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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection of claim(s) 1-5 under 35 USC 102 and 35 USC 103 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugaya (US 20160332297 A1) in view of Wang et al. (US 20230173660 A1, hereinafter Onoyama), and further in view of Wada (US 20110054685 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Sugaya teaches:
A programming apparatus for teaching a motion program of a robot off-line (at least as in paragraph 0055, “The information processing apparatus A of this embodiment is configured so as to allow operations of inputting, editing and changing the teaching data for the robot apparatus to be performed through the operating input unit D, and can display, for example, a display screen E for the offline teaching system as illustrated in FIG. 1 on the displaying apparatus C”), the programming apparatus comprising:
an operation unit (at least as in paragraph 0053, “The operating input unit D may be operation devices, such as a pointing device including a mouse or a track pad, and a keyboard”);
a display unit configured to display a 3D model of the robot so as to repeat movement and stop in accordance with an operation by a user on the operation unit (at least as in paragraph 0054, “The displaying apparatus C may be a displaying apparatus, such as an LCD (or a displaying apparatus with another display scheme”; at least as in paragraph 0058, “On the virtual environment screen 10 (virtual environment displaying unit), a virtual environment is displayed. In the virtual environment, a placement environment equivalent to that of the actual robot apparatus to be programmed (taught) by this apparatus is reproduced. For example, the virtual environment screen 10 virtually displays the state of the robot 101 apparatus identified by the position and orientation data in a three-dimensional model representation, such as of a three-dimensional CAD model. In this case, the display control function of a CPU (33), described later, for controlling the displaying apparatus C renders, for example, a three-dimensional image of the robot 101 at the position and orientation identified by the position and orientation data in a virtual space that simulates the operating environment of the robot 101, and achieves virtual display”; at least as in paragraph 0098-0107, wherein the user may input a new teaching point through various means; at least as in paragraph 0117-0120, after calculation of the new teaching point and “when an input is made into the relative value setting unit 202 through the operating input unit D, the display of the robot 101 on the virtual environment screen 10 and the display on the parameter setting screen 20 are immediately updated”);
a recording unit configured to record a plurality of teaching candidate points (at least as in paragraph 0125, “This confirmation operation finishes the forming of the offset teaching point 107. Thus, the CPU 33 stores the information on the confirmed offset teaching point 107 in the storing apparatus 35”; at least as in paragraph 0126, wherein the new teaching point data is stored in the storing apparatus 35; see also Embodiment 4, wherein the user may click on a teaching point and drag an operation handle 111 which operates the virtual display of the robot to move to the new offset teaching point; at least as in paragraph 0352, “During a mouse dragging operation, continuous movement is designated. Finishing the movement is designated by releasing the button of the mouse”; at least as in paragraph 0354, “In step S27, the user can change the position and orientation of the robot 101 displayed on the virtual environment screen 10, using the operation handle 111”; at least as in paragraph 0357, “software may be configured so as to repeatedly execute the processes from step S28 to step S9, which is the last in the diagram, for every minute operation of the operation handle 111 in step S27”);
a teaching point registration unit configured to register, as teaching points, a plurality of teaching candidate points (at least as in paragraph 0095, “the CPU 33 controls the displaying apparatus C to display a list 206 of teaching points which can be selected using the teaching point setting unit 203 on the parameter setting screen 20 in a manner of, for example, a pulldown menu”); and
a creation unit configured to create the motion program based on the registered teaching points (at least as in paragraph 0128, “After the new offset teaching point 107 is normally formed as described above, the node on the new offset teaching point 107 is newly formed at the descendant of the teaching point 106 serving as the reference on the management screen 40 for nodes”; at least as in paragraph 0130, “The position and orientation data stored in the storing apparatus 35 can be output to an external apparatus (input and output unit) in units of the entire tree (e.g., the entire tree of each of FIGS. 7A to 7C) or a specific part of the tree designated through the operating input unit D, in the format of the file F, via the interface 36”),
Sugaya does not explicitly teach:
a motion state identification unit configured to identify that the 3D model has transitioned from a moving state to a stopped state…
one after another in accordance with the stop…
selected from the plurality of recorded teaching candidate points in accordance with the operation by the user…
wherein the motion state identification unit is configured to identify that the 3D model has transitioned from the moving state to the stopped state, based on an absence, for a predetermined elapsed time, of the operation by the user performed via the operation unit with respect to the 3D model.
