DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
This non-final office action is in response to the Amendments filed on 14 July 2026, regarding application number 18/840,146.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 14 July 2026 has been entered.
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 .
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 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.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1 and 3-9 remain pending in the application, while claim 2 has been cancelled. Claims 1 and 9 were amended in the Amendments to the Claims.
Examiner further acknowledges that the claims will no longer be construed under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 5-, with respect to the rejections of claims 1 and 3-9 under 35 USC § 103 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive for at least the reasons discussed in the prior office action. However, upon further consideration and for the purpose of compact prosecution, a new ground(s) of rejection is made further in view of newly cited reference Oe et al. (US 20120255938 A1). See full rejection details below.
Claim Objections
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informality: It is recommended to amend "a processor to cause a wizard" to state "a processor configured to cause a wizard" for clarification purposes.
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 1 and 3-9 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.
Regarding Claims 1 and 3-9
Amended claims 1 and 9 recite "…at least one of an interval between the teaching point…", which is unclear. The phrase "interval between" implies that there is a space/distance between two elements, but the claims only require an interval between the teaching point. It is unclear what the interval is between. For example, is the interval between the teaching point and a second teaching point or is the interval between the teaching point and the start/end positions? As such, the claims are indefinite because the metes and bounds of the claims are unclear. Claims 3-8 are rejected by virtue of dependency on claim 1. For the purpose of compact prosecution, the above claim limitation will be interpreted as an interval between the teaching point and any other point.
Amended claim 1 recites "…based on contents received by the reception unit…". There is insufficient antecedent basis for the "reception unit" because the previous recitation of the element has been omitted and changed to "a user interface". As such, the claim is indefinite because the metes and bounds of the claim are unclear. Claims 3-8 are rejected by virtue of dependency on claim 1. For the purpose of compact prosecution, "based on contents received by the reception unit" will be read as "based on contents received by the user interface".
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1 and 3-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Terawaki (JP H07104831 A and Terawaki hereinafter), in view of Hirayama et al. (US 20240316776 A1 and Hirayama hereinafter), Nagatsuka et al. (US 20090187276 A1 and Nagatsuka hereinafter) and Oe et al. (US 20120255938 A1 and Oe hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 1
Terawaki teaches a program generation device configured to generate a program for controlling a robot having a sensor capable of detecting an operation line of a workpiece (see all Figs., especially Fig. 1; see the corresponding paragraphs in the reference JP_H07104831_A attached in the previous office action), the program generation device comprising:
a user interface configured to receive an input of a search start position and a search end position of the operation line by the sensor (see Fig. 1, start point P1 and end point P2; Fig. 2, operation panel 26; Abstract; [0005]-[0006], [0008], [0013], [0018], [0022 "Here, as shown in FIG. 1, preliminary position teaching is performed using two points P1 (start point) and P2 (end point) as teaching points. The preliminary position teaching is performed by operating the teaching operation panel 26 of the robot control device 20 using a teaching playback method with manual jog feed (off-line teaching can also be used)."] and [0025]), and an input of information relating to a search program including a detection condition of the sensor (see [0005]-[0006] and [0022]-[0023 "The teaching point selection rule determines the distribution or density of teaching points designated along the welding line, and includes, for example, (1) points on the welding line whose positions are sensed by the laser sensor 3 (hereinafter referred to as sensing points)."]); and
a processor configured to generate a search program for determining a teaching point corresponding to a position of the operation line by causing the sensor to search the operation line, based on contents received by the reception unit (see Abstract; [0005 "...moving the robot along the work line while correcting the preliminary position teaching data by the work line position sensing by the laser sensor; and creating taught position data representing the work line based on the work line position sensing data acquired by the laser sensor during the movement."]-[0009 "Furthermore, the teaching points are specified as a series of points along the actual work line, and the position data is created according to certain rules based on data acquired during tracking using a laser sensor, which means that the teaching data is highly reliable and subsequent data processing is easy."], [0013], [0023], [0033 “On the other hand, on the robot control device 20 side, after the robot has reached the end point P2, in step S14, the position data of the numerous sensing points saved in step S11 is read out sequentially, and teaching data is created with P1 and P2 as teaching points at both ends.”]-[0034 “In other words, if the number of points on the welding line for which position data is saved is n, namely Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, ... Qn-1, Qn, the teaching data created by automatic position teaching will include position data for a total of n+2 teaching points, namely P1, Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, ... Qn-1, Qn, P2 along the welding line path.”] and [0037]; the search program is inherently generated because the robot performs scanning of the operation line after the search start position and search end position are input.),
