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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. EP20207582.6, filed on 11/13/2020.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claims 2, 7, 16, and 18 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 2 states, “the collet housing…a front collet housing end and a rear collect housing end”. For the rear collect housing, it appears that the limitation should be “rear collet housing”.
Claim 7 and 16 both include angle ranges, however there are angle values that are missing the degree symbol. The degree symbol should either be consistently placed on all values or only on the final value.
Claim 18 states, “slot length of 14mm”. There needs to be a space between 14 and mm so the limitation should be, “slot length of 14 mm”.
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.
Claims 1-2, 4, 8, 13, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Vogel (US 2798145 A).
Regarding claim 1, Vogel discloses an electrode clamping device for mechanically clamping (Section 2, lines 31-33, “within body opening 11 means for actuating the gripping means to grip the electrode and for clamping collet 12”) a non-fusible, rod-shaped welding electrode in a welding torch (Section 1, lines 61-62, “arc welding torch with an adjusting means for a non-depositing electrode”, where the electrode is not deposited, meaning that it is non-fusible; where the rod shape for the electrode is shown in Fig. 3),
wherein the electrode clamping device has a collet which is mounted into the welding torch from the rear (Section 2, lines 38-46, “forward end portion of collet 12. These fingers, being four in number, are identified respectively by the numbers 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d. These fingers, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, also normally extend inwardly somewhat further than the interior walls of collet 12 to provide an opening therebetween of substantially the same diameter as electrode 13, thereby providing a rather tight sliding fit between the electrode and the gripping fingers”, where the collet 12 would be inserted from the top end or rear of the welding torch as there are structural fingers located at the bottom of the collet) into a collet housing of the electrode clamping device, which surrounds the collet (Section 2, lines 49-50, “Quill 14 is dimensioned internally to slidably receive collet 12”, where the collet housing accepts the collet through the rear location of the welding torch),
wherein the collet is arranged so as to be movable along the longitudinal axis of the rod-shaped welding electrode relative to the collet housing, which surrounds it, in order to mechanically fixedly clamp and release the rod-shaped welding electrode (Section 2, lines 69-end, “The spring means should be constructed so that in addition to urging collet 12 rearwardly, it is also .yieldable to .permit .collet 12 to move forwardly and thereby · disengage .gripping fingers 12a-12d from throat 14a.”, and Section 3, lines 17-20, “cap 15 in effect provides a movable plunger which extends rearwardly beyond body 10, which plunger can be moved inwardly towards body 10 to effect the forward movement of collet 12.”, where Fig. 1 and 2 show that the collet can be moveable along the electrode relative to the collet housing as the collet can be moveable while attaching or detaching the electrode).
Regarding claim 2, Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the collet has, in the longitudinal direction, a front collet end with clamping jaws (Section 2, lines 38-46, “forward end portion of collet 12. These fingers, being four in number, are identified respectively by the numbers 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d. These fingers, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, also normally extend inwardly somewhat further than the interior walls of collet 12 to provide an opening therebetween of substantially the same diameter as electrode 13”) and a rear collet end (Section 2, lines 49-50, “Quill 14 is dimensioned internally to slidably receive collet 12”, where the front end of the collet is inserted and there is a rear end to the collet that is just a cylindrical collet without any jaws), and
wherein the collet housing has, in the longitudinal direction, a front collet housing end and a rear collect housing end for inserting the front collet end into and guiding it through the rear collect housing end, and wherein the collet can be guided with its front collet end into the rear collet housing end (Section 2, lines 49-53, “Quill 14 is dimensioned internally to slidably receive collet 12, and at its front end is provided with an inwardly tapering throat 14a. Throat 14a is shaped to conform ,to the outside of gripping fingers 12a-12d”, where the top end of the quill 14 is construed as a rear collet housing and where that end receives the collet 12’s front end and lets the collet front end slide so that it is reaches the bottom of the quill or the front collet housing),
wherein the collet has, at its front collet end, an additional welding electrode receiving contour for receiving a rod-shaped welding electrode in the collet (Section 2, lines 52-56, “Throat 14a is shaped to conform ,to the outside of gripping fingers 12a-12d, and as illustrated more clearly in Fig. 1, provides the means for actuating the electrode gripping means while at the same time clamping collet 12 against further rearward movement.”, where Fig. 2 shows that the jaws at the front collet end have a contour that receives the welding electrode and is expanded outwards), and/or
wherein the collet housing which surrounds the collet has a receiving contour such that the collet can be pushed in from the rear through the receiving contour of the collet housing (Section 2, lines 49-53, “Quill 14 is dimensioned internally to slidably receive collet 12, and at its front end is provided with an inwardly tapering throat 14a. Throat 14a is shaped to conform ,to the outside of gripping fingers 12a-12d”, where the collet housing or quill 14 includes a receiving contour for the collet so that it can be pushed from the rear).
