DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim(s) 1-9 is/are pending.
Claim(s) 1 is/are independent.
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) 1-4 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kelley et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,055) (hereinafter “Kelley”).
Regarding claim 1, Kelley teaches a cutting method that is a machining method using a tool body to which a distance sensor is attached, (Fig. 1, Col. 6 Lines 25-52 - - machining tool uses a tool body along with measurement means, i.e. distance sensor, to measure distance)
the cutting method comprising: a coordinate setting step of setting each of a cutting edge coordinate with a point of a cutting edge provided at the tool body as reference and a sensor coordinate with a reference point of the distance sensor as reference; (Fig. 1, Col. 6 Lines 25-52 - - origin position is used as a reference within a coordinate system, where the measuring system, i.e. distance sensor, measures from the reference)
a machining step of forming a machined surface using the cutting edge coordinate; (Fig. 1, Col. 6 Lines 25-52 - - machining system includes cutting tool that uses coordinate system for the cutting edge)
and a measurement step of measuring a dimension of the machined surface using the sensor coordinate. (Col. 20 Lines 25-35 - - measurement of machined surface is performed using the coordinate system in order to re-calibrate the cutting edge of the tool)
Regarding claim 2, Kelley further teaches a comparison step of calculating a difference by comparing a target dimension of the machined surface in the machining step with a measured dimension measured in the measurement step; (Col. 20 Lines 25-35 - - difference between a target dimension and measured dimension is performed in order to compare machining amount to target amount)
and an additional machining step of performing additional machining of the machined surface in accordance with the difference. (Col. 20 Lines 25-54 - - after determining offset, i.e. difference between target and measured amount, additional machining is performed to address the offset, i.e. difference)
Regarding claim 3, Kelley further teaches wherein a plurality of the distance sensors having different measurement directions are attached to the tool body, (Fig. 1, Col. 6 Lines 25-52 - - machining tool uses a tool body along with measurement means, i.e. distance sensor, to measure distance)
and the sensor coordinate is set for each of the distance sensors in the coordinate setting step. (Fig. 1, Col. 6 Lines 25-52 - - origin position is used as a reference within a coordinate system, where the measuring system, i.e. distance sensor, measures from the reference)
Regarding claim 4, Kelley further teaches wherein the coordinate setting step is performed by bringing the point of the cutting edge and a tip surface of the distance sensor in contact with each other using a contact sensor. (Col. 16 Line 67 – Col. 17 Line 23 - - touch probing, i.e. contact sensor, is used to set up measuring using a reference, i.e. coordinate setting)
Regarding claim 9, Kelley further teaches wherein the machining step is performed while a cutting oil or a coolant is supplied to the machined surface. (Col. 7 Lines 26-47 - - coolant is supplied for machining)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 5-8 is/are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim(s), but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim(s) and any intervening claim(s).
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
While Kelley et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,055) discloses tool touch probe system of precision machining including numerical control for a cutting tool,
none of these references taken either alone or in combination with the prior art of record disclose, in combination with the remaining elements and features of the claimed invention, a machining method using a tool body to which a distance sensor is attached including:
Claim 5 and Claim 1 on which Claim 5 depends,
a coordinate setting step of setting each of a cutting edge coordinate with a point of a cutting edge provided at the tool body as reference and a sensor coordinate with a reference point of the distance sensor as reference;
a machining step of forming a machined surface using the cutting edge coordinate; and
a measurement step of measuring a dimension of the machined surface using the sensor coordinate.
wherein the distance sensor is an eddy current sensor,
the cutting method further comprises a calibration step of calibrating the eddy current sensor,
the calibration step includes:
a reference value measurement step of performing dimension measurement of a reference machined surface, which is machined by the cutting edge, using a measuring instrument,
an output value measurement step of measuring a plurality of measurement points where a distance from the reference machined surface is changed using the distance sensor with the sensor coordinate as reference and storing an output value of the distance sensor corresponding to each of the measurement points, and
a calculation step of calculating a calibration formula representing a relationship between a distance to the reference machined surface in each of the measurement points and the output value, and
in the measurement step, the dimension of the machined surface is calculated by substituting the output value of the distance sensor into the calibration formula.
It is for these reasons that the applicant’s invention defines over the prior art of record.
The rest of the claim(s), being definite, further limiting, and fully enabled by the specification, depend on the above allowed independent claim(s), and thus are also allowed.
It is noted that any citations to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the reference should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2123.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Saad M. Kabir whose telephone number is 571-270-0608 (direct fax number is 571-270-9933). The examiner can normally be reached on Mondays to Fridays 9am to 5pm EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mohammad Ali can be reached on 571-272-4105. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SAAD M KABIR/
Examiner, Art Unit 2119
/MOHAMMAD ALI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2119