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 .
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.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the first conveyor section" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the second conveyor section" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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, 3, and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Komatsu Kazuhiro JP 2006327758 A.
Claim 1, Komatsu Kazuhiro teaches an orientation adjustment apparatus Fig. 1 that adjusts an orientation of a conveyance target W Abstract, the orientation adjustment apparatus Fig. 1 comprising: an orientation adjustment conveyor 1 configured to adjust the orientation of the conveyance target W while conveying the conveyance target W along a conveyance direction A1; a characteristic determination device 4 configured to determine at least one characteristic of the conveyance target W on an upstream side B with respect to the orientation adjustment conveyor 1 P0026; an upstream orientation detection device 4 configured to detect the orientation of the conveyance target W at an upstream end portion B of the orientation adjustment conveyor 1 P0027; and a control device 5 configured to control the orientation adjustment conveyor 1 P0026, and wherein: the orientation adjustment conveyor 1 comprises a first conveyor part 1 and a second conveyor part 1’ Fig. 1 that are disposed in parallel to be adjacent to each other in a conveyance width direction and is configured to cause the first conveyor part 1 and the second conveyor part 1’ to have respective conveyance speeds different from each other via A2, the conveyance width direction being a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, the control device 5 is configured to perform orientation adjustment control via A2 for controlling a speed difference between the respective conveyance speeds of the first conveyor part 1 and the second conveyor part 1’ to change the orientation of the conveyance target W that is conveyed in a state of being placed on both of the first conveyor part 1 and the second conveyor part 1’, the conveyance target W has an intended orientation as an orientation intended at a downstream end portion of the orientation adjustment conveyor Fig. 1 and an upstream actual orientation via 4 as an actual orientation that the upstream orientation detection device 4 has detected, changing the speed difference via A2, 5, 6, 6’ in accordance with a degree of a pre-adjustment orientation difference as a difference between the upstream actual orientation via 4 at B and the intended orientation and increasing the speed difference with an increase in a characteristic value indicative of a degree of difficulty of an orientation change which difficulty corresponds to the at least one characteristic of the conveyance target W determined by the characteristic determination device via 5 P0026; 0034.
Claim 3, Komatsu Kazuhiro teaches a during-conveyance orientation detection device 4 configured to detect the orientation of the conveyance target W over an entire region of the orientation adjustment conveyor 1,1’, wherein the speed difference via A2 has an initial speed difference based on the pre-adjustment orientation difference and the characteristic value, wherein the conveyance target W has a during-conveyance actual orientation as an actual orientation that the during-conveyance orientation detection device 4 has detected, and wherein the control device 5 is configured to determine the initial speed difference and then, while the orientation adjustment conveyor 1,1’ is conveying the conveyance target W, change the speed difference in accordance with a degree of a during-conveyance orientation difference as a difference between the during-conveyance actual orientation and the intended orientation and change the speed difference as needed to increase the speed difference with an increase in the characteristic value P0027-0032.
Claim 5, Komatsu Kazuhiro teaches the characteristic value increases continuously or stepwise with a larger weight of the conveyance target W P0029.
Claim 6, Komatsu Kazuhiro teaches the characteristic value increases continuously or stepwise with a smaller area via 4 of the conveyance target W in a plan view P0027-0032.
Claim 7, Komatsu Kazuhiro teaches the first conveyor section 1 is disposed on a first conveyance width direction side relative to the second conveyor section 1’ in the conveyance width direction Fig. 1, the first conveyance width direction side being opposite to a second conveyance width direction side, the first conveyor part 1 is a roller conveyor comprising a plurality of first rollers arranged in the conveyance direction, each of the first rollers has a rotation axis inclined downstream in the conveyance direction on the first conveyance width direction side, and the second conveyor part 1’ is a roller conveyor comprising a plurality of second rollers arranged in the conveyance direction and each of the second rollers has a rotation axis inclined downstream in the conveyance direction on the second conveyance width direction side Fig. 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 4 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAVEL SINGH whose telephone number is (571)272-2362. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8am-6pm.
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, Gene Crawford can be reached at (571) 272-6911. 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.
/KAVEL SINGH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3651
KS
Prosecution Insights