DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claim(s) 8,10 and 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tang et al. (CN 111889524). Regarding claims 8 and 12, Tang discloses a cold rolling method and apparatus of estimating a rolling constraint condition (cold rolling force; [0025],[0066] and mill motor torque; [0054]) with respect to a target steady rolling condition (real time value of optimal trained prediction model; [0011],[0012]) of a roll target material (strip) by establishing a prediction model ([0044], lines 1-3) including inputting second multi-dimensional data (non-steady, various special working conditions; [0044], lines 3-5) to the model. The model is trained (training set; [0048], lines 1-3) with an explanatory variable generated based on non-steady past rolling performance data (S101, [0055]) including rolling speed, strip thickness and strip tension and response variable ([0064],[0065]) that is steady rolling performance with the optimally trained model generating the rolling restraint condition (cold rolling force, mill motor torque) in real time. The model is configured to change the target steady state rolling condition by executing a computer program [0068] with a processor having memory and communication [0072] as the optimal trained prediction model is updated [0019] to satisfy a predetermined condition comprising rolling force in cold rolling of differential plates including dynamic specification changes in cold rolling ([0029], lines 5- 8). Applicant’s method claim 8 is drawn to a calculating and estimation method and Tang discloses calculating a model from sensed conditions ([0040], collecting production data during a cold rolling process and using the model in real time actual rolling ([0029], lines 5-8).
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(s) 9 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang et al. (CN 111889524) in view of Hayakawa (JP 02-258107). Tang does not disclose that rolling performance data includes materials that are welded. Hayakawa teaches that a plurality of coils of rolled materials are welded and rolled in a continuous tandem mill (2; page 4, lines 1-2) and teaches that a control circuit (3) controls a screw- down device (4) so that a thickness of a welded portion of the rolled material (1) is controlled to be greater than a thickness tolerance value (hMIN; page 5, last 3 lines and page 6, lines 1-4) so as to control an objective value (shape) during stable rolling of a new coil by using non-steady state explanatory variables of plate thickness deviation sensed by entry thickness gauge (PM1) with exit thickness gauges (X4D,PM2; Fig. 6) signaling the control circuit (3). It would have been obvious to the skilled artisan prior to the effective filing date of the present invention to include entry and exit thickness data as input to the model of Tang as taught by Hayakawa since Tang uses entry side thickness and exit strip thickness as performance data input into the model from past data ([0055], line 3).
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang et al. (CN 111889524) in view of Bai et al. (CN 110788138). Tang does not disclose an annealing step in the cold rolling method. Bai teaches (page 4, paragraph 11) that a steel sheet in a cold rolling manufacturing method is continuously annealed at a furnace temperature of 840°C with a tension of 0.36KN in the furnace. It would have been obvious to the skilled artisan prior to the effective filing date of the present invention to adjust annealing temperature and furnace tension for the cold rolled strip of Tang as taught by Bai so as to soften the steel strip and prepare it for further metalworking operations.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11-6-2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant is arguing a reading of “multi-dimensional data” which the Examiner is reading as having multiple data points (rolling data, [0044]), the data being used when calculations are performed and the multiple data points are storable in multi-dimensional form since Tang discloses to arrange the data in an array [0049].
Applicant removed the steps from claim 8 and the scope of this claim is mathematical calculation and estimation which is disclosed by Tang.
Regarding claim 12, Tang discloses arithmetic calculation ([0049]-[0051]) and change in prediction of the restraint condition (cold rolling force [0066]).
Tang discloses data that has many variables ([0044], lines 5-13) and an array [0049] for calculated data based on the variables. A prediction model is trained with first data having a plurality of measurable data values which are an explanatory variable comprising stand inlet material thickness, ([0044], line 6), stand outlet material thickness ([0044], line 7), inlet tension ([0044], line 7) and outlet tension ([0044], line 7) and multiple other data that are required by the model as an explanatory variable comprising first multi-dimensional data based on non-steady state rolling data among a past rolling performance test set ([0058] November 3, 2018 to December 3, 2019)
A response variable is another data set, the training set data ([0055] December 3, 2018 to January 2, 2019) during steady rolling performance which is input into the model and the estimated rolling constraint condition data (cold rolling force in real time) is predicted.
The predicted cold rolling force is a predetermined condition to compare to an actual value ([0029], lines 2-4) and the predicted cold rolling force is calculated under different operating conditions for different variables (different thickness ([0029], lines 6-7).
A set of second multi-dimensional data [0049] from the training set is stored in an array [0049] and the second multi-dimensional date is compared to the first multi-dimensional data wherein “the test set is used to evaluate the model effect and determine whether the model can obtain better results” ([0048], lines 2-3).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 EDWARD THOMAS TOLAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4525. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5.
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/EDWARD T TOLAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3725