wherein the processor is configured to generate an operation program including the teaching point corresponding to the position of the operation line, based on a result of execution of the search program (see Abstract; [0005 "...moving the robot along the work line while correcting the preliminary position teaching data by the work line position sensing by the laser sensor; and creating taught position data representing the work line based on the work line position sensing data acquired by the laser sensor during the movement."]-[0009 "Furthermore, the teaching points are specified as a series of points along the actual work line, and the position data is created according to certain rules based on data acquired during tracking using a laser sensor, which means that the teaching data is highly reliable and subsequent data processing is easy."], [0013], [0023], [0029 "The CPU 21 of the robot control device 20 converts the received sensor data into robot data (step S7), calculates the corrected target position for the robot (step S8), and moves the robot to the corrected target position (performing tracking; step S9)."], [0033 “On the other hand, on the robot control device 20 side, after the robot has reached the end point P2, in step S14, the position data of the numerous sensing points saved in step S11 is read out sequentially, and teaching data is created with P1 and P2 as teaching points at both ends.”]-[0034 “In other words, if the number of points on the welding line for which position data is saved is n, namely Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, ... Qn-1, Qn, the teaching data created by automatic position teaching will include position data for a total of n+2 teaching points, namely P1, Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, ... Qn-1, Qn, P2 along the welding line path.”] and [0037 "...after the tracking movement between P1 and P2 is completed, converting the saved sensor data into robot data to create position data of the teaching point."]; the operation program is inherently generated because the robot is moved to the teaching points after they are sensed.).
Terawaki teaches generate a search program, as discussed above. For the sake of compact prosecution and for the possible argument of "Terawaki is silent regarding generate a search program", Hirayama explicitly teaches the claim feature.
That is, Hirayama teaches a program generation device configured to generate a program for controlling a robot having a sensor capable of detecting an operation line of a workpiece (see all Figs., especially Fig. 3, sensor 4 and Figs. 5-9, all; [0004]-[0005]), the program generation device comprising:
a user interface configured to receive an input of a search start position and a search end position of the operation line by the sensor (see Fig. 1, offline teaching device 5 and/or monitor MN3; Figs. 6-14, all, especially the "start points" and "end points" in Figs. 7-9; [0064] and [0134]-[0160], especially [0134 "For example, the offline teaching device 5 creates a scanning section connecting a start point (an endpoint) and an end point (an endpoint) of a welding section based on the position information of one welding line."] and [0149]-[0151]), and an input of information relating to a search program including a detection condition of the sensor (see [0134]-[0160], especially [0134 "In addition, the offline teaching device 5 sets an angle of the sensor 4 that scans the created scanning section to the same angle as the welding torch 400 based on the welding operation teaching program, sets a weld bead formed corresponding to each welding line to a scannable angle based on a position of the production facility, a position and shape of the workpiece Wk, and the like, and sets information on a position, a distance, and an angle (a posture) of the sensor 4 for executing various operations (for example, approach, retraction, avoidance, and scan) at the time of scanning a weld bead based on information set in advance (for example, a minimum idle running distance)."], [0138]-[0139] and [0142 "...receives an operator operation related to the scanning operation (for example, an editing operation of the effective scanning region, and copying, deletion, partial deletion, movement, rotation, division, combination, and the like of the effective scanning region) (St7)."]); and
a processor configured to generate a search program for determining a teaching point corresponding to a position of the operation line by causing the sensor to search the operation line, based on contents received by the reception unit (see Fig. 5, all, especially step St6; [0114]-[0117], [0134 "When two or more scanning sections are created, the offline teaching device 5 sets the operation trajectory of the welding torch 400 or a welding order of the welding lines to be the same as a scanning order and a scanning direction (an operation trajectory of the sensor 4) in which each of the scanning sections is scanned."] and [0141 "...creates a scanning operation teaching program for causing the sensor 4 to scan the effective scanning region and the scanning region indicated by the teaching auxiliary screen currently displayed on the monitor MN3 (St6). The offline teaching device 5 transmits the created scanning operation teaching program and the workpiece ID in association with each other to the robot control device 2 (St6)."]).
