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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 7, filed 03/13/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 38-44 and 46-48 under 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Makiuchi (US 20090148082 A1) in view of Newsom (US 2733553 A), Walker (US 6,358,114 B1), Konnenmann (US 6336849 B1) and Junge (US 20050202757 A1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 38, 41-44, 46-48 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Makiuchi (US 20090148082 A1) in view of Newsom (US 2733553 A), Walker (US 6,358,114 B1), Konnenmann (US 6336849 B1) and Junge (US 20050202757 A1).
Regarding Claim 38, Makiuchi discloses A device configured for machining of edges of plate-shaped workpieces, the device comprising:
a carrier driven (32) in rotation about an axis (axis is in the z direction seen in figure 1); and
at least one grinding ring (34) mounted on the carrier,
wherein the at least one grinding ring is mounted on the carrier so as to be both driven by the carrier to rotate about the axis (See Para [0019] “A cylindrical bearing unit 31 is fitted in a bearing receiving through bore formed in the wheel spindle head 23. A grinding wheel spindle (tool spindle) 32 is supported in an internal surface of the bearing unit 31 through a plurality of antifriction bearings 33 comprising ball bearings or roller bearings and is rotatable about an axis parallel to the Z-axis. A grinding wheel (machining tool) 34 for grinding a workpiece supported on a work table (both not shown) is attached to one end of the grinding wheel spindle 32. A driven pulley 35 is attached to the other end of the grinding wheel spindle 32 and is in driving connection through several belts with a drive pulley, which is attached to a motor spindle of a wheel drive motor (all not shown) mounted on the wheel spindle head 23.”),
wherein the carrier (32) comprises at least one line (37) configured to supply a liquid or gaseous medium (See Para [0020] “An oil air supply passage 37 is formed in, favorably, an upper part of the bearing unit 31 for supplying oil air to the antifriction bearings 33. The oil air supplied via the oil air supply passage 37 is introduced into an annular space between the internal surface of the bearing unit 31 and the external surface of the grinding wheel spindle 32.”), the line being configured to extend through the carrier and form branches such that each said branch opens onto an outer surface of the carrier that lies under an inner surface of one of said at least one grinding ring (See Para [0020] “An oil air supply passage 37 is formed in, favorably, an upper part of the bearing unit 31 for supplying oil air to the antifriction bearings 33. The oil air supplied via the oil air supply passage 37 is introduced into an annular space between the internal surface of the bearing unit 31 and the external surface of the grinding wheel spindle 32. The oil air introduced into the annular space between the internal surface of the bearing unit 31 and the external surface of the grinding wheel spindle 32 reaches the plurality of antifriction bearings 33, so that the same are lubricated. An oil air discharge passage 38 is formed in, favorably, a lower part of the bearing unit 31 for discharging the oil air which lubricated the antifriction bearings 33. The oil air discharge passage 38 is in communication with a first space section 44 referred to later.”); and
wherein each said at least one grinding ring (34) is configured and arranged so that:
the grinding ring (34) is positioned on the carrier such that one of the branches of the line lubricates a bearing (33, See Para [0020] “An oil air supply passage 37 is formed in, favorably, an upper part of the bearing unit 31 for supplying oil air to the antifriction bearings 33. The oil air supplied via the oil air supply passage 37 is introduced into an annular space between the internal surface of the bearing unit 31 and the external surface of the grinding wheel spindle 32.”)
The line opens into an annular space occupied by a bearing (antifriction bearing 33) to allow the liquid or gaseous medium to lubricate the bearing (See Para [0020] “An oil air supply passage 37 is formed in, favorably, an upper part of the bearing unit 31 for supplying oil air to the antifriction bearings 33. The oil air supplied via the oil air supply passage 37 is introduced into an annular space between the internal surface of the bearing unit 31 and the external surface of the grinding wheel spindle 32. The oil air introduced into the annular space between the internal surface of the bearing unit 31 and the external surface of the grinding wheel spindle 32 reaches the plurality of antifriction bearings 33,”).
But does not explicitly teach the at least one grinding ring having grinding surfaces that are conical or concave in shape, and also movable with respect to the carrier along the axis,
wherein the at least one grinding ring moves with respect to the carrier along the axis under an elastic spring force that urges the at least one grinding ring and the grinding surfaces into an initial position on the carrier, and
wherein the at least one grinding ring is floatingly mounted on the carrier via a hydrostatic bearing or gas bearing, the hydrostatic bearing or gas bearing supporting movement of the at least one grinding ring with respect to the carrier along the axis
the grinding ring is positioned on the carrier such that one of the branches of the line opens into the annular space to allow the liquid or gaseous medium to enter the annular space to form the hydrostatic bearing or gas bearing such that the grinding ring is configured to be moved in the axial direction as the liquid or gaseous medium enters the annular space.
