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 .
Response to Amendment
Upon consideration of the amended claims and the Applicant’s arguments, all previous rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) are hereby withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments do not comply with 37 CFR 1.111(c) because they do not clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present in view of the state of the art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. Further, they do not show how the amendments avoid such references or objections. Applicant states on page 7 of the Remarks filed 01/30/2026 that “claims 1 and 8 are amended to incorporate the allowable subject matter of claims 3 and 10, respectively”; however, no allowable subject matter had been indicated for Claims 3 and 10. In fact, the Non-Final Rejection explicitly stated that even though no art had been applied to those claims, there were not deemed allowable due to the rejections under 3 U.S.C. 112(b) (see pages 3-4 of the Office action mailed 11/04/2025). The claims therefore remain rejected.
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.
Claims 1, 4, 8, 11, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fujita et al., hereinafter Fujita (JP H06-91309, provided by Applicant). For text citations of Fujita, refer to the machine translation provided as Non-Patent Literature.
Regarding Claim 1, Fujita discloses (Figures 1-2 and 4) a cold rolling method for cold-rolling a material to be rolled by a rolling mill including a plurality of stands ([0012] ln 1: a tandem mill comprising a plurality of rolling stands is used), wherein an N-th stand, where N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2, arranged in an N-th position from an upstream side of the material to be rolled in a transfer direction among the plurality of stands ([0025] lns 2-3: the N-th stand is the No. 2 stand of the five-stand tandem cold rolling mill), includes a tapered work roll (work rolls A-1 and A-2) having a taper (tapered portion 3) formed on an end portion of a roll having a uniform diameter (straight portion 2), the method comprising: rolling the material to be rolled with the N-th stand with a linear load of 0.8 t/mm or more (Figure 4(b) clearly shows the tapered work roll has a linear load of 0.8 t/mm or more).
Examiner note: regarding the limitation “wherein, in a case where the N-th stand rolls the material to be rolled with a linear load of 1.4 t/mm or more…and a positive direction expends toward the uniform diameter of the roll” in lines 9-14, due to the inclusion of the phrase “in a case where”, this limitation is interpreted as not being necessary to meet all the requirements of the claim as the recited “case” will not always be met. Accordingly, Fujita anticipates all required limitations of Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 4, Fujita discloses among the plurality of stands, an (N + 1)-th stand arranged in an (N + 1)-th position on a downstream side of the N-th stand rolls the material to be rolled with a flat work roll having a uniform diameter of a roll ([0025] lns 2-3: the tapered work rolls are only used in the No. 1 and No. 2 stands of the five-stand tandem mill, so the No. 3 stand, i.e. the (N + 1)-th stand, has flat work rolls).
Regarding Claim 8, Fujita discloses (Figures 1-2 and 4) cold rolling equipment including a rolling mill having a plurality of stands ([0012] ln 1: a tandem mill comprising a plurality of rolling stands is used) for cold-rolling a material to be rolled, wherein an N-th stand (N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) arranged in an N-th position from an upstream side of the material to be rolled in a transfer direction among the plurality of stands ([0025] lns 2-3: the N-th stand is the No. 2 stand of the five-stand tandem cold rolling mill), includes a tapered work roll (work rolls A-1 and A-2) having a taper (tapered portion 3) formed on an end portion of a roll having a uniform diameter (straight portion 2), and a linear load of the N-th stand is set as 0.8 t/mm or more (Figure 4(b) clearly shows the tapered work roll has a linear load of 0.8 t/mm or more).
Examiner note: regarding the limitation “wherein, in a case where a linear load of the N-th stand is set as 1.4 t/mm or more…and a positive direction expends toward the uniform diameter of the roll” in lines 8-12, due to the inclusion of the phrase “in a case where”, this limitation is interpreted as not being necessary to meet all the requirements of the claim as the recited “case” will not always be met. Accordingly, Fujita anticipates all required limitations of Claim 8.
