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 § 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.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chapuis (2006/0138698) in view of Crabtree (4,627,946).
Regarding claims 1, 3, and 10, Chapuis discloses a tool for forming a material-shaping tool, comprising a punch 2, 124, and a die 3, 125 for forming an object 1, 126 in between the punch and the die; wherein the object 1 has a flat, transverse bottom 5, an annular, longitudinal side 6 going around an axis 4 and bordering and flaring out the bottom 5.
The punch 2, 124 comprises a fluid transfer circuit 13 includes a heat-transfer fluid inlet manifold or duct 18, and intermediate manifold 27 and an outlet manifold 32, wherein punch 2 can be divided into different slices 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40; and the punch 124 has longitudinal manifolds 144, 145 that are subdivided into different elementary manifolds corresponding with the forming object 126 [0099],
wherein the inlet manifold 18 has the shape of a blind hole emerging in the transverse face 17 and closed off in the immediate vicinity of the transverse face 15 by a transverse plane end wall 19, wherein manifold 18 is shaped to conform to the shape of the faces 15 and the end wall 19 of the punch 2; and each of the slices 35-40 defines a respective axial longitudinal passage 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, a respective section of the inlet manifold 18, [0071];
wherein the intermediate manifold 27 formed by portions 23, 24, 25 alongside the outer peripheral face 16;
wherein the outlet manifold 32 lies in a transverse plane 33 with a duct 34 joining the outlet 32 located in the outer peripheral face 26 of the tool 2, which serves for forming the inner peripheral face 7 of the side 6 of the object 1.
Similarly, the die 3, 125 comprises many slices 69-74 corresponding with each of the faces 75-86, wherein the die 3 has a circuit 14 for circulating heat-transfer fluid around a cavity 107 and comprises two annular transverse manifolds 96, 97, 146, 147 an annular transverse intermediate manifold 102 connects to an annular groove 104 in the face 83 of the slice 73 and an annular groove 105 made in the mating face 84 of the slice 94; a plurality of ducts 108, 110, connected to a plurality of passages 112-122; wherein the manifolds 146-147 are connected to a plurality of ducts 150-153.
Chapuis further discloses that each manifold 144, 145, 146, 147 is formed from several mutually independent elementary manifolds as regards the circulation of the heat-transfer fluid, those of the slices 156 and 157 that correspond to the transition between two elementary manifolds may be deprived of any through-passage or through-section such as 158 and 159 or may be provided with such sections in blind form so as to avoid any fluid communication between the various constituent elementary manifolds of one and the same manifold [0113].
Although Chapuis discloses that those manifold sessions are individually formed with separate fluid communications, Chapuis fails to disclose at least 6 ports, each port fluid coupled respectively to the manifold via respective channels, the ports at disparate points, with each pair of ports in fluid communication via the manifold.
Crabtree disclose a molding apparatus, comprising a plurality of nozzles are provided in the mold walls and a corresponding plurality of tubes interconnect the nozzles to a manifold 46, 78 located in the corresponding chamber; a plurality of valving arrangements 94, 96 and 98, 100 or ports that are controlled electronically by a programable controller in a manner to determine the rate of discharge of steam and condensate from the manifold – see abstract.
Regarding claims 1-2, 4-5, and 10, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide Chapuis with a plurality of valving arrangements or ports as taught by Crabtree in order to selectively and locally control the temperature of different mold portions. In regarding the specific number of ports and/or channels, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide more or less ports, bigger or smaller ports/channels depending on the size of the mold, the material being mold and the temperature of the fluid as an obvious design choice in order to appropriately conditioning the molds to a correct molding temperature. It has been held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced.
Regarding claims 6, and 8-9, wherein Chapuis further discloses the plurality of tool slices 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 or 69, 70, 71, 72 and 73 with mating faces and are mutually fastening them in a position forming a reinforcing structure with a face, wherein the slices are produced by casting or by machining from a preexisting block of a thermally conductive material [0084]-[0087].
Regarding claims 10-19, Chapius further discloses a plurality of outlet manifold 32, 34, 87, 96, in addition to the other manifolds 97, 146, 147 in order to regulate the fluid in and out of the punch 2 and the mold 3. Crabtree discloses that the process controller for the molding equipment may be programmed to select and actuate the proper opening for the valves 94, 96 and 98, 100 depending upon the phase of the cycle in molding the part. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adjust the valves and/or modify the computer program so that the molding conditions inside the mold cavity can be adjusted appropriately depending on the process operation happening inside the mold cavity at any given time.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-19 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 Thu-Khanh T. Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)272-1136. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30-4:30.
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/Thu Khanh T. Nguyen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1743