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 Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
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 1-6, 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Morrison (US 10010953 B2).
As to claim 1, Morrison teaches a pressing member (wedge clamp 16) that is inserted into a pocket (pocket 12) of a tool body (body 11) for pressing and fixing a cutting element (insert cartridge 14) placed in a mounting part of the pocket onto a mounting surface of the mounting part (the wedge clamp 16 and insert cartridge 14 are capable of being used in this way, which is interpreted as an intended use. See Fig 5), the pressing member comprising: a wedge part (the portion of wedge clamp 16 outlined in annotated Fig 6 below is considered the wedge part) having a contacting surface that comes into contact with an inner surface of the pocket (see Fig 3 2hich illustrates that wedge clamp 16 has opposing side walls 72, 74. As shown in Figs 1 and 5, the wall 74 comes into contact with the curved portion of side wall 24 of the pocket), and a pressing surface that is in contact with the cutting element (bottom wall 66 of the wedge clamp contacts the top wall 30 of the insert cartridge 14), wherein the pressing surface is formed so as to gradually come close to the contacting surface in an insertion direction into the pocket (this is an intended use of the claimed wedge part. The implied structure is met by the wedge shape of the wedge clamp 16 as shown in Fig 6, below); and a pressure-receiving part (cylindrical member 75, see Fig 3) that is pushed into the pocket in the insertion direction by a fastening component that is screwed into the pocket (Col 4 lines 7-11: “As shown in FIG. 6, as the clamp screw 80 is threaded into the threaded bore 78, a force vector 90 is generated in a radial direction (i.e., along the y-axis), causing the wedge clamp 16 to move in the radial direction relative to the insert cartridge 14.”).
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As to claim 2, Morrison teaches the pressing member according to claim 1, wherein, in a state where the cutting element is fixed (as shown for example in Fig 6), a contact position of the pressure-receiving part (cylindrical member 75) with the fastening component (clamp screw 80) is located at a position that is opposed to the cutting element (insert 14) relative to a position of an end surface of the cutting element in an insertion direction into the mounting part (see annotated Fig 6, below. The contact position of the cylindrical member is on the left side of the plane denoted by the end surface while the insert 14 is on the right side of plane of the end surface.).
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As to claim 3, Morrison teaches the pressing member according to claim 1, wherein, in a state where the cutting element is fixed (as shown in Fig 6), at least a portion of the pressure-receiving part (cylindrical member 75) is enclosed, over an entire circumference, by an inner circumference of a retention hole which is formed as a further recess that continues to the pocket (the cylindrical member 75 is inserted into recess 76 which is shown in Fig 4. As the recess 76 is a full circumference, the cylindrical member 75 is enclosed over an entire circumference as claimed.).
As to claim 4, Morrison teaches the pressing member according to claim 1, wherein a thickest portion of the wedge part has a thickness smaller than a diameter of the fastening component (as shown in the annotated Fig 6 above, the wedge part is identified by the box. The thickest portion of this wedge part is the right-most part. The diameter of the fastening component is to the left. The diameter is larger than the thickness as illustrated.).
As to claim 5, Morrison teaches the pressing member according to claim 1, wherein the wedge part (as shown in the annotated Fig 6 above, the wedge part is identified by the box. It includes the power portion of the wedge clamp 16 as well as a portion of the threaded bore 78) has a receiving recess for receiving at least a portion of the fastening component (the lower portion of the threaded bore is a receiving recess useful for receiving the clamp screw 80), and wherein a wall surface of the receiving recess at a rear side in the insertion direction is configured as a withdrawal surface that is pressed by the fastening component when the fastening component is loosened from the pocket (this is an intended use of the device. Any thread of the threaded bore which is part of the receiving recess may be used to press the fastening component when the fastening component is loosened from the pocket.).
As to claim 6, Morrison teaches the pressing member according to claim 5, wherein a wall surface of the receiving recess at a front side in the insertion direction is configured as a pushing surface that is pressed, along with the pressure-receiving part, by the fastening component (the threads are capable og being pushed to achieve this intended use).
