Office Action 2: Notice of Allowance (2025-02-26)

CLAIMS:
Amendments to the Claims

Claim 1 (Original) A repair welding system comprising:an inspection device configured to be connected to an inspection robot and configured to inspect a welded portion of a workpiece; and
a welding device configured to be connected to a welding robot and configured to instruct execution of a repair welding on the workpiece based on an inspection result of the inspection device,
wherein the inspection device determines whether there is a defective portion that does not satisfy a determination standard in the welded portion,
wherein in a case that there is the defective portion in the welded portion, the inspection device extracts at least defect type information of the defective portion and inspection coordinate system defective portion position information that is position information of the defective portion based on a coordinate system of the inspection robot,
converts at least the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information into position information corresponding to a coordinate system of the welding robot and generates welding coordinate system defective portion position information, and
transmits at least the defect type information and the welding coordinate system defective portion position information to the welding device connected to the welding robot, and
wherein the welding device instructs execution of a repair welding on the defective portion based on at least the defect type information and the welding coordinate system defective portion position information.

Claim 2 (Original) The repair welding system according to (Original) The repair welding system according to wherein the inspection device has a first conversion matrix for converting position information in the coordinate system of the inspection robot into corresponding position information in the coordinate system of the welding robot, and converts the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information into the welding coordinate system defective portion position information by using the first conversion matrix.

Claim 3 (Original) The repair welding system according to (Original) The repair welding system according to wherein the inspection device repeats the determination until it is determined that there is no defective portion that is correctable by the repair welding.

Claim 4 (Currently Amended) The repair welding system according to (Currently Amended) The repair welding system according to wherein the inspection device counts a numbe of times of the determination, and when the counted number of times of the determination reaches a predetermined number of times, the inspection device outputs an alert for notifying that it is impossible to correct the defective portion by the repair welding.

Claim 5 (Original) The repair welding system according to (Original) The repair welding system according to wherein the inspection device converts the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information into position information corresponding to a workpiece coordinate system, and wherein the welding device converts the position information corresponding to the workpiece coordinate system into position information corresponding to the coordinate system of the welding robot.

Claim 6 (Original) The repair welding system according to (Original) The repair welding system according to wherein the inspection device has a second conversion matrix for converting position information in the coordinate system of the inspection robot into corresponding position information in the workpiece coordinate system, converts the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information into the position information of the defective portion corresponding to the workpiece coordinate system by using the second conversion matrix, and transmits the converted position information to the welding device, and
wherein the welding device has a third conversion matrix for converting position information in the workpiece coordinate system into corresponding position information in the coordinate system of the welding robot, and converts the position information of the defective portion transmitted from the inspection device into position information of the defective portion corresponding to the coordinate system of the welding robot by using the third conversion matrix.

Claim 7 (Original) A repair welding system comprising:an inspection device configured to be connected to an inspection robot and configured to inspect a welded portion of a workpiece; and
a welding device configured to be connected to a welding robot and configured to instruct execution of a repair welding on the workpiece based on an inspection result of the inspection device,
wherein the inspection device determines whether there is a defective portion that does not satisfy a determination standard in the welded portion,
wherein in a case that there is the defective portion in the welded portion, the inspection device transmits at least defect type information of the defective portion and inspection coordinate system defective portion position information that is position information of the defective portion based on a coordinate system of the inspection robot to the welding device, and
wherein the welding device converts at least the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information into position information corresponding to a coordinate system of the welding robot and generates welding coordinate system defective portion position information, and
instructs execution of a repair welding on the defective portion based on at least the defect type information and the welding coordinate system defective portion position information.

Claim 8 (Original) The repair welding system according to (Original) The repair welding system according to wherein the welding device has a first conversion matrix for converting position information in the coordinate system of the inspection robot into corresponding position information in the coordinate system of the welding robot, and converts the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information into the welding coordinate system defective portion position information by using the first conversion matrix.

Claim 9 (Original) The repair welding system according to (Original) The repair welding system according to wherein the inspection device repeats the determination until it is determined that there is no defective portion that is correctable by the repair welding.

