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
The current application claims foreign priority from the Japanese application (JP2021-118757). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 01/09/2024, 04/03/2024 and 08/07/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Applicant is advised that should claim 1 be found allowable, claim 15 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that use the word “means” or “step” and are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. Such claim limitation(s) are:
“an image processing step” in claims 1 and 15-16. The corresponding acts in the disclosure to perform the “image processing step” include contrast correction, brightness correction, color correction, monochrome image conversion such as binarization, noise removal, edge enhancement, contraction/expansion, image feature extraction, and the like (page 11).
“an image division step” in claims 1 and 15-16. The corresponding acts in the disclosure to perform the “image division step” include steps S601-S609 described on pages 17-20 and FIG. 6.
“a derivation step” in claims 1 and 15-16. The corresponding acts in the disclosure to perform the “derivation step” include calculating an indicator value of thin fumes, arc light, thick fumes, and/or spatter described on pages 15-16 and 21-23 and FIG. 4.
“image processing means”, “image division means”, and “derivation means” in claims 12-13. The corresponding structure in the disclosure includes one or more processors that can read and execute a program supplied by a network or a storage medium and/or a circuit implementing one or more functions (pages 25-26).
Because these claim limitation(s) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, they are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that use the word “means” or “step” but are nonetheless not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph because the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure, materials, or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Such claim limitation(s) are:
“a labeling step” in claim 3
“a classification step” in claim 3
“a setting step” in claim 7
Because these claim limitation(s) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, they are not being interpreted to cover only the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant intends to have these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to remove the structure, materials, or acts that performs the claimed function; or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) do not recite sufficient structure, materials, or acts to perform the claimed function.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 12-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Okamoto et al. (JP2018192524A).
Regarding claim 1, Okamoto discloses a welding phenomenon behavior measuring method comprising: an image processing step for carrying out, in accordance with a behavior of a welding phenomenon of interest, image processing (paragraph 0085: “The CPU 111 reduces the size of the received welding image to 120×100 pixels and converts it into a grayscale image”) with respect to a welding image that has been imaged by a visual sensor (paragraph 0085: “the camera 60 captures an image of the molten pool and the arc, and the welding image is provided to the correction information generating device 100”); an image division step for using the processed image that has been generated in the image processing step to generate a plurality of divided images for respective constituent elements corresponding to the welding phenomenon (paragraph 0086: “the CPU 111 uses the machine learning model 260 to divide the welding image into a wire region 201, a molten pool region 202, an arc region 203, and a background region”); and a derivation step for using at least two divided images among the plurality of divided images to derive the behavior of the welding phenomenon (paragraph 0091: “The CPU 111 compares the area of the arc region 203 (hereinafter referred to as the arc area) with a predetermined normal range, and determines whether the welding state is normal”).
Regarding claim 2, Okamoto discloses the welding phenomenon behavior measuring method according to Claim 1, wherein: the constituent elements corresponding to the welding phenomenon include at least two of spatter, fumes, arc light (paragraph 0086: “an arc region 203”), a molten pool (paragraph 0086: “a molten pool region 202”), background (paragraph 0086: “a background region”), or an obstacle.
Regarding claim 12, Okamoto discloses a welding system (paragraph 0035: “automatic welding system 10”) comprising: a welding device (paragraph 0035: “a welding robot 20”); a visual sensor that images a welding operation by the welding device (paragraph 0040: “The camera 60 has an imaging range set to the welding point of the workpiece 50, and captures images of the molten pool and the arc during arc welding”); and a measuring device that measures a behavior of a welding phenomenon using a welding image imaged by the visual sensor (paragraph 0085: “the welding image is provided to the correction information generating device 100”), wherein the measuring device is configured to execute the method claimed in claim 1. Therefore, Okamoto discloses the limitations of claim 12 as it does the limitations of claim 1.
Regarding claim 13, it is the corresponding device configured to execute the method claimed in claim 1. Therefore, Okamoto discloses the limitations of claim 13 as it does the limitations of claim 1.
Regarding claim 14, Okamoto discloses a welding method comprising: controlling a welding operation based on the behavior of the welding phenomenon derived by the measuring device according to claim 13 (paragraph 0090: “the robot control device 30 performs welding control based on the correction information, and the power supply device 40 controls the welding voltage based on the correction information”).
