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 § 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 1-3, 6-10, 14-16 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mori et al., US Patent Application Publication no. 2022/0260964 [Mori], in view of Irie et al., US Patent Application Publication no. 2023/0315051 [Irie].
Regarding claim 1, 8 and 16, Mori discloses system comprising:
one or more processing devices; and one or more memory devices operably coupled to the one or more processing devices, the one or more memory devices storing executable code [Arithmetic Processor and Storage Unit in Figure 5] that, when executed by the one or more processing devices, causes the one or more processing devices to:
connect to one or more programmable controllers that are coupled to one or more manufacturing tools, which are configured to perform a physical action contributing to manufacture of a product [outputting a NC program to a numerical control apparatus that controls a measurement function and processing of a machine tool, paragraph 0021];
accessing tool data associated with the one or more manufacturing tools, wherein the tool data describes services performed by the one or more manufacturing tools [inputting information concerning various machine tools whose machine tool manufacturers or models are different, paragraphs 0067-0072];
upon receiving a process definition from a remote manufacturing control system, translating the process definition into commands to the one or more manufacturing tools according to the tool data [a NC program is generated to control a machine tool based on CAD data acquired from a CAD device and the tool information of the machine tool, paragraphs 0029, 0074-0078 and 0081-0087]; and
facilitate execution of the commands such that the one or more manufacturing tools perform one or more physical actions corresponding to the process definition [the numerical controller executes the NC program to cause the machine tool to perform the desired actions, paragraphs 0021, 0024 and 0113].
Mori discloses generating a machine tool control program using CAD data and machine tool specific information. Mori further discloses that machine tool specific information may be acquired can be input from the outside of the like, but does not specifically disclose that machine tool specific information is extracted from the machine tool numerical controllers. Like Mori, Irie discloses a machine tool system that generates a machine tool control program based on CAD data and specific machine tool information. Irie recognizes that it is advantageous to automatically extract machine tool information from numerical controllers in order to reduce burden on developers and reduce human error [paragraphs 0013 and 0065]. Specifically, Irie discloses automatically extracting numerical controller function information and machine tool parameter/configuration information from the numerical controller [paragraphs 0037-0043 and 0052]. Since it was known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to automatically extract machine tool specific information from machine tool numerical controllers, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply the Irie teachings to the Mori system in order to reduce burden on developers and reduce human error in machine tool specific information collection by extracting the machine tool specific information automatically from numerical controllers.
Regarding claims 2 and 9, Mori further discloses that the tool data includes one or more command sets; and wherein the executable code, when executed by the one or more processing devices, further causes the one or more processing devices to translate the process definition into the commands to the one or more manufacturing tools using the one or more command sets [unique control commands and a command table, paragraphs 0029-0049].
Regarding claims 3 and 10, Mori further discloses that the executable code, when executed by the one or more processing devices, further causes the one or more processing devices to manage sequential submission of the commands to the one or more manufacturing tools [NC programs for machine tools necessarily cause sequential submission of commands to machine tools].
Regarding claims 6 and 14, Mori further discloses that the executable code, when executed by the one or more processing devices, further causes the one or more processing devices to request the process definition from a database [the CAD data is acquired from a CAD computer, paragraphs 0024 and 0074].
Regarding claims 7 and 15, Irie further discloses that the executable code, when executed by the one or more processing devices, further causes the one or more processing devices to cooperate with the one or more programmable controllers to discover the tool data in response to one or more messages from the one or more programmable controllers [the numerical controller outputs internal information to the post-processor development support device, paragraph 0061].
Regartdign claim 19, Mori further discloses detecting, by the lineside unit, modification of a remote database, the remote database being a factory talk production center (FTPC) database; and in response to detecting modification of the remote database, retrieving, by the lineside unit, the process definition from the remote database [the CAD data is acquired from a CAD computer that generates the CAD data, paragraphs 0024 and 0074].
Regarding claim 20, Mori and Irie are silent as to the exact locations of the computing device in the machine tool system. Examiner takes official notice that networked computing devices conventionally were located within 8 meters of each other in machine tool control systems before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply the Mori and Irie teachings to known machine tool control systems that include networked computing devices that are within 8 meters of each other.
Claims 4, 5, 11-13, 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mori et al., US Patent Application Publication no. 2022/0260964 [Mori] and Irie et al., US Patent Application Publication no. 2023/0315051 [Irie], in view of Qian, US Patent Application Publication no. 2020/0304342.
Regarding claims 4, 5, 11-13, 17 and 18, Mori and Irie do not disclose that the numerical controllers report results of the commands and that the results are translated to a form that is readable by a remote computer. Like Mori and Irie, Qian discloses a machine tool system in which machine tool numerical controllers communicate with remote computing devices. Specifically, Qian discloses that the numerical controllers report machine tool state information or machining information to a adapter unit which translates the reported information into a standard format that is readable by a remote computing device [paragraphs 0032-0037]. Since it was known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to receive machine tool state information from numerical controllers and translate the information into a standard that is readable by a remote computing device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply the Qian teachings to the Mori and Irie system in order to facilitate data communication in systems that utilizes devices of different types [Qian, paragraphs 0005 and 0037].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Badrawy et al., US Patent Application Publication no. 2021/0001446 discloses a system for detecting machining errors during operation of a machine tool and performing corrective actions based on the detected errors.
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/PAUL B YANCHUS III/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2115 June 23, 2026
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