023).
Kust does not explicitly teach
wherein the angular acceleration of the screw receptacle until the rotational speed of the rapid speed is reached and the angular deceleration of the screw receptacle from the rotational speed of the rapid speed until the rotational speed of the creep speed is reached are set equal to one another and/or in that the angular acceleration and the angular deceleration are determined with a value of 800°/s.sup.2.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to try different combination of angular acceleration and deceleration in order to either make the angular acceleration of the screw receptacle until the rotational speed of the rapid speed is reached and the angular deceleration of the screw receptacle from the rotational speed of the rapid speed until the rotational speed of the creep speed is reached are set equal to one another or to make the angular acceleration and the angular deceleration have a value of 800°/s.sup.2, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value or workable range of a result effective variable, such as preventing over torquing of screw (which can lead to stripping) or under torquing of screw (which can lead to the mated objects becoming loose), involves only routine skill in the art. See In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980) and KSR Int’l Co. V. Teleflex Inc. 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ 2d 1385 (Supreme Court 2007) (KSR)
Claims 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kust in view of USPGP# 20180272532 of Gonoi et al. (henceforth Gonoi).
Regarding claim 12, as shown in claim 10, Kust does not teach
wherein the screwdriving tool is designed as an articulated arm robot with a multi-link articulated arm, in which a final articulated arm link of the articulated arm is rotatable in an axis of rotation and forms the screwdriving head.
Gonoi teaches
A tool (3, 9) for producing a screw connection (fig. 4) via a screw (C), the tool comprising: a screwdriving head (9c); and a screw receptacle (9d) adapted to be set in rotational motion with the screwdriving head, for which the screwdriving head has a motor drive (inherent motor of 9), wherein the screwdriving tool is designed as an articulated arm robot (3) with a multi-link articulated arm (13, 15, 17, 19, 21), in which a final articulated arm link (9) of the articulated arm is rotatable in an axis of rotation and forms the screwdriving head (9).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify tool of Kust such that the screwdriving tool is designed as an articulated arm robot with a multi-link articulated arm, in which a final articulated arm link of the articulated arm is rotatable in an axis of rotation and forms the screwdriving head, as taught by Gonoi, in order to provide the predictable result of automated and precisely controlled processing of the screws and increased production speeds (Gonoi: para 0018 and 0021).
Regarding claim 13, as shown in claim 10, the combination of Kust and Gonoi does not teach
wherein the motor drive is part of the final articulated arm link of an articulated arm robot or forms the same.
Gonoi teaches
A tool (3, 9) for producing a screw connection (fig. 4) via a screw (C), the tool comprising: a screwdriving head (9c); and a screw receptacle (9d) adapted to be set in rotational motion with the screwdriving head, for which the screwdriving head has a motor drive (inherent motor of 9), wherein the motor drive is part of the final articulated arm link (9) of an articulated arm robot (13, 15, 17, 19, 21) or forms the same.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify tool of Kust such that the motor drive is part of the final articulated arm link of an articulated arm robot, as taught by Gonoi, in order to provide the predictable result of automated and precisely controlled processing of the screws and increased production speeds (Gonoi: para 0018 and 0021).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kust in view of USPGP# 20190120275 of Junkers et al. (henceforth Junkers).
Regarding claim 14, as shown in claim 10, Kust does not teach
wherein the screwdriving head has a planetary transmission that is configured in the screwdriving head between the motor drive and the screw receptacle such that the screw receptacle executes a higher and/or a doubled and/or a tripled rotational speed as compared with the rotational speed of the motor drive.
Junkers teaches
A tool (10b) for producing a screw connection (fig. 3), the tool comprising: a screwdriving head (23); and a screw receptacle (see fig. 3) adapted to be set in rotational motion with the screwdriving head, for which the screwdriving head has a motor drive (102), wherein the screwdriving head has a planetary transmission (para 0326) that is configured in the screwdriving head between the motor drive and the screw receptacle such that the screw receptacle executes a higher rotational speed as compared with the rotational speed of the motor drive (para 0326, i.e. “Often the force output and rotation speeds of such motors are increased or decreased by means of planetary gears or the like, which may become part of the motor.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify tool of Kust such that the screwdriving head has a planetary transmission that is configured in the screwdriving head between the motor drive and the screw receptacle such that the screw receptacle executes a higher and/or a doubled and/or a tripled rotational speed as compared with the rotational speed of the motor drive, as taught by Junkers, in order to provide the predictable result of allowing the screw receptacle and the screw to rotate at significant speeds which increases production rate (i.e. faster screwing of the screws).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOBEEN AHMED whose telephone number is (571) 272-0356. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F (8:30 am to 5 pm).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anna Kinsaul can be reached on 571-270-1926. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M. A./
Examiner, Art Unit 3731
/ANNA K KINSAUL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3731