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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/29/2023, 11/12/2024, 02/06/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 1 and 10, the limitations regarding “a servo driver configured to drive a first motor, wherein the first motor includes a motor body…and an encoder…” and “a first sensor” render the claim indefinite.
The claimed invention is directed to an apparatus, i.e. a servo driver, not a system. The claim does not clearly define whether the first motor and the first sensor are part of the servo driver. If the first motor and the first sensor are not being claimed as part of the servo driver, functions recited in the claim regarding the encoder and the first sensor do not possess any patentable weight.
Therefore, the claim is merely directed to a servo driver that is configured to drive a motor (any motor), and the servo driver is capable of acquiring signals.
Appropriate correction is required.
Regarding claims 1 and 11, the limitation “sensor recognition processing is not complete” renders the claims indefinite.
The claims fail to clearly define what is considered as sensor recognition processing; thus, it is unclear how to determine whether the sensor recognition processing is completed or not.
For examination purpose, the limitation is interpreted as the servo system and the different sensor have not been recognized and/or established to be associated with each other.
Claims 2-9 and 12-14 are indefinite because they are either directly or indirectly depend on claims 1 and/or 11.
Regarding claim 15, the limitation “sensor recognition processing is not complete” renders the claims indefinite.
First, the claimed invention is directed to “sensor recognition processing method”; it is unclear whether the limitation is referring to the same claimed method;
Second, it is unclear how to determine whether the sensor recognition processing is completed or not: the recited steps of transmitting and recognizing regarding the sensor recognition processing do not clearly state how the processing is considered as completed.
For examination purpose, the limitation is interpreted as the servo system and the different sensor have not been recognized and/or established to be associated with each other.
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 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(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kiribuchi (US 2016/0266568 A1).
Regarding claim 10, Kiribuchi discloses a servo driver (e.g. Fig. 9: 2, 2a) configured to drive a first motor (e.g. Fig. 9: 3, 3a),
wherein the first motor includes:
a motor body (e.g. Fig. 9: 30, 30a) including an output axis (e.g. [0055]), and
an encoder (e.g. Fig. 9: 31, 31a) including a signal generation unit (e.g. Fig. 11: 311) configured to detect an operation of the motor body driven by the servo driver and generate a feedback signal indicating a detected operation (e.g. Fig. 9: FB & [0072]),
a first sensor (e.g. Figs. 9-12 & [0104-0110]: 61-64, 61a-64a) configured to detect a parameter relating to displacement of a first drive target driven via the output axis of the first motor is connected to the encoder via a sensor cable (e.g. Figs. 9-12: 71-74, 71a-74a), and
via this connection, a detection signal from the first sensor is transmitted to the encoder (e.g. Figs. 9-12), and
the servo driver acquires, via a communication cable (e.g. Figs. 9-12: 41, 41a) connected to the encoder, the feedback signal generated by the signal generation unit and the detection signal from the first sensor transmitted via the sensor cable.
Kiribuchi fails to explicitly disclose the first sensor is supplied with electric power from the encoder via the sensor cable.
However, Kiribuchi discloses a cable (e.g. Fig. 8: 92) connecting the encoder and an imaging device (e.g. Fig. 7 & [0099]: 82) comprises power line, control line and data line (e.g. Figs. 7-8 & [0096]). Therefore, the encoder as taught by Kiribuchi is capable of using the same cable (e.g. Fig. 8: 92) for transmitting power (e.g. [0098]) to the imaging device (i.e. sensor device) and receiving image data from the imaging device (e.g. [0098]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Kiribuchi (i.e. provide power and receive data in the same cable) in the sensor device of Kiribuchi so as to reduce cables needed to supply power for the sensors. The modification would have yielded only predictable results to one skilled in the art since all the claimed elements are known in the, and it is merely utilizing a known technique in a device ready for improvement.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 11 and 15 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Claims 2-9 and 12-14 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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 closest prior art found were Kiribuchi (US 2016/0266568 A1) and Ota (US 7,406,401 B2). Kiribuchi discloses all the servo drivers, encoders and sensors related to the claimed invention, and Ota teaches a sensor recognizing scheme during sensor data acquiring process.
However, Kiribuchi and Ota individually or in combination fails to teach:
in a case in which the servo driver receives a detection signal from the first sensor when a first predetermined operation of driving only the output axis of the first motor to displace the first drive target is performed in a state in which sensor recognition processing is not complete, recognize the first sensor as a first corresponding sensor associated with the servo driver; and
in a case in which the servo driver receives, from the different servo driver, predetermined information relating to the different sensor for enabling the servo driver to recognize the different sensor as a different corresponding sensor associated with the servo driver when the first predetermined operation is performed in a state in which sensor recognition processing is not complete, recognize the different sensor as the different corresponding sensor on the basis of the predetermined information.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAWING CHAN whose telephone number is (571)270-3909. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9am-5pm.
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/KAWING CHAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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