As to claim 9, Morrison teaches a tool body (tool 10 having body 11) comprising: a pressing member according to claim 1 (the wedge clamp 16 as described in the rejection of claim 1 above); a base having a plurality of pockets into which the pressing member is inserted (the left-most portion of the body 11 as shown in Fig 1 has a plurality of pockets into which wedge clamps 16 are inserted), the plurality of pockets being formed so as to be spaced apart in a circumferential direction (as illustrated); and a fastening component that is screwed into each of the pockets (each wedge clamp 16 is fastened by a separate threaded member 80), wherein each of the pockets has a mounting part in which a cutting element is placed (each pocket includes pocket walls 20, 22 against which the insert cartridge 14 is placed), and wherein the cutting element placed in the mounting part is pressed and fixed to a mounting surface of the mounting part when the pressing member inserted into the pocket is pressed in an insertion direction into the pocket by the fastening component screwed into the pocket (Morrison teaches this intended use: Col 4 lines 7-11: “As shown in FIG. 6, as the clamp screw 80 is threaded into the threaded bore 78, a force vector 90 is generated in a radial direction (i.e., along the y-axis), causing the wedge clamp 16 to move in the radial direction relative to the insert cartridge 14.”).
As to claim 10, Morrison teaches a cutting tool (tool 10 having body 11) comprising: a tool body according to claim 9 (see the rejection of claim 9 above); and a cutting element placed in the mounting part of the pocket formed in the base of the tool body (insert cartridge 14 is placed in pocket 12 as shown for example in Fig 1).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Morrison (US 10010953 B2) in view of Hayashizaki et al. (US 7997833 B2).
As to claim 7, Morrison teaches the pressing member according to claim 1, but does not teach the wedge part has outwardly protruding projections formed on both sides of the wedge part.
Rather, as shown for example at Fig 3, Morrison’s wedge part has sides (72, 74) which do not have outwardly protruding projections.
However, in the field of insert holding tools, it was known at the time the invention was effectively filed to provide for insert clamping wedges of a wide variety of shapes and configurations. See Hayashizaki which teaches a clamp wedge 10 having a similar configuration to the wedge clamp 16 of Morrison. Hayashizaki teaches the clamp wedge 10 has a clamp surface 14 which holds a cutting insert 21 as shown for example in Fig 11.
Moreover, as shown in Figs 5 and 6, the clamp wedge 10 has curved portions 16b which form projections on both sides of the wedge part. The projections are useful for increasing the surface area of clamp surface 14 (beta) relative to the diameter of the screw hole 13 (alpha). See Col 7 lines 55+.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have provided for the claimed outwardly protruding projections formed on both sides of the wedge part of Morrison. Such a person would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to increase the surface area of the clamping surface, in order to more securely clamp a cutting insert.
As to claim 7, Morrison in view of Hayashizaki teaches the pressing member according to claim 7, wherein the projections do not interfere with the pocket in a state where the cutting element is fixed, and wherein the projections may come into contact with the pocket during removal of the cutting element (as shown in both Morrison and Hayashizaki, the wedge clamps fit into the pocket adjacent to the cutting insert. An artisan would be motivated to provide for a wedge clamp capable of being secured in a pocket adjacent to the cutting insert in order to fulfil the primary purpose of the wedge clamp: securing the cutting insert.).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Morrison (US 9211590 B2) teaches a different configuration of wedge part, pressing member, and pressure receiving part held in place by a fastener.
Greenleaf (US 3056186 A) also teaches a wedge part (14) being separate from a pressure receiving part (13) which fits into a circumferential hole in a pocket.
Gourley (US 3467416 A) also teaches a wedge part (30) being separate from a pressure receiving part (35).
Kocherovsky (US 7390150 B2) shows a similar configuration at Fig 6.
Oshnock (US 4575287 A) teaches a wedge clamp having a wedge part and a pressure receiving part, the pressure receiving part being cylindrical.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACOB JAMES CIGNA whose telephone number is (571)270-5262. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm Monday-Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Hong can be reached at (571) 272-0993. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JACOB J CIGNA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726 26 June 2026
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