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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5/28/2025 has been entered.
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.
Claims 1-2, 4-5, and 7-13 are 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 1 recites the limitation “to be installed in a state where relative movement in the X axis direction with respect to a tool rest is possible such that a projection amount of the cutting insert along the X axis is changeable” in lines 4-6. It is unclear whether this limitation is referring to movement of the holder or the cutting insert and how that movement makes it possible for the projection of the cutting insert to be changeable. Additionally, the directions of the X axis, Y axis, and Z axis are undefined, making it unclear how these axes are oriented relative to the holder. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, 7-11, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hirano et al. (US 20200230710 A1, hereinafter ‘Hirano’).
Regarding claim 1, Hirano teaches a holder 1 of a cutting insert 4, wherein the holder is configured: to have a length along each direction of an X axis, a Y axis and a Z axis which are orthogonal to one another (all shown in the annotated figure below); to hold the cutting insert 4 including a cutting edge 43 to perform turning on a work that moves along the Z axis; to be installed in a state where relative movement in the X axis direction with respect to a tool rest is possible such that a projection amount of the cutting insert along the X axis is changeable (where the holder body 1 can be held by a tool rest at different depths along the X axis); and to perform turning on the work using the cutting insert when the holder moves in the Y axis direction which is different from the X axis direction (shown by the annotated figure below), wherein the holder 1 has a shape in which an end portion 1a thereof in the X axis direction is projected from the cutting edge 43 of the cutting insert along the X axis toward the work (Figs 1-3), such that the end portion protrudes along the X axis direction more than the cutting edge of the cutting insert (because the holder is “configured:… to hold the cutting insert” it is not a required limitation that the cutting insert is held in the insert pocket, therefore the insert can be in any location where the edge is less projected in the X axis direction than the end portion) and a positioning portion (shown in the annotated figure below) to determine a projection amount of the cutting insert 4 from the tool rest is disposed on the end portion 1a, and the end portion 1a has a shape including a flat portion that is orthogonal to the X axis direction (shown in the annotated figure below), and the positioning portion is disposed on the flat portion (shown in the annotated figure below), and the end portion 1a has a shape including a protruded portion (Figs 1-3) which is projected in the X axis direction, and the positioning portion is disposed at the tip of the protruded portion (shown in the annotated figure below claim 1).
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Regarding claim 2, Hirano teaches the holder of the cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein the positioning portion (shown in the annotated figure below claim 1) is disposed along the X axis at a position that is distant from a corner edge of the cutting edge 43 by a predetermined dimension (Fig 1).
Regarding claim 7, Hirano teaches the holder of the cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein a stepped portion (shown by Fig 3, where the 15 exits), which has a stepped shape (Fig 3) to expand a region of the positioning portion along the Y axis, is formed on the end portion 1a.
Regarding claim 8, Hirano teaches the holder of the cutting insert according to claim 7, wherein an oil filler port 15 is disposed in the stepped portion (Fig 3).
Regarding claim 9, Hirano teaches the holder of the cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein the holder 1 performs turning on the work using the cutting insert 4 when the holder moves in the Y axis direction (the holder is capable of moving in the Y axis direction, as shown by the annotated figure below claim 1, to perform the turning operation), and the positioning portion is set such that the length from a Y axis direction reference plane of the holder, to a position of a corner edge of the cutting edge of the cutting insert is included in an installation range of the positioning portion from the Y axis direction reference plane in the holder. (The annotated figure below shows that the corner edge of the cutting insert is the same distance from the Y axis direction reference plane as the positioning portion.)
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Regarding claim 10, Hirano teaches the holder cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein a shank portion 1c has a straight shape (Fig 2).
Regarding claim 11, Hirano teaches the holder of the cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein a limiting portion, which limits a possible width of relative movement of the holder with respect to the tool rest in the X axis direction to a predetermined range, is not disposed in a head portion or a shank portion. (There is no limiting portion utilized by the shank portion or the head portion of the holder 1).
Regarding claim 13, Hirano teaches a cutting tool comprising: the holder according to claim 1; and a cutting insert 43 that is installed in the holder 1.
Claims 1-2 and 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Fäldt et al. (US 20220193800 A1, hereinafter ‘Faldt’).