Terawaki, in view of Hirayama, teach generate an operation program, as discussed above. For the sake of compact prosecution and for the possible argument of "Terawaki is silent regarding generate an operation program", Nagatsuka explicitly teaches the claim feature.
That is, Nagatsuka teaches a program generation device configured to generate a program for controlling a robot having a sensor capable of detecting an operation line of a workpiece (see all Figs.; [0016]), the program generation device comprising:
a processor configured to generate a search program for determining a teaching point corresponding to a position of the operation line, by causing the sensor to search the operation line, based on contents received by the reception unit (see Figs. 3-5, all; [0038 "In the next step S4, in the layout as described above, a graphic image of workpiece 18 viewed from virtual camera 22 is indicated on the display … At this point, since a teaching point included in the processing line is corrected in each divided segment as described below, it is preferable that there is a one-on-one relationship between each detection area and each segment."]-[0040]),
wherein the processor is configured to generate an operation program including the teaching point corresponding to the position of the operation line, based on a result of execution of the search program (see Fig. 5, all; [0040 "In the next step S7, in order to generate a program by which a robot can actually process a workpiece, a processing program, including data of teaching points for processing the segments of processing line 28 of workpiece 18 as shown in FIG. 5, is generated. In an example of FIG. 5, one teaching point is set to each straight line segment 28 and three teaching points are set to each corner segment. Then, a processing program, including a command line assigning the position of each teaching point and a processing speed at each teaching point, etc., is generated. The teaching points may be automatically set corresponding to the shape of each segment, otherwise, may be timely input by an operation such as a mouse click motion by an operator."]).
Terawaki is additionally silent regarding wherein the user interface is further configured to receive information relating to the operation program including at least one of an interval between the teaching point, a torch angle and a welding speed.
Oe teaches a program generation device configured to generate a program for controlling a robot having a sensor capable of detecting an operation line of a workpiece (see all Figs.; [0006] and [0024]), the program generation device comprising:
a user interface configured to receive an input of a start position and an end position of the operation line by the sensor (see Figs. 4-7, "starting point" and "ending point"; [0032 "When a straight line is drawn, for example, the straight line is drawn by specifying a starting point and an end point in a preparation area 62 b with a pointer 62 c after selecting a straight line from the line type item 62 a, as shown in FIG. 4. The starting point and the end point are displayed in different colors to be capable of identification. When the prepared straight line is selected with the pointer 62 c, the coordinates of the starting point and the end point are displayed on the arbitrary shape preparation tool screen 62. Thus, the user can numerically confirm the positions of the starting point and the end point. The user can also specify the starting point and the end point by directly inputting coordinates numerically."]-[0034]);
wherein the processor is configured to generate an operation program including the teaching point corresponding to the position of the operation line, based on a result of execution of the search program (see [0024 "The robot system 100 includes a robot 1, a robot control apparatus 2 controlling the robot 1, and a pendant (programming pendant) 3 to teach operations of the robot 1, as shown in FIG. 1."], [0028 "The pendant 3 is provided to prepare the operation programs of the robot 1 and the welding information regarding laser welding (information regarding a welding speed and a welding locus). The pendant 3 has a display portion 31 and an operation portion 32 including a plurality of operation buttons, as shown in FIG. 1. A user can input prescribed information by operating the operation portion 32, viewing display on the display portion 31. The user can teach the operations of the robot 1 to the robot control apparatus 2 by operating the pendant 3."] and [0031]), and
wherein the user interface is further configured to receive information relating to the operation program including at least one of an interval between the teaching point, a torch angle and a welding speed (see Figs. 5-8, all, especially "welding speed" and "interpolation"; [0027]-[0028], [0033 "When a circular arc is selected, values of the coordinates of the specified center point, a start angle of a locus, a rotation angle from a starting point, and a radius are displayed on the arbitrary shape preparation tool screen 62. The user can arbitrarily set a starting point and an end point of the circular arc by inputting a start angle and a rotation angle."] and [0039 "The “interpolation type” denotes one of control parameters for specifying how an operation locus of the end portion of the robot 1 should be when the end portion of the robot 1 is moved between a plurality of positions taught to the robot 1 (taught points). “Straight line” (not shown) and “circular arc” (not shown) in addition to “arbitrary shape” can be specified as the interpolation type. “Straight line” is often specified as the interpolation type when a complicated welding locus as in this embodiment is not employed."]-[0040 "A value of laser output and a welding speed are set on the laser welding condition file screen 311."]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the program generation device of Terawaki to further be configured to generate a search program, as taught by Hirayama, in order to cause the scanner to scan the operation line based on the input search start position and search end position.