Regarding Claim 11, Fujita discloses among the plurality of stands, an (N + 1)-th stand arranged in an (N + 1)-th position on a downstream side of the N-th stand rolls the material to be rolled with a flat work roll having a uniform diameter of a roll ([0025] lns 2-3: the tapered work rolls are only used in the No. 1 and No. 2 stands of the five-stand tandem mill, so the No. 3 stand, i.e. the (N + 1)-th stand, has flat work rolls).
Regarding Claim 15, Fujita discloses a cold-rolled steel sheet manufacturing method comprising: cold-rolling a steel sheet to manufacture a cold-rolled steel sheet ([0025] lns 3-4) by the cold rolling method according to claim 1 (see discussion above).
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 5-6 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Honjo et al., hereinafter Honjo (JP S60-148610), in view of Nishi et al., hereinafter Nishi (US 7,004,002). For text citations of Honjo, refer to the machine translation provided as Non-Patent Literature with the Office action mailed 11/04/2025.
Regarding Claim 5, Honjo discloses (Figures 4-5) a cold rolling method for cold-rolling a material to be rolled (rolled material 1) by a rolling mill including a plurality of stands (rolling mills 14 and 15), wherein an N-th stand, where N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2, arranged in an N-th position from an upstream side of the material to be rolled in a transfer direction (rolling mill 14 in (m-1)-th position) and an (N+1)-th stand arranged in an (N+1)-th position on a downstream side of the N-th stand among the plurality of stands (rolling mill 14 in m-th position), include a tapered work roll (work roll 17) having a taper (roll taper portion 16) formed on an end portion of a roll having a uniform diameter, the method comprising: rolling the material to be rolled with each of the N-th stand and the (N+1)-th stand with a linear load (pg. 4 lns 19-21: the material is rolled in the rolling mills 14 in the m-th and (m-1)-th passes, i.e. the (N+1)-th and N-th stands, respectively; any rolling pass will inherently have a linear load) and a tapered rolling portion width WRδ which is a length, which is configured to face the material to be rolled, of the taper formed on the tapered work roll of each of the N-th stand and the (N+1)-th stand is set to extend toward the taper (clearly seen in Figure 4).
Honjo is silent to the magnitude of the linear load applied by each of the N-th stand and the (N+1)-th stand. However, as the Applicant has not set forth any criticality to the selection of this particular linear load that results in an unexpected benefit, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to perform the cold rolling method disclosed by Honjo such that the linear load of each of the N-th stand and the (N+1)-th stand is 1.7 t/mm or more, because such selection or determination would be the result of routine mechanical optimization and does not in itself warrant patentability, as one would arrive at such optimization through routine engineering practices.
Further regarding Claim 5, Honjo is silent to the specific dimensions of the tapered rolling portion widths WRδ, but does provide a control device and process for determining the optimal shifting of the work rolls and setting the work rolls to the calculated WRδ (pg. 5 lns 8-16). In the same field of endeavor, Nishi teaches (Figures 1 and 3C) a cold rolling method (col. 1 lns 5-6) for cold-rolling a material to be rolled (material 19) by a rolling mill including a plurality of stands (see para. [0034]-[0035]: the method can be performed on a reversible mill having a small number, i.e. a plurality, of stands, or with a tandem mill that uses a plurality of stands), wherein a stand includes a tapered work roll (work rolls 1A/1B) having a taper (tapered portion 4A/4B) formed on an end portion of a roll having a uniform diameter, the method comprising a tapered rolling portion width WRδ which is a length, which is configured to face the material to be rolled, of the taper formed on the tapered work roll (col. 7 lns 38-43: the length of tapered portion corresponding to work roll position δw0 is the tapered rolling portion width WRδ) is set at -50 mm to -5 mm, where a length of 0 mm starts where the taper begins (start points 20A/20B), a negative direction extends toward the taper, and a positive direction extends toward the uniform diameter of the roll (Figure 3C shows work roll position δw0 being 50 mm from the strip edge, and Figure 1 shows the edges G/H of material 19 extending in the direction of the tapered portions 4A/4B). Setting the tapered rolling portion width in this manner is advantageous as it reduces the edge drop that occurs when rolling to almost match the target edge drop value (col. 7 lns 48-50). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cold rolling method disclosed by Honjo such that the tapered rolling portion width WRδ of the taper formed on the tapered work roll of each of the N-th stand and the (N+1)-th stand is set as -50 mm to -5 mm, as taught by Nishi, in order to reduce edge drop to a target value.