Regarding claim 1, Faldt teaches a holder 15 (Figs 1-2) of a cutting insert 20, wherein the holder 15 is configured: to have a length along each direction of an X axis A1, a Y axis A2 and a Z axis (vertical in Fig 2B) which are orthogonal to one another; to hold the cutting insert 20 including a cutting edge 60 ([0074]) to perform turning on a work 200 that moves along the Z axis (the holder and cutting insert are capable of performing the turning operation on a workpiece moving along the Z axis); to be installed in a state where relative movement in the X axis direction with respect to a tool rest is possible such that a projection amount of the cutting insert along the X axis is changeable (where the holder body 15 can be held by a tool rest at different depths along the X axis); and to perform turning on the work 200 using the cutting insert 20 when the holder moves in the Y axis direction A2 which is different from the X axis direction A1 (the holder and cutting insert are capable of performing the turning operation if moved in the Y axis direction), wherein the holder 15 has a shape in which an end portion 15A thereof in the X axis direction is projected form the cutting edge 60 of the cutting insert 20 along the X axis toward the work (Figs 1-2A), such that the end portion protrudes along the X axis direction A1 more than the cutting edge of the cutting insert (Fig 1), and a positioning portion to determine a projection amount of the cutting insert from the tool rest is disposed on the end portion (shown in the annotated figure below), and the end portion has a shape including a flat portion having a side or a plane that is orthogonal to the X axis direction A1, and the positioning portion is disposed on the flat portion (shown in the annotated figure below), the end portion 15A has a shape including a protruded portion (flat end furthest down in the A1 direction, Fig 1) which is projected in the X axis direction A1, and the positioning portion is disposed at a tip of the protruded portion (shown in the annotated figure below).
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Regarding claim 2, Faldt teaches the holder of the cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein the positioning portion (shown in the annotated figure below claim 1) is disposed along the X axis A1 at a position that is distant from a corner edge of the cutting edge 60 by a predetermined position (Fig 2A).
Regarding claim 4, Faldt teaches the holder of the cutting insert according to claim 2, wherein the end portion 15A has a shape including an inclined portion (shown in the annotated figure below claim 1) that is inclined along the Z axis direction, and the positioning portion is disposed on the inclined portion (where the positioning portion is the flat portion located at the end of the inclined portion, as best understood by the disclosure of the present application).
Regarding claim 5, Faldt teaches the holder of the cutting insert according to claim 4, wherein the positioning portion is disposed in the inclined portion at a location closest to the work (where the corner of the positioning portion shares the same corner of the tool holder as the cutting edge).
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 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hirano.
Regarding claim 12, Hirano teaches the holder of the cutting insert according to claim 1. Hirano does not explicitly disclose the head portion is a head replacement type, where a head portion is replaceable and detachable from a shank portion.
However, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to make the head portion (shown in the annotated figure below) replaceable and detachable form the shank portion (shown in the annotated figure below) in order to quickly swap out cutting inserts that have been preset into separated head portions, since it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art. In re Dulberg, 289 F.2d 522, 523, 129 USPQ 348, 349 (CCPA 1961).
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Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/8/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Hirano does not teach the end portion protrudes along the X axis direction more than a cutting edge of the cutting insert and that Faldt does not teaches the end portion has a shape including a protruded portion projected in the X axis direction, and the positioning portion is disposed at a tip of the protruded portion. These arguments are respectfully traversed.
First, applicant argues on page 6 of the remarks that Hirano does not teach the end portion protrudes along the X axis direction more than a cutting edge of the cutting insert. As discussed in the rejection above, the limitation of the holder configured to hold the cutting insert does not necessitate in the invention that the holder is holding the cutting insert in the location it is being described, therefore may be in a location where the cutting edge is explicitly less projected in the X axis direction than the end portion.
Finally, applicant argues on page 7 of the remarks that Faldt does not teaches the end portion has a shape including a protruded portion projected in the X axis direction, and the positioning portion is disposed at a tip of the protruded portion. Figures 1 and 2A clearly show the end portion 15A extended in the X axis (A1) direction, as described in the rejection above. The remainder of the argument amounts to intended use and does not affect the structure require in the claim.
Accordingly, the rejections are maintained.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC DANIEL WHITMIRE whose telephone number is (703)756-4729. The examiner can normally be reached 8 AM - 4 PM.
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/ERIC DANIEL WHITMIRE/Examiner, Art Unit 3722
/SUNIL K SINGH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3722