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 .
Status of the Application
2. Claim 1-20 have been examined in this application. This communication is the first action on the merits.
Drawings
3. The drawings filed on 1/14/25 are acceptable for examination proceedings.
Claim Interpretation
4. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: a photographing part configured to photograph the welding jig; the position adjusting part configured to adjust the position of the photographing part; and a monitoring part configured to receive photographic information in claim 1;
a control part configured to in claim 2-3;
photographing part configured to; the position adjusting part configured to in claim 4;
the monitoring part is configured to in claim 5, 10, and 20;
the jig elevating part configured to adjust in claim 6-7;
a welding part configured to irradiate in claim 8;
the welding mask configured to; a photographing part configured to photograph; the focus adjusting part configured to adjust; a mask elevating part configured to lowering the welding; and a monitoring part configured to monitor in claim 11;
the mask elevating part is configured to raise in claim 13;
the photographing part is configured to photograph in claim 15;
the focus adjusting part is configured to in claim 16-19.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
5. 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.
Claim 1-20 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.
Claim limitation includes different “part configured to” in claim 1-8, 10-11, 13, and 15-19 invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. However, the written description fails to disclose the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the entire claimed function and to clearly link the structure, material, or acts to the function. The claimed different part of claim 1-8, 10-11, 13, and 15-19 is part of a welding system as shown in Fig. 6, however the specification does not provide sufficient details such that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand which structure or structures perform(s) the claimed function.
Therefore, the claim is indefinite and is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.
Applicant may:
(a) Amend the claim so that the claim limitation will no longer be interpreted as a limitation under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph;
(b) Amend the written description of the specification such that it expressly recites what structure, material, or acts perform the entire claimed function, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)); or
(c) Amend the written description of the specification such that it clearly links the structure, material, or acts disclosed therein to the function recited in the claim, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)).
If applicant is of the opinion that the written description of the specification already implicitly or inherently discloses the corresponding structure, material, or acts and clearly links them to the function so that one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize what structure, material, or acts perform the claimed function, applicant should clarify the record by either:
(a) Amending the written description of the specification such that it expressly recites the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function and clearly links or associates the structure, material, or acts to the claimed function, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)); or
(b) Stating on the record what the corresponding structure, material, or acts, which are implicitly or inherently set forth in the written description of the specification, perform the claimed function. For more information, see 37 CFR 1.75(d) and MPEP §§ 608.01(o) and 2181.
6. Claim 2-10, and 12-20 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C 112(b) due to their direct/indirect dependency over the claim 1, and 11 respectively.
Allowable Subject Matter
The claim 11 and its dependent claim 12-20 are allowable once the outstanding 35 U.S.C 112(b) rejection is overcome as discussed above.
Claim 2 and its dependent claim 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 and when 35 U.S.C 112(b) rejection is overcome.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
7. 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.
8. Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong (KR-101487169-B1) in view of Song (KR-100495329-B1).
9. Regarding claim 1, Jeong teaches A foreign substance monitoring system for a welding jig comprising: a welding jig configured to press against a welding object (e.g., The jig monitoring unit (25) is intended to detect at least one piece of information, such as whether thewelding jig (2) is operating normally, the condition of the worker part, the condition of the welding tip,whether parts are missing, whether there is interference between operations, and the worker motion,based on a captured image of the welding jig (2)) (Para. [0037]);
a photographing part configured to photograph the welding jig (e.g., a welding point monitoring camera unit (5) for photographing the welding point portion of the welding robot (1), and a welding jig monitoring camera unit (5) for photographing the welding jig (2).) 9Para. [0028]);
and a monitoring part configured to receive photographic information from the photographing part to monitor a state of the welding jig (e.g., and a management terminal (7)installed at a remote location from the work site to monitor the work quality of the robot by analyzing images captured by the cameras (3, 4, 5, 6)) (Para. [0025], Fig. 1).
Jeong does not specifically teach a position adjusting part coupled to the photographing part, the position adjusting part configured to adjust the position of the photographing part based on position information of the welding jig so that a photographing focus of the photographing part is set on the welding jig.
Song teaches a position adjusting part coupled to the photographing part, the position adjusting part configured to adjust the position of the photographing part based on position information of the [welding jig] so that a photographing focus of the photographing part is set [on the welding jig] (e.g., First, when laser processing, by configuring the system to sequentially photograph the widths of the upper and lower surfaces of the slit processed by the laser light while appropriately adjusting the vertical movement range of the camera using a camera lifting unit, the work previously performed by two cameras provided on the upper and lower parts of the board for slit photography can be replaced with a single camera, thereby allowing the device configuration of the laser processing machine to be design more compactly. Second, during the slit processing process, the vertical displacement of the nozzle cap due to the surface curvature of the board is detected in real time through a potentiometer, and by appropriately adjusting the focal length of the laser light and the camera accordingly, the processing operation can proceed while correcting even measurement and processing errors caused by minute curvature of the board surface in real time) (Pag. 11, Ln. 18-28).
Because Song is also directed to a laser processing machine, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having teachings of Jeong and Song before him/her, to modify the teachings of Jeong to include the teaching of Song in order to the processing operation can proceed while correcting even measurement and processing errors caused by minute curvature of the board surface in real time (Song: Page. 11, Ln. 26-28).