Regarding claim 4, Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the collet is moved relative to the collet housing, which surrounds it, by means of a spring mechanism of the electrode clamping device (Section 2, lines 66-69, “releasable spring means are provided and arranged to urge collet 14 rearwardly to a position at which the collet gripping fingers 12a-12d are in firm engagement with throat 14a of quill 14.”).
Regarding claim 8, Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 4, as set forth above, discloses wherein the collet which is arranged so as to be moveable along the longitudinal axis of the rod-shaped welding electrode (Section 2, lines 24-28, “More specifically, collet 12 is tubular and has an internal diameter slightly larger than that of electrode 13, so that electrode 13 can be inserted within collet 12 and moved with respect thereto.”) is connected to a pressure cap which is provided on a rear side of the welding torch, can be manually actuated and surrounds the spring mechanism of the electrode clamping device (Section 3, lines 11-15, “Thus, by adjusting cap 15 on collet 12 spring 16 can be compressed, and the forces thus set up will tend to urge cap 15 rearwardly and at the same time pulling gripping fingers 12a-12d into engagement with throat 14a.”).
Regarding claim 13, Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein a first current contact surface between the rod-shaped welding electrode and the collet and a second current contact surface between the collet and the collet housing are arranged axially offset with respect to one another (Fig. 1, where the collet fingers 12a are shown to contact the welding electrode axially near the labelled number 3, where the collet fingers 12a are shown to contact the collet housing 14 at a location above the labelled number 3, meaning that the axial contact is offset for the collet to the welding electrode and the collet to the collet housing).
Regarding claim 15, Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses a welding torch (Section 1, lines 12, “an arc welding torch”), wherein the welding torch has a non-fusible, rod-shaped welding electrode with a tip, wherein the tip of the welding electrode is provided on a front side of the welding torch (Section 4, lines 2-5, “This arrangement provides a double layer gas mantle or shield about the projecting end portion of electrode 13 during the welding operation.”, where the end portion of the electrode 13 is construed as the tip, where that tip projects out of the welding torch, where the electrode is non-fusible, Section 2, lines 23-24, “collet 12 which is in turn adapted for slidably receiving a non-depositing electrode 13.”, and shown to be a rod shape in Fig. 3) and wherein the welding torch has an electrode clamping device as claimed in claim 1 for mechanically clamping the non-fusible, rod-shaped welding electrode into the welding torch (Section 2, lines 31-33, “within body opening 11 means for actuating the gripping means to grip the electrode and for clamping collet 12”).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 3, 14, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vogel (US 2798145 A) in view of Hung (US 20120024823 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the collet has, on its front end portion at its front collet end, a plurality of clamping jaws which are arranged radially (Section 2, lines 38-46, “forward end portion of collet 12. These fingers, being four in number, are identified respectively by the numbers 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d. These fingers, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, also normally extend inwardly somewhat further than the interior walls of collet 12 to provide an opening therebetween of substantially the same diameter as electrode 13”),
where the clamping jaws are pressed together by means of current contact surface of the surrounding collet housing on the front collet housing end (Section 2, lines 52-56, “Throat 14a is shaped to conform ,to the outside of gripping fingers 12a-12d, and as illustrated more clearly in Fig. 1, provides the means for actuating the electrode gripping means while at the same time clamping collet 12 against further rearward movement.”).
Vogel does not disclose:
where the plurality of clamping jaws are separated by slots, widen radially and/or axially and are pressed together by means of an internal clamping in order to hold in a centered manner the rod-shaped welding electrode introduced into the collet, as soon as the collet is moved rearwards relative to the collet housing surrounding it.
