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 .
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 1-3, 5-6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Suyama et al. (US 20150071724, hereinafter ‘Suyama’).
Regarding claim 1, Suyama discloses a cutting machining device 10 capable of making a dental prosthesis that cuts a block-shaped workpiece 80 with a machining tool 24 by changing a relative positional relationship between the machining tool and the workpiece in three dimensions (Paragraph [0053]). The workpiece includes an A1 plane 80S to which a base 80A/B for attachment to the cutting machining device is fixed, an A2 plane facing the A1 plane (indicated generally at 80 in Figs. 4 & 5) and a B1 plane intersecting the A1 plane (e.g. one of the side faces of the workpiece). The cutting machining device comprises a positioning portion 40 that is capable of positioning the workpiece with respect to the machining tool so as to enable cutting the workpiece from both a vertical direction with respect to the A2 plane and a vertical direction with respect to the B1 plane (Paragraph [0036] describes the entire positioning portion being ‘rotatable around the X axis as being centered around the rotation axis M of the holding tool 40’, enabling both the A2 plane and B1 plane being capable of being machined from the vertical direction).
Regarding claims 2 and 5, Suyama discloses the positioning portion including a holding portion 46 that holds the workpiece through the base, and a rotation portion 42 that rotates the holding portion with an axis parallel to a longitudinal direction of the holding portion as a rotation axis. The rotation portion is configured to rotate the holding portion by a rotation angle of 90˚±10˚ and 270˚±10˚ with respect to a predetermined reference position to position the workpiece. Paragraph [0036] describes the entire positioning portion being ‘rotatable around the X axis as being centered around the rotation axis M of the holding tool 40’. Accordingly, Suyama discloses the rotation portion rotating the holding portion by any desired angle.
Regarding claim 3, Suyama discloses the holding portion being configured to hold a plurality of workpieces through the base so that the workpieces are aligned in a predetermined alignment direction. The rotation axis of the rotation portion is parallel to the alignment direction of the plurality of workpieces as a rotation axis (see e.g. Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 6, Suyama discloses the cutting machining device being capable of cutting a workpiece with a gradation continuously changing in color tone or translucency from the A1 plane to the A2 plane or from the B1 plane to a B2 plane which faces the B1 plane.
Regarding claim 8, Suyama discloses the cutting machining device being capable of cutting from a vertical direction including machining of the workpiece trochoidally due to the movement axes of the tool and holder.
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suyama et al. (US 20150071724) in view of Back (WO 2020045774).
Regarding claim 4, Suyama does not disclose the holding section being configured to hold workpieces on two sides thereof.
Back discloses a similar positioning portion that includes a holding portion 11 and a rotation portion which rotates the holding portion around a rotation axis (see e.g. Fig. 1, the rotation axis being the unlabeled dotted and dashed line). Multiple embodiments are illustrated, wherein a plurality of workpieces 100/200 are held on two (e.g. Figs. 1-4 & 9) and even three (e.g. Figs. 5-8) sides of the holding portion to increase productivity.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the holding section of Suyama by providing workpiece holding capabilities to at least one other side of the holding section as taught by Back, in order to machine twice as many workpieces at once, decreasing the down-time of the machine to remove/re-load workpieces.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/15/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Suyama does not allow for machining from a vertical direction with respect to the A plane. This argument is respectfully traversed.
As outlined in the Non-Final Rejection of 04/16/2026 and again above, Paragraph [0036] of Suyama discloses the positioning portion 40 being rotatable about an axis M as shown in Figure 3. Rotating the positioning portion about this axis would enable the positioning portion to present the A2 plane or the B2 plane in a vertical (e.g. the Z axis direction) direction to allow machining from that vertical direction. Figure 1 of Suyama illustrates a configuration in which the A2 plane is presented for machining from a vertical direction, as well as illustrating the M axis, about which the positioning portion rotates. If the positioning portion were rotated about the M axis, as Paragraph [0036] explicitly teaches, the B2 plane would be presented for machining from a vertical direction. Applicant’s general citation of the majority of the detailed description of Suyama does not dispute the specific teaching presented in the Non-Final Rejection of 04/16/2026 and again above. Accordingly, the rejection(s) are maintained.
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.
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/Alan Snyder/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3722
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