Regarding Claim 6, Honjo discloses (Figure 5) among the plurality of stands, an (N+2)-th stand arranged in an (N+2)-th position (rolling mill 15 in n-th position) on a downstream side of the (N+1)-th stand (rolling mill 14 in m-th position) rolls the material to be rolled with a flat work roll having a uniform diameter of a roll (pg. 4 ln 21: rolling mill 15 is described as an “ordinary flat” rolling mill).
Regarding Claim 12, Honjo discloses (Figures 4-5) cold rolling equipment including a rolling mill having a plurality of stands (rolling mills 14 and 15) for rolling a material to be rolled (rolled material 1), wherein each of an N-th stand (N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) arranged in an N-th position (rolling mill 14 in (m-1)-th position) from an upstream side of the material to be rolled in a transfer direction and an (N+1)-th stand arranged in an (N+1)-th position (rolling mill 1 in m-th position) on a downstream side of the N-th stand among the plurality of stands, includes a tapered work roll (work roll 17) having a taper (roll taper portion 16) formed on an end portion of a roll having a uniform diameter, and a tapered rolling portion width WRδ which is a length, which is configured to face the material to be rolled, of the taper formed on the tapered work roll of each of the N-th stand and the (N+1)-th stand is set to extend toward the taper (clearly seen in Figure 4).
Honjo is silent to the magnitude of a linear load applied by each of the N-th stand and the (N+1)-th stand. However, as the Applicant has not set forth any criticality to the selection of this particular linear load that results in an unexpected benefit, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to perform the cold rolling equipment disclosed by Honjo such that a linear load of each of the N-th stand and the (N+1)-th stand is set as 1.7 t/mm or more, because such selection or determination would be the result of routine mechanical optimization and does not in itself warrant patentability, as one would arrive at such optimization through routine engineering practices.
Further regarding Claim 12, Honjo is silent to the specific dimensions of the tapered rolling portion widths WRδ, but does provide a control device and process for determining the optimal shifting of the work rolls and setting the work rolls to the calculated WRδ (pg. 5 lns 8-16). In the same field of endeavor, Nishi teaches (Figures 1 and 3C) cold rolling equipment (col. 1 lns 5-6) including a rolling mill having a plurality of stands (see para. [0034]-[0035]: the method can be performed on a reversible mill having a small number, i.e. a plurality, of stands, or with a tandem mill that uses a plurality of stands) for cold-rolling a material to be rolled (material 19), wherein a stand includes a tapered work roll (work rolls 1A/1B) having a taper (tapered portion 4A/4B) formed on an end portion of a roll having a uniform diameter, wherein a tapered rolling portion width WRδ which is a length, which is configured to face the material to be rolled, of the taper formed on the tapered work roll (col. 7 lns 38-43: the length of tapered portion corresponding to work roll position δw0 is the tapered rolling portion width WRδ) is set at -50 mm to -5 mm, where a length of 0 mm starts where the taper begins (start points 20A/20B), a negative direction extends toward the taper, and a positive direction extends toward the uniform diameter of the roll (Figure 3C shows work roll position δw0 being 50 mm from the strip edge, and Figure 1 shows the edges G/H of material 19 extending in the direction of the tapered portions 4A/4B). Setting the tapered rolling portion width in this manner is advantageous as it reduces the edge drop that occurs when rolling to almost match the target edge drop value (col. 7 lns 48-50). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cold rolling equipment disclosed by Honjo such that the tapered rolling portion width WRδ of the taper formed on the tapered work roll of each of the N-th stand and the (N+1)-th stand is set as -50 mm to -5 mm, as taught by Nishi, in order to reduce edge drop to a target value.