However, Newsom teaches a similar grinding apparatus wherein the at least one grinding ring (37) having grinding surfaces (38) that are conical or concave in shape (See Figure 1 of Newsom) , the at least one grinding ring is movable with respect to the carrier along the axis wherein the at least one grinding ring moves with respect to the carrier along the axis under an elastic spring force that urges the at least one grinding ring and the grinding surfaces into an initial position on the carrier (See Col 2 Line 51-59 “when operated will, of course, rotate the two disks 37 and the edge of the blade to be sharpened is inserted in the V slot 38', formed by the beveled edges 38 of the disks. This V slot will give the proper taper to the edge b5 as it is ground and it will be seen that if too great a pressure is applied to the knife so as to force the edge in between the disks, the sleeves 30 will shift apart or outwardly against the tension of the springs 34 so that the blade will not he ground down to too great an extent.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the grinder of Makiuchi to include the ability to move along the axis and to be biased by springs as doing so would allow for the device of Makiuchi to not over grind the work pieces as suggested in the above citation of Newsom and to allow for a greater variety of workpieces to be utilized on the grinding device.
Walker discloses at least one grinding wheel (2) mounted on a carrier (16) via a bearing (3), the bearing supporting movement of the at least one grinding ring (2) with respect to the carrier (15) along the axis (axis P, see Fig. 2).
And Konnemann discloses a similar grinding device utilizing a groove ball bearing (2), and teaches equivalent rolling bearings (See Col 4 Line 59-64 “The main shaft (1) of the inventive grinding spindle in this example is pivotably mounted by means of two pairs of deep-groove ball bearings (2) in the spindle housing (3). Here other types of rolling bearings can be used, or also hydrodynamic and hydrostatic bearings, air-cushion bearings or magnet bearings.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the grinding wheel and bearing of Makiuchi as modified such that wherein the at least one grinding ring is floatingly mounted on the carrier via a hydrostatic bearing or gas bearing, the hydrostatic bearing or gas bearing supporting movement of the at least one grinding ring with respect to the carrier along the axis. As doing so allows for a lifting or lowering movement in order to engage different grinding disks in different ways and angles (See Abstract of Konnemann “The invention concerns a grinding spindle, comprising a spindle housing and two coaxial shafts which are driven by a drive motor. A concentric grinding disk is fixed to each of said shafts. The shafts can be moved in an axial direction in relation to each other with a lifting or lowering movement in order to engage one grinding disk or the other.”) and to allow better allow for axial loading (See Col 4 Line 1-5 “The tool-head rotates on bearings 3 about the fixed hollow shaft 4 and is driven through the metal bellows flexible coupling 5 which allows the tool to be loaded axially. The channel in the hollow shaft enables the air pressure behind the flexible diaphragm to be varied.”).
Junge disclose a grinding device utilizing
an annular sector space (8, See Para [0028] discussing the grinding disc and bearing (2) not being in direct contact) is formed that is bounded by the inner surface of the grinding ring (See 8 where hydro-bearing and (2) and grinding ring (3) meet) and the outer surface of the bearing (2), and
The grinding ring positioned such that a line configured to supply a liquid or gaseous medium (4) opens into the annular space (7) to allow the liquid or gaseous medium to form a hydrostatic or gas bearing such that the grinding ring is configured to be moved in the axial direction as the liquid or gaseous medium enters the annular space (See Para [0009] discussing how the pair of grinding wheels are displaced with respect to axis of rotation as a function of the dynamic pressure)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the grinding wheel of Makiuchi as modified such that grinding ring is positioned on the carrier such that one of the branches of the line opens into the annular space to allow the liquid or gaseous medium to enter the annular space to form the hydrostatic bearing or gas bearing such that the grinding ring is configured to be moved in the axial direction as the liquid or gaseous medium enters the annular space. Junge discloses moving the grinding wheels in the axial direction in order to retain a measured degree of contact with the workpiece (See Para [0008] and [0009] discussing the dynamic pressure being used to push the grinding wheels against the workpiece to maintain equal force on either side of the workpiece).
Regarding Claim 41, Makiuchi as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 38, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the at least one grinding ring comprises two grinding ring parts and wherein the grinding surfaces are provided on the grinding ring parts
However, Newsom does teach a similar grinding device wherein an at least one grinding ring comprises two grinding ring parts (37) and wherein the grinding surfaces are provided on the grinding ring parts (See Col 2 Line 26-33 “Encircling the two sleeves 30, and positioned between the threads 36, are two grinding disks 37 each of which is supported upon a sleeve and each of which has the corner thereof adjacent to the other disk beveled as indicated at 38 so that the two beveled corners, or portions, of the disks form an annular V slot in which the edge of a knife or other cutting implement is inserted for grinding.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the grinding disk to be two separated grinding disks as that would allow a user to easily implement the annular V, or conical shape, allowing for the workpiece to more easily be grinded into the desired shape.
