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 .
The amendment filed 5 March 2026 has been entered.
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 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Ling et al. (CN 215732671 U; Applicant: SHENZHEN REB AUTOMATION EQUIPMENT CO LTD) (“Ling”) in view of Huang et al. (CN 114325299 A; Applicant: SUZHOU COMMUNICATION INSTRUMENT LTD COMPANY) (“Huang”).
The applied reference Huang has an alleged common assignee with the instant application (instant application Applicant: SEMIGHT INSTRUMENTS CO., LTD). Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2).
Ling discloses:
Claim 1: a main body (figure 7, 1/11/31);
a suction nozzle rod (100) installed on the main body;
a clamping strip (front part of 2 at 100) disposed above the main body, wherein a front end of the clamping strip extends outward from the main body and is clamped to be connected with an upper end of the suction nozzle rod (figure 7); and
a guiding assembly (51/52) disposed on a front end surface of the main body and on two sides of the suction nozzle rod;
at least two pairs of bearings (51/52);
wherein:
a first spring (61) is vertically disposed and connected between the clamping strip and a lower portion of the main body (at 11/31);
an installation groove (groove for 531; “531 arranged longitudinally”) is formed on the front end surface of the main body;
a magnetic block (531) is inserted in the installation groove;
a magnetic installation block (532) is sleeved on the suction nozzle rod and attracted to be connected to the magnetic block; and
a limiting block (62) is installed on a front portion of the main body; a main body portion of the limiting block is connected to the main body (at 11); a limiting portion of the limiting block (62 at 61) is at an outer side of a front end of the main body; and a guiding groove for the suction nozzle rod to be inserted is formed at a surface of the limiting portion facing toward the main body (62 at 532);
Claim 2: wherein: the main body portion of the limiting block is connected to a left side surface or a right side surface of the main body through one or more bolts (11);
Claim 3: wherein: the limiting block is an L-shaped limiting block (62 L-shaped from top view of figure 7);
Claim 4: wherein: an avoiding opening matched with the magnetic installation block is formed at the limiting portion of the limiting block (many openings around 532);
Claim 5: wherein: the guiding assembly is distributed above and/or below the limiting portion (figure 7);
Claim 6: wherein: the installation groove is formed at a central region of the front end surface of the main body (figure 7);
Claim 7: wherein: a surface of the magnetic block is coplanar with the front end surface of the main body (figure 7);
Claim 8: wherein: the magnetic installation block is fixedly installed at a middle region of the suction nozzle rod (figure 7);
Claim 9: wherein: a clamping screw is disposed at the front end of the clamping strip; and an upper end of the first spring is connected to the clamping screw (hole shown in figure 7 in front of 6 implies clamping screw for clamping);
Claim 10: a main body (figure 7, 1/11/31);
a suction nozzle rod (100) installed on the main body;
a clamping strip (front part of 2 at 100) disposed above the main body, wherein a front end of the clamping strip extends outward from the main body and is clamped to be connected with an upper end of the suction nozzle rod (figure 7); and
a guiding assembly (51/52), including at least two pairs of bearings and disposed on a front end surface of the main body and on two sides of the suction nozzle rod (figure 7), wherein:
a first spring (61) is vertically disposed and connected between the clamping strip and a lower portion of the main body (at 11/31);
an installation groove (groove for 531; “531 arranged longitudinally”) is formed on the front end surface of the main body;
a magnetic block (531) is inserted in the installation groove;
a magnetic installation block (532) is sleeved on the suction nozzle rod and attracted to be connected to the magnetic block;
Claim 11: a limiting block (62) is installed on a front portion of the main body; a main body portion of the limiting block is connected to the main body (at 11); a limiting portion of the limiting block (62 at 61) is at an outer side of a front end of the main body; and a guiding groove for the suction nozzle rod to be inserted is formed at a surface of the limiting portion facing toward the main body (62 at 532);
Claim 12: wherein: the front end surface of the main body includes at least two protruding blocks configured to be spaced apart along a vertical direction (blocks on which 51/52 sit);
Claim 13: wherein: a pair of bearings is installed on a protruding block (figure 7);
Claim 14: wherein: in each pair of bearings, a left bearing is installed horizontally on a left side of the protruding block, and a right bearing is installed horizontally on a right side of the protruding block (figure 7);
Claim 15: wherein: a clamping channel is formed between the left bearing and the right bearing in each pair of bearings (front part of 2 at 100);
Claim 16: wherein: the suction nozzle rod is in the clamping channel (figure 7);
Claim 17: wherein: the guiding assembly is distributed above and/or below the limiting portion (figure 7);
Claim 18: wherein: the installation groove is formed at a central region of the front end surface of the main body (figure 7);
