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.
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(s) 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wagner et al. (US 2024/0088809).
Regarding claim 1,
Wagner discloses (Fig. 1):
A method for controlling a transport system (Fig. 1, 1)with at least one linear and/or planar motor having a stator (2, ¶0022), at least one mover (Tn),and a controller (4) for automatically controlling movement of the at least one mover (Tn) relative to the stator (2, ¶0022), the method comprising:
a) providing a thermal model for the transport system (¶0056);
b) determining a movement plan for the at least one mover (Tn) according to a predefined movement task (¶0072), running a simulation of a temperature distribution within the at least one linear and/or planar motor during a simulated movement based on the movement plan using the thermal model (¶0056); and
c) executing the determined movement plan on the transport system using the controller (¶0072) only if the movement plan respects at least one predefined temperature limit within the simulation (¶0056); else, repeating element (b) with an adapted movement plan (¶0065-¶0068).
Regarding claim 2,
Wagner discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein:
b) and c) are each carried out several times, such that a
plurality of consecutive movement plans is determined and executed;
during the determination of each movement plan, at least one simulation of the temperature distribution within the at least one linear and/or planar motor is carried out; and the simulation of each of the following movement plans uses the temperature distribution obtained for the preceding movement plan as input (¶0052).
Regarding claim 3,
Wagner discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein b) includes
generating one or more candidates for the movement plan and carrying out selection of one such candidate based on the simulation, thereby determining a movement plan for use in step c) (¶0053).
Regarding claim 4,
Wagner discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein generating the
one or more candidates for the movement plan includes using a mathematical optimization method and/or a heuristic method (¶0052, math model).
Regarding claim 5,
Wagner discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein the thermal
model comprises a physical model of the at least one linear and/or planar motor (¶0052).
Regarding claim 6,
Wagner discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein:
the simulation within uses a temperature correction module based on at least one artificial neural network (¶0070); and the temperature correction module serves to correct the simulated temperature distribution obtained from the thermal model (¶0056).
Regarding claim 7,
Wagner discloses (Fig. 1):
further comprising
adapting the temperature correction module using at least one physical measurement carried out during the operation of the transport system (from physical model, ¶0073).
Regarding claim 8,
Wagner discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein the at least
one physical measurement comprises a temperature measurement within the at least one motor and/or a measurement of an external physical parameter in the environment of the at least one motor (¶0056).
Regarding claim 9,
Wagner discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein the temperature correction module is based on at least one artificial neural network being trained with data obtained from the operation of the transport system (¶0070).
Regarding claim 10,
Wagner discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein the artificial
neural network is being trained on a computing device (5) separate from the controller (4, ¶0025).
Regarding claim 11,
Wagner discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein determining the movement plan is based on the minimization of a temperature within the at least one motor and at least one further criterion (¶0056).
Regarding claim 12,
Wagner discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein:
the transport system comprises one or more movers (fig. 1, Tn, Tn-1, etc.); and
each mover functions as a carrier for a transported element (¶0022).
Regarding claim 13,
Wagner discloses (Fig. 1):
A controller (Fig. 1, 4) for controlling the movement in a transport system (1) with at least one linear and/or planar motor having a stator (2) and at least one mover (Tn, Tn-1, ¶0022), wherein the controller:
a) provides a thermal model for the transport system (¶0056);
b) determines a movement plan for the at least one mover according to a predefined movement task and runs (¶0072), a simulation of a temperature distribution within the at least one linear and/or planar motor during a simulated movement based on the thermal model (¶0056); and
c) executes the determined movement plan on the transport system (¶0072) only if the movement plan respects at least one predefined temperature limit within the simulation (¶0056); else, repeating element (b) with an adapted movement plan (¶0065-¶0068).
Regarding claim 14,
Wagner discloses (Fig. 1):
A transport system (Fig. 1, 1) comprising:
at least one linear and/or planar motor having a stator (2, ¶0022), and at least one mover (Tn); and
a controller (4) for automatically controlling the movement of the at least one mover (Tn) relative to the stator (2, ¶0022), wherein the controller ((4):
a) provides a thermal model for the transport system (¶0056);
b) determines a movement plan for the at least one mover (Tn) according to a predefined movement task and runs (¶0072), a simulation of a temperature distribution within the at least one linear and/or planar motor during a simulated movement based on the movement plan using the thermal model (¶0056); and
c) executes the determined movement plan on the transport system (¶0072) only if the movement plan respects at least one predefined temperature limit within the simulation (¶0056); else ,repeating element (b) with an adapted movement plan (¶0065-¶0068).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/31/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding applicant’s arguments pertaining to claims 1-14, applicant argues that Wagner does not teach running multiple movement plans and instead just describes a movement plan for one simulation, however, in ¶0064-¶0068, Wagner discloses, specifically ¶0065, where the cooling can be changed based on the simulation, can change movement or cooling around a section of the stator and as such, would be a different movement plan based on the simulation and would read upon claim 1-14. As such, examiner is maintaining the rejections of claims 1-14.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES S LAUGHLIN whose telephone number is (571)270-7244. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eduardo Colon-Santana can be reached at 571-272-2060. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/C.S.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2837 /KAWING CHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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