Claim 10 (Currently Amended) The repair welding system according to (Currently Amended) The repair welding system according to wherein the inspection device counts a numbe of times of the determination, and when the counted number of times of the determination reaches a predetermined number of times, the inspection device outputs an alert for notifying that it is impossible to correct the defective portion by the repair welding.

Claim 11 (Original) The repair welding system according to (Original) The repair welding system according to wherein the inspection device converts the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information into position information corresponding to a workpiece coordinate system, and wherein the welding device converts the position information corresponding to the workpiece coordinate system into position information corresponding to the coordinate system of the welding robot.

Claim 12 (Original) The repair welding system according to (Original) The repair welding system according to wherein the inspection device has a second conversion matrix for converting position information in the coordinate system of the inspection robot into corresponding position information in the workpiece coordinate system, converts the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information into the position information of the defective portion corresponding to the workpiece coordinate system by using the second conversion matrix, and transmits the converted position information to the welding device, and
wherein the welding device has a third conversion matrix for converting position information in the workpiece coordinate system into corresponding position information in the coordinate system of the welding robot, and converts the position information of the defective portion transmitted from the inspection device into position information of the defective portion corresponding to the coordinate system of the welding robot by using the third conversion matrix.

Claim 13 (Original) A repair welding system comprising:an inspection device configured to be connected to an inspection robot and configured to

inspect a welded portion of a workpiece;a welding device configured to be connected to a welding robot and configured to instruct execution of a repair welding on the workpiece based on an inspection result of the inspection device; and
an integrated control device configured to be connected to the inspection device and the welding device, configured to acquire the inspection result of the inspection device, and configured to notify the welding device of the inspection result,
wherein the inspection device determines whether there is a defective portion that does not satisfy a determination standard in the welded portion,
wherein in a case that there is the defective portion in the welded portion, the inspection device transmits at least defect type information of the defective portion and inspection coordinate system defective portion position information that is position information of the defective portion based on a coordinate system of the inspection robot to the welding device,
wherein the integrated control device converts at least the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information into position information corresponding to a coordinate system of the welding robot and generates welding coordinate system defective portion position information, and
transmits at least the defect type information and the welding coordinate system defective portion position information to the welding device, and
wherein the welding device instructs execution of a repair welding on the defective portion based on at least the defect type information and the welding coordinate system defective portion position information.

Claim 14 (Original) The repair welding system according to (Original) The repair welding system according to wherein the integrated control device has a first conversion matrix for converting position information in the coordinate system of the inspection robot into corresponding position information in the coordinate system of the welding robot, and converts the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information into the welding coordinate system defective portion position information by using the first conversion matrix.

Claim 15 (Original) The repair welding system according to (Original) The repair welding system according to
wherein the inspection device repeats the determination until it is determined that there is no defective portion that is correctable by the repair welding.

Claim 16 (Currently Amended) The repair welding system according to (Currently Amended) The repair welding system according to wherein the inspection device counts a numbe of times of the determination, and when the counted number of times of the determination reaches a predetermined number of times, the inspection device outputs an alert for notifying that it is impossible to correct the defective portion by the repair welding.

Claim 17 (Original) The repair welding system according to (Original) The repair welding system according to wherein the integrated control device converts the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information into position information corresponding to a workpiece coordinate system, and
converts the position information corresponding to the workpiece coordinate system into position information corresponding to the coordinate system of the welding robot.

Claim 18 (Original) The repair welding system according to (Original) The repair welding system according to wherein the integrated control device has a second conversion matrix for converting the acquired position information in the coordinate system of the inspection robot into corresponding position information in the workpiece coordinate system in the inspection, and converts the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information into the welding coordinate system defective portion position information by using the second conversion matrix,
has a third conversion matrix for converting the converted position information in the workpiece coordinate system in the inspection into corresponding position information in the workpiece coordinate system in the repair welding and converts the position information of the defective portion into position information of the defective portion corresponding to the workpiece coordinate system in the repair welding by using the third conversion matrix, and
has a fourth conversion matrix for converting the converted position information in the workpiece coordinate system in the repair welding into corresponding position information in the coordinate system of the welding robot and converts the position information of the

defective portion into the welding coordinate system defective portion position information by using the fourth conversion matrix, and transmits the welding coordinate system defective portion position information to the welding device.

