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 20 is 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 20 is indefinite because it is unclear what is meant by “determine a target robotic arm based on a historical welding quality”. How do you determine a target robotic arm? The robotic arm is already physically present. Does the Applicant mean to determine a target robotic arm movement? The Examiner requests that the Applicant please clarify this limitation.
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, 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Hatano et al. (2022/0072653A1).
Regarding claim 1, Hatano discloses a refill friction stir spot welding device, comprising: a stir pin 11, 12 assembly including a stir pin; a stir sleeve 13 assembly including a stir sleeve, the stir sleeve being sleeved outside the stir pin, the stir sleeve having a same axis as the stir pin; and an axial drive assembly 53 and a rotary drive 57 assembly, the axial drive assembly driving the stir pin and the stir sleeve, respectively, to move along the axis, the rotary drive assembly driving the stir pin and the stir sleeve to perform a rotational motion centered on the axis, a center axis of the axial drive assembly and a rotary axis of the rotary drive assembly are both located on the axis (paragraphs 0034-0036, figure 1).
Regarding claim 2, Hatano discloses that the stir pin assembly includes a stir pin shaft (upper portion of 11 that is attached to 531), the stir pin shaft being fixedly connected to the stir pin (part that inserts into the workpiece material), a rotational axis of the stir pin shaft and a rotational axis of the stir pin being located on the axis (paragraphs 0034-0036, figure 1).
Regarding claim 5, Hatano discloses that the stir sleeve assembly includes a stir sleeve shaft, the stir sleeve shaft being sleeved outside the stir pin shaft, a rotational axis of the stir sleeve shaft and a rotational axis of the stir pin shaft being on the axis, the stir sleeve shaft and the stir pin shaft being capable of undergoing a relative motion along the axis, the stir sleeve shaft and the stir pin shaft being in a rotation-locked engagement state, the stir sleeve shaft being fixedly connected to the stir sleeve.
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) 1-3, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seo et al. (WO2022118589A1 using US2024/0001479A1 for reference) in view of Hatano et al. (2022/0072653A1).
Regarding claim 1, Seo discloses a refill friction stir spot welding device, comprising: a stir pin 31, 60, 62 assembly including a stir pin; a stir sleeve 70 assembly including a stir sleeve, the stir sleeve being sleeved outside the stir pin, the stir sleeve having a same axis as the stir pin (figure 1, paragraphs 0029-0038).
Seo does not specifically disclose an axial drive assembly and a rotary drive assembly, the axial drive assembly driving the stir pin and the stir sleeve, respectively, to move along the axis, the rotary drive assembly driving the stir pin and the stir sleeve to perform a rotational motion centered on the axis, a center axis of the axial drive assembly and a rotary axis of the rotary drive assembly are both located on the axis. However, Hatano discloses a refill friction stir spot welding device with an axial drive assembly 53 and a rotary drive 57 assembly, the axial drive assembly driving the stir pin and the stir sleeve, respectively, to move along the axis, the rotary drive assembly driving the stir pin and the stir sleeve to perform a rotational motion centered on the axis, a center axis of the axial drive assembly and a rotary axis of the rotary drive assembly are both located on the axis (paragraphs 0034-0036, figure 1). To one skilled in the art at the time of the invention it would have been obvious to have a drive assembly and a rotary drive assembly as claimed so that the rotation and the axial movement of the tool can be easily controlled to ensure that proper speed is achieved based on the desired bond.
Regarding claim 2, Seo discloses that the stir pin assembly includes a stir pin shaft 31, the stir pin shaft being fixedly connected to the stir pin 60, 62, a rotational axis of the stir pin shaft 70 and a rotational axis of the stir pin being located on the axis (figure 1, paragraphs 0029-0038).
Regarding claim 3, Seo discloses that the stir pin shaft 31 is provided with a first cooperating structure 32, the stir pin is provided with a second cooperating structure (the wider portion of 60 just below shaft 31), and the first cooperating structure cooperates with the second cooperating structure to restrict a relative motion between the stir pin shaft and the stir pin (figure 1).
Regarding claim 17, Seo discloses a pressing sleeve 41, wherein a lower portion of the pressing sleeve is provided with an opening (where 44 is located), at least portion of the stir sleeve 70 is movably disposed in the opening along the axis. Seo does not specifically disclose that a surface roughness of a contact surface between the stir sleeve and the pressing sleeve is less than 0.08 microns, and a surface roughness of a contact surface between the stir sleeve and the stir pin is less than 0.08 microns. However, to one skilled in the art at the time of the invention it would have been obvious to have a surface roughness of 0.08 microns or less to prevent friction from wearing away the surfaces of the sleeves during use. This would prolong the life of the tool by preventing the sleeves from having to be replaced.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hatano et al. (2022/0072653A1) in view of Wu et al. (2017/0050263A1) and Schmidt et al. (2018/0243850A1).
Regarding claim 20, Hatano discloses a welding system, comprising a refill friction stir spot welding device, a processing unit (paragraph 0055), and robotic arm (paragraph 0048), wherein the refill friction stir spot welding device is respectively mounted on the robotic arm, wherein each of the refill friction stir spot welding device includes: a stir pin 11, 12 assembly including a stir pin; a stir sleeve 13 assembly including a stir sleeve, the stir sleeve being sleeved outside the stir pin, the stir sleeve having a same axis as the stir pin; and an axial drive assembly 53 and a rotary drive 57 assembly, the axial drive assembly driving the stir pin and the stir sleeve, respectively, to move along the axis, the rotary drive assembly driving the stir pin and the stir sleeve to perform a rotational motion centered on the axis, a center axis of the axial drive assembly and a rotary axis of the rotary drive assembly are both located on the axis (paragraphs 0034-0036, figure 1).