It additionally would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the program generation device of Terawaki to be configured to generate an operation program including the teaching point corresponding to the position of the operation line, as taught by Nagatsuka, in order to generate commands including positions and processing speeds at each teaching robot to provide to the robot to process the workpiece.
It additionally would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the program generation device of Terawaki to include a user interface configured to receive information relating to the operation program including at least one of an interval between the teaching point, a torch angle and a welding speed, as taught by Oe, to give a user flexibility to easily program the robot according to their preferences.
Regarding Claim 3
Modified Terawaki teaches the program generation device according to claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Terawaki further teaches wherein the input of the search start position and the search end position is executed by moving the robot by direct teaching or jog operation (see [0022 "Here, as shown in FIG. 1, preliminary position teaching is performed using two points P1 (start point) and P2 (end point) as teaching points. The preliminary position teaching is performed by operating the teaching operation panel 26 of the robot control device 20 using a teaching playback method with manual jog feed (off-line teaching can also be used)."]).
Regarding Claim 4
Modified Terawaki teaches the program generation device according to claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Terawaki further teaches wherein searching of the operation line of by the sensor includes continuous scanning by the sensor along the operation line (see Fig. 1, laser sensor 3; [0005], [0011 "The position of the welding line is sensed by a known method in which the irradiation point locus of the deflected laser beam 3a of the laser sensor 3 is imaged by a CCD camera and the welding line position is determined from the bending point position of the irradiation point locus."] and [0031 "When the robot continues moving along the weld line L1 R1 L2 and reaches P2, a NO determination is made in step S12 for the first time, and the process proceeds to step S13, where a sensing end command is sent to the sensor control device 10."]).
Hirayama additionally teaches wherein searching of the operation line of by the sensor includes continuous scanning by the sensor along the operation line (see [0005] and [0134]-[0160], especially [0054 "In addition, the welding robot MC1 moves the sensor 4 based on the scanning operation teaching program, thereby executing the bead appearance inspection commanded from the host device 1."], [0125 "The sensor 4 is moved in a traveling direction by driving of the manipulator 200 of the welding robot MC1 to scan and acquire the three-dimensional shape of the object located in the effective scanning region AR1 illustrated in FIG. 4 ."] and [0134 "For example, the offline teaching device 5 creates a scanning section connecting a start point (an endpoint) and an end point (an endpoint) of a welding section based on the position information of one welding line."]).
Regarding Claim 5
Modified Terawaki teaches the program generation device according to claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Terawaki is silent regarding further comprising a display unit capable of displaying the program, wherein the display unit is configured to display at least one of: an icon including information relating to the search start position; an icon including information relating to the search end position; and an icon including information relating to an intermediate point between the search start position and the search end position.
Hirayama teaches further comprising a display unit capable of displaying the program, wherein the display unit is configured to display at least one of: an icon including information relating to the search start position; an icon including information relating to the search end position; and an icon including information relating to an intermediate point between the search start position and the search end position (see Fig. 1, monitor MN3; Figs. 6-14, all, especially the "start points", "end points" and "division points" in Fig. 9; [0064] and [0134]-[0160], especially [0134 "For example, the offline teaching device 5 creates a scanning section connecting a start point (an endpoint) and an end point (an endpoint) of a welding section based on the position information of one welding line."] and [0158 "When a division point PT21 for dividing the effective scanning region AR21 is input by an operator operation, the offline teaching device 5 generates each of two effective scanning regions AR22 and AR23 obtained by dividing the effective scanning region AR21 into two at the division point PT21."]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the program generation device of modified Terawaki to include a display unit capable of displaying the program and at least one of: an icon including information relating to the search start position; an icon including information relating to the search end position; and an icon including information relating to an intermediate point between the search start position and the search end position, as taught by Hirayama, in order to provide information on the sensing trajectory of the operation line to a user.
Regarding Claim 6
Modified Terawaki teaches the program generation device according to claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Terawaki is silent regarding further comprising a display unit capable of displaying the program, wherein the display unit is configured to display a wizard for setting at least one of the search start position, the search end position and the search program.
