DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
2. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
3. The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 31 (Figure 7) and 912 (Figure 14).
4. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
5. The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
a. In [0056], “second open linkage member 72” should be replaced with “second opening linkage member 72”.
b. In [0056], “second closed linkage hole 73” should be replaced with “second closing linkage hole 73”.
c. In [0079], “moving the first side door 4 from the closed position CP to the open position OP” should be replaced with “moving the first side door 4 from the open position OP to the closed position CP”.
d. In [0080], “moving the second side door 6 from the closed position CP to the open position OP” should be replaced with “moving the second side door 6 from the open position OP to the closed position CP”.
e. In [0087], “moving the second side door 6 from the closed position CP to the open position OP” should be replaced with “moving the second side door 6 from the open position OP to the closed position CP”.
f. In [0090], “moving the first side door 4 from the closed position CP to the open position OP” should be replaced with “moving the first side door 4 from the open position OP to the closed position CP”.
6. Appropriate correction is required.
7. Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
8. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet preferably within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
9. The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
10. The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it includes a phrase which can be implied, “The present disclosure is directed to”. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
11. Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: “an opening direction in which the first side door is opened” should be replaced with “the opening direction” for consistency with claim 2, which introduces “an opening direction”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
12. Claim 1 recites “a door frame configured to form an accommodation space for accommodating an injection molding machine”. The injection molding machine is not positively recited as an element of the claimed door device. It is the object the accommodation space is intended to receive. Apparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does, and a recitation of the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate it from a prior art apparatus that satisfies the structural limitations of the claim. See MPEP 2114(II). The limitation is therefore interpreted as requiring a door frame capable of forming an accommodation space for accommodating an injection molding machine. Further, the specification describes the accommodation space 21 as one “that accommodates the injection molding machine 10” ([0036]), while the figures show the door device 1 enclosing only a portion of the machine (Figures 1-6). Consistent with this usage, a door frame capable of forming a space that accommodates a portion of an injection molding machine, such as its mold clamping unit, meets the limitation.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitations use a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitations are: “first opening/closing linkage unit configured to allow the first side door and the upper door to operate in conjunction with each other so that the upper door is also opened as the first side door is opened” in claims 1, 10, and 12; “second opening/closing linkage unit that allows the second side door and the upper door to operate in conjunction with each other so that the upper door is also opened as the second side door is opened” in claims 7 and 13; and “upper fixation unit configured to couple the upper door to the door frame” in claims 4 and 14.
21. Because these claim limitations are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, they are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
22. The corresponding structure for the “first opening/closing linkage unit” is a first opening member 51 coupled to the first side door 4 and a first opening linkage member 52 coupled to the upper door 3, the first opening linkage member 52 being disposed forward of the first opening member 51 in the opening direction so that it supports the first opening member 51 as the first side door 4 is moved in the opening direction ([0040]-[0044]; Figures 7-9), or a first closing linkage member 54 inserted through a first closing linkage hole 53 formed in the first opening linkage member 52 and coupled into a first closing recess 40 formed in the first side door 4 ([0045]-[0047]; Figure 10). Note that claims 2 and 6 each recite sufficient structure for the first opening/closing linkage unit.
23. The corresponding structure for the “second opening/closing linkage unit” is a second opening member 71 coupled to the second side door 6 and a second opening linkage member 72 coupled to the upper door 3, the second opening linkage member 72 being disposed forward of the second opening member 71 in the opening direction so that it supports the second opening member 71 as the second side door 6 is moved in the opening direction ([0050]-[0054]; Figure 11), or a second closing linkage member 74 inserted through a second closing linkage hole 73 formed in the second opening linkage member 72 and coupled into a second closing recess 60 formed in the second side door 6 ([0055]-[0057]; Figure 12).
24. The corresponding structure for the “upper fixation unit” is an upper fixation body 80 coupled to the door frame 2, a fixation insertion hole 81 formed through the upper fixation body 80, and an upper fixation member 82 inserted through the fixation insertion hole 81 and coupled into an upper fixation recess 30 formed in the upper door 3 ([0060]-[0063]; Figure 13). Note that claim 5 recites sufficient structure for the upper fixation unit.
25. If applicant does not intend to have these limitations interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitations to avoid them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitations recite sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
26. The claim limitation “roller unit configured to movably couple the upper door to the first side door” in claim 9 is not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because “roller” is a structural modifier of “unit,” and claim 9 itself recites the structure of the roller unit, namely a vertical roller unit that rotates along the top surface of the roller rail and a horizontal roller unit that rotates along a side of the roller rail. See MPEP 2181(I).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
27. 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.
28. Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2008/0263961 A1 (“Nishimura”).
