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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-6, 19, and 20 in the reply filed on 12/16/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 7-18 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/16/2025.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wack et al. U.S. Publication 2002/0107650.
With respect to claims 1, Wack discloses a system for determining critical dimensions comprising:
A molding thickness inspection device in which a plurality of illuminance sensors are installed and which accommodates an inspection target product which is illuminated (Figure 6, plurality of illuminance sensors = 46, inspection target product = 40, P.0176-177, P.0014)
A control device configured to inspect whether a thickness of the inspection target product is abnormal based on illuminance data measured by the plurality of illuminance sensors (P.0178, Figure 6, control device = 54, P.0075, P.0247)
Claim(s) 1, 2, 3, 4, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nakayama et al. U.S. Patent #9,890,003.
With respect to claims 1, Nakayama discloses a sheet discriminator comprising:
A molding thickness inspection device in which a plurality of illuminance sensors are installed and which accommodates an inspection target product which is illuminated (Figure 7 and 8, plurality of illuminance sensors = 110a-110e, inspection target product = sheet P)
A control device configured to inspect whether a thickness of the inspection target product is abnormal based on illuminance data measured by the plurality of illuminance sensors (Col.20, l 23-33, abnormal = greater than 300 µm)
With respect to claim 2, 3, 4, Nakayama discloses all of the limitations as applied to claim 1 above. In addition, Nakayama disclose:
2- The illuminance data is received from the plurality of illuminance sensors through a communication module, the control device compares the illuminance data with a preset reference illuminance range, when the illuminance data is in the preset reference illuminance range, determines that the thickness of the inspection target product is normal and when the illuminance data is out of the reference illuminance range, determines that the thickness of the inspection target product is defective (communication module = Figure 6, processing unit 130, Col.20, l 23-33, defective = greater than 300 µm, preset reference illuminance range, Col.11, l 5-21)
3- The illuminance data includes illuminance sensor identification information and an illuminance value (Col.11,l 22-25, Figure 6, wherein each sensor 110a-110d outputs “respective electrical signals” to its own converter 132 into processing device, so inherent that the individual sensor information is maintained)
3- The processor acquires a reference illuminance range at a position corresponding to the illuminance sensor identification information from a look-up table in which a reference illuminance range is set according to a position for each product and compares the illuminance value with the acquired reference illuminance range to inspect a thickness for each position of the inspection target product (Col.19, l 44-54)
4- where, when it is determined that the thickness of the inspection target product is defective, the processor outputs thickness abnormality occurrence information of the inspection target product through an output module (Col.20, l 29-33, wherein defective = greater than 300 µm, abnormality occurrence information = calibration value from memory, outputs in step S5)
With respect to claims 19 and 20, Nakayama et al. discloses a sheet discriminating method comprising:
Receiving by a control device, illuminance data from each of a plurality of illuminance sensors of a molding thickness inspection device in which an inspection target product, which is illuminated, is accommodated (Col.20, l 59-65, control device = processing device 180, illuminance data = light emitted, illuminance sensors = light receiving elements, inspection target product = sheet)
Inspecting, by the control device, whether a thickness of the inspection target product is abnormal based on the illuminance data (Col.20, l 23-33, abnormal = greater than 300 µm)
In the inspecting, the control device compares the illuminance data with a preset reference illuminance range, when the illuminance data is the preset reference illuminance range, determines that the thickness of the inspection target product is normal, and when the illuminance data is out of the reference illuminance range, determines that the thickness of the inspection target product is defective (processing unit 130, Col.20, l 23-33, defective = greater than 300 µm, preset reference illuminance range, Col.11, l 5-21)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 6 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art fails to disclose or suggest the inspection target product is selected through an input module and the processor transmits a control signal for moving the illuminance sensor to a position corresponding to the inspection target in combination with the rest of the claimed limitations.
Citation
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Shiokawa et al. U.S. Patent #5,684,574 discloses an in-process film thickness monitoring system
Nakamura et al. U.S. Publication 2022/0152900 discloses an injection molding machine management system
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REBECCA CAROLE BRYANT whose telephone number is (571)272-9787. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 12-4 pm.
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/REBECCA C BRYANT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2877