Hirayama further teaches further comprising a display unit capable of displaying the program (see Fig. 1, offline teaching device 5 and/or monitor MN3; Figs. 6-14, all; [0064 "The monitor MN3 displays a teaching auxiliary screen transmitted from the offline teaching device 5. In addition, the monitor MN3 displays an image in which the operation trajectory of the sensor 4 or the operation trajectory of the welding torch 400 is superimposed on the image of the virtual production facility transmitted from the offline teaching device 5."], [0135] and [0144]), wherein the display unit is configured to display a wizard for setting at least one of the search start position, the search end position and the search program (see Fig. 1, offline teaching device 5 and/or monitor MN3; Figs. 6-14, all, especially the "start points" and "end points" in Figs. 7-9; [0064] and [0134]-[0160], especially [0134 "For example, the offline teaching device 5 creates a scanning section connecting a start point (an endpoint) and an end point (an endpoint) of a welding section based on the position information of one welding line."] and [0149]-[0151]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the program generation device of modified Terawaki to include a display unit capable of displaying the program and displaying a wizard for setting at least one of the search start position, the search end position and the search program, as taught by Hirayama, in order to provide information on the sensing trajectory of the operation line to a user.
Regarding Claim 7
Modified Terawaki teaches the program generation device according to claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Terawaki further teaches wherein the search program includes at least one of: information relating to a search range of the sensor; information relating to an output of the sensor; information relating to a path of the sensor; and information relating to an operation program generated based on a result of execution of the search program (see [0005]-[0006], [0013] and [0022]-[0023 "The teaching point selection rule determines the distribution or density of teaching points designated along the welding line, and includes, for example, (1) points on the welding line whose positions are sensed by the laser sensor 3 (hereinafter referred to as sensing points)."]).
Hirayama additionally teaches wherein the search program includes at least one of: information relating to a search range of the sensor; information relating to an output of the sensor; information relating to a path of the sensor; and information relating to an operation program generated based on a result of execution of the search program (see [0134]-[0160], especially [0134 "For example, the offline teaching device 5 creates a scanning section connecting a start point (an endpoint) and an end point (an endpoint) of a welding section based on the position information of one welding line. In addition, the offline teaching device 5 sets an angle of the sensor 4 that scans the created scanning section to the same angle as the welding torch 400 based on the welding operation teaching program, sets a weld bead formed corresponding to each welding line to a scannable angle based on a position of the production facility, a position and shape of the workpiece Wk, and the like, and sets information on a position, a distance, and an angle (a posture) of the sensor 4 for executing various operations (for example, approach, retraction, avoidance, and scan) at the time of scanning a weld bead based on information set in advance (for example, a minimum idle running distance)."], [0138]-[0139] and [0142 "...receives an operator operation related to the scanning operation (for example, an editing operation of the effective scanning region, and copying, deletion, partial deletion, movement, rotation, division, combination, and the like of the effective scanning region) (St7)."]).
Regarding Claim 8
Modified Terawaki teaches the program generation device according to claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Terawaki further teaches wherein the operation line includes a welding point of the workpiece or a sealing point of the workpiece (see Fig. 1, all; [0005] and [0011 "The welding is performed by moving the robot using a real-time tracking method that utilizes a laser sensor 3, with the first straight section L1 (starting point P1), the arc section R1, and the second straight section L2 (ending point P2) connecting the lower edge of the workpiece 4 where it contacts the plate-like member 5 as the welding line."]).
Hirayama additionally teaches wherein the operation line includes a welding point of the workpiece or a sealing point of the workpiece (see Figs. 5-9, all; [0005 "...an acquisition unit configured to acquire position information of a welding line of a workpiece produced by welding and a scanning range of a sensor that scans an appearance shape of a weld bead formed on the workpiece; a generation unit configured to generate a three-dimensional region to be scanned by the sensor based on the acquired position information of the welding line and the scanning range; and a control unit configured to generate and output an auxiliary screen in which the welding line and the three-dimensional region are disposed in a virtual space.").