29. Regarding claim 1, Nishimura discloses the following.
30. A door device for an injection molding machine, the door device comprising:
31. Nishimura, [0027]: “A safety door device 10 is provided on the clamping unit 1.”
32. a door frame configured to form an accommodation space for accommodating an injection molding machine;
33. Nishimura, [0027]: “a clamping unit 1 and an injection unit 2 are placed on a base 3 of the injection molding machine.”
34. Nishimura, [0031]: “Reference numeral 13 denotes a stationary platen cover.”
35. Element mapping: door frame (the base 3 together with the stationary platen cover 13); accommodation space (the space around the clamping unit 1 bounded by the base 3, the stationary platen cover 13, and the safety doors 10a, 10b). Figures 1a-1b and 2a-2c.
36. The base 3 and the stationary platen cover 13 form a space that accommodates the clamping unit 1, a portion of the injection molding machine, and are therefore capable of forming a space for accommodating an injection molding machine, consistent with the interpretation of this limitation set forth in the Claim Interpretation section above.
37. an upper door coupled to the door frame to be movable between an open position at which it opens a top side of the accommodation space and a closed position at which it closes the top side of the accommodation space;
38. Nishimura, [0027]: the safety doors 10a, 10b are provided “in [such a way] that the primary safety door 10a and the secondary safety door 10b slide laterally in the drawing atop the base 3 so that the safety doors 10a, 10b can open and close. The primary safety door 10a is a safety door bent so as to open and close the front side and a top side.”
39. Nishimura, [0028]: “FIGS. 1a and 1b show the clamping unit 1 closed. By moving the primary safety door 10a to the left in FIGS. 1a and 1b, the front and top are opened to enable a mold to be mounted or removed ... the clamping unit to be maintained, and so forth.”
40. The upper door is the primary safety door 10a. That the primary safety door 10a also opens and closes the front side does not distinguish it, since the claim does not exclude an upper door that opens more than the top side.
41. a first side door coupled to the door frame to be movable between an open position at which it opens one side of the accommodation space and a closed position at which it closes the one side of the accommodation space; and
42. Nishimura, [0028]: “by moving the secondary safety door 10b to the left in FIGS. 1a and 1b, the rear side is opened to similarly enable various operations to be performed on the clamping unit 1.”
43. Nishimura, [0029]: “a secondary safety door 10b that covers the rear of the clamping unit 1 and opens and closes.”
44. a first opening/closing linkage unit configured to allow the first side door and the upper door to operate in conjunction with each other so that the upper door is also opened as the first side door is opened.
45. Nishimura, [0033]: “The secondary safety door 10b has a projection 10b’ bent inward from a top end of the closed side of the secondary safety door 10b, and a notched portion ... is provided in a top side member of the primary safety door 10a at a position corresponding to the projection 10b’ (see FIG. 2b). A face of the notched portion 10a’ is an abutting portion (first abutting portion) 18a that a stopper 18b abuts.”
46. Nishimura, [0036]: “when the secondary safety door 10b is opened from the state in which both the primary safety door 10a and the secondary safety door 10b are closed shut as shown in FIG. 3a and FIG. 4a, the stopper (second abutting portion) 18b pushes the first abutting portion 18a ... so that the primary safety door 10a opens together with the secondary safety door 10b.”
47. The “first opening/closing linkage unit” is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) as set forth in the Claim Interpretation section above, and the corresponding structure identified there includes a first opening member 51 on the first side door 4 that bears against a first opening linkage member 52 on the upper door 3 positioned ahead of it in the opening direction, so that opening the first side door 4 pushes the upper door 3 open. The stopper 18b on the secondary safety door 10b and the first abutting portion 18a on the primary safety door 10a are the same structure: the stopper 18b bears against the first abutting portion 18a so that opening the secondary safety door 10b pushes the primary safety door 10a open. Nishimura therefore discloses the first opening/closing linkage unit as interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).
48. Regarding claim 2, Nishimura discloses the following.
49. the first opening/closing linkage unit includes a first opening member coupled to the first side door and a first opening linkage member coupled to the upper door; and
50. Nishimura, [0033]: “The stopper 18b (second abutting portion) that abuts the abutting portion of the primary safety door 10a and is made of an elastic body [such] as rubber is provided on the projection 10b’ of the secondary safety door 10b.”
51. Element mapping: first opening member (the stopper 18b on the projection 10b’ of the secondary safety door 10b); first opening linkage member (the first abutting portion 18a, a face of the notched portion 10a’ in the top side member of the primary safety door 10a). Please see also the rejection of claim 1 above.
52. the first opening linkage member supports the first opening member that is moved in an opening direction so that the upper door is also moved as the first side door is moved in the opening direction.
53. Nishimura, [0036]: “the stopper (second abutting portion) 18b pushes the first abutting portion 18a ... so that the primary safety door 10a opens together with the secondary safety door 10b.”
