DETAILED ACTION
Claims 16-31 are currently presented for examination.
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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 18 and 28 is 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 18 recites ”wherein said head portion of said securing screw is deflected resiliently in the radially outward direction and axially in a direction of the free end of the tool” at lines 1-3. These limitations are in the form of a method step, however claim 16, from which claim 18 depends, is understood to be directed to an apparatus. It is unclear how one having ordinary skill in the art would interpret the requirement that the head portion of the screw is deflected.
Claim 28 recites “wherein the tool is a high-speed milling cutter which is configured for a cutting processing operation at speeds of more than 10,000 revolutions per minute” at lines 1-3. It is unclear what one having ordinary skill in the art would interpret the phrase “high speed milling cutter” to mean or imply. There does not appear to be an explicit disclosure of the meaning of the term. The examiner notes that Applicant does not appear to provide an explicit definition of “high-speed milling cutter.” Applicant’s background section appears to teach that high speed millers or high speed cutters may operate in speeds of tens of thousands or revolutions per minute (instant Specification, page 1, lines 19-25), which the examiner understands to be at best suggest a range of operable speeds. A broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c). In the present instance, claim 28 recites the broad recitation “more than 10,000 revolutions per minute”, and the claim also recites “a high-speed milling cutter” which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation. The claim is considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims.
Claim 28 recites “wherein the tool is a high-speed milling cutter which is configured for a cutting processing operation at speeds of more than 10,000 revolutions per minute” at lines 1-3. It is unclear from a review of the Specification as filed what structure or structures of the tool make it configured or specially adapted for the recited cutting operation. The examiner presumes that the speed of the operation is at least a function of the motor or engine used to power the cutting apparatus, as well as the diameter of the cutting tool and the material properties, including thickness and hardness, as well as temperature, of the workpiece being operated on.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 16-17, 20, 22-27, and 30-31
Claims 16-17, 20, 22-27, and 30-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by United States Patent Application Publication 2017/0239736 to Burtscher et al. (hereinafter “Burtscher”).
Regarding claim 16, Burtscher discloses a tool (1) for cutting processing, the tool comprising: a base member (main body 2) having a rotation axis (R) about which the tool rotates during operation; a cutting insert (4; see paragraph [0046]) being a replaceable cutting insert and having a lower side (see Annotated Figure), a first lateral face (see Annotated Figure), a second lateral face (see Annotated Figure) and a through-hole (7) formed therein; at least one seat (3) formed on said base member (2) and securing said cutting insert (see paragraph [0050]); a securing screw (5) for securing said cutting insert (4) to said at least one seat (3; see paragraph [0048]); said at least one seat (3) having a base face (3a) for supporting said lower side of said cutting insert (4; see Fig. 6), a first lateral abutment face (see Annotated Figure) for abutting against said first lateral face (side face of cutting insert 4; best shown in Fig. 1) of said cutting insert (4), said first lateral abutment face supporting said cutting insert (4) in a radially inward direction (see Annotated Figure below; first abutment face shown radially inward in Fig. 1), and a second lateral abutment face (side face of seat at 3b) for abutting against said second lateral face of said cutting insert (4; see Fig. 6, insert shown abutting a face), said second lateral abutment face supporting said cutting insert axially and in a radially outward direction (see Fig. 1; surface understood to extend in a radial direction and at least support in the radially outward direction), said base face (at 3a) of said at least one seat (3) further having a hole (6) formed therein for receiving said securing screw (5), said hole has with spacing from said base face (3a) a threaded hole (6a) and closer in a direction of said base face a thread-free hole portion (6b; see Fig. 5); wherein said securing screw (5) has a threaded portion (5a) for cooperating with said threaded hole (6a), a head portion (5b) for supporting in said through-hole (7) of said cutting insert (4) and between said threaded portion (5a) and said head portion (5b) a thread-free shaft portion (5c; see paragraph [0053]), said thread-free shaft portion (5c) has a smaller cross section (small diameter disclosed and explicitly contemplated; see paragraph [0054]) than said thread-free hole portion (6b); and wherein said cutting insert (4) is secured to said at least one seat (3) such that said head portion (5b) of said securing screw (5) is supported on said through-hole (7) of said cutting insert (4), said threaded portion (5c) of said securing screw (3) cooperates with said threaded hole (6a), and said head portion (5b) of said securing screw (5) is resiliently deflected (elastically deflected; see paragraph [0061]) such that said thread-free shaft portion (5c) is supported when view in a direction perpendicular to said base face (3a) in a second quadrant which is disposed in the radially outward direction and axially in a direction of a free end (leftmost end of tool 1 in Fig. 1) of the tool (1) on said thread-free hole portion (6b).