Regarding claim 15, it is the same method claimed in claim 1. Therefore, Okamoto discloses the limitations of claim 15 as it does the limitations of claim 1.
Regarding claim 16, it is the corresponding non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program configured to execute the method claimed in claim 1. Therefore, Okamoto discloses the limitations of claim 16 as it does the limitations of claim 1.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okamoto in view of Ando et al. (US 2021/0016383 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Okamoto discloses the welding phenomenon behavior measuring method according to Claim 1, wherein: the image division step comprises: a labeling step for performing labeling processing on pixels included in the processed image (Okamoto paragraph 0079: “The labeled image in this embodiment is an image in which each pixel is labeled with a pixel value of "1" for the wire region 201, a pixel value of "2" for the molten pool region 202, a pixel value of "3" for the arc region 203, and a pixel value of "0" for the other background regions”); and a classification step for classifying each of one or more regions composed of a group of pixels labeled in the labeling step into a constituent element corresponding to the welding phenomenon (Okamoto paragraph 0079: “the welding image can be divided into an area of the welding wire 24 (hereinafter referred to as the "wire area") 201, an area of the molten pool (hereinafter referred to as the "molten pool area") 202, an area of the arc (hereinafter referred to as the "arc area") 203, and other background areas 204”). However, Okamoto fails to disclose the classification step comprises at least one of: a step for classifying each of the one or more regions into a constituent element corresponding to the welding phenomenon based on pixel count; a step for classifying each of the one or more regions into a constituent element corresponding to the welding phenomenon based on position and size; or a step for classifying a region of interest into a constituent element corresponding to the welding phenomenon based on a ratio of a group of pixels constituting the region of interest to a rectangular region encompassing the region of interest. In the related art of welding, Ando discloses the classification step comprises at least one of: a step for classifying each of the one or more regions into a constituent element corresponding to the welding phenomenon based on pixel count (Ando paragraphs 0061, 0074: “When the size of the area which is composed of adjacent pixels having the black and white gradation equal to or higher than the threshold value is equal to or smaller than the predetermined detection size, the counting unit 153 determines that the area is an area that satisfies the condition indicated by the image analysis parameter, and counts as spatter” where “The detection size is a threshold value of the size (the number of pixels) recognized as the spatter”); a step for classifying each of the one or more regions into a constituent element corresponding to the welding phenomenon based on position and size; or a step for classifying a region of interest into a constituent element corresponding to the welding phenomenon based on a ratio of a group of pixels constituting the region of interest to a rectangular region encompassing the region of interest (this limitation is disclosed in an alternative clause and thus, read only on the first limitation). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Okamoto to incorporate the teachings of Ando to detect spatters in a cost-effective manner (Ando paragraph 0040).
Claim(s) 4-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okamoto in view of Takeshita (US 2021/0268586 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Okamoto discloses the welding phenomenon behavior measuring method according to Claim 1. However, Okamoto fails to disclose in the image division step, a divided image composed of a region of spatter and a divided image composed of a region of fumes are at least generated among the constituent elements corresponding to the welding phenomenon. In the related art of manufacturing, Takeshita discloses in the image division step, a divided image composed of a region of spatter and a divided image composed of a region of fumes are at least generated among the constituent elements corresponding to the welding phenomenon (Takeshita FIG. 5, paragraph 0111: “The detection unit 54 detects the state of at least a part of the predetermined region in the material layer based on the image data generated by the imager 41…the predetermined region includes…a region where spatter has occurred, and a region where a fume has been produced”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Okamoto to incorporate the teachings of Takeshita to identify spatter and fume since they may lead to risk of occurrence of manufacturing defects (Takeshita paragraph 0153).
Regarding claim 5, Okamoto discloses the welding phenomenon behavior measuring method according to Claim 1. However, Okamoto fails to explicitly disclose in the derivation step, an indicator value of at least one of spatter or fumes is derived as the behavior of the welding phenomenon. In related art, Takeshita discloses in the derivation step, an indicator value of at least one of spatter or fumes is derived as the behavior of the welding phenomenon (Takeshita FIG. 6(b), paragraph 0191: “the detection unit 54 obtains the high-temperature region to be the spatter SP”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Okamoto to incorporate the teachings of Takeshita to identify spatter and fume since they may lead to risk of occurrence of manufacturing defects (Takeshita paragraph 0153).