However, Hung discloses, in the similar field of electrode clamping devices (Para. 0008, “collet assembly disposed in the torch head and configured to secure the welding electrode.”), where the plurality of clamping jaws are separated by slots that widen radially (Para. 0032, “As may be appreciated, the slits 119 permit the extensions 120 to move and contact the welding electrode 52.”, where the clamping jaws are the extensions 120 and the slots are the slits 119) and are pressed together by means of an internal clamping in order to hold the rod-shaped welding electrode in a centered manner as the collet is moved forward relative to the collet housing surrounding it (Para. 0032, “The second end 66 of the collet 56 has slits 119 that form extensions 120. As the extensions 120 are inserted into the first end 70 of the spacer 58, the extensions 120 are pressed toward the welding electrode 52 and the extensions 120 are deformed by the spacer 58 to contact the welding electrode 52.”, where the welding electrode is a rod shape and inserted into the collet, and where the collet is able to secure the welding electrode in a central position through the clamping of the extensions/jaws due to the slots/slits as the collet is moved forward into the spacer). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the collet in Vogel to include the features as taught by Hung.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to have the clamping jaws be flexible in securing different sized welding electrodes, as stated by Hung, Para. 0037, “As may be appreciated, the diameter of the welding electrode 80 may vary depending on the welding application. For example, in certain embodiments, the welding electrode 80 may have a diameter of approximately 3/22 inch to approximately 5/22 inch.”, and Para. 00032, “As may be appreciated, the slits 119 permit the extensions 120 to move and contact the welding electrode 52.”.
Regarding the movement of the collet relative to the collet housing to start the jaw clamping motion, it has been held that mere reversal of parts is an obvious modification to make. In re Gazda, 219 F.2d 449, 104 USPQ 400 (CCPA 1955). It is the Examiner’s position that reversing the movement of the collet so that the collet jaws close during rearward movement would still allow the jaws to close around the welding electrode. As a result, the positioning of the spacer to allow for the jaws to close during a rearward motion would be a mere matter of user design choice in choosing the spacer location.
Regarding claim 14, modified Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 3, as set forth above.
Modified Vogel does not disclose:
wherein the slots of the collet have a slot length of 10 to 20 mm, and/or the slots have a slot width in a range of 0.5 mm to 1 mm and/or at least 3 slots are provided.
However, Hung discloses where the slots of the collet have a slot length of 10 to 20 mm (Para. 0033, “Further, the length 128 of the slits 119 may be approximately 0.1 to 0.6 inches”, where 0.1 to 0.6 inches is 2.54 to 15.24 mm). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the slots in modified Vogel to be of the dimensions as taught by Hung.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to have the clamping jaws be flexible in securing different sized welding electrodes, as stated by Hung, Para. 0037, “As may be appreciated, the diameter of the welding electrode 80 may vary depending on the welding application. For example, in certain embodiments, the welding electrode 80 may have a diameter of approximately 3/22 inch to approximately 5/22 inch.”, and Para. 00032, “As may be appreciated, the slits 119 permit the extensions 120 to move and contact the welding electrode 52.”.
Regarding claim 18, modified Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 14, as set forth above, discloses wherein the have a slot length of 14mm (Teaching from Hung, Para. 0033, “Further, the length 128 of the slits 119 may be approximately 0.1 to 0.6 inches”, where 0.1 to 0.6 inches is 2.54 to 15.24 mm), and/or the slots have a slot width in a range of 0.6 mm to 0.8 mm and/or at least 4 slots are provided.
Claims 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vogel (US 2798145 A) in view of Li et al. (CN 108748811 A, hereinafter Li).
Regarding claim 5, Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Vogel does not disclose:
wherein the clamping jaws of the collet have flat milled portions for optimizing the clamping force.
However, Li discloses, in the similar field of clamping jaws (Abstract, “at least one clamping jaw”), where the clamping jaws are milled and have flat surfaces (Page 5, Para. 2 from end, “In the invention, the sleeve 10 of the second end 12 to flats processing so as to form a milling flat. In the side view of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 can clearly be seen a perspective view the milling flat. Here, so called "flats" to its usual meaning in the field of mechanical processing, that is milled one or two corresponding to the small plane on the cylinder or shaft.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the clamping jaws with flat surfaces in Vogel to have those flat surfaces formed through milling as taught by Li.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to use a known processing method to create structures, where milling has been a known mechanical processing method in the prior art, as stated by Li, Page 5, Para. 2 from end, “Here, so called "flats" to its usual meaning in the field of mechanical processing, that is milled one or two corresponding to the small plane on the cylinder or shaft. Certainly, the "flats" described herein also comprises a processing method known in the field of other processed one or two small corresponding to the plane.”.
