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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 6,498,324 to Yamamoto et al (Yamamoto).
Concerning claim 1, Yamamoto discloses a rolling device, comprising:
a roller (1, 2), provided with a rolling surface configured to roll a target member;
a heat exchange assembly (6), arranged opposite to the rolling surface, wherein the heat exchange assembly is configured to adjust the temperature of the rolling surface; and
an adjustment assembly (7), connected to the heat exchange assembly (6), wherein the adjustment assembly is configured to adjust the position of the heat exchange assembly in an axial direction of the roller.
Concerning claim 2, Yamamoto discloses in figure 1 the heat exchange assembly comprises: a heating member (6), arranged opposite to the rolling surface, wherein the heating member (6) is connected to the adjustment assembly (7), and the adjustment assembly is configured to adjust the position of the heating member in the axial direction.
Concerning claim 8, Yamamoto discloses the adjustment assembly comprises a guide member (7) and a driving member (inherently disclosed, see below); the guide member (7) extends in the axial direction of the roller (1, 2); the heat exchange assembly (6) is movably connected to the guide member (7); the driving member is in driving connection with the heat exchange assembly (6); and the driving member (inherently disclosed as per column 1, lines 43-51 the heaters 6 are slide along rails 7 thus some driving member must drive the heater to slide) is configured to drive the heat exchange assembly (6) to move along the guide member (7).
Claim(s) 1, 4-5, 8 and 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 6,598,448 to Barten et al (Barten).
Concerning claim 1, Barten discloses a rolling device, comprising:
a roller (2, 3), provided with a rolling surface configured to roll a target member;
a heat exchange assembly (11), arranged opposite to the rolling surface, wherein the heat exchange assembly is configured to adjust the temperature of the rolling surface; and
an adjustment assembly (7, 8), connected to the heat exchange assembly (11), wherein the adjustment assembly is configured to adjust the position of the heat exchange assembly in an axial direction of the roller.
Concerning claim 4, Barten discloses the heat exchange assembly comprises: a plurality of cooling members (11), corresponding to a plurality of regions of the rolling surface in the axial direction, wherein each of the cooling members is configured to separately adjust the temperature of one region.
Concerning claim 5, Barten discloses the cooling member (11) is configured to spray a cooling medium to the rolling surface to adjust the temperature of the rolling surface.
Concerning claim 8, Barten discloses the adjustment assembly comprises a guide member (7, 8) and a driving member (26, 27); the guide member (7, 8) extends in the axial direction of the roller; the heat exchange assembly (11) is movably connected to the guide member (7, 8); the driving member (26, 27) is in driving connection with the heat exchange assembly (11); and the driving member (26, 27) is configured to drive the heat exchange assembly (11) to move along the guide member (7, 8).
Concerning claim 10, Barten discloses a rolling system, wherein the rolling system comprises:
the rolling device according to claim 1;
a measurement device (column 3, lines 25-32), configured to measure the thickness of the target member after rolling; and
a controller, connected in communication with the measurement device and the adjustment assembly (column 3, lines 25-32),
wherein the controller is configured to control the adjustment assembly according to a measured value of the measurement device and adjust the position of the heat exchange assembly in an axial direction of the roller, so that the heat exchange assembly adjusts temperatures of different regions of the rolling surface in the axial direction (column 3, lines 25-32, as it is capable of doing so).
Concerning claim 11, Barten discloses the rolling system further comprises a temperature detection device (31); the temperature detection device (31) is connected in communication to the controller (column 4, lines 15-20); the temperature detection device (31) is configured to detect the temperatures of different regions of the rolling surface in the axial direction; the controller is configured to control the adjustment assembly according to the measured value of the measurement device and a detected value of the temperature detection device to adjust the position of the heat exchange assembly in the axial direction of the roller, so that the heat exchange assembly adjusts the temperatures of different regions of the rolling surface in the axial direction (as it is capable of doing so).
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) 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barten in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0213503 to Park et al (Park).
Concerning claim 6, Barten does not disclose a dust removal mechanism.
Park discloses a rolling device comprising a dust removal mechanism (), and the dust removal mechanism (200) is arranged opposite to the rolling surface (at 203).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to add the dust removal mechanism of Park to the rolling device of Barten because, as disclosed by Park, this prevents foreign material from adhering to the material being rolled (¶11).
Concerning claim 7, the combination of Barten in view of Park would not necessarily require that the dust removal mechanism and the cooling member are arranged on the same side of the roller. However, it would have been obvious to the skilled artisan at the time of the invention to construct the apparatus of Barten in view of Park such that the dust removal mechanism and the cooling member are arranged on the same side of the roller as such determination would result during routine engineering practices and experimentation. Accordingly, the particular placement of the cooling member and dust removal mechanism is an obvious design choice and would not modify the operation of the device, as both would still perform their functions regardless of the side of the roller each on is positioned on.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barten in view of JP 56126014 to Honjo (Honjo).
Concerning claim 9, Barten discloses wherein the heat exchange assembly is provided with a heat exchange surface; the heat exchange surface is opposite to the rolling surface; and the heat exchange surface and the roller are coaxially arranged but does not disclose the heat exchange surface is an arc surface.
Honjo discloses a rolling device wherein the heat exchange assembly (8) is provided with a heat exchange surface (9, 10); the heat exchange surface (9,10) is opposite to the rolling surface (of 1); the heat exchange surface (9, 10) is an arc surface; and the heat exchange surface (9, 10) and the roller (1) are coaxially arranged.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to modify the heat exchange surface of Barten such that is an arc surface because, as disclosed by Honjo, this allows for the locally defective shape of the rolling roll to be improved (abstract).
Claim(s) 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto in view of Barten.
Concerning claims 10-11, Yamamoto discloses a rolling system, wherein the rolling system comprises: the rolling device according to claim 1. However it does not disclose the measurement device or a temperature detection device.
Barten as discussed above discloses a rolling system with the measurement device and temperature detection device as claimed.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to add the measurement device and temperature detection device of Barten to the rolling system of Yamamoto because, as disclosed by Barten, this allows for controlling the size and speed of the effective roll barrel diameter and of the rolling gap (column 3, lines 17-24).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. U.S. Patent No. 3,990,284 discloses a rolling device where the heat exchange surface (10, 11) is an arc surface (see figure 1 for example).
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/Matthew Katcoff/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3725
01/23/2026