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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed July 1st, 2026 has been entered. Claim 6 has been amended. Claim 9 has been added. Claims 6-9 remain pending.
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.
Claims 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aomoto (WO 2021039077) in view of Oh et al. (US 10491268).
Regarding claim 6, Aomoto (WO 2021039077) teaches an overhead transport vehicle (Paragraph 0001 lines 1-2) comprising:
a traveling part (Fig. 1 #6) configured to travel along a traveling rail (Fig. 1 #4);
a lifting part (Fig. 1 #28) provided in the traveling part (Fig. 1 #28 provided in #6);
a gripper unit (Fig. 1 #30) configured to be raised and lowered by the lifting part (Paragraph 0021 lines 6-7) and grip an article (Fig. 1 #30 configured to grip #10);
an accelerometer (Fig. 1 #55, Paragraph 0023 lines 4-11) mounted on the gripper unit (Fig. 1 #55 mounted on #30); and
a control device (Fig. 1 #50) configured to recognize a lifting operation state of the gripper unit (Paragraph 0029 lines 2-4) and determine presence or absence of an abnormality in the gripper unit based on the lifting operation state and a detection result of the accelerometer (Paragraph 0025 lines 1-8),
wherein the control device (Fig. 1 #50) determines presence or absence of an inclination of the gripper unit with respect to a vertical direction as an abnormality in the gripper unit (Paragraph 0023 lines 4-11, “Z-axis direction”) based on whether the detected value of the accelerometer in a state where the gripper unit is stopped at a gripping position exceeds a first set value for the inclination of the gripper unit that has been preset (Paragraph 0026 lines 1-5, Paragraph 0027 lines 1-4).
Aomoto (WO 2021039077) lacks teaching wherein the control device determines presence or absence of an inclination of the gripper unit with respect to a vertical direction caused by a mating failure of the gripper unit with respect to the article as an abnormality in the gripper unit.
Oh et al. (US 10491268) teaches an overhead transport vehicle (Col. 1 lines 9-41) wherein the control device (Fig. 2 #300) determines presence or absence of an inclination of the gripper unit (Fig. 2 #220) with respect to a vertical direction (Col. 9 lines 16-21, 54-60) caused by a mating failure of the gripper unit with respect to the article as an abnormality in the gripper unit (Col. 11 lines 44-66, Col. 12 lines 6-16).
Oh et al. (US 10491268) explains that the sensor in the hoist device and gripper unit detect a state of belt movement distance, a belt movement speed, a left and right movement distance of the gripper unit, a collision degree, and/or a tilt degree of the belt with respect to preset reference information, and communicates work abnormality state information to the controller (Col. 4 lines 20-39). Oh et al. (US 10491268) explains that when an abnormality state occurs, the hoist work being performed is stopped, and the system may perform more stable hoist work by transmitting and receiving communication state information through wireless communication when an abnormality occurs (Col. 12 lines 11-24).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Aomoto (WO 2021039077) to include wherein the control device determines presence or absence of an inclination of the gripper unit with respect to a vertical direction caused by a mating failure of the gripper unit with respect to the article as an abnormality in the gripper unit as taught by Oh et al. (US 10491268) in order to stop the work when an abnormality is detected and perform a more stable lifting process.
Regarding claim 7, Aomoto (WO 2021039077) teaches the overhead transport vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the accelerometer (Fig. 1 #55) is capable of detecting acceleration of the gripper unit in at least the vertical direction (Paragraph 0023 lines 4-11).
Regarding claim 8, Aomoto (WO 2021039077) teaches the overhead transport vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the accelerometer (Fig. 1 #55) is capable of detecting the acceleration of the gripper unit in a first horizontal direction and a second horizontal direction (Paragraph 0023 lines 4-11, “X-axis direction” and “Y-axis direction”) that each are orthogonal to the vertical direction and are orthogonal to each other (Paragraph 0023 lines 4-11, “X-axis direction” and “Y-axis direction are each orthogonal to “Z-axis direction” and to each other).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aomoto (WO 2021039077) in view of Oh et al. (US 10491268) and further in view of Kobayashi (US 10964573).
Regarding claim 9, Aomoto (WO 2021039077) lacks teaching the overhead transport vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the gripper unit includes a center cone configured to fit into a recess of a flange part of the article, and wherein the mating failure of the gripper unit with respect to the article comprises a mating failure of the center cone with respect to the recess.
Kobayashi (US 10964573) teaches an overhead transport vehicle (Col. 1 lines 38-53), wherein the gripper unit (Fig. 1 #6) includes a center cone (Fig. 1 #8) configured to fit into a recess of a flange part of the article (Fig. 1 #8 configured to fit in recess #91a of flange #91 of article #90), and wherein the mating failure of the gripper unit with respect to the article comprises a mating failure of the center cone with respect to the recess (Col. 5 line 60-Col. 6 line 19, Col. 7 lines 11-35).
Kobayashi (US 10964573) explains that the detector detects the position of the dog ascending and descending in association with the operation of the center cone, and the system checks both the first photo interrupter and the second photo interrupter to determine that the holder reaches the holding position (Col. 6 lines 20-31, Col. 7 lines 18-31). Kobayashi (US 10964573) states that this configuration provides more accurate recognition of a holder which reaches the holding position, and more accurate detection of a relative ascending operation of the positioner with respect to the holder (Col. 2 lines 1-31).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Aomoto (WO 2021039077) to include wherein the gripper unit includes a center cone configured to fit into a recess of a flange part of the article, and wherein the mating failure of the gripper unit with respect to the article comprises a mating failure of the center cone with respect to the recess as taught by Kobayashi (US 10964573) in order to more accurately detect when the gripper is positioned to grip the articles, thus reducing the occurrence of mating failures.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed July 1st, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of amended claim(s) 6 and 9 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Oh et al. (US 10491268) and further in view of Kobayashi (US 10964573).
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 Molly K Devine whose telephone number is (571)270-7205. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:00-4:00.
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/MOLLY K DEVINE/ Examiner, Art Unit 3653
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