10. Claim 6-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong in view of Song, and further in view of Ko (Pub: 2022/0184738A1).
11. Regarding claim 6, the combination of Jeong and Song teaches the foreign substance monitoring system for a welding jig according to claim 1 but does not specifically teach further comprising a jig elevating part coupled to the welding jig, the jig elevating part configured to adjust a position of the welding jig with respect to a welding surface of the welding object.
Ko teaches further comprising a jig elevating part coupled to the welding jig, the jig elevating part configured to adjust a position of the welding jig with respect to a welding surface of the welding object (e.g., Also, the upper tight-contact jig may include an upper connection portion configured to move upwards and downwards or leftwards and rightwards in order to support one surface of the weld portion in tight contact therewith, and the lower tight-contact jig may include a lower connection portion configured to move upwards and downwards or leftwards and rightwards in order to support the other surface of the weld portion in tight contact therewith.) (Para. [0030]).
Because Ko is also directed to a laser welding and a welding method, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having teachings of Jeong, Song, and Ko before him/her, to modify the teachings of Jeong, and Song to include the teaching of Ko in order to provide a tight-contact jig for secondary battery tab laser welding including an upper tight-contact jig including a ring-shaped spray portion capable of performing surface spraying in order to inhibit deterioration in weld quality (Para. [0019]).
12. Regarding claim 7, the combination of Jeong, Song and Ko teaches the foreign substance monitoring system for a welding jig according to claim 6, wherein Ko further teaches the jig elevating part is configured to lower the welding jig from a welding standby position to a welding surface position such that the welding object is pressed upon by the welding jig during welding of the welding object, and lift the welding jig from the welding surface position to the welding standby position after welding of the welding object is completed, wherein the welding surface position is adjacent to the welding surface of the welding object, and the welding standby position is spaced apart from the welding surface of the welding object (e.g., the welding method including a first step of vertically overlapping welding targets of a weld portion, which is any one of a plurality of electrode tabs, an electrode tab and an electrode lead, and an electrode lead, a second step of positioning an upper tight-contact jig and a lower tight-contact jig so as to be brought into tight contact with the weld portion, a third step of pressing the upper tight-contact jig toward the upper surface of the weld portion, the upper tight-contact jig including a ring-shaped spray portion 111 configured to spray an inert gas so as to be brought into tight contact with the upper surface of the weld portion, a fourth step of pressing the lower tight-contact jig toward the lower surface of the weld portion so as to be brought into tight contact with the lower surface of the weld portion, and a fifth step of irradiating the welding targets of the weld portion with a laser beam) (Para. [0103]).
13. Regarding claim 8, the combination of Jeong and Song teaches the foreign substance monitoring system for a welding jig according to claim 1 but does not specifically teach further comprising a welding part configured to irradiate the welding object with a welding beam along a welding line thereof.
Ko teaches further comprising a welding part configured to irradiate the welding object with a welding beam along a welding line thereof (e.g., and a fifth step of irradiating the welding targets of the weld portion with a laser beam.) (Para. [0033]).
14. Regarding claim 9, the combination of Jeong, Song, and Ko teaches the foreign substance monitoring system for a welding jig according to claim 8, wherein Ko further teaches the welding jig includes a jig opening through which the welding beam passes, and wherein the welding jig is seated on a welding surface of the welding object so that the jig opening is positioned in a welding region containing the welding line (e.g., Also, in order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a welding method for manufacturing an electrode terminal, the welding method including a first step of vertically overlapping welding targets of a weld portion, the weld portion being any one of a plurality of electrode tabs, an electrode tab and an electrode lead, and an electrode lead, a second step of positioning an upper tight-contact jig and a lower tight-contact jig so as to be brought into tight contact with the weld portion, a third step of pressing the upper tight-contact jig toward the upper surface of the weld portion, the upper tight-contact jig including a ring-shaped spray portion (111) configured to spray an inert gas so as to be brought into tight contact with the upper surface of the weld portion, a fourth step of pressing the lower tight-contact jig toward the lower surface of the weld portion so as to be brought into tight contact with the lower surface of the weld portion, and a fifth step of irradiating the welding targets of the weld portion with a laser beam.) (Para. [0033]).
15. Regarding claim 10, the combination of Jeong, Song, and Ko teaches the foreign substance monitoring system for a welding jig according to claim 9, wherein Jeong further teaches the monitoring part is configured to receive photographic information of the jig opening to monitor foreign substances on the jig opening (e.g., The jig monitoring unit (25) is intended to detect at least one piece of information, such as whether thewelding jig (2) is operating normally, the condition of the worker part, the condition of the welding tip,whether parts are missing, whether there is interference between operations, and the worker motion,based on a captured image of the welding jig (2)) (Para. [0037]).
Pertinent Art Cited
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The closest prior art Huh (Pub: 2024/0307230) disclose a welding information providing apparatus (para. [0002])
AL-Badani (Pub: 2024/0181565) disclose a laser welding process, a controller, a computer program, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, a signal and a laser welding system as claimed in the appended claims (Para. [0004]).
Massey JR. (Pub: 2022/0143730) disclose welding systems and, more particularly, to systems and methods to control welding processes using a measured weld pool attribute (Para. [0003]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIGNESHKUMAR C PATEL whose telephone number is (571)270-0698. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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/JIGNESHKUMAR C PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116
