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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/31/23 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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, 2, 4, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tomitani et al (JP 2015097400; “Tomitani”).
Regarding claim 1, Tomitani discloses in figures 3-5 a measuring device comprising: a spindle (3) provided to be movable reciprocatively in an axial direction through a housing part (2), wherein the housing part (2) includes a bearing part (52b) configured to guide the spindle (3) to move linearly, and the bearing part (52b) is a ball bearing (stroke bearing ball).
Regarding claim 2, Tomitani discloses in figures 3-5 a bearing cylinder part (5) provided to protrude from a side face (bottom) of the housing part (2) and including a cylindrical hole (53a) through which the spindle (3) is inserted, wherein the ball bearing (52b) is provided between an inner surface of the bearing cylinder part (5) and an outer surface of the spindle (3).
Regarding claim 4, Tomitani discloses in figures 3-5 and corresponding text, a measuring method for measuring a workpiece (W) using a measuring device (1) including a spindle (3) provided to be movable reciprocatively in an axial direction through a housing part (2), wherein the housing part (2) includes a bearing part (52b) configured to guide the spindle (3) to move linearly, and the bearing part (52b) is a ball bearing the method comprising: relatively moving the workpiece (W) and the measuring device (1) while a contact point (31) at a tip of the spindle (3) is in contact with a surface of the workpiece (W), and performing continuous scanning measurement to measure irregularities of the surface (not labeled) of the workpiece (W).
Regarding claim 6, Tomitani discloses in figures 3-5 and corresponding text the measuring device (1) further includes a bearing cylinder part (5) provided to protrude from a side face (bottom side) of the housing part (2) and including a cylindrical hole (53a) through which the spindle (3) is inserted, wherein the ball bearing (52b) is provided between an inner surface of the bearing cylinder part (5) and an outer surface of the spindle (3).
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.
Claims 3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tomitani in view of Hayashida (JP 2021071376; “Hayashida”).
Regarding claim 3, Tomitani is silent to a lever-type contact point to be attachable to a tip of the spindle and including a contact point at a tip of a lever part extending in a direction intersecting an axis of the spindle.
However, Hayashida discloses that a lever-type contact point (200) can be attached to a tip of the spindle (270) including a contact point (240). And that this head portion (200) connects to a universal test indicator (100).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to construct Tomitani’s test indicator by including Hayashida’s lever-type contact point on the end of the spindle, to allow for more angles to be measured, making the overall device more robust.
Regarding claim 5, Tomitani discloses in figures 3-5 a method for measuring a workpiece (W) using a measuring device (1) including a spindle (3) provided to be movable reciprocatively in an axial direction through a housing part (2), wherein the housing part includes a bearing part (52b) configured to guide the spindle (3) to move linearly, and the bearing part (52b) is a ball bearing, the method comprising: relatively moving the workpiece (W) and the measuring device (1) while the contact point (31) is in contact with a surface of the workpiece (W), and performing continuous scanning measurement to measure irregularities of the surface of the workpiece (W).
Tomitani is silent to a contact point to be attachable to a tip of the spindle and including a contact point at a tip of a lever part extending in a direction intersecting an axis of the spindle.
However, Hayashida discloses that a lever-type contact point (200) can be attached to a tip of the spindle (270) including a contact point (240). And that this head portion (200) connects to a universal test indicator (100).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to construct Tomitani’s test indicator by including Hayashida’s lever-type contact point on the end of the spindle, to allow for more angles to be measured, making the overall device more robust.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER J MACCHIAROLO whose telephone number is (571)272-2375. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7am-3pm.
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, Andrea Wellington can be reached at 571-272-4483. 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.
/PETER J MACCHIAROLO/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2855