Regarding Claims 42, Makiuchi as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 41 and in addition discloses wherein the grinding ring parts are loaded towards each other by springs (See Figure 1 of Newsom and springs 34).
Regarding Claim 43, Makiuchi as modified teaches all the limitation of claim 42 but does not explicitly teach wherein the springs are pneumatic or hydraulic springs.
However, Walker teaches a polishing apparatus and teaches that hydraulic and pneumatic are alternative ways of varying contact area and pressure profiles of polishing tools (Col 6 Line 48-54 “Although the invention has been illustrated by two principal machines for optical polishing, other embodiments of the invention, as defined in the attached claims, are possible. Many other ways of varying the contact area and pressure profile of polishing tools could be employed, not limited to the hydraulic, pneumatic or spring-mechanical examples given.”), and as such it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the spring of Dieck as modified to have pneumatic or hydraulic spring as doing so would be a matter of substitution and would allow an operator to have more control over the pressure profile of the grinding operation, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding Claim 44, Makiuchi as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 41 and in addition discloses wherein the grinding ring parts (37 of Newsom) are arranged on the carrier for the grinding ring so as to be displaceable in the direction of the axis (Col 2 Line 17-20 “The grinding wheel is rotatable with and axially slideable along the grinding shaft to follow the elongated length of the blade.”).
Regarding Claim 46, Makiuchi as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 38 and in addition teaches wherein a sleeve shaped element (31 of Makiuchi) which engages around the carrier and delimits the annular space is provided on at least one said grinding ring part (34 of Makiuchi), and wherein at least one said opening which is located in the region of the annular space when the grinding ring part is in the initial position is provided in the sleeve-shaped element (See Figure 1 of Maki showing the opening in the annular space where the carrier extends through towards the grinding wheel).
Regarding Claim 47, Makiuchi as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 38 and in addition discloses wherein the grinding ring has a groove with grinding surfaces which is open to the outside (see Newsom grooves 38).
Regarding Claim 48, Makiuchi as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 47 and in addition discloses wherein the groove is trapezoidal or V-shaped (See V shape of groove 38 in Newsom).
Claim(s) 39, 40 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Makiuchi (US 20090148082 A1) in view of Newsom (US 2733553 A), Walker (US 6,358,114 B1), Konnenmann (US 6336849 B1) and Junge (US 20050202757 A1) as modified in claim 38 and in further view of Dieck (US 6699103 B1).
Regarding Claim 39, Makiuchi as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 38 and in but does not explicitly disclose wherein the carrier comprises at least one pin, and wherein the at least one grinding ring comprises a bore or recess, the pin and bore or recess being configured so rotation of the carrier causes the pin to bear against an interior surface of the bore or recess, causing rotation of the at least one grinding ring.
However, Dieck does a similar grinding wheel and carrier arrangement wherein the at least one grinding wheel (30) comprises at least one pin (53), and wherein the carrier (15) comprises a bore or recess (52), the pin and bore or recess being configured so rotation of the carrier causes the pin to bear against an interior surface of the bore or recess, causing rotation of the at least one grinding ring (See Col 4 Line 4-11 “The key 53 engages the keyway 52 in the shaft 15. The key 53 may slide along the keyway 52 but cannot rotatably displace relative to the shaft 15. Thus, the hub 35 is axially slideably mounted on, and rotatably fixed to, the rotating shaft 15. As will be described below, the cylindrical outer surface 55 of the hub 35 and the annular stabilizer flange 60 serve as a bearing surfaces.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize the pin and bore configuration to facilitate rotation of the grinding wheel and to allow for the sliding of the grinding wheel in the direction of the of the carrier relative to the carrier as is suggested to be advantageous by Newsom, See rejection of claim 21.
It would be further obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to swap the location of the pin and bore, such that the pin would be mounted on the carrier and the bore located on the at least one grinding wheel as doing so would be an obvious matter of rearrangement of parts and doing so would not affect the operation of the pin and bore mechanism. See MPEP 2144.04 VI C.
Regarding Claim 40, Makiuchi as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 39 and in addition discloses wherein the pin is accommodated in the bore or recess so as to allow the movement of the at least one grinding ring with respect to the carrier along the axis (Dieck Col 4 Line 4-11 “The key 53 engages the keyway 52 in the shaft 15. The key 53 may slide along the keyway 52 but cannot rotatably displace relative to the shaft 15. Thus, the hub 35 is axially slideably mounted on, and rotatably fixed to, the rotating shaft 15. As will be described below, the cylindrical outer surface 55 of the hub 35 and the annular stabilizer flange 60 serve as a bearing surfaces.”).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tyler James McFarland whose telephone number is (571)272-7270. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30AM-5PM (E.S.T), Flex First Friday.
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/T.J.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/DAVID S POSIGIAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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