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 .
Priority
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.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Gegner (US 2020/0166080) in view of Dong (CN109868469). An English machine translation of Dong (CN109868469) is included with the Notice of Reference Cited (PTO-892).
With respect to the limitations of claim 1, Gegner teaches a method for manufacturing a rolling or plain bearing ring (Fig 1, bearing inner ring 2, base body 5, 0054), the method comprising the steps of: providing a metallic ring member (ring 2, base body 5); and applying a load carrying surface (metallic coating, cladding 6, 0007, 0054, 0056) onto the metallic ring member (2, 5) by use of a deposition process (0012, 0013, deposition welding) where the load carrying surface comprises carbon (0026, 0.25 to 1.3 carbon) and boron (0026, 0 to 0.1 boron). Gegner discloses the claimed invention except for the load carrying surface is applied by use of a steel wire Directed Energy Deposition (DED) operation and/or a steel metal powder DED operation, wherein the steel wire and/or the steel metal powder comprises 0.10-0.50 wt % of carbon and 0.50-1.20 wt % of boron.
However, Dong discloses the load carrying surface is applied by use of a steel wire Directed Energy Deposition (DED) operation and/or a steel metal powder DED operation (Abstract, 0012, powder material for laser manufacturing of a composite lining plate; 0016, use a semiconductor fiber laser to spread powder while performing laser cladding), the steel wire and/or the steel metal powder comprises 0.10-0.50 wt % of carbon (0016, C: 0.1-0.2%) and 0.50-1.20 wt % of boron (0016, B: 0.2-0.7%) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the method for manufacturing a rolling or plain bearing ring having load carrying surface applied by a deposition process of Gegner silent to the type of deposition with the load carrying surface is applied by use of a steel wire Directed Energy Deposition (DED) operation and/or a steel metal powder DED operation, wherein the steel wire and/or the steel metal powder comprises 0.10-0.50 wt % of carbon and 0.50-1.20 wt % of boron of Dong for the purpose of using a known Directed Energy Deposition that provides a cladding layer with high hardness but also strong impact resistance, thereby improving the deformation resistance of the cladding layer during use (0022, 0023).
With respect to the limitations of claims 2, 4, 5 and 8, Gegner in view of Dong discloses the steel wire and/or steel metal powder comprises carbon and boron (Dong, 0016, C: 0.1-0.2%, B: 0.2-0.7%) as hardening mechanisms (0023);
the steel wire is a stainless steel wire and/or the steel metal powder is a stainless steel metal powder (0030, Cr: 15%, Fe: balance);
the step of applying the load carrying surface includes applying more than one layer by use of DED (Dong, Abstract, 0012, powder material for laser manufacturing of a composite lining plate; 0016, use a semiconductor fiber laser to spread powder while performing laser cladding);
a final radial thickness of the applied load carrying surface is 0.25 mm-10 mm (single-layer cladding thickness: 2 mm).
With respect to the limitations of claim 10, Gegner in view of Dong discloses a rolling or plain bearing ring for a rolling or plain bearing (Gegner, Fig 1, bearing inner ring 2, base body 5, 0054), the rolling or plain bearing ring has been manufactured by the method according claim 1 (as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above).
Claims 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Gegner (US 2020/0166080) in view of Dong (CN109868469) as applied to claim 1, further in view of Wu (CN113862667). An English machine translation of Wu (CN113862667) is included with the Notice of Reference Cited (PTO-892).
With respect to the limitations of claims 6 and 7, Gegner in view of Dong discloses the claimed invention except for during the step of applying a load carrying surface, an application speed is varied during application of the steel wire material and/or the steel metal powder on the metallic ring member; the application speed is varied by decreasing the speed at least one time during the step of applying the load carrying surface. However, Wu discloses during the step of applying a load carrying surface, an application speed is varied during application (0021, after passing through the first-stage adjustment mechanism, some powder flow rate slows down and falls freely through the second powder outlet) of the steel wire material and/or the steel metal powder on the metallic ring member; the application speed is varied by decreasing the speed at least one time during the step of applying (0021, after passing through the first-stage adjustment mechanism, some powder flow rate slows down and falls freely through the second powder outlet) the load carrying surface is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the method for manufacturing a rolling or plain bearing ring having load carrying surface applied by a laser powder deposition process of Gegner in view of Dong silent to the application speed with the during the step of applying a load carrying surface, an application speed is varied during application of the steel wire material and/or the steel metal powder on the metallic ring member; the application speed is varied by decreasing the speed at least one time during the step of applying the load carrying surface of Wu for the purpose of allowing the powder material to fall almost freely and spread evenly on the substrate surface, resulting in uniform powder spread (0021).
Claims 9 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Gegner (US 2020/0166080) in view of Dong (CN109868469) as applied to claim 1, further in view of Huo (CN109706449). An English machine translation of Huo (CN109706449) is included with the Notice of Reference Cited (PTO-892).
With respect to the limitations of claim 9, Gegner in view of Dong discloses the claimed invention except for further comprising a step of: prior to the step of applying the load carrying surface, removing an existing load carrying surface of the metallic ring member. However, Huo discloses further comprising a step of: prior to the step of applying the load carrying surface (0018, 0019, laser cladding), removing an existing load carrying surface of the metallic ring member (0013-0015, grind away fatigue layer, 0014) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the method for manufacturing a rolling or plain bearing ring having load carrying surface applied by a deposition process silent to removing of an existing load carrying surface with the further comprising a step of: prior to the step of applying the load carrying surface, removing an existing load carrying surface of the metallic ring member of Huo for the purpose of providing a known removal step that allows existing ring members to be repaired or reworked to extend the life of the ring member (0032).
With respect to the limitations of claim 12, Gegner in view of Dong and Huo discloses the claimed invention except for the step of removing an existing load carrying surface includes removing a radial thickness of a material of the metallic ring member, the radial thickness having a value of 0.25 mm-10 mm. However, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to have the step of removing an existing load carrying surface includes removing a radial thickness of a material of the metallic ring member, the radial thickness having a value of 0.25 mm-10 mm, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable radial thickness removal value ranges involves only routine skill in the art (see MPEP 2144.04).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Gegner (US 2020/0166080) in view of Dong (CN109868469) as applied to claims 1 and 5, further in view of Zhang (CN109402631). An English machine translation of Zhang (CN109402631) is included with the Notice of Reference Cited (PTO-892).
With respect to the limitations of claim 11, Gegner in view of Dong discloses the claimed invention except for the step of applying the load carrying surface includes applying 2-20 layers by use of DED. However, Zhang discloses the step of applying the load carrying surface includes applying 2-20 layers (Fig 1, layers 2-4, 0033) by use of DED (0038-0040) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the method for manufacturing a rolling or plain bearing ring having load carrying surface applied by a deposition process silent to multiple layers with the step of applying the load carrying surface includes applying 2-20 layers by use of DED of Zhang for the purpose of using a known multi-layered, laser, deposition configuration that secures a working layer to a workpiece.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THIEN S TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7745. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday [8:00-4:00].
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/THIEN S TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761 7/10/2026
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