Regarding Claim 13, Honjo discloses (Figure 5) among the plurality of stands, an (N+2)-th stand arranged in an (N+2)-th position (rolling mill 15 in n-th position) on a downstream side of the (N+1)-th stand (rolling mill 14 in m-th position) includes a flat work roll having a uniform diameter of a roll (pg. 4 ln 21: rolling mill 15 is described as an “ordinary flat” rolling mill).
Claims 7 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujita as applied to Claims 1 and 8, respectively, above, and further in view of Honjo et al., hereinafter Honjo (JP S60-148610). For text citations of Honjo, refer to the machine translation provided as Non-Patent Literature.
Regarding Claim 7, Fujita discloses that the tapered work rolls are used in multiple stands (i.e. not all stands) of a tandem rolling mill ([0032] lns 1-2), but is silent to a configuration in which the No.1 stand includes a flat work roll. In the same field of endeavor, Honjo teaches (Figures 4-5) a cold rolling method for cold-rolling a material to be rolled (rolled material 1) by a rolling mill including a plurality of stands (rolling mills 14 and 15), wherein an N-th stand, where N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2, arranged in an N-th position from an upstream side of the material to be rolled in a transfer direction among the plurality of stands (rolling mill 14 in (m-1)-th position), includes a tapered work roll (work rolls 17) having a taper (roll taper portion 16) formed on an end portion of a roll having a uniform diameter, and wherein, among the plurality of stands, a stand arranged on an uppermost stream side of the material to be rolled in the transfer direction (rolling mill 15 in position 1) rolls the material to be rolled with a flat work roll having a uniform diameter of a roll (pg. 4 ln 21: rolling mill 15 is described as an “ordinary flat” rolling mill). This configuration of rolling stands is advantageous as it provides an even, rectangular cross section of the width of the rolled material and achieves an improved quality of the crown of the rolled material (pg. 6 lns 8-10). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to arrange the plurality of stands used in the cold rolling method disclosed by Fujita such that a stand arranged on an uppermost stream side of the material to be rolled in the transfer direction rolls the material to be rolled with a flat work roll having a uniform diameter of a roll, as taught by Honjo, as this is a known arrangement that provides an improved crown and width-wise cross section of the rolled material.
Regarding Claim 14, Fujita discloses that the tapered work rolls are used in multiple stands (i.e. not all stands) of a tandem rolling mill ([0032] lns 1-2), but is silent to a configuration in which the No.1 stand includes a flat work roll. In the same field of endeavor, Honjo teaches (Figures 4-5) cold rolling equipment including a plurality of stands (rolling mills 14 and 15) for cold-rolling a material to be rolled (rolled material 1), wherein an N-th stand (N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) arranged in an N-th position from an upstream side of the material to be rolled in a transfer direction among the plurality of stands (rolling mill 14 in (m-1)-th position), includes a tapered work roll (work rolls 17) having a taper (roll taper portion 16) formed on an end portion of a roll having a uniform diameter, and wherein, among the plurality of stands, a stand arranged on an uppermost stream side of the material to be rolled in the transfer direction (rolling mill 15 in position 1) includes a flat work roll having a uniform diameter of a roll (pg. 4 ln 21: rolling mill 15 is described as an “ordinary flat” rolling mill). This configuration of rolling stands is advantageous as it provides an even, rectangular cross section of the width of the rolled material and achieves an improved quality of the crown of the rolled material (pg. 6 lns 8-10). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to arrange the plurality of stands in the cold rolling equipment disclosed by Fujita such that a stand arranged on an uppermost stream side of the material to be rolled in the transfer direction includes a flat work roll having a uniform diameter of a roll, as taught by Honjo, as this is a known arrangement that provides an improved crown and width-wise cross section of the rolled material.
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 TERESA A GUTHRIE whose telephone number is (571)270-5042. The examiner can normally be reached M/Tu/Th, 10-6 ET.
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/TERESA A GUTHRIE/Examiner, Art Unit 3725
/Christopher L Templeton/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3725