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
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 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhang et al. (US 2022/0314335 A1).
Re Claim 1, Zhang discloses a cutting insert used for groove machining, the cutting insert comprising: a front cutting edge 213; a pair of side cutting edges 211, 212; a pair of corner cutting edges each connecting the front cutting edge 213 and a corresponding one of the side cutting edges 211, 212 (See figures 2-4); corner rake surfaces (not labeled, the corner portions of rake member 31, see figures 1-4) extending from the corner cutting edges 211, 212; and a protrusion part 30 protruding from the corner rake surfaces and provided with a flat boss surface (not labeled, the surface between numerals 211 and 212) at a leading end, corner wall surfaces 41, 47 extending from the boss surface toward the corner rake surfaces are formed at the protrusion part 30, and at least a part of the corner wall surfaces has a tilt angle of 40° or larger relative to the boss surface (Pars. 0034 and 36-38, Figs. 1-6).
Re Claim 4, Zhang discloses a first part 20 being provided with the front cutting edge 213, the side cutting edges 211, 212, the corner cutting edges, the corner rake surfaces, and the protrusion part 30, and a second part being held by a holder 10 of a cutting tool are joined to each other (Pars. 34 and 37, Fig. 1).
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) 2 and 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US 2022/0314335 A1), in view of Inoue (US 2015/0 A1).
Re Claim 2, Zhang does not explicitly disclose the corner wall surfaces each includes a first corner wall surface and a second corner wall surface, the first corner wall surface being a part on the boss surface side, the second corner wall surface being a part on the corner rake surface side, and a tilt angle of the second corner wall surface relative to the boss surface is smaller than a tilt angle of the first corner wall surface relative to the boss surface.
Inoue discloses a cutting insert 1 used for groove machining, the cutting insert 1 comprising: a front cutting edge 5(a); a pair of side cutting edges 5(b); a pair of corner cutting edges 5(c) each connecting the front cutting edge 5(a) and a corresponding one of the side cutting edges 5(b) (Par. 0037, figures 2a and 4); corner rake surfaces 21(c) extending from the corner cutting edges 5(b); and a protrusion part 22 protruding from the corner rake surfaces 21(c) and provided with a flat boss surface 22(c) at a leading end, corner wall surfaces 22a, 22b extending from the boss surface 22 toward the corner rake surfaces 21(c) are formed at the protrusion part 22; the corner wall surfaces 22a, 22b each includes a first corner wall surface 22b and a second corner wall surface 22a, the first corner wall surface 22b being a part on the boss surface side, the second corner wall surface 22a being a part on the corner rake surface side (See figures 2 and 4), and a tilt angle of the second corner wall surface 22a relative to the boss surface is smaller than a tilt angle of the first corner wall surface 22b relative to the boss surface 22 (Pars. 0028-0032 and 0035-0054; Figs. 1, 2 and 4-7), for the benefit of deforming chips during cutting (Par. 0048). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Zhang by providing corner wall surfaces each including a first corner wall surface and a second corner wall surface, as disclosed by Inoue, for the benefit of deforming chips during cutting.
Re Claim 3, the combination as applied to claim 2 remains as previously applied. The combination discloses when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the boss surface 22, at least one of the first corner wall surface 22b and the second corner wall surface 22a protrudes in a circular arc shape toward the corner cutting edges 5(c) (See Inoue, Figures 2 and 4).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US 2022/0314335 A1), in view of Suzuki et al. (US 2022/0274185 A1).
Re Claim 5, Zhang does not explicitly disclose the first part is formed of a material containing cubic boron nitride.
Suzuki discloses a cutting insert 10 used for groove machining, the cutting insert 10 comprising: a first part 30 being provided with a front cutting edge 31; side cutting edges 32, 37; and a second part 20 being held by a holder 80 of a cutting tool are joined to each other (Pars. 0058-0062, 0071 and 0072; Figs. 1-4); the first part 30 is formed of a material containing cubic boron nitride, for the benefit of providing a cutting insert comprised of an ultrahigh-pressure sintered body (Par. 0090). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the invention of Zhang with a first part formed of a material containing cubic boron nitride as disclosed by Suzuki for the benefit of providing a cutting insert comprised of an ultrahigh-pressure sintered body.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BAYAN SALONE whose telephone number is (571)270-7739. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-60 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Bryant can be reached at (571)272-4526. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/BAYAN SALONE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726