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 .
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 11, 13, 14 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haruki (JP 2018115062A) in view of Yoshinari (JP 2005263411A).
Regarding claim 11, Haruki teaches, A transport vehicle system comprising:
a shelf (20) that includes a shelf board (20) on which an article is placed;
a plurality of transport vehicles (30) each including a transferer (32) that travels on a track provided on a ceiling (R) and transfers an article onto the shelf board;
a detector (54) supported by the transferer and detects the shelf board;
a teaching information generator (50) that generates teaching information relating to a transfer position in the shelf, using a result of detecting the shelf board yielded by the detector;
and a structure (51) to measure machine differences for the plurality of transport vehicles,
wherein the structure includes an index (52) and can be detected by the detector (fig.5)
Haruki fails to teach,
The index being suspended from the track or the ceiling
However, Yoshinari teaches,
The index being suspended from the track or the ceiling ([0009] – index supported by columns that support shelves to ceiling)
Both Haruki and Yoshinari are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are all in the field of article transport. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified
Haruki’s transport vehicle and teaching device to include the ceiling mounted structure and index taught by Yoshinari. As disclosed by the applicant, securing the indexing structure to the ceiling or structures which reach ceiling allows for the gathering of more precise teaching information as the index shifts with the ceiling along which the transport vehicle travels.
Regarding claim 13, Haruki teaches, the transport vehicle system according to claim 11,
wherein the shelf (20) is provided on a floor ([0018]).
Regarding claim 14, The Haruki fails to teach transport vehicle system according to claim 11,
comprising an anti-sway mechanism to prevent horizontal swaying of a lower part of the structure
However, Yoshinari teaches,
an anti-sway mechanism to prevent horizontal swaying of a lower part of the structure (fig. 4 – (7) – ceiling mounted index is connected to column which reaches floor and prevents swaying).
Both Haruki and Yoshinari are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are all in the field of article transport. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified
Haruki’s transport vehicle and teaching device to include the anti-sway mechanism taught by Yoshinari. As disclosed by the applicant, preventing swaying of the index structure allows for more accurate teaching information to be gathered, swaying may prevent detection of the index by the imager.
Regarding claim 7, Haruki teaches, the transport vehicle system according to claim 1,
wherein the teaching information generator generates the teaching information by correcting a result of detecting the shelf board yielded by the detector in one transport vehicle, using the machine difference of the one transport vehicle ([0002] – teaching information generator is used to correct transport vehicle location).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haruki (JP 2018115062A) in view of Yoshinari (JP 2005263411A) and further in view of Hellenbrand (EP 4015415 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Neither Haruki or Yoshinari teaches, the transport vehicle system according to claim 11,
wherein the detector is detachably supported by the transferer
However, Hellenbrand teaches, The transport vehicle system according to claim 11,
wherein the detector is detachably supported by the transferer ([0016] – sensor devices can be detached from storage/transport means).
Haruki, Yoshinari and Hellenbrand are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are all in the field of article transport. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified
Haruki and Yoshinari’s transport vehicle and teaching device to include the detachable sensor taught by Hellenbrand. As disclosed by Hellenbrand, doing so would limit maintenance downtime and increase system efficiency by allowing malfunctioned sensors to be replaced quicker than fixed assemblies.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haruki (JP 2018115062A) in view of Yoshinari (JP 2005263411A) and further in view of Shiwaku (US 7558645 B2)
Regarding claim 16, The transport vehicle system according to claim 11,
wherein the detector includes a plurality of imagers ((38), Col 4 – lines 15-25 – discloses a pair of cameras for a teaching apparatus),
and the plurality of imagers capture images of the index from positions different from each other (pair of cameras capture images from separate positions).
Haruki, Yoshinari and Shiwaku are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are all in the field of article transport. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified
Haruki and Yoshinari’s transport vehicle and teaching device to include the plurality of imagers taught by Shiwaku. As disclosed by Shiwaku, while one camera is sufficient for a teaching mechanism, the use of a pair of cameras allows for the gathering of more precise teaching data improving control and efficiency of transport systems.
Claims 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haruki (JP 2018115062A) in view of Yoshinari (JP 2005263411A) and further in view of Mimamura (US PUB 2020/0156880 A1)
Regarding claim 19, Haruki teaches, the transport vehicle system according to claim 11,
wherein the track (R) includes a transport route along which the transport vehicle transports an article (transport vehicle travels along rail)
Both Haruki and Yoshinari fail to teach,
an extension route extending away from the transport route,
and wherein the structure is provided at a position corresponding to a part of the extension route.
However, Miramura teaches,
an extension route extending away from the transport route (fig. 4),
and wherein the structure is provided at a position corresponding to a part of the extension route (fig. 4 – indexing structures (MST1) are provided separately from transfer destinations (LP3/LP4) in the extension route).
Regarding claim 20, Neither Haruki or Yoshinari teaches, the transport vehicle system according to claim 19,
wherein a specific region for performing maintenance on the transport vehicle is provided in a region including a part of the extension route, and the structure is provided in the specific region
However, Mimamura teaches, a specific region for performing maintenance on the transport vehicle is provided in a region including a part of the extension route, and the structure is provided in the specific region. (fig. 4 – extension route is defined as area with learning structures (MST1/MST2), if maintenance on a transport vehicle is necessary it can be performed within this area.
Haruki, Yoshinari and Miramura are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are all in the field of article transport. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified
Haruki and Yoshinari’s transport vehicle and teaching device to include the specific region where the indexing structure is located and maintenance is performed. As disclosed by Haruki, the creation of a specific section for maintenance which includes the structure allows for immediate reteaching of the transport vehicle after any maintenance operation.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 15 and 18 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure.
Murakami (US PUB 2011/0262004 A1) – discloses a transport vehicle with anti-sway mechanism and teaching apparatus
Chen (US PUB 2012/0175334 A1) – disclosed an overhead hoist mechanism with a teaching step and image capturing apparatus
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/J.S.M./ Examiner, Art Unit 3652
/SAUL RODRIGUEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3652
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