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 § 103
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 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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schmid (USP 3,650,166) in view of Murphy et al. (US Pub. No. 2022/0305641).
Regarding claim 1, Schmid discloses a machine tool comprising: a bed/support frame (1); first and second movable bodies (39, 40) supported so as to be movable with respect to the bed (figure 1 and col. 2, lines 40-43); and first to fourth jacks (7,8,9,10) configured to support the bed. Schmid does not disclose first to fourth jacks wherein a moving range of a gravity center of the first movable body is confined within a first triangle in which three of the first to fourth jacks are at vertices thereof when the machine tool is viewed from the top nor a moving range of a gravity center of the second movable body is confined within a second triangle in which three of the first to fourth jacks are at vertices thereof when the machine tool is viewed from the top, and a combination of the three jacks forming the first triangle and a combination of the three jacks forming the second triangle differ from each other. Murphy discloses a base (200) having four wheels (204a-204d: equivalent to jacks) and the base having a region of stability/support polygon (230) such that the base 200 will stably support a load on the platform (202) as long as a center of pressure of the load remains within the support polygon (230) (figure 3B and paragraph 59). Murphy also discloses if the if the center of pressure falls outside of the support polygon (230), the base (200) may respond such that a wheel opposite the load lifts off the ground. In such a scenario, a secondary support polygon is defined by the contact points associated with the first, second, and third wheels 204a, 204b, and 204c (in this case, the secondary support polygon is a support triangle). Of course, depending on the location at which the center of pressure leaves the primary support polygon 230, the secondary support polygon may be defined by any three of the four contact points defined by the four wheels 204a-204d (figures 1B and 3B). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to arrange the support locations of Schmidt such that the moving range of the center of gravity is confined within a polygon defined by selected support points, as taught by Murphy for the purpose of maintaining stability of the supported structures (i.e first, second and third movable bodies of Schmidt) and reduce the likelihood of tipping as the center of gravity changes position. Futhermore, Murphy discloses that the support polygon may be a triangle (figure 3B and paragraph 59) defined by three support/contact points, therefore it would have been obvious to apply the known triangular support polygon relationship to the support arrangement of Schmidt to maintain the center of gravity within a stable support region during movement of the movable bodies. Please note: the Schmidt’s movable bodies occupy and travel through different regions of the bed, therefore the supports triangles of each movable bodies would differ.
Regarding claim 2, the modified device of Schmid discloses a first rib (3), wherein two ends of the first rib (3) are coupled to, among the first to fourth jacks,
jacks located in first opposing corners (7,9) (‘166, figure 1).
Regarding claim 3, the modified device of Schmid discloses a second rib (4),
wherein two ends of the second rib are coupled to, among the first to fourth
jacks, jacks located in second opposing corners (8,10), and the first opposing corners (7,9) and the second opposing corners (8,10) differ from each other (‘166, figure 1).
Claims 1 and 4-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tokuma et al. (US Pub. No. 2005/0022351) in view of Murphy et al. (US Pub. No. 2022/0305641).