OFFICE 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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 9, penultimate paragraph have been fully considered and are persuasive.  The rejection of claims 1-18 has been withdrawn.
Applicants’ amendment filed 2/5/2025 has been entered and considered.  The Examiner agrees that Applicants’ claims overcome the art of record.  A new search was conducted based on the amended claims, and no new art was found.  Thus, this application is hereby allowed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-18 are hereby allowed.
The following is the Examiner's Reasons for Allowance:
the prior art fails to disclose and would not have rendered obvious:
extracts at least defect type information of the defective portion and inspection
coordinate system defective portion position information that is position information of the defective portion based on a coordinate system of the inspection robot, converts at least the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information into position information corresponding to a coordinate system of the welding robot
and generates welding coordinate system defective portion position information, and  transmits at least the defect type information and the welding coordinate system
defective portion position information to the welding device connected to the welding robot, and
wherein the welding device instructs execution of a repair welding on the defective
portion based on at least the defect type information and the welding coordinate system defective portion position information, as recited in claim 1 and similarly recited in claims 7 and 13.
Conclusion

APPLICANT REBUTTAL: Remarks
In view of the above amendments and the following remarks, reconsideration of the rejections and further examination are requested.
Claims 4, 10 and 16 are amended. Claims 1-18 are pending in the application.
Claims 1-3, 5-9, 11-15, 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Larsen (US 6,949,005).
This rejection is respectfully traversed and submitted to be inapplicable to the pending claims for the following reasons.
Claim 1 recites, in part, that, in a case that there is the defective portion in the welded portion, the inspection device converts at least the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information, which is position information of the defective portion based on a coordinate system of the inspection robot, into position information corresponding to a coordinate system of the welding robot and generates welding coordinate system defective portion position information.
Larsen fails to disclose or suggest a conversion operation as recited in claim 1.
Larsen discloses a system 100 configured to inspect and repair (e.g., grind, weld) a workpiece 114. The system 100 includes an inspection apparatus 103, a grinding assembly 106, and a welding assembly 110. During the operation of the system 100, an inspection assembly 102 inspects a weld joint 115 (Step 502). If a weld defect is identified in the weld joint 115 (Step 504), information (e.g., position, geometry) related to the weld defect of the weld joint 115 is collected by the inspection assembly 102 (Step 506), and provided to the grinding assembly 106 (Step 508). Processing circuitry 108 of the grinding assembly 106 creates a distinct contour grinding profile to grind the weld defect (Step 510). The workpiece 114 or the platform supporting the grinding assembly 106 is then manipulated to accurately position the workpiece 114 to receive grinding operations. Next the repaired (i.e., ground) weld joint cavity is inspected (Step 513), and an inquiry is made to determine if additional weld defects are present in the weld joint (Step 514). If no additional weld defects are present, rewelding of the defective portions of the weld joint of the workpiece 114 is performed (Step 516). (See column 8, line 48 - column 9, line 20 and Figure 5 of Larsen).
As noted above, Larsen discloses that when a weld defect is identified, the location (i.e.,
position) and shape (i.e., geometry) of the weld defect is sent to the grinding assembly 106 so that the weld defect can be ground down and subsequently rewelded. However, Larsen fails to provide any detail regarding the position information, and as admitted in the rejection, fails to disclose or suggest any type of conversion operation related to the position information. Thus, Larsen fails to disclose or suggest the claimed feature of, in a case that there is the defective portion in the welded portion, the inspection device converts at least the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information, which is position information of the defective portion
based on a coordinate system of the inspection robot,
into position information
corresponding to a coordinate system of the welding robot
and generates welding coordinate system defective portion position information.
