Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim 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.
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 1-9 and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Strauss (EP4124821) “Strauss”, in view of Sittler (US Patent 4808009) “Sittler”.
Regarding claims 1 and 2, Strauss discloses a measurement device (10) for dimensionally measuring a measurement object (14) located in a measurement volume of the measurement device (10), the measurement device comprising:
a measurement head (22) configured to capture dimensional measurement data of the measurement object (14);
a guide structure (30) configured to move and guide at least one of the measurement head (22) and the measurement object (14) in the measurement volume,
a measurement unit configured to capture positional data of the guide structure based on which a pose of the measurement head can be calculated (“position data”);
a plurality of temperature sensor units (34, 36) configured to capture temperature data about the measurement volume, and
a control system (32) configured to: process the dimensional measurement data and the positional data, and based on the temperature data, correct at least one of the dimensional measurement data and the positional data (see abstract), and activate the plurality of temperature sensor units (34, 36); and determine, based on the temperature data, a defect in at least one of the plurality of temperature sensor units.
Strauss does not disclose
a carrier element,
a temperature sensor connected to the carrier element,
a heating element connected to the carrier element.
Sittler teaches
a carrier element (12),
a temperature sensor (14) connected to the carrier element,
a heating element (22) connected to the carrier element.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate Sittler’s integrated temperature sensor and heating element assembly into Strauss’ measurement device, allowing for better sensor verification through thermal response monitoring.
Regarding claims 3-6, Strauss and Sittler disclose the measurement device of claim 1. Additionally, Strauss and Sittler disclose the control system (Strauss; 32) is configured to: activate the heating elements (Sittler; 22) of the plurality of temperature sensor units (Strauss; 34, 36), and determine, based on the temperature data, an incorrect mounting of at least one of the plurality of temperature sensor units (Strauss; 34, 36), compare the temperature data with a predefined, absolute temperature target value (Strauss; “reference temperature”), and determine, based on the comparison, at least one of (i) a defect in at least one of the plurality of temperature sensor units (Strauss; 34, 36) and (ii) an incorrect mounting of at least one of the plurality of temperature sensor units (Strauss; 34, 36).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to activate Sittler’s heating elements in Strauss’s temperature sensor units using Strauss’ control system. Detecting a sensor that is not mounted correctly through thermal response monitoring is a well-known diagnostic technique.
Regarding claims 7-9, Strauss and Sittler disclose the measurement device of claim 1. Additionally, Strauss and Sittler disclose determining a temperature profile over time (Strauss; “time gradient”) based on the temperature data, and determine, based on the temperature profile over time, at least one of (i) a defect in at least one of the plurality of temperature sensor units (Strauss; 34, 36) and (ii) an incorrect mounting of at least one of the plurality of temperature sensor units (Strauss; 34, 36).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to use Strauss’ temperature profile over time since monitoring thermal variation over time provides more complete information regarding sensor behavior.
Regarding claims 14-17 , Strauss and Sittler disclose the measurement device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, for each unit of the plurality of temperature sensor units (Strauss; 34, 36) include a housing in which the carrier element (Sittler; 12), the temperature sensor (Sittler; 14), and the heating element (Sittler; 22) of the respective temperature sensor unit are arranged and are attached to at least one of the measurement head (Strauss; 22) and the guide structure (Strauss; 30); the carrier element (Sittler; 12) of the unit includes a circuit board (Sittler; 12), and the temperature sensor (Sittler; 14) and the heating element (Sittler; 22) of the unit are surface-mounted devices on the circuit board of the unit (Sittler; Fig. 2) and includes an attachment element (Sittler; 60) that is configured to attach the carrier element (Sittler; 12) to the measurement device (Strauss; 10), wherein the attachment element (Sittler; 60) includes a screw and a nut corresponding with the screw, and the carrier element (Sittler; 12) is connected to the screw (Sittler; Fig. 5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to use Sittler’s attachment element to connect Sittler’s carrier element to Strauss’ measurement device, providing a more secure attachment method and more reliable sensor readings.
Regarding claim 19, Strauss discloses a method for dimensionally measuring a measurement object (Strauss; 14) located in a measurement volume, the method comprising: capturing dimensional measurement data (Strauss; “measurement data”) of the measurement object (Strauss; 14) with a measurement head (Strauss; 22) of a measurement device (Strauss; 10), capturing positional data (Strauss; “positional data”) based upon which a pose of the measurement head (Strauss; 22) can be calculated; capturing temperature data (Strauss; “temperature data”) about the measurement volume using a plurality of temperature sensor units (Strauss; 34, 36) and based on the temperature data, correcting at least one of the dimensional measurement data and the positional data.
Strauss does not disclose
a carrier element,
a temperature sensor connected to the carrier element,
a heating element connected to the carrier element.
Sittler teaches
a carrier element (12),
a temperature sensor (14) connected to the carrier element,
a heating element (22) connected to the carrier element.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate Sittler’s integrated temperature sensor and heating element assembly into Strauss’ measurement device method, allowing for better sensor verification through thermal response monitoring.
Regarding claim 20, Strauss discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium (32) comprising instructions (“computer program”) including: capturing dimensional measurement data (Strauss; “measurement data”) of the measurement object (Strauss; 14) with a measurement head (Strauss; 22) of a measurement device (Strauss; 10), capturing positional data (Strauss; “positional data”) based upon which a pose of the measurement head (Strauss; 22) can be calculated; capturing temperature data (Strauss; “temperature data”) about the measurement volume using a plurality of temperature sensor units (Strauss; 34, 36) and based on the temperature data, correcting at least one of the dimensional measurement data and the positional data.
Strauss does not disclose
a carrier element,
a temperature sensor connected to the carrier element,
a heating element connected to the carrier element.
Sittler teaches
a carrier element (12),
a temperature sensor (14) connected to the carrier element,
a heating element (22) connected to the carrier element.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate Sittler’s integrated temperature sensor and heating element assembly into Strauss’ measurement device control program, allowing for better sensor verification through thermal response monitoring.
Claims 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Strauss and Sittler, in view of Safnil (WO 2016009449) “Safnil”.
Regarding claims 10-13, Strauss and Sittler disclose the measurement device as claimed in claim 1, and the plurality of temperature sensor units (Strauss; 34, 36), control unit (Strauss; 32), time offset (Strauss; “time gradient”), and signal channels (Strauss; “temperature signal”).
Strauss and Sittler do not disclose a light-emitting element which forms at least a part of the heating element of the unit.
Safnil teaches a light-emitting element (“LED Array”) which forms at least a part of the heating element (see Field of the Invention) of the unit.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add Safnil’s light-emitting element and heat source to Strauss’ temperature sensor units, providing more obvious and immediate identification of misaligned sensors while also providing the needed temperature fluctuation for diagnostics.
Conclusion
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/ANNA JOSEPHINE SAUNDERS/Examiner, Art Unit 2855
/PETER J MACCHIAROLO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2855