Claims 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vogel (US 2798145 A) in view of Unknown (FR 2746687 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, wherein; the clamping jaws which are provided on the front end portion of the collet and widen radially and/or axially have a specified first opening angle, α (Section 2, lines 38-46, “forward end portion of collet 12. These fingers, being four in number, are identified respectively by the numbers 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d. These fingers, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, also normally extend inwardly somewhat further than the interior walls of collet 12 to provide an opening therebetween of substantially the same diameter as electrode 13, thereby providing a rather tight sliding fit between the electrode and the gripping fingers”, where Fig. 1 and 2 shows that the clamping fingers are widened in Fig. 1, where an opening angle is shown to be 90 degrees);
where the collet housing has, on a front end portion, a contact-pressing surface (Section 2, lines 49-53, “Quill 14 is dimensioned internally to slidably receive collet 12, and at its front end is provided with an inwardly tapering throat 14a. Throat 14a is shaped to conform ,to the outside of gripping fingers 12a-12d”).
Vogel does not disclose:
and/or the collet housing has, on a front end portion, a contact-pressing surface having a second opening angle, β.
However, Unknown discloses, in the similar field of clamping welding electrodes (Page 1, last Para., “The clamping of this clamp on the electrode is ensured by cooperation of its conical end with a female receiving cone”), where the collet housing has in the front end with a second opening angle (Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “It can be seen from FIG. 2 that at the same time, the deformation which is carried out has the effect of flaring the axial bore 9 from the inside to the outside.”, and Fig. 2, where labelled 34 shows that the housing includes a taper outwards). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the collet housing in Vogel to include a second opening angle as taught by Unknown.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to more easily guide the electrode through the collet housing, as stated by Unknown, Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “It can be seen from FIG. 2 that at the same time, the deformation which is carried out has the effect of flaring the axial bore 9 from the inside to the outside. This results in a centering taper which ensures favorable guidance of the electrode 5 during its introduction.”.
Claims 7 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vogel (US 2798145 A) in view of Li et al. (CN 108748811 A, hereinafter Li) and Unknown (FR 2746687 A1).
Regarding claim 7, modified Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 5, as set forth above, discloses wherein:
the first opening angle, α, of the collet is equal to or greater than the second opening angle, β, of the surrounding collet housing;
the first opening angle, α, is in an angle range of 20 to 90° (Vogel, Section 2, lines 38-46, “forward end portion of collet 12. These fingers, being four in number, are identified respectively by the numbers 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d. These fingers, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, also normally extend inwardly somewhat further than the interior walls of collet 12 to provide an opening therebetween of substantially the same diameter as electrode 13, thereby providing a rather tight sliding fit between the electrode and the gripping fingers”, where Fig. 1 and 2 shows that the clamping fingers are widened in Fig. 1, where an opening angle is shown to be 90 degrees for the clamping fingers of the collet, and Section 2, lines 49-53, “Quill 14 is dimensioned internally to slidably receive collet 12, and at its front end is provided with an inwardly tapering throat 14a. Throat 14a is shaped to conform ,to the outside of gripping fingers 12a-12d”, where the opening angle is shown to also be 90 degrees for the quill for the collet housing, where the first opening angle for the collet and the second opening angle for the collet housing are the same).
Modified Vogel does not disclose:
the second opening angle, β, is in an angle range of 0° to 90°.
However, Unknown discloses, in the similar field of clamping welding electrodes (Page 1, last Para., “The clamping of this clamp on the electrode is ensured by cooperation of its conical end with a female receiving cone”), where the collet housing has in the front end with a second opening angle (Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “It can be seen from FIG. 2 that at the same time, the deformation which is carried out has the effect of flaring the axial bore 9 from the inside to the outside.”, and Fig. 2, where labelled 34 shows that the housing includes a taper outwards). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the collet housing in modified Vogel to include a second opening angle as taught by Unknown, where the second opening angle is between 0 to 90 degrees and less than the 90 degree first opening angle.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to more easily guide the electrode through the collet housing, as stated by Unknown, Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “It can be seen from FIG. 2 that at the same time, the deformation which is carried out has the effect of flaring the axial bore 9 from the inside to the outside. This results in a centering taper which ensures favorable guidance of the electrode 5 during its introduction.”.
Regarding claim 16, modified Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 7, as set forth above.
Modified Vogel does not disclose:
wherein: the first opening angle, α, is in an angle range of 20 to 35°; and
the second opening angle, β, is in an angle range of 20° to 30°.
