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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Timm (US 20170311945 A1) in view Mo (US 20170311945 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Timm discloses a vehicle component mounting system (¶0223, “tool mounting portion”), comprising:
a floating component configured to move a vehicle component below a vehicle body (¶0224, “ Axial movement of the floating plate 1248 helps decouple the rotatable bodies 1250 from the tool mounting portion ”);
a positioning pin connected to the floating component (¶0224, “ the rotatable bodies 1250 move axially toward tool side…laterally engage detents on the floating plates so as to limit angular rotation of the rotatable bodies 1250 about their axes. This limited rotation can be used to help drivingly engage the rotatable bodies 1250 with drive pins”);
Mo teaches a vision camera configured to photograph a positioning hole of the vehicle body; and a controller configured to control a movement of the floating component based on a position of the positioning hole of the vehicle body photographed by the vision camera (¶0114, “photographing unit 3000 configured to capture each position of a fastening part of the vehicle body 100 to which the clip of the headliner 200 is fastened and the assist handle 220 of the headliner 200, which is gripped by the gripper 2200, and the control unit (not shown) may calculate a correction value on the basis of captured information and move the mounting robot 1000 on the basis of the correction value.”).
Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the vehicle assembly disclosed in Timm with the vision unit taught in Mo with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted reducing manpower necessary for processes and improving productivity.
Regarding claim 2, Timm discloses further comprising a lifting device configured to move the floating component upwards and downwards (¶0344,¶0367).
Claims 3-6, 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Timm (US 20170311945 A1) in view Mo (US 20170311945 A1) and further in view of Lueneburger (US 20040016093 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Tim does not explicitly disclose but, Lueneburger teaches wherein the floating component comprises: a base fixed to the lifting device; a moving plate disposed to be movable above the base; and a plurality of servo actuators configured to move the moving plate (¶0164).
Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the vehicle assembly disclosed in Timm with the plates taught in Lueneburger with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted reducing or eliminating slippage of the strands when they are pulled from the package
Regarding claim 4, Lueneburger teaches further comprising a skid plate configured to convey the vehicle component above the moving plate (¶0393).
Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the vehicle assembly disclosed in Timm with the plates taught in Lueneburger with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted reducing or eliminating slippage of the strands when they are pulled from the package
Regarding claim 5, Lueneburger teaches wherein the plurality of servo actuators comprises: a first servo actuator configured to move the moving plate in a first direction; a second servo actuator configured to move the moving plate in a second direction; and a third servo actuator configured to rotate the moving plate in a rotation direction (¶0435).
Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the vehicle assembly disclosed in Timm with the plates taught in Lueneburger with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted reducing or eliminating slippage of the strands when they are pulled from the package
Regarding claim 6, Lueneburger teaches wherein the floating component further comprises: a first intermediate plate configured to move in the first direction by the first servo actuator above the base; and a second intermediate plate configured to move in the second direction by the second servo actuator above the first intermediate plate (¶0180).
Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the vehicle assembly disclosed in Timm with the plates taught in Lueneburger with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted reducing or eliminating slippage of the strands when they are pulled from the package.
Regarding claim 10, Lueneburger teaches wherein the first servo actuator comprises: a first housing mounted on a top surface of the base; and a first rod moving forward and backward with respect to the first housing, and wherein the first rod is connected to the first intermediate plate (¶0435) .
Regarding claim 11, Lueneburger teaches wherein the second servo actuator comprises: a second housing mounted on a top surface of the first intermediate plate; and a second rod moving forward and backward with respect to the second housing, and wherein the second rod is connected to the second intermediate plate (¶0435).
Regarding claim 12, Lueneburger teaches wherein the third servo actuator comprises: a third housing mounted on a top surface of the second intermediate plate; and a third rod connected to the moving plate, the third rod is configured to move forward and backward with respect to the third housing (¶0431).
Regarding claim 13, Lueneburger teaches the vehicle component mounting system according to claim 1, further comprising a fastening tool disposed around the floating component, wherein the fastening tool is configured to fasten the vehicle component to the vehicle body (¶0180).
Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Timm (US 20170311945 A1) in view Mo (US 20170311945 A1), Lueneburger (US 20040016093 A1) and further in view of Arimoto (US 20230027803 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Tim does not explicitly disclose but, Arimoto teaches wherein the floating component further comprises: a first guide rail; and a first guide block configured to guide a movement of the first intermediate plate, and wherein the first guide rail is disposed on a top surface of the base and extends in the first direction, and the first guide block is fixed to a bottom surface of the first intermediate plate (¶0027).
Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the vehicle assembly disclosed in Timm with the guide rails taught in Arimoto with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted preventing any water leak through junctions.
Regarding claim 8, Arimoto teaches wherein the floating component further comprises: a second guide rail; and a second guide block configured to guide a movement of the second intermediate plate, and wherein the second guide rail is disposed on a top surface of the first intermediate plate and extends in the second direction, and the second guide block is fixed to a bottom surface of the second intermediate plate (¶0027).
Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the vehicle assembly disclosed in Timm with the guide rails taught in Arimoto with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted preventing any water leak through junctions.
Regarding claim 9, Arimoto teaches wherein the floating component further comprises: a third guide rail; and a third guide block configured to guide a rotation of the moving plate, and wherein the third guide rail is disposed on a top surface of the second intermediate plate and extends curvedly to have a constant radius of curvature from a central point of the moving plate, and the third guide block is fixed to a bottom surface of the moving plate (¶0027).
Accordingly, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the vehicle assembly disclosed in Timm with the guide rails taught in Arimoto with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have targeted preventing any water leak through junctions.
Regarding claims 14-20, claims 14-20 are rejected using the same art and rational used to reject claims 1-13.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Cho (US 20220402338 A1) discloses Provided is an automotive glass setting apparatus, including a setting base supporting a glass having a plurality of edges, a plurality of alignment units allowing the glass to be aligned with the setting base; a scanning unit scanning the edges of the glass, a plurality of moving mechanisms moving the plurality of alignment units, and a controller controlling the moving mechanisms based on data scanned by the scanning unit to align a center of the glass with a center of the setting base (abstract).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REDHWAN K MAWARI whose telephone number is (571)270-1535. The examiner can normally be reached mon-Fri 8-5.
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/REDHWAN K MAWARI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3664
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