Regarding claims 1 and 5, Tokuma discloses a machine tool comprising: a bed (5); first and second and third movable bodies (20, 30) and a third movable body (25) supported so as to be movable with respect to the bed (figure 1). (‘351, figures 1 and 2 & paragraph 61). Tokuma does not disclose first to fourth jacks configured to support the bed, and wherein a moving range of a gravity center of the first movable body is confined within a first triangle in which three of the first to fourth jacks are at vertices thereof when the machine tool is viewed from the top, a moving range of a gravity center of the second movable body is confined within a second triangle in which three of the first to fourth jacks are at vertices thereof when the machine tool is viewed from the top, and a combination of the three jacks forming the first triangle and a combination of the three jacks forming the second triangle differ from each other, nor wherein a moving range of a gravity center of the third movable body is confined within the second triangle when the machine tool is viewed from the top. Murphy discloses a base (200) having four wheels (204a-204d: equivalent to jacks) and the base having a region of stability/support polygon (230) such that the base 200 will stably support a load on the platform (202) as long as a center of pressure of the load remains within the support polygon (230) (figure 3B and paragraph 59). Murphy also discloses if the if the center of pressure falls outside of the support polygon (230), the base (200) may respond such that a wheel opposite the load lifts off the ground. In such a scenario, a secondary support polygon is defined by the contact points associated with the first, second, and third wheels 204a, 204b, and 204c (in this case, the secondary support polygon is a support triangle). Of course, depending on the location at which the center of pressure leaves the primary support polygon 230, the secondary support polygon may be defined by any three of the four contact points defined by the four wheels 204a-204d (figures 1B and 3B). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to arrange the support locations of Tokuma such that the moving range of the center of gravity is confined within a polygon defined by selected support points, as taught by Murphy for the purpose of maintaining stability of the supported structures (i.e first, second and third movable bodies of Tokuma) and reduce the likelihood of tipping as the center of gravity changes position. Furthermore, Murphy discloses that the support polygon may be a triangle (figure 3B and paragraph 59) defined by three support/contact points, therefore it would have been obvious to apply the known triangular support polygon relationship to the support arrangement of Schmidt to maintain the center of gravity within a stable support region during movement of the movable bodies. Please note: the Tokuma’s movable bodies occupy and travel through different regions of the bed, therefore the supports triangles of each movable bodies would differ.
Regarding claim 4, the modified device of Tokuma discloses wherein the first movable body includes (20) a tool spindle for rotating a tool, and the second movable body (30) includes a tool rest for holding a plurality of tools (‘351, figures 1 and2).
Regarding claim 6, the modified device of Tokuma discloses wherein the third movable body (25) includes a workpiece spindle for rotating a workpiece (‘351, figures 1 and 2 & paragraph 61).
Regarding claim 7, the modified device of Tokuma discloses a first drive unit configured to move the first movable body (20); and a control unit configured to control the machine tool, wherein the control unit executes processing for controlling the first drive unit (‘351, figures 1 and 2 & paragraphs 70, 74, 80 and 81). The modified device of Tokuma would automatically have the moving range of the gravity center of the first movable body while a tool is processing a workpiece br confined within the first triangle.
Regarding claim 8, the modified device of Tokuma discloses a second drive unit configured to move the second movable body (30), wherein the control unit further executes processing for controlling the second drive unit (‘351, figures 1 and 2 & paragraphs 75 and 106). The modified device of Tokuma would automatically have the moving range of the gravity center of the second movable body while a tool is processing a workpiece be confined within the second triangle.
Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tokuma et al. (US Pub. No. 2005/0022351) in view of Murphy et al. (US Pub. No. 2022/0305641) and Schmid (USP 3,650,166).
The modified device of Tokuma discloses all aspects of the invention as set forth in the rejection above. The modified device of Tokuma is silent about details of the bed structure, such as having a first and second rib. Schmid discloses a machine tool comprising: a bed/support frame (1); first and second movable bodies (39, 40) supported so as to be movable with respect to the bed (figure 1 and col. 2, lines 40-43); and first to fourth jacks (7,8,9,10) configured to support the bed, a first rib (3), wherein two ends of the first rib (3) are coupled to, among the first to fourth jacks, jacks located in first opposing corners (7,9) (‘166, figure 1), a second rib (4), wherein two ends of the second rib are coupled to, among the first to fourth jacks, jacks located in second opposing corners (8,10), and the first opposing corners (7,9) and the second opposing corners (8,10) differ from each other (‘166, figure 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to modify Tokuma such that it’s bed has first and second ribs in the configuration recited above, as taught by Scmidt for the purpose of increasing the bending and torsional rigidity of the bed and distribute load from the machine towards the support/leveling points.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SARA ADDISU at (571) 272-6082. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm (Mondays and Wednesday-Friday).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sunil K. Singh can be reached on (571) 272-3460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SARA ADDISU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3722 8/7/26
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