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.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishiyama (JP 2021070103, herein referenced by the EPO English machine translation), in view of Yoshida (JP H05305540, herein referenced by the EPO English machine translation) and Kadoya et al. (JP 6962632, herein referenced by US 2022/0187373 A1).
Re Claim 1, Ishiyama discloses a machine tool 1 comprising a rotary tool device 5 and an automatic tool changer 7 that exchanges tools with the rotary tool device 5, the rotary tool device 5 comprises: (i) a rotary tool body that holds the tool rotatably to machine a workpiece; and (ii) a first motor (the motor that drives the rotary tool device) that generates motive power for operating the rotary tool device 5, the automatic tool changer 7 comprises a second motor 24 that generates motive power for operating the automatic tool changer 7 (Par. 0017, Fig. 1), and the machine tool 1 comprises: a current detector that detects values inputted into the first motor (Pars. 0033 and 0034) a storage that stores normal time-varying changes in current values inputted into the first motor in a predetermined step among a series of tool exchanging steps performed between the rotary tool device 5 and the automatic tool changer 7; and a processor (not shown) that determines whether the predetermined step is performed normally by comparing the plurality of current values detected by the current detector in the predetermined step with the normal time-varying changes in current values (Pars. 0018, 0021-0029, 0033 and 0034, Figs. 1-10).
Ishiyama does not explicitly disclose a servo motor or a current detector that detects a plurality of values inputted into the first motor and the second motor; a storage that stores normal time-varying changes in current values inputted into the first servo motor and the second servo motor in a predetermined step among a series of tool exchanging steps performed between the rotary tool device and the automatic tool changer; and a processor that determines whether the predetermined step is performed normally by comparing the plurality of current values detected by the current detector in the predetermined step with the normal time-varying changes in current values.
Yoshida discloses a machine tool comprising a rotary tool device 2, 3, 5 and an automatic tool changer 7 that exchanges tools with the rotary tool device 2, 3, 5, the rotary tool device 2, 3, 5 comprises: (i) a rotary tool body that holds the tool 50, 60 rotatably to machine a workpiece; and (ii) a first servo motor Mx that generates motive power for operating the rotary tool device 5, the automatic tool changer 7 comprises a second servo motor My that generates motive power for operating the automatic tool changer 7 and a processor (Pars. 0010-0015); a detector 19 that detects a plurality of values inputted into the first servo motor Mx and the second servo motor My; a storage 18 that stores normal time-varying changes in values inputted into the first servo motor Mx and the second servo motor My in a predetermined step among a series of tool exchanging steps performed between the rotary tool device 2,3, 5 and the automatic tool changer 7 (Par. 0015); and a processor 17 that determines whether the predetermined step is performed normally by comparing the plurality of values detected by the detector 19 in the predetermined step with the normal time-varying changes in values (Pars. 0016-0029, Figs. 1-9). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Ishiyama by providing servo motors as disclosed by Yoshida, as is well known in the art.
Kadoya discloses a machine tool 1 comprising a tool device 100 and an automatic tool changer 106 that exchanges tools 105 with the tool device 100; a first servomotor 101 that generates motive power for operating the tool device 100; the automatic tool changer 106 comprises a second servo motor 102 that generates motive power for operating the automatic tool changer, and the machine tool comprises: a current detector 205 that detects a plurality of values inputted into the first servomotor 101 and the second servomotor 102; a storage that stores normal time-varying changes in current values inputted into the first servomotor 101 and the second servomotor 102 in a predetermined step among a series of tool exchanging steps performed between the tool device 100 and the automatic tool changer 106 (Par. 0069); and a processor 30 that determines whether the predetermined step is performed normally by comparing the plurality of current values detected by the current detector 205 in the predetermined step with the normal time-varying changes in current values (Pars. 0045-0061 and 0067-0069, Figs. 1-14). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Takesawa by utilizing the current detector, storage and processor of Kadoya, to determine whether the predetermined step is performed normally by comparing the plurality of current values detected by the current detector in the predetermined step with the normal time-varying changes in current values.
Re Claim 2, the combination as applied to claim 1 remains as previously applied. Ishiyama discloses the automatic tool changer 7 further comprises a housing and a magazine 6 that has tool holders 10, the tool holders 10 holding the tools 60 (Par. 0010, Figs. 1-10). Ishiyama does not explicitly disclose a round magazine and that has tool holders arranged circumferentially.
Yoshida discloses an automatic tool changer 7 comprising: a housing 3 and a round magazine 6a and that has tool holders H arranged circumferentially, the tool holders H holding the tools T (Par. 0011, Figs. 3-6). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to modify the invention of Ishiyama to include a round magazine housed in the housing as disclosed by Yoshida, as a known alternative type of tool supply for a machine tool.
Re Claim 3, the combination as applied to claim 2 remains as previously applied. Ishiyama discloses the first servo motor generates motive power for operating a vertical-direction moving mechanism that enables the rotary tool body 5 to move along the vertical direction (Par. 0022), the second servo motor 24 generates motive power for operating a magazine rotating mechanism that enables the magazine to rotate about a rotating shaft (Pars. 0024-0025), and the predetermined step is a step in which the tools are moved to a predetermined position where the tools are exchanged between the rotary tool device 5 and the automatic tool changer 7 or a step in which the tools 50, 60 are moved from the predetermined position to original positions where the tools 50, 60 are located before starting the series of tool exchanging steps (Pars. 0021-0029, Figs. 1-9).
Re Claim 4, the combination as applied to claim 3 remains as previously applied. Ishiyama discloses the magazine 6 comprises a hook 21 for holding a tool 50, 60 (Pars. 0024-0026). Ishiyama does not explicitly disclose the processor determines whether the hook is broken, based on a current value inputted into the second servo motor detected by the current detector however, based on the disclosure of the combination when using a processor to determine whether or not a predetermined step has been performed normally, for the series of predetermined steps among a series of tool exchange steps carried out, by synchronizing a plurality of current values detected by the detector and comparing those value to changes over time in the plurality of current values during normal times, if the hook 21 does not properly engage a tool 50, 60, a state occurs in which a tool 50, 60 is not properly gripped, i.e. “broken”. Based on this, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the hook is broken if the hook does not properly engage a tool.
Claim Objections
Claims 5-7 are 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Takesawa (JP H11333657).
Takesawa discloses a machine tool comprising a rotary tool device 102 and an automatic tool changer 105 that exchanges tools T1, T2 with the rotary tool device 102, the rotary tool device 102 comprises: (i) a rotary tool body that holds the tool T1 rotatably to machine a workpiece; and (ii) a first servo motor 1 that generates motive power for operating the rotary tool device 102, the automatic tool changer 105 comprises a second servo motor 115 that generates motive power for operating the automatic tool changer 105 (Pars. 0026-0028).
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/BAYAN SALONE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726
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