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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10 April 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
Figures 1-4 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g).
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “22” has been used to designate both a “probe” and a “probe interface”, as shown in Figure 2.
Figures 1, 2-3, and 5: Blank reference boxes “5”, “20”, “22”, “30”, “40” “54”, and “56” should also be labeled with their representative structure in order to more easily identify the structure quickly that is utilized in the invention without having to read through the specification. For example, reference box (20), as shown in Figures 2-3, and 6 should also be labeled -- Controller --. See 37 C.F.R. 1.83(a) below.
1.83 Content of drawing.
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(a) The drawing in a nonprovisional application must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. However, conventional features disclosed in the description and claims, where their detailed illustration is not essential for a proper understanding of the invention, should be illustrated in the drawing in the form of a graphical drawing symbol or a labeled representation (e.g., a labeled rectangular box). In addition, tables that are included in the specification and sequences that are included in sequence listings should not be duplicated in the drawings.
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(b) When the invention consists of an improvement on an old machine the drawing must when possible exhibit, in one or more views, the improved portion itself, disconnected from the old structure, and also in another view, so much only of the old structure as will suffice to show the connection of the invention therewith.
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(c) Where the drawings in a nonprovisional application do not comply with the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, the examiner shall require such additional illustration within a time period of not less than two months from the date of the sending of a notice thereof. Such corrections are subject to the requirements of § 1.81(d).
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[31 FR 12923, Oct. 4, 1966; 43 FR 4015, Jan. 31, 1978; paras. (a) and (c) revised, 60 FR 20195, Apr. 25, 1995, effective June 8, 1995; para. (a) revised, 69 FR 56481, Sept. 21, 2004, effective Oct. 21, 2004; para. (a) revised, 78 FR 62368, Oct. 21, 2013, effective Dec. 18, 2013]
PLEASE NOTE THAT A REFERENCE NUMERAL IS NOT A LABEL.
Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Page 1, page line 2: A paragraph listing any pending foreign applications should be inserted after the title.
Page 1, page line 6: The heading – Background of the Invention – or something similar should be inserted prior to the introduction of Related/Prior Art.
Page 2, page line 20: Reference numeral “22” is used to represent two different structures (probe and probe interface).
Page 3, page line 1: A – comma – should be inserted after the abbreviation “i.e.”
Page 4, page line 7: The heading – Summary of the Invention – or something similar should be inserted prior to the introduction of invention.
Page 5, page line 31: A – comma – should be inserted prior to the term “such.”
Page 5, page line 32: A – comma – should be inserted after the abbreviation “i.e.”
Page 6, page lines 13 and 30: A – comma – should be inserted after the abbreviation “e.g.”
Page 6, page lines 21 and 27: A – comma – should be inserted prior to the term “such.”
Page 7, page lines 3-5 and 8: A – comma – should be inserted after the abbreviation “e.g.”
Page 8, page line 25: The phrase – Brief Description of the Drawing Figures -- or something similar should be inserted before introduction of the drawing figures.
Page 10, page line 4: The phrase – Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments – or something similar should be inserted before the detailed explanation of the invention.
Page 10, page line 6: The term – Figures – should replace the term “Figure.”
Page 10, page line 7: The term – upon – should be inserted after the term “based.” Page 10, page line 8: A – comma – should be inserted prior to the term “such” and after the numeral “12.”
Page 10, page line 10: A – comma – should be inserted after the abbreviation “i.e.”
Page 10, page line 21: A – comma – should be inserted prior to the term “such.”
Page 10, page line 24: A – comma – should be inserted after the abbreviation “e.g.”
Page 14, page line 16: It is unclear what the value “3-3” represents.
Page 14, page line 27: A – comma – should be inserted after both occurrences of the abbreviation “i.e.”
Page 15, page line 11: The term – associated – should replace the term “associate.”
Page 15, page line 24: A – comma – should be inserted after the abbreviation “e.g.”
Page 16, page lines 8 and 16: A – comma – should be inserted after the abbreviation “e.g.”
Page 17, page line 8: A – comma – should be inserted after the abbreviation “e.g.”
Page 17, page line 17: A – comma – should be inserted after the term “signal.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 16-17 and 27 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Re claim 16, claim line 2: The error representations of what is a cuboidal representation.
Re claim 17, claim line 2: The error representations of what is a square or rectangular representation.
Re claim 27, claim line 1: The phrase – non-transitory – need to be inserted prior to the term “computer” to ensure that a signal is not deemed to be a computer readable medium having the ability to meet the claim limitations.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 18 and 22-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Re claim 18, claim line 2: The phrase “the error representations associated with the or each machine axis” lacks antecedent basis. The preceding claim did not previously recite that the error representation was associated with a machine axis.
Re claim 22, claim line 1: This claim is depended from itself.
Re claim 22, claim line 2: The phrases “the machine” and “the identified trends or patterns or regions” lack antecedent basis.
Re claim 23, claim line 2: It is unclear what is meant by substantially without human intervention. What percentage of human intervention is allowed before identification is no longer deemed to be substantially without human intervention. The term “substantially without” is a relative term that has not been defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Since the term has not been defined, the metes and bounds of the term are unknown. Since the metes and bounds of the term are unknown, the metes and bounds of the claim are unknown, as well. Thus, because the metes and bounds of the term are unknown, the term and the claim are deemed to be indefinite.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Prior art was not relied upon to reject claims 1-27 because the prior art of record fails to teach and/or make obvious a method comprising deriving error data by comparing the received measurement data with expected or ideal values for the measurement data; and generating a spatial error map from the error data, with each cell comprising an error representation derived from multiple sources of error within the error data in combination with all of the remaining limitations of the claim.
The closest prior art, “Error Compensation of Coordinate Measuring Machines” disclose receiving measurement data collected by measuring or tracking an artefact as it is moved by the machine along at least one machine axis; deriving error data; and generating an error map (Figure 8); but the article fails to disclose generating a spatial error map from the error data, with each cell comprising an error representation derived from multiple sources of error within the error data.
Claims 1-15, 19-21, and 24-26 are allowed.
Claims 16-17 and 27 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.
Claims 18 and 22-23 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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 applicant's disclosure.
The prior art disclose systems for measuring errors in multi-axis machine tools.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL SEAN LARKIN whose telephone number is 571-272-2198. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Laura Sweeney can be reached at 571-272-2160. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL S LARKIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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