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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The meaning of the term “immeasurable value” in claim 1 is unclear. Paragraph 0059 of Applicant’s specification appears to equate “immeasurable” with “difficult to measure”. Interpreting immeasurable value as difficult to measure would result in the use of a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “difficult” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the limitation “immeasurable value” will not be treated on the merits.
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, 5, 9, 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhuang et al., CN113458871A [Zhuang].
Regarding claim 1, Zhuang discloses a tool life prediction method, comprising:
allowing a target tool having a rake surface and a clearance surface to perform cutting under specific test conditions [performing a cutting test on a cutting tool that has a rake surface and a clearance surface, paragraph n0054];
obtaining three-dimensional shape data including the rake surface and the clearance surface of the target tool performing the cutting [tool wear is measured experimentally and is represented using three-dimensional information, paragraphs n0043, n0046 and n0054];
calculating a wear volume from a difference between a first cross-sectional profile corresponding to the three-dimensional shape data and a second cross-sectional profile corresponding to a shape data before processing [total tool wear rate (tool wear volume per unit time) is calculated based on the tool wear value that was measured experimentally, paragraphs n0036 and n0043];
obtaining a value in a tool wear volume calculation formula through simulation [normal pressure, sliding speed and temperature are obtained through simulation, paragraphs n0042 and n0054];
deriving a plurality of constant values included in the tool wear volume calculation formula based on the wear volume and the values obtained through the simulation [constants A and B are obtained from the obtained normal pressure, sliding speed and temperature, paragraph n0058]; and
predicting the wear volume of the tool using the derived constant values [the wear model is used to predict wear, paragraph n0062].
Regarding claim 4, Zhuang further discloses in the allowing of the target tool having the rake surface and clearance surface to perform the cutting under the specific test conditions, the target tool includes a process of taking target tools in plurality and allowing each of the plurality of taken target tools to perform the cutting so that the specific test conditions are applied differently [multiple sets of experiments were done with different tools and different workpiece materials, paragraph n0057].
Regarding claim 5, Zhuang further discloses that in the allowing of the target tool having the rake surface and clearance surface to perform the cutting under the specific test conditions, the cutting is performed by setting at least one of a cutting speed (VC), a feed (FN), and a cutting depth (AP) of the specific test conditions differently for the plurality of target tools [cutting lengths, paragraph n0057].
Regarding claim 9, Zhuang further discloses that the tool wear volume calculation formula is dw/dt = C1*exp(-C2/TK)*VS [see equation in paragraph 0042 of the original (untranslated) document].
Regarding claim 11, Zhuang further discloses that the predicting of the wear volume of the tool using the derived constant values includes calculating the wear volume of the tool through the temperature and cutting speed derived from the simulation [the wear model is used to predict wear, paragraph n0062].
Regarding claim 12, Zhuang further discloses that the allowing of the target tool having the rake surface and the clearance surface to perform the cutting under the specific test conditions includes forming the workpiece to be cut by the target tool so that a cutting area has a cylindrical shape with a certain thickness and performing two-dimensional cutting using the workpiece [experimental cutting is performed using the rake tool, paragraph n0054].
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.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhuang et al., CN113458871A [Zhuang].
Regarding claim 10, Zhuang does not disclose that the target tool includes cemented carbide, and the workpiece cut with the target tool includes a heat- resistant alloy containing nickel (Ni). Examiner takes official notice that cemented carbide cutting tools were conventionally used types of cutting tools for cutting workpieces composed of heat-resistant alloys containing nickel. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply the Zhuang teachings to conventional cemented carbide cutting tools used for cutting workpieces composed of heat-resistant alloys containing nickel in order to accurately predict tool wear of the cutting tool [Zhuang, paragraph n0005].
Allowable Subject Matter
Examiner notes that claims 2, 3 and 6-8 would be allowable upon resolution of the above 35 U.S.C. 112 rejections and if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Shin, US Patent Application Publication no. 2011/0048183 discloses using a tool wear model to predict tool wear of a rake cutting tool.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL B YANCHUS III whose telephone number is (571)272-3678. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
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/PAUL B YANCHUS III/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2115 August 29, 2026
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