54. Both safety doors 10a, 10b open by moving to the left in Figures 1a and 1b ([0028]), which is the opening direction. As the stopper 18b moves in that direction, it bears against the first abutting portion 18a, which therefore supports it and moves the primary safety door 10a with it.
Allowable Subject Matter
55. Claims 3-8 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.
56. Claims 9-14 are allowed.
57. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
58. Regarding claim 3, the closest prior art is Nishimura, applied above. Claim 3 requires the upper door to be moved to the open position as the first side door is moved to the open position, but to remain at the open position when the first side door is moved to the closed position. In Nishimura, once the secondary safety door 10b has pushed the primary safety door 10a open, the engaging means 11 couples the two doors, so that closing the secondary safety door 10b also closes the primary safety door 10a ([0036]-[0037]). Omitting the engaging means 11 would leave the stopper 18b and the first abutting portion 18a acting alone. Nishimura explains that in a comparable arrangement relying on abutting brackets alone, the door that is not being operated “continues to move by inertia”, leaving it in an uncontrolled state, and “consequently, safety cannot be achieved” ([0012]). Preventing that is the stated purpose of the engaging means 11 ([0040]). The modification would therefore render Nishimura unsatisfactory for its intended purpose. See MPEP 2143.01(V). JP 2009-214425 A (“Majima”) (cited in an IDS) does not cure the deficiency. Its interlock operates in the opposite direction: opening the upper door section 3u opens the side door section 3s, while opening the side door section 3s leaves the upper door section 3u closed (Majima, [0031] and [0033] of the provided translation).
59. Regarding claims 4 and 5, the closest prior art is Nishimura. Claim 4 requires an upper fixation unit that couples the upper door to the door frame and fixes the upper door at the open position. Nishimura provides nothing that fixes the primary safety door 10a at its open position, and none of the prior art of record suggests fixing the upper door of such a door device at its open position.
60. Regarding claim 6, the closest prior art is Nishimura in view of JP H07-77750 B2 (“Kasugai”). Claim 6 requires a first closing linkage member inserted into a first closing linkage hole formed to pass through the first opening linkage member on the upper door, and coupled into a first closing recess formed in the first side door. Kasugai couples a pair of safety doors by screwing an engaging rod 37 into a threaded hole 31 that opens at the free end face of a connecting member 30 fixed to one door, so that the tip of the rod fits into a recessed portion 38 at the upper end of the other door (Kasugai, pages 6-7 of the provided translation; Figure 5). Nishimura, however, already couples its doors in both directions through the engaging means 11 ([0040]), and criticizes Kasugai’s coupling because it “must be operated manually” and requires detection switches on both doors, which “increases costs” ([0013]). Adding Kasugai’s manual coupling to Nishimura would duplicate a function Nishimura already performs automatically, in a form Nishimura rejects. Further, Kasugai’s threaded hole 31 opens only at the free end face of the connecting member 30 rather than passing through it.
61. Regarding claims 7 and 8, the closest prior art is Nishimura. Claim 7 requires a second side door facing the first side door, with a second opening/closing linkage unit so that the upper door is also opened as the second side door is opened. Nishimura has only two doors, and the primary safety door 10a, which corresponds to the upper door, itself opens and closes the front side ([0027]). Providing a second side door would require dividing the primary safety door 10a into separate front and top doors and adding a second linkage between them, a substantial reconstruction of Nishimura’s door device. See MPEP 2143.01(VI). Majima has a side door section on each side, but only the side door section 3s is interlocked with the upper door section 3u, and in the opposite direction from that claimed, as noted above.
62. Regarding claim 9, the claim requires a roller rail protruding upward from the first side door and a roller unit movably coupling the upper door to the first side door, the roller unit including a vertical roller unit that rotates along the top surface of the roller rail and a horizontal roller unit that rotates along a side of the roller rail. The closest prior art is Majima and CN 105235168 A (“Yu”) (cited in an IDS). In Majima, the rotating rollers 45 of the upper door section 3u ride on the front upper rail 41, which is provided inside the side door section 3s rather than carried by it (Majima, [0021]). Yu supports the pressure rollers 6 at the front end of the top protective door panel 2.2 of a rear protective door on slide rails 3 mounted in sliding grooves 8 on the top wall of the top movable door panel 1.2 (Yu, [0024] of the provided translation). Yu’s rail is thus carried by a top panel and supports a different door, not a rail on a side door supporting an upper door, and Yu has no roller rotating along a side of the rail. None of the prior art of record teaches or suggests supporting the upper door of such a door device on a roller rail carried by the side door with the claimed vertical and horizontal roller units.
63. Claims 10-14 contain allowable subject matter based on their dependency from claim 9.
Conclusion
64. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to John DeRusso whose telephone number is (571) 270-1287. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM ET.
65. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
66. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Xiao (Sam) Zhao, can be reached at (571) 270-5343. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/John J. DeRusso/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1744