Hatano does not disclose two friction stir spot welding devices wherein the two refill friction stir spot welding devices have different rotary drive assemblies, and/or the two refill friction stir spot welding devices have different axial drive assemblies. However, Wu discloses using more than one friction stir welding tool (abstract, figure 1). Using more than one friction stir apparatus and robotic arm are just considered a duplication of parts. Using more than one friction stir spot welding device would allow for multiple areas to be welded at once which would cut down on production time and costs. To one skilled in the art at the time of the invention it would have been obvious to use two friction stir spot welding devices in order to cut down on production time and costs. Based on the structure of the friction stir device and the location of the drive assemblies of Hatano it would necessarily follow that each friction stir device would have its own drive assemblies. The drive assemblies are located directly above the shoulder and the pin shaft/pin. There would not be a way for this assembly to be used for more than one device.
Hatano does not disclose that the processing unit is configured to: determine a target robotic arm based on a historical welding quality, a material property, and dimensional information of a workpiece to be welded, and control the target robotic arm to weld the workpiece to be welded. However, Schmidt discloses a welding device with a robotic arm that is controlled by a processor based welding parameters input by the user (paragraph 0030). To one skilled in the art at the time of the invention it would have been obvious to use a processor for controlling the robotic arm based on all the welding parameters input into the processor to achieve the desired final product. Using a processor to input parameters for controlling the welding is known in the art.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 6-16, 18-19 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. Regarding claim 4, prior art was not found that taught or suggested wherein the first cooperating structure includes a cylindrical groove formed at a bottom of the stir pin shaft, the second cooperating structure includes a rectangular structure disposed at a top end of the stir pin, and the rectangular structure is capable of being embedded into the cylindrical groove; or the first cooperating structure includes a cruciform hole formed at the bottom of the stir pin shaft, the second cooperating structure includes a cruciform structure disposed at the top end of the stir pin, and the cruciform structure is capable of being embedded into the cruciform hole; or the first cooperating structure includes a tapered hole disposed at the bottom of the stir pin shaft, the second cooperating structure includes a tapered structure disposed at the top end of the stir pin, and the stir pin shaft and the stir pin are fixedly assembled by interference fit via the tapered hole and the tapered structure. Regarding claim 6, prior art was not found that taught or suggested wherein the axial drive assembly includes at least one hollow motor, a central shaft of the at least one hollow motor is located on the axis, and the at least one hollow motor drives at least one of the stir pin shaft or the stir sleeve shaft along the axis via a lead screw transmission assembly. Regarding claim 11, prior art was not found that taught or suggested wherein the axial drive assembly includes a first hollow power cylinder and a second hollow power cylinder, central axes of both the first hollow power cylinder and the second hollow power cylinder are located on the axis, a piston rod of the first hollow power cylinder is connected to the stir pin shaft, and a piston rod of the second hollow power cylinder is connected to the stir sleeve shaft. Regarding claim 14, prior art was not found that taught or suggested wherein the axial drive assembly includes an inner power cylinder and an outer power cylinder; a piston rod of the inner power cylinder is connected to a first hollow slider, the first hollow slider is sleeved outside the stir pin shaft, a central axis of the first hollow slider is located on the axis, the stir pin shaft and the first hollow slider are capable of performing a rotational relative motion, a relative motion between the stir pin shaft and the first hollow slider along the axis is locked; and a piston rod of the outer power cylinder is connected to a second hollow slider, the second hollow slider is sleeved outside the stir sleeve shaft, a central axis of the second hollow slider is located on the axis, the stir sleeve shaft and the second hollow slider are capable of performing a rotational relative motion, a relative motion between the stir sleeve shaft and the second hollow slider along the axis is locked. Regarding claim 16, prior art was not found that taught or suggested wherein the rotary drive assembly includes an electric spindle, a core shaft is disposed in the electric spindle and sleeved outside the stir pin shaft, rotation axes of the core shaft and the stir pin shaft are located on the axis, the core shaft and the stir pin shaft are capable of performing a relative motion along the axis, and the core shaft and the stir pin shaft are in a rotation-locked engagement state. Regarding claim 18, prior art was not found that taught or suggested a processor, a force sensor, a torque sensor, an infrared thermal camera, and an image acquisition device, wherein the processor is communicatively connected to the force sensor, the torque sensor, the infrared thermal camera, and the image acquisition device, the force sensor is configured to acquire force data, the torque sensor is configured to acquire torque data, the infrared thermal camera is configured to acquire thermal imaging data, and the image acquisition device is configured to acquire a weld image; and the processor is configured to: determine a first welding parameter based on a material property and dimensional information of a workpiece to be welded; control the axial drive assembly and the rotary drive assembly to weld the workpiece to be welded based on the first welding parameter; determine a welding quality during a welding process based on the force data, the torque data, the thermal imaging data, and the weld image; and determine a second welding parameter based on the welding quality, and control the axial drive assembly and the rotary drive assembly to weld the workpiece to be welded based on the second welding parameter.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIN B SAAD whose telephone number is (571)270-3634. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:30a-6p.
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/ERIN B SAAD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1735
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