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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 108535270.
Claim 1
CN 108535270 discloses a measurement machine (See Fig. 1) comprising: a holding section (Fig. 4, Ref. 26; bearing plate) where a measurement target (Page 2, Para. 3, display screen “substrate” held on bearing plate which is used to feed the substrate to different stations) is held; a measurement unit (Fig. 2, Ref. 40; code reading mechanism) provided at a position facing the holding section (Fig. 1, Ref. 26; bearing plate and substrate are facing the code reading mechanism Ref. 40 when feed to the code reading mechanism) and comprising a sensor (Fig. 2, Ref. 42; code reader), the sensor (Fig. 2, Ref. 42) being configured to perform a measurement process (reading code) on the measurement target (substrate); a frame (Fig. 1, Ref. 10; frame); and a plurality of arms (See Fig. 2 below, multiple vertical arms) that couples the frame (Fig. 1, Ref. 10) with the measurement unit (Fig. 1, Ref. 40).
[AltContent: textbox (Arms, z-axis)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow]
PNG
media_image1.png
574
612
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
500
564
media_image2.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image3.png
508
578
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Claim 2
CN 108535270 discloses that a direction extending from the measurement unit (Fig. 1, Ref. 40) toward the measurement target (substrate on Ref. 26) is defined as a Z direction (See Fig. 2), a direction orthogonal to the Z direction (z-axis) is defined as an X direction (See x-axis in Fig. 2), and a direction extending from the frame (Fig. 1, Ref. 10) toward the measurement unit (Fig. 2, Ref. 40) and being orthogonal to the X direction (x-axis) and the Z direction (z-axis) is defined as a Y direction (See Fig. 2, Ref. Y-axis), the plurality of arms comprise a plurality of Z-axis support arms (See Fig. 2 above “arms, z-axis) arranged along the Z direction and a plurality of X-axis support arms (Fig. 2, Ref. 44, guiding rods) arranged along the X direction (x-axis).
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.
Claim(s) 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 108535270 in view of Bonora (2019/0240831).
Claim 6
CN 108535270 substantially teaches the claimed invention except that it does not show the plurality of arms are each configured so that a length of the arm in a longitudinal direction is extendable and contractable. Bonora (2019/0240831) shows that it is known to provide a plurality of arms (Fig. 2A, Ref. S1, S2) are each configured so that a length of the arm in a longitudinal direction is extendable and contractable (Fig. 2A, Ref. R)(Para. 0003) for a holding device. It would have been obvious to combine the device of CN 108535270 with the arm device of Bonora (2019/0240831) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the purpose of providing an arms device that can handle load bearing, therefore providing a smoother movement of the arms under different load requirements.
PNG
media_image4.png
714
520
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Claim 7
CN 108535270 substantially teaches the claimed invention except that it does not show an the plurality of arms each comprise an arm with an elongated shape, and an arm fixing mechanism provided at least one of an end of the arm close to the frame or another end of the arm close to the measurement unit in a longitudinal direction of the arm, and the arm fixing mechanism comprises, a fixed piece fixed to the frame or the measurement unit, an arm support part that pivotally supports the arm, and an adjustment section which couples the fixed piece with the arm support part and by which a position of the arm support part is moved toward and away from the fixed piece along the longitudinal direction of the arm. Bonora (2019/0240831) shows that it is known to provide the plurality of arms (Fig. 2A, Ref. S1, S2) each comprise an arm with an elongated shape (Fig. 2A, Ref. L1), and an arm fixing mechanism (Fig. 2A, Ref. 251B; rotatable shoulder joint) provided at least one of an end of the arm close to the frame (Fig. 2A, Ref. 210, tower) or another end of the arm close to the measurement unit in a longitudinal direction of the arm, and the arm fixing mechanism comprises, a fixed piece fixed (Fig. 2A, Ref. 251B) to the frame (Fig. 2A, Ref. 210) or the measurement unit, an arm support part (Fig. 2A, Ref. 252B) that pivotally supports the arm (Fig. 2A, Ref. 221A, 221B), and an adjustment section (Fig. 2A, Ref. 215, gear box) which couples the fixed piece (Fig. 2A, Ref. 251B) with the arm support part (Fig. 2A, Ref. 252B) and by which a position of the arm support part (Fig. 2, Ref. 252B) is moved toward and away from the fixed piece (Fig. 2, Ref. 251B) along the longitudinal direction of the arm (Fig. 2A, Ref. S1, S2) for a holding device. It would have been obvious to combine the device of CN 108535270 with the arms of Bonora (2019/0240831) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the purpose of providing an arms device that can be precisely positioned at different positions over an area, therefore providing more accurate control for positioning the arms when holding an object for improved measuring results.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 3, the prior art fails to disclose or make obvious the measurement unit comprises a first measurement unit and a second measurement unit, the first measurement unit being disposed at a position facing a first surface of the measurement target held by the holding section, the second measurement unit being disposed at a position facing a second surface of the measurement target held by the holding section, the second surface being opposite to the first surface, and each of the first measurement unit and the second measurement unit is coupled with the frame by the plurality of arms, and in combination with the other recited limitations of claim 1, 2. Claims 4-5 would be allowed by the virtue of dependency on the allowable subject matter of claims 1-3.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL PATRICK STAFIRA whose telephone number is (571)272-2430. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:30am-3pm.
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, Tarifur Chowdhury can be reached at 571-272-2287. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MICHAEL P STAFIRA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2877 March 11, 2026