However, Unknown discloses, in the similar field of clamping welding electrodes (Page 1, last Para., “The clamping of this clamp on the electrode is ensured by cooperation of its conical end with a female receiving cone”), where the collet housing has in the front end with a second opening angle (Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “It can be seen from FIG. 2 that at the same time, the deformation which is carried out has the effect of flaring the axial bore 9 from the inside to the outside.”, and Fig. 2, where labelled 34 shows that the housing includes a taper outwards, where the taper appears to be at a 20-30 degree angle). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the first and second opening angles in modified Vogel to include the angles as taught by Unknown.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to more easily guide the electrode through the collet housing, as stated by Unknown, Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “It can be seen from FIG. 2 that at the same time, the deformation which is carried out has the effect of flaring the axial bore 9 from the inside to the outside. This results in a centering taper which ensures favorable guidance of the electrode 5 during its introduction.”.
Regarding the specific taper angle, it is the Examiner's position that one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to try as there are a limited amount of angles to try that all still are tapers. All the angles ranging from 0 to 90 degrees would still achieve the same end result of allowing for easier guidance of the electrode through the collet as they are still tapers. As a result, a user could choose different taper angles depending on their design choices.
Claims 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vogel (US 2798145 A) in view of Ikouga et al. (CN 102123815 A, hereinafter Ikouga).
Regarding claim 9, Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Vogel does not disclose:
wherein the collet housing has radial bores, through which a protective gas supplied to the welding torch is discharged into a gas nozzle surrounding the welding electrode.
However, Ikouga discloses, in the similar field of clamping electrodes (Abstract, “an electrode clamp (20) for fixing the electrode, an electrode clamping body (22) around the electrode clamp (20)”), where the collet housing includes radial bores for a protective gas to be supplied and where the protective gas is discharged into a gas nozzle surrounding the welding electrode (Para. 0025, “the electrode clamp 22 is formed a plurality of gas discharge , the protective gas (in this embodiment is argon) to form the electrode 18 with a space part between the welding gun nozzle M 26. welding gun nozzle is preferably made of alumina.”, and Fig. 4, where the electrode holder 20 is surrounded by an electrode housing/electrode clamp 22, where the housing 22 includes bores 28 that allow protective gas to flow, where the nozzle is the welding gun nozzle 26 that surrounds the electrode 18 with protective gas). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the collet housing in Vogel to include the bores for allowing protective gas as taught by Ikouga.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to use protective gas in the welding process, which prevents the formation of bubbles, as stated by Ikouga, Para. 0002, “if air in contact with molten metal, the nitrogen atmosphere is infused in the metal, and when the molten metal is solidified, the infused nitrogen can lower completely separated and form bubbles, the molten metal in the lower state is solidified, form air state. Therefore, at the beginning of arc welding will be used for protective gas, generally argon, after the electrode and workpiece surrounding forming argon environment”.
Claims 10 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vogel (US 2798145 A) in view of Rogers (US 20110278274 A1).
Regarding claim 10, Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Vogel does not disclose:
wherein the contract-pressing surface provided on the front end portion of the collet housing has a radius which is in the range of 0 to 1 mm.
However, Rogers discloses, in the similar field of clamping electrodes (Abstract, “conical interior surface of a housing to enable the use of electrodes of various diameters without changing components of the torch”), where the electrode radius can be in the millimeter range, which would cause the contract-pressing surface to also be in the millimeter range (Para. 0003, “TIG welding can be used for a number of materials and alloys and is thus a very versatile welding process. However, the welding parameters and electrode sizes are often adjusted based upon the material being welded. For example, the diameter of the non-consumable tungsten electrode can vary between about 0.5 mm and about 6.4 mm (0.020 in.-0.25 in.) depending upon the workpiece material and type of weld”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified electrode diameter in Vogel to be explicitly mentioned to be in the millimeter range, where this would cause the contract-pressing surface to be in the range of the electrode diameter in order to press onto the electrode, as taught by Rogers.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to use different electrode sizes depending on the workpiece material and type of weld, as stated by Rogers, Para. 0003, “However, the welding parameters and electrode sizes are often adjusted based upon the material being welded. For example, the diameter of the non-consumable tungsten electrode can vary between about 0.5 mm and about 6.4 mm (0.020 in.-0.25 in.) depending upon the workpiece material and type of weld”.
Regarding claim 17, modified Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 10, as set forth above.
Modified Vogel does not disclose:
wherein the contact-pressing surface has a radius which of 0.1 mm.