In light of this deficiency of Larsen, the rejection states "[i]t is unclear if Larsen discloses the recited data manipulation through the recited extract, convert, transmit the data in the specific arraignment recited in claim 1. However, these features are mere data manipulation. Larsen appears to extract, at fig. 5, 506, convert the data at 508 and 510, and transmit the data at 512, 513 and 516. As such, features of claim 1 would have been obvious in view of the features disclosed by Larsen, for the obvious benefit of providing a good working welding robot to repair welds." As set forth in MPEP section 2143, "[t]he key to supporting any rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 is the clear articulation of the reason(s) why the claimed invention would have been obvious. The Supreme Court in KSR noted that the analysis supporting a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 should be made explicit", and "[w]hen setting forth a rejection, Office personnel are to continue to make appropriate findings of fact as explained in MPEP § 2141 and § 2143, and must provide a reasoned explanation as to why the invention as claimed would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the relevant time."
As discussed above, in Step 508 of Larsen, information (e.g., position, geometry) related to the weld defect of the weld joint 115 is provided by the inspection assembly 102 to the grinding assembly 106, and, in step 510 of Larsen, the processing circuitry 108 of the grinding assembly 106 creates a distinct contour grinding profile to grind the weld defect. These steps clearly do not disclose or suggest the claimed feature of the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information, which is position information of the defective portion
based on a coordinate system of the inspection robot,
being converted into position information
corresponding to a coordinate system of the welding robot
and generating welding coordinate
system defective portion position information. In fact, there is no indication in Larsen that the inspection apparatus 103, the grinding assembly 106, and the welding assembly 110 even have different coordinate systems, let alone that a conversion between coordinate systems of these devices occurs. Therefore, there is no motivation to modify the system 100 of Larsen as suggested in the rejection.
Further, the rationale for why it would have been obvious to modify Larsen to include this feature claim 1 of "providing a good working welding robot to repair welds" is conclusory and not a clear articulation of a reason why the repair welding system recited in claim 1 would have been obvious in light of Larsen.
For the above reasons, it is submitted that claim 1 is patentable over Larsen.
Claims 2, 3, 5 and 6 are patentable over Larsen based at least on their dependency from claim 1.
Claim 7 is patentable over Larsen for reasons similar to those set forth above regarding claim 1. That is, claim 7 recites, in part, that the welding device converts at least the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information, which is position information of the defective portion based on a coordinate system of the inspection robot, into position information corresponding to a coordinate system of the welding robot and generates welding coordinate system defective portion position information, which feature is not disclosed or suggested by Larsen.
Claims 8, 9, 11 and 12 are patentable over Larsen based at least on their dependency from claim 7.
Claim 13 is also patentable over Larsen for reasons similar to those set forth above regarding claim 1. That is, claim 13 recites, in part, that the integrated control device converts at least the inspection coordinate system defective portion position information, which is position information of the defective portion based on a coordinate system of the inspection robot, into position information corresponding to a coordinate system of the welding robot and generates welding coordinate system defective portion position information, which feature is not disclosed or suggested by Larsen.
Claims 14, 15, 17 and 18 are patentable over Larsen based at least on their dependency from claim 13.
Claims 4, 10 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Larsen in view of Matsuoka (US 2012/0045854).
Regarding this rejection, Matsuoka fails to disclose or suggest the above-noted features of claims 1, 7 and 13. Therefore, claims 4, 10 and 16 are patentable over the combination of Larsen and Matsuoka based at least on their dependency from claims 1, 7 and 13, respectively.
Because of the above-mentioned distinctions, it is believed clear that claims 1-18 are allowable over the references relied upon in the rejections. Furthermore, it is submitted that the distinctions are such that a person having ordinary skill in the art would not have been motivated to make any combination of the references of record in such a manner as to result in, or otherwise render obvious, claims 1-18. Therefore, it is submitted that claims 1-18 are clearly allowable over the prior art of record.
In view of the above amendments and remarks, it is submitted that the present application is now in condition for allowance. The Examiner is invited to contact the undersigned by telephone if it is felt that there are issues remaining that must be resolved before allowance of the application.
Respectfully submitted, /David M.