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Regarding claim 17, Burtscher discloses the limitations of claim 16, and further Burtscher discloses that said thread-free shaft portion (5c), in a fourth quadrant which is disposed in the radially inward direction and faces away from the free end of the tool (1), is spaced apart from said thread-free hole portion (6b; see Fig. 6, screw portion shown spaced apart from walls of bore).
Regarding claim 20, Burtscher discloses the limitations of claim 16, and further Burtscher discloses that said head portion (5a) of said securing screw (5) has a largest cross section perpendicularly to an axis (unshown longitudinal axis of screw 5; substantially in the direction of axes W and Z in Fig. 4) of said securing screw which is greater than a smallest cross section of said through hole (7; see Fig. 6, head of screw is wider than narrows portion of cutting insert and base through holes).
Regarding claim 22, Burtscher discloses the limitations of claim 16, and further Burtscher discloses that a surface (surface at 3b) normal of said first lateral abutment face (see Annotated Figure above) has a radially outwardly directed direction component (angled uppermost lip component shown as a chamfer in Fig. 5, best shown in Fig. ) as a main component.
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Regarding claim 23, Burtscher discloses the limitations of claim 16, and further Burtscher discloses that a surface (surface of first lateral abutment face) normal of said second lateral abutment face (3b) has an axial direction component (see Annotated Figure; lateralmost side of indentation shown) and a radially inwardly directed direction component (centermost portion of indentation).
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Regarding claim 24, Burtscher discloses the limitations of claim 16, and further Burtscher discloses that a surface normal (surface 3b shown “substantially perpendicular”, see paragraph [0049], but other angular positions understood to be permitted) of said base face (3a) has a tangential direction (tangent of unnumbered curved cutout between surfaces 3a and 3b best shown in Figs. 1 and 5) component as a main component (see Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 25, Burtscher discloses the limitations of claim 16, and further Burtscher discloses that a wall of said thread-free hole portion (6b) at least in the second quadrant, which is located in the radially outward direction (away from radial axis R) and axially in a direction of the free end of the tool (toward end 2b), of said hole (6) is constructed to be curved in a concave manner at a hole side in a circumferential direction (see Fig. 1; each hole understood to be curved in a concave manner relative to the axis R).
Regarding claim 26, Burtscher discloses the limitations of claim 16, and further Burtscher discloses that said thread-free hole portion (6b) has a circular cross section (see Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 27, Burtscher discloses the limitations of claim 16, and further Burtscher discloses that said thread-free hole portion (6b) is constructed parallel with said threaded hole (6a; see Fig. 5, sidewalls of threaded portion and thread-free portions understood to be parallel where bore central axes are understood to be colinear).
Regarding claim 30, Burtscher discloses the limitations of claim 16. Thus, Burtscher discloses a method of providing the tool (1) according to claim 16 (see rejection of claim 1 above); and milling a component using the tool (see paragraph [0043]; milling machine rotates in operation with respect to a workpiece).