However, Wang, in the same field of endeavor of teaching and controlling a robot to perform operations, specifically teaches:
a motion state identification unit configured to identify that the 3D model has transitioned from a moving state to a stopped state (at least as in paragraph 0031, “camera images are used to track the position of both the workpiece 230 and the hand 240 as they move along a path 260… In any case, the path 260 includes multiple points defining the position (and optionally orientation) of the workpiece 230 and the hand 240 during the Move step”; at least as in paragraph 0032, “camera images are used to identify the final position and pose of the workpiece 230 (as defined by its workpiece coordinate frame 232)… When the thumb tip and the fingertip break contact with the workpiece 230, the controller 220 stores the workpiece coordinate frame data from this particular image as the Place data. The Place data may also be recorded and stored based on the workpiece 230 having stopped moving”)…
one after another in accordance with the stop (at least as in paragraph 0032, “The Place data may also be recorded and stored based on the workpiece 230 having stopped moving”)…
wherein the motion state identification unit is configured to identify that the 3D model has transitioned from the moving state to the stopped state, based on an absence, for a predetermined elapsed time, of the operation by the user performed via the operation unit with respect to the 3D model (at least as in paragraph 0032, “The Place data may also be recorded and stored based on the workpiece 230 having stopped moving—that is, the workpiece coordinate frame 232 being in the exact same position and pose for a period of time (such as 1-2 seconds)”; at least as in paragraph 0061, “The target or desired line features are captured when the trajectory generation at the box 620 determines that the workpiece has reached the “place” location (has stopped moving), as indicated by line 624”).
Furthermore, Wada, in the same field of endeavor of robot off-line teaching using a plurality of virtual teaching points, specifically teaches:
selected from the plurality of recorded teaching candidate points in accordance with the operation by the user (at least as in paragraph 0069, “the processing proceeds to the STEP 11 in which there is selected the virtual teaching point where the posture data are not generated. Subsequently, the processing proceeds to the STEP 12 in which the interpolating operation point is displayed on a list (not shown) together with a distance from the virtual teaching point which is selected to the interpolating operation point based on a position coordinate of the virtual teaching point which is selected, and an interpolating operation point having a minimum distance is selected”; at least as in paragraph 0071, “If the error is not present, the processing proceeds to the STEP 16 in which the generated posture data are registered as information about the selected virtual teaching point”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the teachings of Sugaya, to include Wang's teaching of teaching positions based on the user or workpiece moving and Wada’s teaching of selecting and registering virtual teaching points, since Wang teaches wherein the teaching method is faster, more intuitive for non-expert operators, and increases precision and Wada teaches wherein the teaching method reduces errors by checking and correcting for errors and makes creating teaching data easy thus improving teaching efficiency.
Regarding claim 2, in view of the above combination of Sugaya, Wang, and Wada, Sugaya teaches the programming apparatus according to claim 1, but does not explicitly teach further comprising:
a setting unit configured to collectively set an interpolation format and a moving speed between the teaching points in accordance with the operation by the user, wherein
the creation unit is configured to create the motion program based on the interpolation format and the moving speed together with the registered teaching points.
However, Wada, in the same field of endeavor of robot off-line teaching using a plurality of virtual teaching points, specifically discloses:
a setting unit configured to collectively set an interpolation format and a moving speed between the teaching points in accordance with the operation by the user (at least as in paragraph 0066, “In the interpolating operation, a processing for smoothly moving the virtual tool between the virtual teaching points is carried out in order to cause the virtual tool to take a registered posture at a part of the virtual teaching points where the posture data are registered”; at least as in paragraph 0067 “In the interpolating operation, a coordinate (a position) and a posture of the virtual tool are calculated at a minimum calculating interval corresponding to a calculating capability of the CAD device 10. At the STEP 9, then, a result of the calculation is stored as an interpolating operation point. The processings of the STEPs 8 and 9 are executed from the start point to the endpoint of the virtual teaching point (STEP 10). Consequently, a plurality of interpolating operation points through the interpolating operation is generated”; at least as in paragraph 0046, “the virtual teach pendant 36 can continuously carry out a predetermined operation at a low speed while a cursor button is pushed consecutively, and can move the virtual tool 33 at a predetermined speed in a predetermined direction, for example”), wherein
the creation unit is configured to create the motion program based on the interpolation format and the moving speed together with the registered teaching points (at least as in paragraph 0071, “If the posture data are generated on all of the virtual teaching points, the created data are stored as the teaching data 26 and the processing is ended”; at least as in paragraph 0073, “The same work is carried out for the virtual teaching points T3, T4 and T6 to T8 and data on the virtual teaching points which are created are stored as the teaching data 26, and the processing is ended”; at least as in paragraph 0074, “After the virtual teaching points of all of the virtual robots 32 are completely registered, the single and composite simulations are sequentially executed to carry out an operating verification. If there is no problem, the virtual teaching points of all of the virtual robots 32 are stored as the teaching data 26 which are registered”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the teachings of Sugaya, to include Wada’s teaching of teaching point interpolation and speed setting, since Wada teaches wherein the teaching method reduces errors by checking and correcting for errors and makes creating teaching data easier and faster thus improving teaching efficiency.
