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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore,
“to control rotation of either one of the nozzle…serving as a rotated member” in lines 13-14 of claim 1 and lines 12-13 of claim 9; “by rotating either one of the nozzle…as a rotated member” in lines 2-3 of claim 5.
must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
(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, 5, and 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tanaka (JP2017206365A).
Regarding claims 1, 5, and 7-8, Tanaka discloses a wire winding device, wire winding method, and manufacturing method for winding a wire rod (X; Figures 1-5) delivered from a nozzle (Y) around a winding core (11), the wire winding device comprising: the nozzle (Y) configured to deliver the wire rod (X) from a tip end portion thereof; a spindle (13a) configured to hold the winding core (11) at a tip end portion thereof, the winding core (11) having a winding body portion (11a) and a flange portion (11b), during a winding process in which the winding body portion (11a) being configured such that the wire rod (X) delivered from the nozzle (Y) is wound around the winding body portion (11a), the flange portion (11b) being provided at one end side of the winding body portion (11a); an image acquisition device (3) capable of acquiring an image including both the flange portion (11b) and the wire rod (X) during a winding process in which the wire rod (X) is being wound around the winding body portion (11a) from another end side of the winding body portion (11a) towards the flange portion (11b); and a control circuit (4) configured to control rotation of the winding core (11) serving as a rotated member (bobbin 11), wherein during the winding process, the control circuit (4) extracts an edge of the wire rod wound around the winding body portion (11a) and an end surface of the flange portion (11b) from the image, measure and calculates a distance from the edge of the wire rod (X) to the end surface as a space length (page 8, ¶2-3, the axial distance between the wire and flange portion is measured), computes a required rotation angle of the rotated member (bobbin 11) based on the space length and rotates the rotated member by the required rotation angle (page 8, ¶2-6).
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) 2 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka in view of Spinosi (EP0602504A1).
Regarding claims 2 and 6, Tanaka discloses wherein the required rotation angle is set to a rotation angle of the rotated member (bobbin 11) that is required for the rotated member to rotate when the space length is measured when the edge of the wire rod (X) wound around the winding body portion (11a) comes into contact with the flange portion (11b), but fails to teach wherein the required rotation angle is set for the rotated member to rotate during a time period from a time when the space length is measured to a time when the edge of the wire rod wound around the winding body portion comes into contact with the flange portion.
Spinosi teaches a similar wire winding device and further teaches wherein the required rotation speed is set for the rotated member (8; Figure 4) to rotate during a time period from a time when the space length (from wire Q to flange 8b) is measured to a time when the edge of the wire rod (Q) wound around the winding body portion comes into contact with the flange portion (8b; column 7, line 38 – column 9, line 46, angular rotation relative to time is controlled between distance of the wire relative to the flange portion). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wire winding device of Tanaka to include required rotation angle during a time period in order to provide controlled rotational speed of the rotated member prior of the wire making contact with the flange portion to prevent binding or unwanted overlap. Furthermore, Spinosi teaches wherein the angular rotation over time is controlled relative to the distance between the wire and flange portion to control wire reversal direction when the wire contacts the flange portion.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka in view of Saito (US8857752B2).
Regarding claim 3, Tanaka discloses the above wire winding device, but fails to teach wherein at least one of the winding body portion and the flange portion is made of resin.
Saito teaches a similar wire winding device and further teaches wherein at least one of the winding body portion (6a; Figure 4) and the flange portion (6b) is made of resin (column 1, lines 59-63). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wire winding device of Tanaka to include the winding body portion and flange portion made of resin as taught by Saito in order to provide an insulating and protective barrier between the wire and core surfaces to prevent or reduce damage and electrical conductance.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka in view of Kojima (JPS617176A).
Regarding claim 4, Tanaka discloses the above wire winding device, but fails to teach wherein during the winding process, the control circuit recognizes, from the image, a first line segment extending along the end surface of the flange portion, a second line segment extending along an upper end of the winding body portion, and a third line segment extending along the edge of the wire rod wound around the winding body portion, and calculates, as the space length, a distance between the first line segment and the third line segment, in parallel with the second line segment, at a position separated from the second line segment by a preset specified distance.
Kojima teaches a similar wire winding device and further teaches wherein during the winding process, the control circuit (14; Figure 2a) recognizes, from the image, a first line segment (1S; see Kojima annotated Figure 2b below) extending along the end surface of the flange portion (21), a second line segment (2S) extending along an upper end of the winding body portion (drum section of drum 2), and a third line segment (3S) extending along the edge of the wire rod (1) wound around the winding body portion, and calculates, as the space length, a distance (x) between the first line segment (1S) and the third line segment (3S), in parallel with the second line segment (2S), at a position separated from the second line segment (2S) by a preset specified distance. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wire winding device of Tanaka to include the control circuit as taught by Kojima in order to accurately obtain a comparison measurement of the wire distance in relation to the flange portion prior to the wire making contact with the flange portion.
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Kojima, Annotated Figure 2b
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 9 is allowable over the prior art of record because the prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest the entire combination of elements set forth including for disclosing wherein the camera and the mirror are arranged such that a viewing direction of the image acquisition device, which is a direction from a center of the camera toward a center of the mirror, is set to be parallel to a direction of a rotation axis of the winding core held by the spindle.
Tanaka discloses a wire winding device for winding a wire rod (X) delivered from a nozzle (Y) around a winding core (11), the wire winding device comprising: the nozzle (Y), configured to deliver the wire rod (X) from a tip end portion thereof; a spindle (13a) configured to hold the winding core (11) at a tip end portion thereof, the winding core (11) having a winding body portion (11a) and a flange portion (11b), the winding body portion (11a) being configured such that the wire rod (X) delivered from the nozzle (Y) is wound around the winding body portion (11a), and the flange portion (11b) is provided on one end side of the winding body portion (11a); an image acquisition device (3) having a camera (page 8, ¶2), the camera being capable of acquiring an image of the object (profile of wire X and core 11) during a winding process in which the wire rod (X) is being wound around the winding body portion (11a) towards the flange portion (11b), the object including both the flange portion (11b) and the wire rod (X); and a control circuit (4) configured to control rotation of the winding core serving as a rotated member (bobbin 11), but fails to teach a mirror disposed between the camera and an object, wherein the camera and the mirror are arranged such that a viewing direction of the image acquisition device, which is a direction from a center of the camera toward a center of the mirror, is set to be parallel to a direction of a rotation axis of the winding core held by the spindle, and the mirror is arranged such that the mirror redirects a light in the viewing direction from a lens of the camera to a center of the object of the image. Buluschek (CH653654A5) teaches a similar wire winding device and further teaches a mirror (31; Figure 4) disposed between the camera (28) and an object (1; Figure 6), and the mirror (31) is arranged such that the mirror (31) redirects a light in the viewing direction from a lens of the camera (28) to a center of the object of the image, but fails to teach wherein the camera and the mirror are arranged such that a viewing direction of the image acquisition device, which is a direction from a center of the camera toward a center of the mirror, is set to be parallel to a direction of a rotation axis of the winding core held by the spindle.
Claims 10-14 are allowable because they are dependents of claim 9.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Additional references listed on form PTO-892 are cited for their relevance to the disclosed invention and demonstration of the state of the art.
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/H.S./Examiner, Art Unit 3654
/WILLIAM A. RIVERA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3654