However, Rogers discloses, in the similar field of clamping electrodes (Abstract, “conical interior surface of a housing to enable the use of electrodes of various diameters without changing components of the torch”), where the electrode radius can be in the millimeter range, which would cause the contract-pressing surface to also be in the millimeter range (Para. 0003, “TIG welding can be used for a number of materials and alloys and is thus a very versatile welding process. However, the welding parameters and electrode sizes are often adjusted based upon the material being welded. For example, the diameter of the non-consumable tungsten electrode can vary between about 0.5 mm and about 6.4 mm (0.020 in.-0.25 in.) depending upon the workpiece material and type of weld”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified electrode diameter in modified Vogel to be explicitly mentioned to be in the millimeter range, where this would cause the contract-pressing surface to be in the range of the electrode diameter in order to press onto the electrode, as taught by Rogers.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to use different electrode sizes depending on the workpiece material and type of weld, as stated by Rogers, Para. 0003, “However, the welding parameters and electrode sizes are often adjusted based upon the material being welded. For example, the diameter of the non-consumable tungsten electrode can vary between about 0.5 mm and about 6.4 mm (0.020 in.-0.25 in.) depending upon the workpiece material and type of weld”.
Regarding the specific sizing of the radius being 0.1 mm, Rogers discloses a radius that would be at most 0.25 mm for the smallest diameter electrode of 0.5 mm, and mere changes in size have been held as obvious modifications to make. In Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984). It is the Examiner’s position that the sizing of Rogers is already within the millimeter range, where changes to the size would reduce the electrode diameter and then the contract-pressing surface must also be reduced in order to contact the electrode. As a result, the function of the system would still be the same and the changes in electrode sizing have been stated by Rogers as being dependent upon the workpiece material and type of weld, where a user would be able to choose different electrode sizes depending on the conditions as taught by Rogers.
Claims 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vogel (US 2798145 A) in view of Theubet et al. (WO 2013041567 A1, hereinafter Theubet).
Regarding claim 11, Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein: and/or the material of the collet consists of a copper alloy (Section 4, lines 30-31, “Specifically, collet 12 can be formed of copper plated case hardened steel”).
Vogel does not disclose:
the surface of the collet and/or of the collet housing is surrounded by a current-conducting oxidation protective layer for protecting against oxidation and for protecting against wear;
the current-conducting oxidation layer consists of silver or nickel or has a high-temperature sliding lacquer coating.
However, Theubet discloses, in the similar field of collets (Page 10, last Para., “collet adapter 10”), where a collet can include a coating of any material (Page 10, last Para., “Metals that may be used to fabricate the collet adapter 10 include, but are not limited to, titanium and nickel. Alloys that may be used include steels such as hardenable steels, non-hardenable steels, stainless steels, and low-corrosion steels. Other alloys are also within the scope of the present invention. Various materials and coatings may be applied and used to improve surface properties.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the collet in Vogel to be coated with an oxidation coating layer as taught by Theubet.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to use coatings to provide the collet with improved surface properties, where the specific properties desired can be selected by a user’s design choices, as stated by Theubet, Page 10, last Para., “Various materials and coatings may be applied and used to improve surface properties.”.
Claims 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vogel (US 2798145 A) in view of Ibaraki et al. (JP 2001129666 A, hereinafter Ibaraki).
Regarding claim 12, Vogel teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Vogel does not disclose:
wherein auxiliary components, in particular a cold wire or hot wire supplying unit, can be mounted on a housing casing of the welding torch.
However, Ibaraki discloses, in the similar field of electrodes for welding (Abstract, “A system body 11 is connected with a welding holder 12, capable of welding with the metallic electrode rod D”), where an auxiliary component includes a wire supplying unit mounting on the housing case of the welding torch (Page 9, Para. 7, “A collet 16 and a gas cover 17 which covers the collet 16 are attached to the collet 16 and a nonconsumable metal electrode rod D is attached to the collet 16 in a protruding state. Further, a guide pipe 40 for guiding the welding wire Y is curved and projected from the welding wire projecting portion 12h of the housing front surface 12e to the tip of the metal electrode rod D.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the welding torch in Vogel to include the wire feeding mechanism as taught by Ibaraki.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of allowing a worker to not worry about the wire feeding for the weld, where the wire feeding system can provided the feed of material, as stated by Ibaraki, Page 15, last Para., “As described above, in both the one-touch type and the no-touch type, the optimum amount of the filler wire Y is always sent to the correct position by various controls and accurate positioning by the tip 40a of the guide pipe 40. It is possible to work with care only on the repaired parts without worrying about the feed of the steel, and even an unskilled worker can perform accurate repair welding.”.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Dallas (US 3309492 A) discloses a similar protective gas system for a welding electrode.
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/KEVIN GUANHUA WEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
02/13/2026