Regarding claim 4, in view of the above combination of Sugaya, Wang, and Wada, Sugaya further teaches:
The programming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the display unit is configured to display a list of the plurality of recorded teaching candidate points to allow the user to select the teaching points from the plurality of teaching candidate points displayed in the list (at least as in paragraph 0095, “the CPU 33 controls the displaying apparatus C to display a list 206 of teaching points which can be selected using the teaching point setting unit 203 on the parameter setting screen 20 in a manner of, for example, a pulldown menu”).
Regarding claim 5, in view of the above combination of Sugaya, Wang, and Wada, Sugaya further teaches:
The programming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the display unit is configured to display the plurality of recorded teaching candidate points overlapping the 3D model to allow the user to select the teaching points from the plurality of teaching candidate points overlapping the 3D model (at least as in paragraph 0115, “In step S7, it is determined whether each articulation value on the offset teaching point 107 is within the limitation defined by the hardware specifications of the actual robot 101 (or further by operational regulations) or not (limitation determining process). For example, in the actual robot apparatus, the range of possible rotation angle of a certain articulation is sometimes limited within a specific range. It is determined whether each articulation value of the robot 101 is within such a range of limitation or not. Such conditions of limitation including the movable range of the robot 101 have preliminarily been stored in the ROM 35a, the RAM 35b, or the external storing apparatus 35c, in an appropriate storing format”; at least as in paragraph 0122, “According to the result of the position and orientation calculation, for example, when any of the articulation values is determined to be out of the hardware limitation in step S7, the CPU 33 causes the displaying apparatus C to display an error indicating unavailable orientation (abnormality displaying process; S8). For example, in this case, an error screen 50 to be displayed may be a screen as in FIG. 8. The error screen 50 of FIG. 8 indicates that the orientation to be reached is out of the limitation and an error occurs, using a character string and a graphical symbol”; at least as in paragraph 0095, “the CPU 33 controls the displaying apparatus C to display a list 206 of teaching points which can be selected using the teaching point setting unit 203 on the parameter setting screen 20 in a manner of, for example, a pulldown menu”).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugaya (US 20160332297 A1) in view of Wang et al. (US 20230173660 A1, hereinafter Onoyama) and Wada (US 20110054685 A1), and further in view of Kuwahara (US 20150379171 A1).
Regarding claim 3, the above combination of Sugaya, Wang, and Wada teaches the programming apparatus according to claim 2, but does not explicitly teach wherein
the setting unit is configured to set a name of the motion program in accordance with an instruction of the user.
However, Kuwahara, in the same field of endeavor of robot simulators and teaching programs, specifically teaches wherein the setting unit is configured to set a name of the motion program in accordance with an instruction of the user (at least as in paragraph 0059, “These functions in the off-line teaching system of a robot are well known”; at least as in paragraph 0083, “The output area G4 is a “job name area” where a job name confirmable in the general-purpose electronic document G is output, and the output area G5 is an “information area” where the information related to the job program and the general-purpose electronic document G is output such as a model of the robot 30V, a date when the general-purpose electronic document G is output, and a name of an operator”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the teachings of Sugaya, to include Kuwahara’s teaching of a robot simulator and teaching system saving various job information, since Kuwahara teaches wherein the system simplifies the simulation result confirmation and distribution by improving the accessibility to such information and data to various operators.
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 RICARDO ICHIKAWA VISCARRA whose telephone number is (571)270-0154. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-12 & 2-4 PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Adam Mott can be reached on (571) 270-5376. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RICARDO I VISCARRA/Examiner, Art Unit 3657
/ADAM R MOTT/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3657
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