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 § 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.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kobayashi et al. (PGPub 2018/0183200 A1).
Kobayashi et al. teach electronic device assembly apparatus (as per claim 1) and a process of for inserting a leading end of a flexible blat cable into a connector on a circuit board (as per claim 5), comprising: a gripping device (20, Fig. 5, paragraph [0044]) that grips a flexible flat cable (15, Fig. 3, paragraph [0044]) including a leading end that is lying substantially horizontally; a robot arm (5, Fig. 1, paragraph [0060]) that moves the gripping device relative to a circuit board (4, Fig. 3, paragraphs [0032]-[0033]) to which a base of the cable has been electrically connected as shown in Fig. 4; and a robot control device (51, Fig. 9, paragraphs [0060]-[0061]) that controls operations of the gripping device and the robot arm, wherein the gripping device includes: a guide member (22, Fig. 5, paragraph [0048]) having a scooping surface; and a holding member (23, Fig. 5, paragraphs [0049]-[0050]) that holds the cable guided by the guide member, and the robot control device moves the gripping device to a position at which the gripping device faces the leading end of the cable in a longitudinal direction of the lying cable, brings the scooping surface of the guide member into contact with the leading end of the cable, and further advances the gripping device toward the circuit board to make the cable stand up as shown in Fig. 11 (paragraphs [0073]-[0075]).
Re. claim 2: The holding member includes gripping claws that are operated by an actuator (24, Fig. 5, paragraph [0045]) and the gripping claws hold the cable by sandwiching the cable in a direction longitudinally intersecting the cable as shown in Fig. 12.
Re. claims 3 and 6: The gripping device further includes a suction member (22c, Fig. 6, paragraph [0048]) that is provided in a lower surface of the gripping device and holds the cable by sucking the cable.
Re. claims 4 and 7-9: The robot control device moves the gripping device substantially horizontally to fold the cable that has been caused to stand up, causes the holding member to hold the leading end of the cable, and inserts the leading end of the cable into a connector on the circuit board a shown in Figs 9 and 11.
The Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. KOBAYASHI (PGPub 2025/0100147 A1), SAWATO (PGPub 2024/0222925 A1), and KUNISAKI et al. (PGPub 2024/0147616 A1) are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to an electronic device assembly apparatus.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL D KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-4565. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 6:00 AM-2:00 PM.
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/PAUL D KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
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