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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted 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
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 1-4 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by World Intellectual Property Organization Publication No. WO 96/32214 by Codatto, hereinafter “Codatto”.
Regarding claim 1, Codatto discloses a swivel bending machine (1) (bending machine press 10 shown in Fig. 1; page 5), comprising
- a machine frame (frame 12 shown in Fig. 1; page 5);
- a workpiece holding unit (3) (blank holding unit shown in Fig. 3; page 7) connected with the machine frame with a first clamping tool (4) (clamping tool lower blankholder 32 in Fig. 3; page 7) and an adjustable second clamping tool (5) (clamping tool upper blankholder 36 in Fig. 3; page 7) interacting therewith for fixing a workpiece (2) in a horizontal working plane (6) in such a way that a workpiece portion (7) to be bent can protrude beyond the workpiece holding unit (3);
- a bending beam (8) (bending beam upper part 16 in Fig. 1; page 5) mounted adjustably on the machine frame and connected to an adjusting drive (9) (hydraulic actuators drive upper part 16; page 5) for bending a workpiece portion (7);
- wherein the bending beam (8) has an approximately C-shaped beam cross section (10) (see 5th full paragraph of page 5) and two bending tools (13, 14) (tools 40 and 38 in Fig. 3; page 7) running opposite to and facing one another with respect to a horizontal center plane (11) in the longitudinal direction (12) of the bending beam (8), between which a workpiece portion (7) of a workpiece (2) is insertable;
- a support table (17) (table 20 in Fig. 1; page 5) for workpieces (2) to be bent in a region in front of a front side (18) of the workpiece holding unit (3) (table 20 is shown as being in front of blankholders 32 and 36 in Fig. 1), said front side (18) representing the side of the workpiece holding unit (3) opposite the bending beam (8), said support table (17) having a table length (19) when measured in parallel to the longitudinal direction (12) of the bending beam (8) of more than 1.5m between its two table end regions (20, 21) (table 20 in Fig. 1 is shown as having a longitudinal length of more than 1.5 meters) and said support table (17) having a table depth (22) when measured in parallel to the horizontal working plane (6) and perpendicularly to the front side (18) of more than 1.0m (table 20 in Fig. 1 is shown as having a depth of more than 1 meter), wherein a depth direction (16) of the swivel bending machine (1) is defined by the series arrangement of the support table (17), the workpiece holding unit (3), and the bending beam (8);
- a workpiece manipulator (23) (manipulator block 30 in Figs. 1-10; page 6-7) which is configured to receive workpieces coming from at least one of the table end regions (20, 21) and place them parallel to the longitudinal direction (12) of the bending beam (8) in a section in the region of the longitudinal center (24) of the workpiece holding unit (3),
wherein the workpiece manipulator (23) has a first pair of clamping tongs (25) (tongs Fx and Fy of one block 30 in Fig. 2a clamp a corner of workpiece P; page 6-7) and, spaced apart from the first pair in the longitudinal direction (12) of the bending beam (8), a second pair of clamping tongs (26) (tongs Fx and Fy of the other block 30 in Fig. 2a) for establishing a clamping connection with respect to a workpiece (tongs Fx and Fy establish a clamping connection with respect to workpiece P in Fig. 2a),
and wherein at least one of the two pairs of clamping tongs (25, 26) has a first stop surface (27, 28) for the referencing positioning of a workpiece in relation to the longitudinal direction (12) of the bending beam (8) (stop surface lateral reference face Fx in Fig. 2a; page 7) and a second stop surface (29, 30) for referencing positioning of this workpiece in relation to the depth direction (16) of the swivel bending machine (1) (stop surface front reference face Fy in Fig. 2a).
Regarding claim 2, Codatto anticipates the swivel bending machine according to claim 1 as explained above. Codatto further discloses wherein the workpiece manipulator (23) (manipulator blocks 30 in Fig. 1) is movable into and out of the inner region (33) of the bending beam (8) enclosed by the C-shaped beam cross section (10) by means of a guide arrangement (32) (guide arrangement rail 22 in Figs. 3 and 4; page 8) running parallel to the longitudinal direction (12) of the bending beam (8) (rail 22 in Figs. 3 and 4 runs parallel to the longitudinal direction of upper part 16 in Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 3, Codatto anticipates the swivel bending machine according to claim 2 as explained above. Codatto further discloses wherein the workpiece manipulator (23) (manipulator blocks 30 in Fig. 1) is movable beyond at least one longitudinal end (34) of the first or second clamping tool (4, 5) or the lower or upper bending tool (13, 14) by means of the guide arrangement (32) (Fig. 1 shows manipulator blocks 30 may be moved as far as stops 82, 82L on guide arrangement rail 22 which are located beyond clamping tools 32 and 34; page 11).
