DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
2. Applicant’s arguments, see "Remarks", pages 4-6, filed January 21, 2026, with respect to the information disclosure statements (IDS) filed on May 12, 2023, and October 2, 2025 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The objections to both IDS forms have been withdrawn.
3. Applicant’s arguments, see "Remarks" pages 6-7, filed January 21, 2026, with respect to the amended claims overcoming the rejection of claim 3 under 35 U.S.C. §103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of 35 U.S.C. §103.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on May 12, 2023, and October 2, 2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
5. Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MarkLindsayCNC (YouTube video by user "MarkLindsayCNC"; hereinafter "MarkLindsayCNC" - previously cited in PTO-892 mailed on July 14, 2025) in view of Elijah Tooling (YouTube video by user "ELIJAH_TOOLING"; hereinafter "Elijah Tooling" - cited as Ref. U in attached PTO-892) and in further view of Kojima (US20210132590A1, Kojima et al.; hereinafter "Kojima" - previously cited in PTO-892 mailed October 27, 2025).
In regard to claim 3, MarkLindsayCNC teaches a measuring method for a calibration master installing jig [jig] for installing a calibration master in a predetermined direction on a table [known parallel piece, described at 8:05], wherein the machine tool [CNC router] includes two or more translational axes [can travel at least a X and Y axis, described at 5:25], the table provided with a plurality of slots or tap holes [seen throughout video], the spindle head configured to hold a tool [5:47 shows a router bit], and the translational axes enable a relative motion of two degrees or more of translational freedom of the tool held onto the spindle head with respect to a workpiece installed on the table [described at 5:25], wherein the measuring method comprising: positioning the calibration master installing jig on the table such that any given side surface of a plate or a straight line connecting the plurality of rod materials is in the predetermined direction [shown in 5:04]; installing the calibration master in the predetermined direction by bringing the calibration master into direct contact with the side surface of the plate or the plurality of rod materials [8:15 describes using a known parallel piece - calibration master - and putting it into direct contact with the plate], or into indirect contact with the side surface of the plate or the plurality of rod materials via another auxiliary jig; the calibration master installing jig [jig] comprising: a plate in which three or more holes are provided [medium density overlay (MDO) wood with holes having more than three holes, seen throughout video]; a plurality of rod materials insertable into the holes [bolts with wingnuts, see 7:30], wherein by putting the plurality of rod materials individually inserted into any given three or more holes into one slot or any of the tap holes [shown at 5:04], any given side surface of the plate or a straight line connecting the plurality of rod materials becomes parallel to the predetermined direction on the table [described at 5:42]; and an angle formed by a first straight line connecting any two of the holes and a side surface of the plate becomes a reference for the predetermined direction [shown at 7:30, the jig is aligned along the X-axis at a 90 degree angle with respect to the slots that run along the Z-axis].
MarkLindsayCNC does not teach that the plurality of rod materials are individually inserted from a top surface of the table.
However, Elijah Tooling also teaches the use of a machine tool [CNC router] with a table with tap holes [table bed with holes, shown throughout the video] that uses rods [dowel pins] to hold pieces in place {fixing the piece to a dowel shown at [02:09], fixing the piece with a through-hole using a dowel shown at [02:21]}, with the rods being individually inserted from a top surface of the table {shown at [01:53]}.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted Elijah Tooling’s method of inserting dowel pins from a top surface of a table as MarkLindsayCNC’s table bed in order to better affix workpieces to a bed that has holes instead of slots, as shown by Elijah Tooling {seen at least at [02:09]-[02:21]}. It should be noted that the use of pins to hold workpieces on a machine tool table is well-known engineering practice, and such pins are commonly called “locator/location/locating pins”, “dowel pins”, or even “dog-hole pins”.
MarkLindsayCNC in view of Elijah Tooling does not teach measuring the calibration master using a sensor mounted to a spindle head in a machine tool, the calibration master including a plurality of targets disposed thereon, or measuring the calibration master using the sensor.
However, Kojima also teaches a measuring method of calibration master jig, as well as measuring the calibration master [calibration master] using a sensor [sensor] mounted to a spindle head [spindle head 2] in a machine tool [described in Abstract, shown in Fig. 6], the calibration master includes a plurality of targets disposed thereon in a row [shown in Fig. 6]; and measuring the calibration master using the sensor [Abstract].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Kojima’s use of a sensor to measure a plurality of targets along a calibration master with MarkLindsayCNC measuring method for a calibration master installing jig in order to better ensure a reduced motion error during calibration due to measurement variation in a compensation control by an unskilled operator, as taught by Kojima {para. [0007]}.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL QUINN whose telephone number is (571)272-2690. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5:30 PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JOHN BREENE can be reached at (571)272-4107. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL M QUINN/Examiner, Art Unit 2855
/JOHN E BREENE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2855