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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4 recites the limitation "…the display switching buttons" in line 2 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 1-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rodgers et al. (US 11061383).
Re Claim 1, Rodgers discloses a machine tool 200 comprising: a display operation device 100 (Col. 2, Lines 43-49, Fig. 1); and a control device 110 configured to display multiple individual operation buttons and a display switching button 172 on the display operation device 100 and execute control indicated by the multiple individual operation buttons and the display switching button in accordance with an operation performed on the multiple individual operation buttons and the display switching button 172, the multiple individual operation buttons are buttons configured to provide an instruction of a series of operations executed by the machine tool 200 in multiple stages, and the control device 110 displays button information indicating the individual operation button in accordance with a state of the machine tool 200 among the multiple individual operation buttons on the display switching button 172, switches the button information displayed on the display switching button 172 in accordance with an operation of executing the display switching button 172, and switches the button information in order of the series of operations (Col. 3, Line 22-Col. 5, Line 62; Col. 6, Lines 57-66; and Col. 7, Lines 27-33; Figs. 4-13).
Re Claim 2, Rodgers discloses when the multiple individual operation buttons and the display switching button 172 are displayed side by side in one screen in the display operation device 100 and an operation of executing the display switching button 172 is received in a state where the button information is displayed, the control device 110 sets the individual operation button indicated by the button information to a display mode in which control indicated by the individual operation button is being executed (Col. 5, Lines 1-63, Col. 6, Lines 57-66; and Col. 7, Lines 27-33; Figs. 4-13).
Re Claim 3, Rodgers discloses when an operation of executing the display switching button is received, the control device 110 transitions the state of the machine tool 200 to a stage corresponding to the individual operation button indicated by the button information being displayed on the display switching button 172, does not change the button information being displayed on the display switching button 172 during the transition of the state, and switches the button information displayed on the display switching button 172 to the button information of the next stage when the transition is completed (Col. 5, Line 1-Col. 6, Line 66, and Col. 7, Lines 27-33; Figs. 4-13).
Re Claim 4, Rodgers discloses when, as display switching buttons 172, two display switching buttons 172 of a previous stage display switching button indicating a previous stage in the order of the series of operations and a subsequent stage display switching button indicating a subsequent stage in the order of the series of operations are displayed on the display operation device 100 and the series of operations is stopped, in the series of operations, the control device 110 displays the button information indicating the individual operation button corresponding to a previous stage of the stopped state on the previous stage display switching button and displays the button information indicating the individual operation button corresponding to a subsequent stage of the stopped state on the subsequent stage display switching button (Col. 5, Line 1-Col. 6, Line 66 and Col. 7, Lines 27-33, Figs. 4-13).
Re Claim 5, Rodgers discloses a state detection device 154 used to detect the state of the machine tool 200, in accordance with the stop of the operation of the machine tool 200, the control device 110 detects the state of the machine tool 200 by the state detection device 154, determines a stopped state of the series of operations based on the detected state, displays the button information on the previous stage display switching button 172 and the subsequent stage display switching button 172 based on a determination result, and does not display the button information of the previous stage display switching button 172 and the subsequent stage display switching button 172 when the stopped state is unknown as the result of the determination (Col. 6, Lines 39-45 and Col. 6, Line 57- Col. 8, Line 24; Figs. 4-13).
Re Claim 6, Rodgers discloses the control device 110 displays information indicating a first stage of the series of operations around the previous stage display switching button 172 and displays information indicating a last stage of the series of operations around the subsequent stage display switching button 172 (Col. 5, Line 1-Col. 6, Line 66 and Col. 7, Lines 27-33, Figs. 4-13).
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) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rodgers et al. (US 11061383), in view of Fukuyama et al. (US 4631465).
Re Claim 7, Rodgers discloses a tool spindle device (not shown) configured to execute machining on a workpiece (not shown) by a tool detachably attached to a spindle head (Col. 2, Lines 45-65).
Rodgers does not explicitly disclose a tool magazine configured to accommodate the tool for exchanging and index the tool for exchanging at an indexing position; a tool changer configured to execute exchanging between the tool for exchanging arranged at a tool exchanging position and the tool attached to the spindle head; and a shift device configured to convey the tool for exchanging from the indexing position of the tool magazine to the tool exchanging position, the series of operations is at least one of an extraction operation of extracting the tool for exchanging from the tool magazine and conveying the extracted tool for exchanging to the tool exchanging position and a return operation of returning a used tool removed from the spindle head by the tool changer to the tool magazine.
Fukuyama discloses a machine tool 30 comprising: a tool spindle device 31c configured to execute machining on a workpiece by a tool detachably attached to a spindle head; a tool magazine 31a configured to accommodate the tool for exchanging and index the tool for exchanging at an indexing position; a tool changer 31d configured to execute exchanging between the tool for exchanging arranged at a tool exchanging position and the tool attached to the spindle head; and a shift device 31b configured to convey the tool for exchanging from the indexing position of the tool magazine 31a to the tool exchanging position, a series of operations is at least one of an extraction operation of extracting the tool for exchanging from the tool magazine 31a and conveying the extracted tool for exchanging to the tool exchanging position and a return operation of returning a used tool removed from the spindle head by the tool changer 31d to the tool magazine 31a (Col. 3, Lines 32-57 and Col. 3, Line 63-Col. 5, Line 8, Figs. 1-3). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the machine tool of Rodgers with a tool magazine, a tool changer and a shift device as disclosed by Fukuyama, to exchange tools to perform varying machining processes while machining a workpiece.
Conclusion
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/BAYAN SALONE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726