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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of group I, claims 1-6 in the reply filed on 12/22/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the grounds that the cited prior art Boeckx (US 2012/0061869) failed to disclose numerical control device is configured to analyze, in real time, control commands of the control program and the display element is adapted to display, in real time and prior to the transmission of the control program to the numerical control device, movements of the multitude of punches and components. This is not found persuasive because this limitation was not presented in the original claims and is disclosed by Cetinkaya (US 2015/0143908) as discussed in details below.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cetinkaya (2015/0143908) in view of Murata et al. (2006/0110484).
Cetinkaya discloses a powder press for compacting solid dosages, comprising:
a punching device comprising a multitude of punches and components 20-26, adjustable relative to one another and adjustable relative to a press part,
a drive unit, such as a cam driven by a motor, for adjusting the punching device and/or the punches and components, adjustable relative to one another, in and/or counter to a pressing direction [0125], and
a numerical control device – a computer - which is set up and is programmable in order to control a movement sequence of the punching device and/or the punches and components, adjustable relative to one another, in accordance with a control program – [0084],
a control command input element for inputting control parameters [0109], and
a display element adapted to graphically display the punching device and/or the punches and components – claims 8-9, and also movement sequences, wherein the numerical control device is configured to analyze, in real time, control commands of the control program and the display element is adapted to display, in real time and prior to the transmission of the control program to the numerical control device, movements of the multitude of punches and components, so that the process data can be used for preventive maintenance and remote process monitoring, [0036].
However, Cetinkaya fails to disclose that the punches are movable axial and rotational directions.
Murata et al. discloses a powder compressing apparatus, comprising a plurality of upper punches and lower punches 21, 22, 31, 32, 41, 42, cores 23, 33, 43 that are movable and axially rotatable relative to the punches 21, 22, 31, 32, 41, 42 to compress powder material in plurality of dies 25, 35, 45.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cetinkaya’s upper and/or lower punches with inner core punches as taught by Murata et al. in order to provide more flexibility to move the punches relative to each other or the die during the compression of products having more complex shapes.
Regarding claims 2-3, wherein Cetinkaya discloses that a compaction press can be monitored and controlled by a monitoring computer, which inherently includes a keyboard and a monitor, that is wire or wirelessly transmitting the signals and related information to a remote control station (monitoring computer 2214) in real-time, and signal-processing the signals by the monitoring and fault diagnostics software program 2214 to determine condition and fault level/state of various parts and components of the compaction press. The process data can be used for preventive maintenance and remote process monitoring [0129].
Regarding claims 4-6, wherein accelerometer and acoustic sensor measurements can be obtained and are transmitted wirelessly to the receiving stations and/or directly to a computer 2014 for analysis. The analysis software 2014 that implements the disclosed method produces real-time data on the state of the compaction press. Such data and its processing can be used for determining various operational actions by the analysis software and/or the decision maker, such as process control – changes to the compaction press parameters, including adjustment of the punches relative to other components – replacement of tools, scheduling inspections, maintenance planning, and preventive maintenance tasks [0131].
Regarding claim 5, the process of automatic control (as of a machine tool) by a digital computer as disclosed by Cetinkaya above is numerical control – by Merriam-webster definition (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/numerical%20control).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Thu-Khanh T. Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)272-1136. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30-4:30.
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/Thu Khanh T. Nguyen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1743