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 .
Detailed Action
This is the first action on the merits (FAOM) in which claims 1-20 are pending. Claims 1 and 14 are independent and claims 2-13 and 15-20 are dependent.
Independent claim 1 is directed to a device for inspecting display apparatus. Independent claim 14 is directed to a method of operation the device.
Targeted and through prior art searches are performed by this Examiner on behalf of the Office. At least one independent claim should be rejected based on the results of Examiner’s searches and for these reasons, the instant application cannot be allowed at this stage, see rejection of claim(s) under 35 USC §102 or §103, elsewhere in this non-final Office action.
Drawing Objection(s)
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the steps of
“mounting a display substrate on a stage” and
“transferring the stage on an electromagnetic transfer unit”
of claim 14 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objection(s)
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: “an electromagnetic transfer unit”1, on line 2 of the claim is not clear. The claim does not elaborate what constitutes the claimed electromagnetic transfer unit and based on the supporting drawing from the Applicant(s), and for applying prior art reference, this Examiner, on behalf of the Office, suspects this feature is nothing more than a pair of parallel rails.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: “transferring the stage on an electromagnetic transfer unit” is not quite clear as to if the stage contains the display panels when it is being transferred to the electromagnetic transfer unit. For the purpose of comprehension and applying prior art, it will be assumed that the stage may or may not contain the display panels at the time of transferring the stage onto the electromagnetic transfer unit.
Appropriate correction is required.
Rejection under 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.
Claims 1-6, 13-15 and 10-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takekoshi (US-5,691,764).
Claim No
Claim feature
Prior art
Takekoshi (US-5,691,764)
1
A device for inspecting a display apparatus, the device comprising:
Takekoshi discloses a device for inspecting a display apparatus, see the title in Takekoshi.
an electromagnetic transfer unit comprising a first electromagnetic transfer unit extending in a first direction and a second electromagnetic transfer unit spaced apart from and extending parallel to the first electromagnetic transfer unit;
See items pair of rails 25, in Fig. 1 in Takekoshi which can be equated to the claimed electromagnetic transfer unit.
Also see claim objection section elsewhere in this Office action regarding clarity issues surrounding the electromagnetic transfer unit.
a stage that is arranged on the electromagnetic transfer unit to support a display substrate; and
Stage (23a or 23b) in Fig. 1, 3.
The stage (23a 23b) is positioned on rails 25.
Rails 25 extend in the X-direction.
a robotic transfer unit arranged between the first electromagnetic transfer unit and the second electromagnetic transfer unit and extending in the first direction.
Robotic transfer unit (ball screw 28a or 28b) extends in the X-direction.
2
The device of claim 1, further comprising a vision unit arranged in an inspection area that includes a segment of a path of the electromagnetic transfer unit for inspection of the display substrate.
Takekoshi meets claim 2 as it discloses a vision unit (camera 57) in the inspection area (examination area 21).
3
The device of claim 2, wherein the robotic transfer unit is located in the inspection area on an opposite side of the stage from the vision unit.
Takekoshi meets claim 3 as it discloses the positioning of vision unit relative to the robotic transfer unit (28a, 28b).
4
The device of claim 1, wherein the robotic transfer unit is configured to transfer the stage at uniform velocity.
Takekoshi meets claim 4 as the motor drive unit 29a, 29b, of the ball screw 28a or 28b drives the motor at a constat speed, except at the starting or the stopping of the rotation of the screw ball 28a, 28b.
5
The device of claim 1, wherein a length of the robotic transfer unit is less than a length of the electromagnetic transfer unit.
Takekoshi meets claim 5 as rails (25) are longer than the ball screw (28a 28b), see Fig. 1 in Takekoshi.
6
The device of claim 1, wherein a path of the robotic transfer unit overlaps a portion of the path of the electromagnetic transfer unit.
Takekoshi meets claim 6, see Fig. 1.
13
The device of claim 1, wherein a plurality of robotic transfer units are provided, and the plurality of robotic transfer units are spaced apart to be parallel with each other and extend in the first direction.
Takekoshi meets claim 13, see Fig. 1 which shows a plurality robotic transfer unit (28a, and 28b).
14
A method of inspecting a display apparatus, the method comprising:
Takekoshi meets the preamble of claim 14 as it inspects a display panel (ST).
mounting a display substrate on a stage;
Takekoshi meets this claim feature as it places the display panel (ST) on a stage (23a or 23b).
transferring the stage on an electromagnetic transfer unit;
Takekoshi meets this claim feature as the stage (23a or 23b) is provided on the transfer unit (25).
In other words, the stage (23a, 23b) is [permanently] located on the transfer unit (25).
transferring the stage by a robotic transfer unit in an inspection area for inspection of the display substrate; and
Takekoshi meets this claim feature as it transfers the stage by a robotic transfer unit (28a or 28b)
inspecting the display substrate by using a vision unit arranged in the inspection area.
Takekoshi meets this claim feature because it discloses that a camera 57 is used to inspect the LCD display unit (ST).