Claim 19: wherein: a surface of the magnetic block is coplanar with the front end surface of the main body (figure 7);
Claim 20: providing a main body (figure 7, 1/11/31);
installing a suction nozzle rod (100) on the main body;
disposing a clamping strip (front part of 2 at 100) above the main body, wherein a front end of the clamping strip extends outward from the main body and is clamped to be connected with an upper end of the suction nozzle rod (figure 7); and
disposing a guiding assembly (51/52) on a front end surface of the main body and on two sides of the suction nozzle rod (figure 7);
at least two pairs of bearings (51/52);
wherein:
a first spring (61) is vertically disposed and connected between the clamping strip and a lower portion of the main body;
an installation groove (groove for 531; “531 arranged longitudinally”) is formed on the front end surface of the main body;
a magnetic block (531) is inserted in the installation groove;
a magnetic installation block (532) is sleeved on the suction nozzle rod and attracted to be connected to the magnetic block; and
a limiting block (62) is installed on a front portion of the main body; a main body portion of the limiting block is connected to the main body (at 11); a limiting portion of the limiting block (62 at 61) is at an outer side of a front end of the main body; and a guiding groove for the suction nozzle rod to be inserted is formed at a surface of the limiting portion facing toward the main body (62 at 532).
Ling does not directly show:
Claim 1: a second spring is disposed obliquely to a horizontal direction and connected between the clamping strip and an upper portion of the main body;
Claim 20: a second spring is disposed obliquely to a horizontal direction and connected between the clamping strip and an upper portion of the main body.
Huang shows a similar device having:
Claim 1: a second spring is disposed obliquely to a horizontal direction and connected between the clamping strip and an upper portion of the main body (17; “At one end, the left spring 17 is arranged obliquely to the horizontal direction, the right spring 18 is arranged vertically, and the pulling force of the left spring 17 is greater than the pulling force of the right spring 18 .” (English translation));
Claim 20: a second spring is disposed obliquely to a horizontal direction and connected between the clamping strip and an upper portion of the main body (17; “At one end, the left spring 17 is arranged obliquely to the horizontal direction, the right spring 18 is arranged vertically, and the pulling force of the left spring 17 is greater than the pulling force of the right spring 18 .” (English translation));
with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of maintaining the accuracy of chip transfer after long-term high-frequency use, increasing the contact pressure between the nozzle rod and the chip, effectively avoiding chip loss and secondary position offset caused by chip adsorption failure, greatly improving the one-time adsorption success rate of the chip, improving the accuracy of angle adjustment, and avoiding chip damage (“stability of the accuracy is maintained after long-term high-frequency use”; “Increase the contact pressure between the nozzle rod and the chip, effectively avoid chip loss and secondary position offset caused by chip adsorption failure, greatly improve the one-time adsorption success rate of the chip and further improve the accuracy of angle adjustment, and avoid the need for chip damage” (English translation)). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ling as taught by Huang and include Huang’s similar device having:
Claim 1: a second spring is disposed obliquely to a horizontal direction and connected between the clamping strip and an upper portion of the main body;
Claim 20: a second spring is disposed obliquely to a horizontal direction and connected between the clamping strip and an upper portion of the main body;
with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of maintaining the accuracy of chip transfer after long-term high-frequency use, increasing the contact pressure between the nozzle rod and the chip, effectively avoiding chip loss and secondary position offset caused by chip adsorption failure, greatly improving the one-time adsorption success rate of the chip, improving the accuracy of angle adjustment, and avoiding chip damage.
This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 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); 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 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. See generally MPEP § 717.02.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pp. 9-12, filed 5 March 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-20 under Ling have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Ling and Huang.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Gerald McClain whose telephone number is (571)272-7803. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and at gerald.mcclain@uspto.gov (see MPEP 502.03 (II)).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Saul Rodriguez can be reached at (571) 272-7097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Gerald McClain/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3652
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