Regarding Claim 9
Terawaki teaches a program generation device configured to generate a program for controlling a robot having a sensor capable of detecting an operation line of a workpiece (see all Figs., especially Fig. 1; [0005]), the program generation device comprising:
a processor to cause a wizard being configured to receive an input of a search start position and a search end position of the operation line by the sensor (see Fig. 1, start point P1 and end point P2; Fig. 2, operation panel 26; Abstract; [0005]-[0006], [0008], [0013], [0018], [0022 "Here, as shown in FIG. 1, preliminary position teaching is performed using two points P1 (start point) and P2 (end point) as teaching points. The preliminary position teaching is performed by operating the teaching operation panel 26 of the robot control device 20 using a teaching playback method with manual jog feed (off-line teaching can also be used)."] and [0025]), and an input of information relating to a search program including a detection condition of the sensor (see [0005]-[0006] and [0022]-[0023 "The teaching point selection rule determines the distribution or density of teaching points designated along the welding line, and includes, for example, (1) points on the welding line whose positions are sensed by the laser sensor 3 (hereinafter referred to as sensing points)."]); and
configured to generate a search program for determining a teaching point corresponding to a position of the operation line by causing the sensor to search the operation line, based on contents received by the wizard (see Abstract; [0005 "...moving the robot along the work line while correcting the preliminary position teaching data by the work line position sensing by the laser sensor; and creating taught position data representing the work line based on the work line position sensing data acquired by the laser sensor during the movement."]-[0009 "Furthermore, the teaching points are specified as a series of points along the actual work line, and the position data is created according to certain rules based on data acquired during tracking using a laser sensor, which means that the teaching data is highly reliable and subsequent data processing is easy."], [0013], [0023], [0033 “On the other hand, on the robot control device 20 side, after the robot has reached the end point P2, in step S14, the position data of the numerous sensing points saved in step S11 is read out sequentially, and teaching data is created with P1 and P2 as teaching points at both ends.”]-[0034 “In other words, if the number of points on the welding line for which position data is saved is n, namely Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, ... Qn-1, Qn, the teaching data created by automatic position teaching will include position data for a total of n+2 teaching points, namely P1, Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, ... Qn-1, Qn, P2 along the welding line path.”] and [0037]; the search program is inherently generated because the robot performs scanning of the operation line after the search start position and search end position are input.),
wherein the processor is configured to generate an operation program including the teaching point corresponding to the position of the operation line, based on a result of execution of the search program (see Abstract; [0005 "...moving the robot along the work line while correcting the preliminary position teaching data by the work line position sensing by the laser sensor; and creating taught position data representing the work line based on the work line position sensing data acquired by the laser sensor during the movement."]-[0009 "Furthermore, the teaching points are specified as a series of points along the actual work line, and the position data is created according to certain rules based on data acquired during tracking using a laser sensor, which means that the teaching data is highly reliable and subsequent data processing is easy."], [0013], [0023], [0029 "The CPU 21 of the robot control device 20 converts the received sensor data into robot data (step S7), calculates the corrected target position for the robot (step S8), and moves the robot to the corrected target position (performing tracking; step S9)."], [0033 “On the other hand, on the robot control device 20 side, after the robot has reached the end point P2, in step S14, the position data of the numerous sensing points saved in step S11 is read out sequentially, and teaching data is created with P1 and P2 as teaching points at both ends.”]-[0034 “In other words, if the number of points on the welding line for which position data is saved is n, namely Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, ... Qn-1, Qn, the teaching data created by automatic position teaching will include position data for a total of n+2 teaching points, namely P1, Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, ... Qn-1, Qn, P2 along the welding line path.”] and [0037 "...after the tracking movement between P1 and P2 is completed, converting the saved sensor data into robot data to create position data of the teaching point."]; the operation program is inherently generated because the robot is moved to the teaching points after they are sensed.).
Terawaki is silent regarding a display unit capable of displaying the program; and
a processor to cause a wizard to be displayed on the display unit.