15
The method of claim 14, further comprising transferring the stage along the robotic transfer unit at uniform velocity.
Takekoshi meets claim 15.
Moving speed of the stage (23a, 23b) can be understood to be uniform2 as it is driven by a motor, except at the time duration of stopping and starting.
19
The method of claim 14, wherein the electromagnetic transfer unit comprises a first electromagnetic transfer unit extending in the first direction and a second electromagnetic transfer unit spaced apart from and parallel to the first electromagnetic transfer unit, and the robotic transfer unit is arranged between the first electromagnetic transfer unit and the second electromagnetic transfer unit and extends in the first direction.
Takekoshi meets claim 19.
In Takekoshi the robotic transfer unit (28a, 28b) is placed between the first and second electromagnetic transfer units (25).
20
The method of claim 14, wherein the robotic transfer unit is shorter than the electromagnetic transfer unit.
Takekoshi meets claim 20, see Fig. 1 which shows length of robotic transfer unit (28a 28b) is shorter than that of first and second electromagnetic transfer units (rails 25).
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee Kang Soo (KR-100769034-B1).
Claim No
Claim feature
Prior art
Lee Kang Soo (KR-100769034-B1)
1
A device for inspecting a display apparatus, the device comprising:
Lee Kang Soo discloses a device for inspecting a display apparatus as claimed in the preamble.
an electromagnetic transfer unit comprising a first electromagnetic transfer unit extending in a first direction and a second electromagnetic transfer unit spaced apart from and extending parallel to the first electromagnetic transfer unit;
See pair of rails 29 in Fig. 3 and 4. This pair of rails can be equated to the claimed first and second electromagnetic transfer unit.
a stage that is arranged on the electromagnetic transfer unit to support a display substrate; and
Stage (10, 30, 50) arranged on the rails 29.
a robotic transfer unit arranged between the first electromagnetic transfer unit and the second electromagnetic transfer unit and extending in the first direction.
robotic transfer unit (20), see Fig. 3 and 4.
2
The device of claim 1, further comprising a vision unit arranged in an inspection area that includes a segment of a path of the electromagnetic transfer unit for inspection of the display substrate.
Lee Kang Soo meets claim 2 as it discloses a “vision” system for inspecting a “display panel”.
3
The device of claim 2, wherein the robotic transfer unit is located in the inspection area on an opposite side of the stage from the vision unit.
Lee Kang Soo meets claim 3, see Fig. 3 and 4.
4
The device of claim 1, wherein the robotic transfer unit is configured to transfer the stage at uniform velocity.
Lee Kang Soo meets claim 4.
5
The device of claim 1, wherein a length of the robotic transfer unit is less than a length of the electromagnetic transfer unit.
Lee Kang Soo meets claim 5, see Fig. 3 and 4
6
The device of claim 1, wherein a path of the robotic transfer unit overlaps a portion of the path of the electromagnetic transfer unit.
Lee Kang Soo meets claim 6, items 29 and 20 have overlapping lengths.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-12 and 16-18 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 an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
As to claim 7, the claim would be allowable if written in independent form because the prior art of the record neither discloses nor suggests the device of claim 1, wherein the robotic transfer unit comprises:
a guide portion extending in a first direction;
a moving unit positioned adjacent to the guide portion and moving along the guide portion; and a clamping unit arranged on the moving unit and shaped to the stage.
As to claims 8-11, each of these claims depends from claim 7 and would be allowable if claim 7 is written in independent form.
As to claim 16, the claim would be allowable if written in independent form because the prior art of the record neither discloses nor suggests the method of claim 15, wherein transferring the stage comprises:
rotating a ball screw that is positioned under a guide portion of the robotic transfer unit and extending in a first direction; inserting the ball screw through a threaded hole in a moving unit; and engaging a clamping unit arranged on the moving unit to clamp the stage.
As to claim 17, the claim depends from claim 16, this claim would be allowable if claim 16 is written in independent form.
As to claim 18, the claim would be allowable if written in independent form because the prior art of the record neither discloses nor suggests the method of claim 14, further comprising transferring the stage in an accelerated motion along the electromagnetic transfer unit in a non-inspection area.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to G.M. HYDER whose telephone number is (571)270-3896. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9 AM- 5 PM.
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, Stephanie Bloss can be reached on (571) 272-3555. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
G.M. HYDER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2852
/G.M. A HYDER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
1 Examiner comment: electromagnetic transfer unit can be interpreted to be a naming scheme and not necessarily a transfer unit that transfers objects using electromagnetic force if the claim language does not specifically state so. In Fig. 4, the Applicant(s) have shown that the electromagnetic transfer unit 30 comprises a rail 30R and a [mechanical] sliding unit 30S, this confirms Examiner’s suspicion.
2 Examiner comment: Takekoshi does not detail if the moving speed of the stage 23a, 23b is varied or kept constant. Without any such detail, it is reasonable to assume that the speed of the driving motor in Takekoshi is uniform as typically such motion is created by supplying a constant voltage to the motor.
