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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 4/8/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/8/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that the amended claim limitations to claims 1 and 7 overcome the Konno reference because Konno does not describe the amended features. Examiner disagrees. Examiner notes the claim amendment is still presented in the alternative, “the control unit performs at least one of… setting a lower limit… stopping the pressure reduction…or correcting a reduction rate,” meaning that only one of these criteria need to be taught by a reference to meet the claim. With respect to Konno, the second option is taught by Konno as shown in Figure 9. In Figure 9, the time prior to T1 can be the k stage and the time between T1 and T2 is k+1. The “setting” pressure in the k+1 stage between T1 and T2 is lower than the “setting” pressure in the k stage prior to T1. As can be seen from Figure 9, in this instance, the pressure is reduced in the k stage, but not below the “setting” pressure of the k+1 stage between T1 and T2. This meets the second alternative, stopping the pressure reduction control during the k-th stage according to the set value P(k) and the set value P(k + 1) such that the actual value of the pressure in the k-th stage does not become lower than the set value P(k + 1). Claims 2-3 and 5-6 also remain rejected for the same reasons as described above.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being Anticipated by Konno (US 2006/0017416, made of record on the IDS dated 10/8/2023.)
Regarding claim 1, Konno meets the claimed, A control device of an injection molding machine including an injection member that presses a molding material and an injection drive source that moves the injection member, (Konno [0036]-[0040] describe an injection molding machine, a screw 20, motor 24, and a controller 26) the control device comprising: an injection control unit configured to control, in a pressure holding process of controlling a pressure acting on the molding material from the injection member, the injection drive source based on a set value of the pressure and on an actual value of the pressure, (Konno [0046] and [0050] describes pressure holding and controlling the output of the motor based on a ratio Pr of the setting pressure P and the pressure at completion Pa) wherein the injection control unit is configured to control the pressure holding process to have n stages (n is an integer of 1 or more) of combinations of set values of the pressure and holding times for holding the set values, (Konno Figure 9 shows the pressure holding process has four stages) the injection control unit is configured to perform pressure reduction control to reduce the actual value of the pressure with respect to the set value of the pressure from a middle of a k-th stage (k is an integer of 1 or more and n or less), (Konno Figure 9 and [0056] show how the pressure is reduced with respect to the setting line in each stage) the control device further comprises a ratio setting unit that sets a time ratio Tr(k) in the k-th stage and a pressure ratio ΔPr(k) in the k-th stage based on a set value P(k) of the pressure in the k-th stage, on a set value T(k) of the holding time in the k-th stage, and on information stored in advance, (Konno [0050] describes the pressure and time ratios) where Tr(k) is a ratio of a start time Ta(k) at which the pressure reduction control starts in the k-th stage to the set value T(k) of the holding time in the k-th stage, (Konno [0048] describes the time ratio as being the ratio of the start time and the setting value) and where ΔPr(k) is a ratio of a difference ΔPa(k) between the actual value of the pressure at an end of the k-th stage and a reference value to a difference ΔP(k) between the set value P(k) of the pressure in the k-th stage and the reference value (Konno [0047] describes the pressure ratio, the reference value being 0) in a case where k is (n - 1) or less and a set value P(k + 1) of the pressure in a (k + 1)-th stage is lower than the set value P(k) of the pressure in the k-th stage, the injection control unit performs at least one of: setting a lower limit value for the pressure reduced by the pressure reduction control such that the actual value of the pressure in the k-th stage does not become lower than the set value P(k + 1), stopping the pressure reduction control during the k-th stage according to the set value P(k) and the set value P(k + 1) such that the actual value of the pressure in the k-th stage does not become lower than the set value P(k + 1), (Konno Figure 9 shows the set pressure between T1 and T2 (the k+1 stage) is lower than the set pressure prior to T1 (the k stage) and the pressure is not lowered beyond the set pressure between T1-T2 before T1) or correcting a reduction rate of the pressure in the k-th stage according to the set value P(k) and the set value P(k + 1) such that the actual value of the pressure in the k-th stage does not become lower than the set value P(k + 1).