Regarding claim 7, Okamoto, modified by Takeshita, discloses the welding phenomenon behavior measuring method according to Claim 5, further comprising: a setting step for setting a period to be measured (Takeshita paragraph 0135: “a predetermined time interval, for example, each time the XY plane is scanned by the scanning unit 33 with the laser beam by a predetermined distance”), wherein the image processing step, the image division step, and the derivation step are performed using a welding image included in a period set in the setting step (Takeshita paragraph 0135: “The imager 41 captures the image at a predetermined time interval”).
Claim(s) 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okamoto in view of Mizuno et al. (JP2002205166A).
Regarding claim 8, Okamoto discloses the welding phenomenon behavior measuring method according to Claim 1. However, Okamoto fails to explicitly disclose the image processing step includes at least one of processing to separate the welding image into images for respective color components, binarization processing, or processing to obtain or exclude smoothly fluctuating pixel values. In the related art of welding, Mizuno discloses the image processing step includes at least one of processing to separate the welding image into images for respective color components (Mizuno paragraph 0008: “The color imaging device captures an image of the welded portion during welding to generate a color video signal, and the image processing device decomposes the color video signal into RGB components”), binarization processing, or processing to obtain or exclude smoothly fluctuating pixel values. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Okamoto to incorporate the teachings of Mizuno to clearly display the state of the molten pool for each welding machine, allowing the welding state to be accurately grasped in a short amount of time to obtain high-quality welding results (Mizuno paragraph 0007).
Regarding claim 9, Okamoto, modified by Mizuno, discloses the welding phenomenon behavior measuring method according to Claim 8, wherein, in the processing to separate the welding image into images for respective color components, color component images for respective color components of R, G, and B are generated from the welding image (Mizuno paragraph 0008: “The color imaging device captures an image of the welded portion during welding to generate a color video signal, and the image processing device decomposes the color video signal into RGB components”).
Claim(s) 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okamoto and Mizuno in view of Kondou (US 2023/0018730 A1).
Regarding claim 10, Okamoto, modified by Mizuno, discloses the welding phenomenon behavior measuring method according to Claim 9. However, Okamoto and Mizuno fail to explicitly disclose an indicator value of at least one of arc light, spatter, or thick fumes is derived using the color component image of R. In the related art of welding, Kondou discloses an indicator value of at least one of arc light, spatter, or thick fumes is derived using the color component image of R (Kondou FIG. 7, paragraph 0057: “determines whether or not a condition is satisfied that average value Gave of the green component in the color information of reference pixel CP is greater than the product of first set value α and average value Rave of the red component in the color information of the reference pixel CP, and average value Bave of the blue component in the color information of reference pixel CP is greater than the product of second set value β and average value Rave of the red component in the color information of reference pixel CP...spatter candidate region SR satisfying the condition is identified as the reflected light region”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Okamoto and Mizuno to incorporate the teachings of Kondou to identify the number of spatters of the input images more accurately (Kondou paragraph 0006).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 11 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:
Regarding claim 6, Okamoto, modified by Takeshita, discloses the welding phenomenon behavior measuring method according to Claim 5. However, the cited prior art either alone or in combination fails to disclose, teach, or suggest: in the derivation step, in a case of deriving an indicator value of fumes, an edge is detected for a divided image with a region of spatter removed, the divided image is divided into a plurality of regions based on the detected edge, and an indicator value of the fumes is calculated based on an area of the plurality of regions.
Regarding claim 11, Okamoto, modified by Mizuno, discloses the welding phenomenon behavior measuring method according to Claim 9. However, the cited prior art either alone or in combination fails to disclose, teach, or suggest: an indicator value of thin fumes is derived using the color component image of B.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Couto et al. (NPL “Weld Bead Width Measurement in a GMAW WAAM System by using Passive Vision”) discloses performing edge detection in images displaying fume, spatter, and molten pool area.
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/C.Z./ Examiner, Art Unit 2677
/ANDREW W BEE/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2677