Regarding claim 31, Burtscher discloses a method for securing a cutting insert (4) to a seat (3) of a base member (2) of a tool (1), wherein the base member (2) has a rotation axis (R) about which the tool rotates (paragraph [0043]) during operation, and the seat (3) has a base face (3a) for supporting a lower side of the cutting insert (4), a first lateral abutment face (see Annotated Figure) which supports the cutting insert (4) in a radially inward direction (surface of face extends in a direction towards axis R), and a second lateral abutment face (side face of seat at 3b; see Annotated Figure) which supports the cutting insert (4) axially and in a radially outward direction (see Fig. 1; surface understood to extend in a radial direction and at least support in the radially outward direction), wherein the base face (3a) has a hole (6) formed therein for receiving a securing screw (5), and the hole has with spacing from the base face (3a) a threaded hole (6a) and closer in a direction of the base face a thread-free hole portion (6b), wherein the method comprises the following steps of: placing the cutting insert (4) on the seat (3) so that the lower side of the cutting insert is supported on the base face (see Fig. 6), a first lateral face of the cutting insert (see Annotated Figure) is supported on the first lateral abutment face and a second lateral face of the cutting insert (4; see Fig. 6, insert shown abutting second lateral face of seat); guiding a threaded portion of a securing screw (5) through a through-hole (7) in the cutting insert (4) and into the hole (6) so that the threaded portion (5a) moves into engagement with the threaded hole (6a) and a thread-free shaft portion (5b) which is disposed between the threaded portion (5a) and a head portion (5c) of the securing screw (5) comes to rest with spacing all around in the thread free hole portion (see Fig. 6); and screwing (see paragraphs [0060] and [0061]) in the securing screw (5) so that the head portion (5b) initially moves into abutment with the through-hole (7) at a radially inner side facing away from a free end (toward end at 2b) of the base member (2) and subsequently the head portion (5c) and the thread-free shaft portion (5c) are resiliently deflected in a radially outward direction and in a direction of a free end of the base member (elastically deflected; see paragraph [0061]) until the thread-free shaft portion moves into abutment with a second quadrant (deformation of shaft of screw 5 shown, compare Figs. 6 and 7), which is located in a radially outward direction and axially in the direction of the free end (towards 2b as opposed to towards end 2a), of the thread-free hole portion (6b).
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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.
Claim 28
Claim 28 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Burtscher as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art (hereinafter the “AAPA”).
Regarding claim 28, Burtscher discloses the limitations of claim 16. Burtscher does not explicitly disclose that the tool is a high speed milling cutter which is configured for a cutting processing operation at speeds of more than 10,000 revolutions per minute.
The AAPA teaches that it is known to provide high speed millers which operate at speeds of several tens of thousands of revolution per minute (see instant Specification at page 1, lines 19-25). The AAPA teaches that the tools may be made with suitable materials to operate at high speeds (Specification at page 1, lines 19-25).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the device taught by Burtscher to includes use of suitable materials at high speeds, as taught by the AAPA. (See MPEP 2143(1)(C)). The resulting apparatus would advantageously be capable of use at speeds of 10,000 revolutions per minute or more where desirable.
Thus, the combination of Burtscher and the AAPA teaches the limitations of claim 28.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 19, 21, and 29 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 18 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 18, the prior art of record does not explicitly disclose and fairly teach “wherein said head portion of said securing screw is deflected resiliently in the radially outward direction and axially in a direction of the free end of the tool,” in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim.
Regarding claim 19, the prior art of record does not explicitly disclose or fairly teach “wherein said first lateral abutment face and said second lateral abutment face enclose in a viewing direction perpendicular to said base face at angle (α) < 75˚ with each other,” in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim.
Regarding claim 21, the prior art of record does not explicitly disclose or fairly teach “wherein a longitudinal axis of said threaded hole is offset in a plane of contact between said head portion of said securing screw and said through-hole of said cutting insert with respect to a longitudinal axis of said through-hole in a direction towards said first lateral abutment face and in a direction towards said second lateral abutment face,” in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim.
Regarding claim 29, the prior art of record does not explicitly disclose or fairly teach “wherein said first lateral abutment face and said second lateral abutment face enclose in a viewing direction perpendicular to said base face at angle (α) < 65˚ with each other,” in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
United States Patent Application Publication 2008/0304928 to Engstrom et al. teaches a cutting insert (2) for sitting on a tool base (1) of a rotary cutting tool, the insert being attachable with a threaded fastener (3).
United States Patent 3,854,183 to Roos teaches a cutting tool insert (12) for attachment to a cutting tool base (10), with the insert being attachable with a threaded fastener (16) having a threaded portion (19) and a non-threaded portion (see Fig. 1).
United States Patent 6,709,204 to Hellstrom et al. teaches a cutting tool insert (2) for attaching to a cutting tool base (1) with a threaded fastener (12), the fastener being deformable relative to an opening in the tool base (see Fig. 4).
33Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DARRELL C. FORD whose telephone number is (313)446-6515. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 AM to 5:15 PM, Monday to Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sunil K Singh can be reached at (571) 272-3460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DARRELL C FORD/Examiner, Art Unit 3726