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 . 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 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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/04/2024 has been considered by the examiner.
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 1-4 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maruyama (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2021/0060635) in view of Lozano (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2021/0170472).
Regarding claim 1, Maruyama teaches a press apparatus (130) configured to punch an electromagnetic steel sheet (Paragraph 0030) from a workpiece by using a punch and a die of a mold, the press apparatus comprising:
a first punch (P1) configured to punch an electromagnetic steel sheet having a first shape and a second punch (P2) configured to punch an electromagnetic steel sheet having a second shape (Paragraphs 0042-0049; Figures 3 and 4); and
a selection unit (153) configured to integrally operate a first pushing part configured to push the first punch and a second pushing part (153c) configured to push the second punch, and select the first pushing part or the second pushing part in order to selectively push one of the first and the second punches (Figure 3; Paragraphs 0072 0089-0097; Examiner notes there to be a plurality of selection units that operate individual pushing parts for each punch); and
a drive unit (153b) configured to operate the selection unit (Paragraph 0091 and Figure 3); and
a control unit (Ctr)(Paragraphs 0037-0040) configured to control the drive unit (Paragraph 0091)
Maruyama does not provide a temperature detection unit configured to detect a temperature of the mold; or the control unit configured to control the drive unit
Lozano teaches it is known in the art of presses and punches to incorporate a control device that receives data from sensors, including temperature (Paragraphs 0033-0034) to control equipment and actuators to compensate or modify the fine blanking process conditions to avoid the corresponding undesired effects in the process (Paragraph 0035).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the device of Maruyama to incorporate the teachings of Lozano to provide the controller with temperature sensing to control process conditions. In doing so, undesired effects are processed and reduced in a controlled manner.
Regarding claim 2, the modified device of Maruyama teaches the press apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit comprises a moving part (153a) (Examiner notes the cam member is capable of sliding movement) configured to be movable in a first axial direction perpendicular to a direction in which the workpiece is fed and parallel to the workpiece (MS) (Figure 3), the first and the second pushing parts being provided in the moving part, and the first and the second pushing parts are arranged in a staggered manner in the first axial direction (Maruyama Figure 3; Paragraph 0090-0091).
Regarding claim 3, the modified device of Maruyama teaches the press apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first and the second pushing parts are projection parts that project from the moving part (Maruyama Paragraphs 0090-0091; Figure 3).
Regarding claim 4, the modified device of Maruyama teaches the press apparatus according to claim 1,comprising a punch holder (151) through which the first and the second punches pass, wherein the selection unit (153) comprises a housing part configured to house an end part of another of the first and the second punches on a side thereof opposite to a pushing direction in which the selection unit pushes the other of the first and the second punches so that an end part of the other of the first and the second punches on a side thereof in the pushing direction is housed in the punch holder (Maruyama Figure 3 noting the Punch 3 and the connection to the selection unit separate from the connection to the punch housing 151).
Regarding claim 8, the modified device of Maruyama teaches the press apparatus according to claim 1, wherein pushing sets (153c) each composed of the first punch, the second punch (P1, P2), and the selection unit are arranged at intervals in the direction in which the workpiece is fed (Maruyama Figure 3).
Regarding claim 9, the modified device of Maruyama teaches the press apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the die comprises a first insertion part into which the first punch is inserted and a second insertion part into which the second punch is inserted (D1-D6) (Maruyama Figure 3 and 4).
Regarding claim 10, the modified device of Maruyama teaches the press apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the workpiece is an Fe-Co alloy (Examiner notes the apparatus does not comprise the workpiece, and must merely be capable of working with a workpiece that is an Fe-Co Alloy; Paragraph 0030 provides the workpiece of an electromagnetic steel plate as provided for within the preamble of claim 1 and the press is capable of being used with other workpieces).
Related Prior Art
Below is an analysis of the relevance of references cited but not used
- "892 cited references B-E on page 1 establish the state of the art with a variety of press devices.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICHARD D CROSBY JR whose telephone number is (571)272-8034. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-4:00.
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, Adam Eiseman can be reached at 571-270-3818. 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.
/RICHARD D CROSBY JR/ 11/13/2025Examiner, Art Unit 3724