Regarding claim 4, Codatto anticipates the swivel bending machine according to claim 1 as explained above. Codatto further discloses wherein the first and the second pair of clamping tongs (25, 26) (tongs Fx and Fy of blocks 30) are each fixed on a translational adjusting axle (35, 36) (adjusting axle bars 48 in Fig. 5; page 9) and these adjusting axles (35, 36) are provided for the controlled positioning of the first and second pair of clamping tongs (25, 26) along the depth direction (16) of the swivel bending machine (1) (bars 48 adjust the position of tongs Fx and Fy of blocks 30 as shown in Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 7, Codatto anticipates the swivel bending machine according to claim 4 as explained above. Codatto further discloses wherein the first and the second adjusting axles (35, 36) (adjusting axle bars 48 in Fig. 5) each have an electric motor (48, 49) (electric motors 26 in Fig. 3; page 8 and 9) and each have a threaded spindle (50, 51) (spindles 52 in Fig. 5 with threaded pinions 54 and 56; page 9) coupled with the electric motor (48, 49) for the translational adjustment of the first and second pair of clamping tongs (25, 26) (motor 26 drives spindles 52 which translate blocks 30 as shown in Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 8, Codatto anticipates the swivel bending machine according to claim 1 as explained above. Codatto further discloses wherein the first or the second pair of clamping tongs (25, 26) or the first and the second pair of clamping tongs (25, 26) are configured to grip a side edge (52) of a workpiece (2) which runs parallel to the longitudinal direction (12) of the bending beam (8) and is arranged closest to the bending beam (8). Tongs Fy of blocks 30 in Fig. 2a grip side edge Ey running parallel with the longitudinal direction of beam upper part 16.
Regarding claim 11, Codatto anticipates the swivel bending machine according to claim 1 as explained above. Codatto further discloses the workpiece manipulator (23) (manipulator blocks 30 in Fig. 1) is configured such as to only use the first stop surface (27, 28) (stop surface of Fx and Fy in Fig. 2a) of one of the two pairs of clamping tongs (25, 26) for referencing a workpiece (2) (workpiece P in Fig. 2a) in the longitudinal direction (12) of the bending beam (8) and to exclusively use the clamping effect of the other of the two pairs of clamping tongs (26, 25) with respect to that workpiece (2)(the stop surface of Fx and Fy are capable of being used in the manner claimed).
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 5 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Codatto in view of U.S. Patent No. 8,950,228 B2 to Lee et al., hereinafter “Lee”.
Regarding claim 5, Codatto anticipates the swivel bending machine according to claim 1 as explained above. However, Codatto’s clamping tongs Fx and Fy (Fig. 2a) do not comprise a pneumatically actuable adjusting cylinder for closing the respective pair of clamping tongs.
In the same field of bending machine presses, Lee teaches it was known before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use pneumatically-actuated clamping tongs to clamp edges of a workpiece during bending. See at least column 3, line 61 through column 4, line 48.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute Lee’s pneumatically-actuated clamps for Codatto’s clamping tongs Fx and Fy to achieve the predictable result of Codatto’s bending machine with pneumatically-actuated clamping tongs clamping workpiece P. A person of ordinary skill would have recognized applying the teaching of Lee to the disclosure of Codatto would result in adding pneumatically-actuated clamps to Codatto’s machine.
Regarding claim 9, Codatto anticipates the swivel bending machine according to claim 1 as explained above. Figs. 2 and 5 of Codatto disclose the stop surface of clamping tong Fx runs vertically and transversely to the longitudinal direction of upper part 16. However, Codatto does not disclose the stop surface of clamping tong Fx is positioned outside of a clamping portion of the clamping tongs.
In the same field of bending machine presses, Lee teaches it was known before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use pneumatically-actuated clamping tongs to clamp edges of a workpiece during bending. See at least column 3, line 61 through column 4, line 48.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the pneumatically-actuated clamps taught by Lee adjacently inside Codatto’s clamping tongs Fx and Fy to provide active clamping of the workpiece as taught by Lee. A person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize applying the teaching of Lee to Codatto’s disclosure would achieve the predictable result of positioning stop surface outside of the clamping portion of the bending machine.
Claims 10 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Codatto in view of Japanese Patent Publication No. JP 2001-205343 A by Inoue, hereinafter “Inoue”.
Regarding claim 10, Codatto anticipates the swivel bending machine according to claim 1 as explained above. However, Codatto does not disclose the first and/or the second pair of clamping tongs comprise a non-pivotable lower support finger and an upper clamping finger, which upper clamping finger is, in relation to the lower support finger, mounted pivotably around a horizontal pivot axle.
In the same field of bending machines, Inoue teaches it was known before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use clamping tongs with a non-pivotable lower finger and a pivotable upper finger. See paragraphs [0030] through [0032] making reference to Fig. 4(A).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute Inoue’s pivot-clamping tongs for Codatto’s clamping tongs Fx and Fy to achieve the predictable result of Codatto’s bending machine with pivotable clamping tongs. A person of ordinary skill would have recognized applying the teaching of Inoue to the disclosure of Codatto would result in adding pivotable clamping tongs to Codatto’s machine.
Regarding claim 12, Codatto anticipates the swivel bending machine according to claim 1 as explained above. However, Codatto does not disclose a supporting body (56) of an additional manipulator (57) protrudes from a table level (55) of the support table (17) in vertical direction, which additional manipulator (57) has a rotation stamp (58) rotatable around a vertical axis for turning workpieces (2) to be machined around the vertical axis, and in that wherein the supporting body (56) protrudes vertically in the longitudinal center (24) or in the region of the longitudinal center (24) of the support table (17).
In the same field of bending machines, Inoue teaches it was known before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use an additional manipulator protruding from the machine’s support table which uses a rotating turret to turn workpiece about a vertical axis. See paragraphs [0038] through [0040]. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute Inoue’s support table for Codatto’s support table to achieve the predictable result of adding an additional workpiece manipulator to Codatto’s bending machine.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art of record does not teach a wedge-shaped activating section as claimed.
Conclusion
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/P DEREK PRESSLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 3725
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