Regarding claim 2, Konno meets the claimed, The control device of an injection molding machine according to claim 1, wherein the ratio setting unit is configured to use the same value as the time ratio Tr(k) in the k-th stage as a time ratio Tr(m) in an m-th stage (m is an integer of 1 or more and n or less and is different from k), (Konno Figure 9 shows the pressure reducing ends at each time T1, T2, etc., after each stage making the ratio of Tr the same in each stage, see also [0056] describing that the ratios may be the same) and to use the same value as the pressure ratio ΔPr(k) in the k-th stage as a pressure ratio ΔPr(m) in the m-th stage (Konno Figure 9 show the pressure in stages T1 and T2 is the same, making the ratio the same as well, see also [0056] describing that the ratios may be the same.)
Regarding claim 3, Konno meets the claimed, The control device of an injection molding machine according to claim 1, wherein the ratio setting unit is configured to set a time ratio Tr(m) in an m-th stage (m is an integer of 1 or more and n or less and is different from k) and a pressure ratio ΔPr(m) in the m-th stage based on a set value P(m) of the pressure in the m-th stage, on a set value T(m) of the holding time in the m-th stage, and on information stored in advance (Konno [0050] describes setting the pressure and time ratios.)
Regarding claim 5, Konno meets the claimed, The control device of an injection molding machine according to claim 1, further comprising: a display control unit that is configured to display, on a display device, a start button for the injection control unit to perform the pressure reduction control according to setting of the ratio setting unit (Konno [0058] describes both a display and input device 35 for inputting values to the controller.)
Regarding claim 6, Konno meets the claimed, An injection molding machine comprising: the control device according to claim 1; the injection member; and the injection drive source (Konno [0036]-[0040] describe an injection molding machine, a screw 20, motor 24, and a controller 26)
Regarding claim 7, Konno meets the claimed, A method of controlling an injection molding machine including an injection member that presses a molding material and an injection drive source that moves the injection member, (Konno [0036]-[0040] describe an injection molding machine, a screw 20, motor 24, and a controller 26, [0045] onward describes the method) the method comprising: an injection control process of, in a pressure holding process of controlling a pressure acting on the molding material from the injection member, controlling the injection drive source based on a set value of the pressure and on an actual value of the pressure, (Konno [0046] and [0050] describes pressure holding and controlling the output of the motor based on a ratio Pr of the setting pressure P and the pressure at completion Pa) wherein the pressure holding process has n stages (n is an integer of 1 or more) of combinations of set values of the pressure and holding times for holding the set values, (Konno Figure 9 shows the pressure holding process has four stages) the injection control process has a pressure reduction control process of reducing the actual value of the pressure with respect to the set value of the pressure from a middle of a k-th stage (k is an integer of 1 or more and n or less), (Konno Figure 9 and [0056] show how the pressure is reduced with respect to the setting line in each stage) the control method further comprises a ratio setting process of setting a time ratio Tr(k) in the k-th stage and a pressure ratio ΔPr(k) in the k-th stage based on a set value P(k) of the pressure in the k-th stage, on a set value T(k) of the holding time in the k-th stage, and on information stored in advance, (Konno [0050] describes the pressure and time ratios) where Tr(k) is a ratio of a start time Ta(k) at which the pressure reduction control process starts in the k-th stage to the set value T(k) of the holding time in the k-th stage, (Konno [0048] describes the time ratio as being the ratio of the start time and the setting value) and where ΔPr(k) is a ratio of a difference ΔPa(k) between the actual value of the pressure at an end of the k-th stage and a reference value to a difference ΔP(k) between the set value P(k) of the pressure in the k-th stage and the reference value (Konno [0047] describes the pressure ratio, the reference value being 0) in a case where k is (n - 1) or less and a set value P(k + 1) of the pressure in a (k + 1)-th stage is lower than the set value P(k) of the pressure in a k-th stage, the injection control process includes performing at least one of: setting a lower limit value for the pressure reduced by the pressure reduction control process such that the actual value of the pressure in the k-th stage does not become lower than the set value P(k + 1),stopping the pressure reduction control process during the k-th stage according to the set value P(k) and the set value P(k + 1) such that the actual value of the pressure in the k-th stage does not become lower than the set value P(k + 1), (Konno Figure 9 shows the set pressure between T1 and T2 (the k+1 stage) is lower than the set pressure prior to T1 (the k stage) and the pressure is not lowered beyond the set pressure between T1-T2 before T1) or correcting a reduction rate of the pressure in the k-th stage according to the set value P(k) and the set value P(k + 1) such that the actual value of the pressure in the k-th stage does not become lower than the set value P(k + 1).
Conclusion
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/V.B./ Examiner, Art Unit 1744
/XIAO S ZHAO/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1744
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