Hirayama teaches a program generation device configured to generate a program for controlling a robot having a sensor capable of detecting an operation line of a workpiece (see all Figs., especially Fig. 3, sensor 4 and Figs. 5-9, all; [0004]-[0005]), the program generation device comprising:
a display unit capable of displaying the program (see Fig. 1, offline teaching device 5 and/or monitor MN3; Figs. 6-14, all; [0064 "The monitor MN3 displays a teaching auxiliary screen transmitted from the offline teaching device 5. In addition, the monitor MN3 displays an image in which the operation trajectory of the sensor 4 or the operation trajectory of the welding torch 400 is superimposed on the image of the virtual production facility transmitted from the offline teaching device 5."], [0135] and [0144]); and
a processor to cause a wizard to be displayed on the display unit (see Fig. 1, offline teaching device 5 and/or monitor MN3; Figs. 6-14, all, especially the "start points" and "end points" in Figs. 7-9; [0064] and [0134]-[0160], especially [0134 "For example, the offline teaching device 5 creates a scanning section connecting a start point (an endpoint) and an end point (an endpoint) of a welding section based on the position information of one welding line."] and [0149]-[0151]), the wizard being configured to receive an input of a search start position and a search end position of the operation line by the sensor, and an input of information relating to a search program including a detection condition of the sensor (see [0134]-[0160], especially [0134 "In addition, the offline teaching device 5 sets an angle of the sensor 4 that scans the created scanning section to the same angle as the welding torch 400 based on the welding operation teaching program, sets a weld bead formed corresponding to each welding line to a scannable angle based on a position of the production facility, a position and shape of the workpiece Wk, and the like, and sets information on a position, a distance, and an angle (a posture) of the sensor 4 for executing various operations (for example, approach, retraction, avoidance, and scan) at the time of scanning a weld bead based on information set in advance (for example, a minimum idle running distance)."], [0138]-[0139] and [0142 "...receives an operator operation related to the scanning operation (for example, an editing operation of the effective scanning region, and copying, deletion, partial deletion, movement, rotation, division, combination, and the like of the effective scanning region) (St7)."]); and
configured to generate a search program for determining a teaching point corresponding to a position of the operation line by causing the sensor to search the operation line, based on contents received by the wizard (see Fig. 5, all, especially step St6; [0114]-[0117], [0134 "When two or more scanning sections are created, the offline teaching device 5 sets the operation trajectory of the welding torch 400 or a welding order of the welding lines to be the same as a scanning order and a scanning direction (an operation trajectory of the sensor 4) in which each of the scanning sections is scanned."] and [0141 "...creates a scanning operation teaching program for causing the sensor 4 to scan the effective scanning region and the scanning region indicated by the teaching auxiliary screen currently displayed on the monitor MN3 (St6). The offline teaching device 5 transmits the created scanning operation teaching program and the workpiece ID in association with each other to the robot control device 2 (St6)."]).
Terawaki teaches generate an operation program, as discussed above. For the sake of compact prosecution and for the possible argument of "Terawaki is silent regarding generate an operation program", Nagatsuka explicitly teaches the claim feature.
That is, Nagatsuka teaches a program generation device configured to generate a program for controlling a robot having a sensor capable of detecting an operation line of a workpiece (see all Figs.; [0016]), the program generation device comprising:
a display unit capable of displaying the program (see Fig. 10, display 12; [0012] and [0035 "PC 10 has a display 12 capable indicating three-dimensional models of a robot 14, a tool 16 attached to robot 14 for processing, a workpiece 18 to be processed, a pedestal or a jig 20 for loading workpiece 18 thereon, and a vision sensor 22 having a virtual camera for imaging workpiece 18 in PC 10."]); and
a processor to cause a wizard to be displayed on the display unit (see [0012] and [0035 "PC 10 has a display 12 capable indicating three-dimensional models of a robot 14, a tool 16 attached to robot 14 for processing, a workpiece 18 to be processed, a pedestal or a jig 20 for loading workpiece 18 thereon, and a vision sensor 22 having a virtual camera for imaging workpiece 18 in PC 10."]); and
configured to generate a search program for determining a teaching point corresponding to a position of the operation line by causing the sensor to search the operation line, based on contents received by the wizard (see Figs. 3-5, all; [0038 "In the next step S4, in the layout as described above, a graphic image of workpiece 18 viewed from virtual camera 22 is indicated on the display … At this point, since a teaching point included in the processing line is corrected in each divided segment as described below, it is preferable that there is a one-on-one relationship between each detection area and each segment."]-[0040]),
wherein the processor is configured to generate an operation program including the teaching point corresponding to the position of the operation line, based on a result of execution of the search program (see Fig. 5, all; [0040 "In the next step S7, in order to generate a program by which a robot can actually process a workpiece, a processing program, including data of teaching points for processing the segments of processing line 28 of workpiece 18 as shown in FIG. 5, is generated. In an example of FIG. 5, one teaching point is set to each straight line segment 28 and three teaching points are set to each corner segment. Then, a processing program, including a command line assigning the position of each teaching point and a processing speed at each teaching point, etc., is generated. The teaching points may be automatically set corresponding to the shape of each segment, otherwise, may be timely input by an operation such as a mouse click motion by an operator."]).
