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 § 102
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-10 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lang et al. (US 2022/0001502 A1).
Re Claim 1, Lang discloses a method for carrying out a displacement movement of a drive element (3) of a pneumatic drive unit (2), comprising the steps: by way of a first valve unit of a valve device (17), carrying out a pressure closed-loop control of a first pressure chamber (8) of the pneumatic drive unit (2), in order to effect the displacement movement along a displacement path (28) (Pars. 0031-0035), by way of a second valve unit of the valve device (17), providing a throttle function for compressed air which given the displacement movement escapes from the second pressure chamber (9) of the pneumatic drive unit (2), in order to influence the displacement movement, and in dependence on a position of the drive element (3) and/or the time and/or a trigger signal, adapting a pressure setpoint of the pressure closed-loop control and a throttle opening of the throttle function during the displacement movement (Pars. 0054-0058, Figs. 1-5).
Re Claim 2, Lang discloses the displacement path (28) is subdivided into several successive displacement path zones (29, 30), the adaption of the pressure setpoint is effected as a response to the drive element (3), given the displacement movement, moving from one of the displacement path zones (29, 30) into a subsequent displacement path zone (29, 30) and the adapting of the throttle opening is effected as a response to the drive element (3), given the displacement movement, moving from one of the displacement path zones (29, 30) into a subsequent displacement path zone (29, 30) (Pars. 0054-0068, Fig. 1).
Re Claim 3, Lang discloses a respective pressure setpoint (p1-p4) for the pressure closed-loop control and a respective throttle opening value (q1-q4) for the throttle opening are assigned to each displacement path zone (29, 30), the pressure closed-loop control in each displacement path zone (29, 30) is effected on the basis of the respectively assigned setpoint and the throttle function in each displacement path zone (29, 30) is provided according to the respectively assigned throttle opening value, at least two of the pressure setpoints (p1-p4) differ from one another and/or at least two of the throttle opening values (q1-q4) differ from one another (Pars. 0054-0068, Fig. 1).
Re Claim 4, Lang discloses the pressure setpoint is reduced as a response to the drive element (3) leaving a displacement path zone (29) which is situated in a front region of the displacement path (28) (Par. 0066, Fig. 1).
Re Claim 5, Lang discloses the throttle opening is reduced as a response to the drive element (3) entering into a displacement path zone (30) which is situated in a rear region of the displacement path (28) (Par. 0066, Fig. 1).
Re Claim 6, Lang discloses the displacement path is subdivided into three successive displacement path zones (28, 29, 30) (Par. 0061, Fig. 1).
Re Claim 7, Lang discloses the pressure setpoint is reduced as a response to the drive element (3) leaving the displacement path zone (29) which is first in the direction of the displacement movement (Pars. 0066-0068, Fig. 1).
Re Claim 8, Lang discloses the throttle opening is reduced as a response to the drive element (3) entering into the displacement path zone (30) which is third in the displacement direction of the displacement movement (Pars. 0066-0068, Fig. 1).
Re Claim 9, Lang discloses the pressure setpoint remains constant given the transition from the displacement path zone (29) which is second in the displacement direction of the displacement movement to the third displacement path zone and/or the throttle opening remains constant given the transition from the displacement path zone (30) which is first in the displacement direction of the displacement movement to the second displacement path zone (Par. 0066, Fig. 1).
Re Claim 10, Lang discloses one or more zone parameters (p1-p4, q1-q4) are assigned to each displacement path zone (29, 30), the zone parameters (p1-p4, q1-q4) include a pressure setpoint (p1-p4), a throttle opening value (q1-q4) or a zone boundary value which defines a beginning and/or an end of the respective displacement path zone (Pars. 0054-0068, Fig. 1).
Re Claim 11, Lang discloses one or more of the zone parameters is adapted on the basis of a position sensor signal which relates to a position of the drive element (3) (Pars. 0026 and 0027).
Re Claim 12, Lang discloses one or more of the zone parameters are adapted during the displacement movement and the pressure closed-loop control and/or the throttle function for this displacement movement is carried out after the adaptation according to the one or more adapted zone parameters (Pars. 0054-0068, Fig. 1).
Re Claim 13, Lang discloses at least one displacement path characteristic is detected, said displacement path characteristic comprising an oscillation of the drive element (3) (Par. 0067, Lang discloses the drive element (3) may be damped due to pressure reduction, thus implying vibration/oscillation), a rebounding of the drive element, a displacement duration of the displacement movement and/or a premature standstill of the drive element and wherein one or more of the zone parameters are adapted on the basis of the displacement path characteristic (Pars. 0066-0068).
Re Claim 14, Lang discloses one or more of the zone parameters (p1-p4, q1-q4, t1-t4) is adapted by way of an optimization algorithm, in order to optimize a quality criterion (Par. 0068).
Re Claim 15, Lang discloses the optimization of the quality criterion includes a minimizing of a trajectory error of the drive element and/or a minimizing of an end value error of the drive element, wherein the end value error comprises a displacement duration error, an end position speed error and/or an end position pressure error (Pars. 0068-0072).
Re Claim 17, Lang discloses a pneumatic system comprising a valve device (17) and a pneumatic drive unit (2), the pneumatic system is designed to carry out a method according to claim 1 (Pars. 0031-0035 and 0054-0058, Figs. 1-5).
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(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lang et al. (US 2022/0001502 A1), in view of Müller et al. (WO 2022122443, herein referenced by US 2024/0058880 A1).
Re Claim 16, Lang does not explicitly disclose a tool changeover flap is actuated by the drive element, said tool changeover flap separating a machine tool from one or more tools for the machine tool.
Müller discloses a tool changeover flap (200) that is actuated by a drive element of a pneumatic drive, said tool changeover flap (200) separating a machine tool (100) from one or more tools for the machine tool (100) (Pars. 0025, 0032, 0106-0114 and 0173, Figs. 1-15). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize a tool changeover flap as disclosed by Muller, while performing the method of Lang, as a known means of executing a tool changeover for a machine tool.
Conclusion
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/BAYAN SALONE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726
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