Terawaki is additionally silent regarding wherein the wizard is configured to receive information relating to the operation program including at least one of an interval between the teaching point, a torch angle and a welding speed.
Oe teaches a program generation device configured to generate a program for controlling a robot having a sensor capable of detecting an operation line of a workpiece (see all Figs.; [0006] and [0024]), the program generation device comprising:
a display unit capable of displaying the program (see Figs. 4-9, all; [0028] and [0031 "An arbitrary shape preparation tool, which is software (application program) previously installed on the PC 6, is run, whereby an arbitrary shape preparation tool screen 62 is displayed on a display portion 61 (see FIG. 1) of the PC 6, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 7."]-[0034]); and
a processor to cause a wizard to be displayed on the display unit, the wizard being configured to receive an input of a start position and an end position of the operation line by the sensor (see Figs. 4-7, "starting point" and "ending point"; [0032 "When a straight line is drawn, for example, the straight line is drawn by specifying a starting point and an end point in a preparation area 62 b with a pointer 62 c after selecting a straight line from the line type item 62 a, as shown in FIG. 4. The starting point and the end point are displayed in different colors to be capable of identification. When the prepared straight line is selected with the pointer 62 c, the coordinates of the starting point and the end point are displayed on the arbitrary shape preparation tool screen 62. Thus, the user can numerically confirm the positions of the starting point and the end point. The user can also specify the starting point and the end point by directly inputting coordinates numerically."]-[0034]); and
wherein the processor is configured to generate an operation program including the teaching point corresponding to the position of the operation line (see [0024 "The robot system 100 includes a robot 1, a robot control apparatus 2 controlling the robot 1, and a pendant (programming pendant) 3 to teach operations of the robot 1, as shown in FIG. 1."], [0028 "The pendant 3 is provided to prepare the operation programs of the robot 1 and the welding information regarding laser welding (information regarding a welding speed and a welding locus). The pendant 3 has a display portion 31 and an operation portion 32 including a plurality of operation buttons, as shown in FIG. 1. A user can input prescribed information by operating the operation portion 32, viewing display on the display portion 31. The user can teach the operations of the robot 1 to the robot control apparatus 2 by operating the pendant 3."] and [0031]), and
wherein the wizard is configured to receive information relating to the operation program including at least one of an interval between the teaching point, a torch angle and a welding speed (see Figs. 5-8, all, especially "welding speed" and "interpolation"; [0027]-[0028], [0033 "When a circular arc is selected, values of the coordinates of the specified center point, a start angle of a locus, a rotation angle from a starting point, and a radius are displayed on the arbitrary shape preparation tool screen 62. The user can arbitrarily set a starting point and an end point of the circular arc by inputting a start angle and a rotation angle."] and [0039 "The “interpolation type” denotes one of control parameters for specifying how an operation locus of the end portion of the robot 1 should be when the end portion of the robot 1 is moved between a plurality of positions taught to the robot 1 (taught points). “Straight line” (not shown) and “circular arc” (not shown) in addition to “arbitrary shape” can be specified as the interpolation type. “Straight line” is often specified as the interpolation type when a complicated welding locus as in this embodiment is not employed."]-[0040 "A value of laser output and a welding speed are set on the laser welding condition file screen 311."]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the program generation device of Terawaki to further include a display unit capable of displaying the program and a processor to cause a wizard to be displayed on the display unit, as taught by Hirayama, in order to provide information on the sensing trajectory of the operation line to a user.
It additionally would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the program generation device of Terawaki to be configured to generate an operation program including the teaching point corresponding to the position of the operation line, as taught by Nagatsuka, in order to generate commands including positions and processing speeds at each teaching robot to provide to the robot to process the workpiece.
It additionally would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the program generation device of Terawaki to include a wizard configured to receive information relating to the operation program including at least one of an interval between the teaching point, a torch angle and a welding speed, as taught by Oe, to give a user flexibility to easily program the robot according to their preferences.
Conclusion
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/TANNER L CULLEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3656
/KHOI H TRAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3656
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