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 .
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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I, claims 1-5, in the reply filed on 14 May 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim 6 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 14 May 2026.
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 1 and 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon et al. (US 20190209266 A1) in view of Predki (US 2019/0232406 A1).
Claim 1:
Moon discloses an artificial tooth processing device comprising:
a spindle base (320) that is driven in up-down and left-right directions (figs. 1-7, ¶155); a spindle (rotating shaft) that is mounted on the spindle base (320) and rotated by a motor (330) (figs. 1-7, ¶155); a processing tool (310) that is mounted on an axis end of the spindle (rotating shaft) and rotated together with the spindle (figs. 1-7, ¶155); a workpiece holder (210) that fixes a workpiece (figs. 1-7, ¶100); a workpiece mounting portion (222) on which the workpiece holder (210) is mounted, and which is rotationally driven about an axis of the workpiece holder (210) and driven in a back-forth direction (z-axis) (figs. 1-7, ¶100); and a control portion (control unit) that controls driving of the spindle base (320) in the up-down and left-right directions, driving of the workpiece mounting portion (222) in rotation and in the back-forth direction, and driving of the spindle and the processing tool (310) in rotation (¶4, ¶142, ¶178).
Moon fails to disclose the control portion is configured to processes one end of the workpiece based on a first reference position and then processes the other end of the workpiece. Instead, Moon renders obvious numerical control (NC) machining including CAD/CAM software configured to convert modeled data into NC data and automatically machining an artificial tooth (¶6, ¶166).
Predki discloses a manufacturing system for automated positioning of a toothed workpiece (¶2); comprising
a control portion (controller of the CNC-controlled multiaxis machine) (¶34);
wherein the control portion sets a first reference position of the workpiece when the workpiece mounting portion on which the workpiece and the workpiece holder are mounted is at a first rotational position (¶32, ¶34) (Predki’s controller reads a marking/geometry when mounted on a rotary spindle (workpiece holder at a first rotational position) and determines/sets a primary reference coordinate (reference position) in the machine coordinate system. As such, Predki renders obvious a control portion configured to set a first reference position of the workpiece);
the control portion processes one end of the workpiece based on the first reference position to form a first tooth (¶36, ¶42), (Predki’s controller uses the established reference position to guide a machining tool to cut a feature (a first gear tooth/gap 6) at a localized site on the workpiece. As such, Predki renders obvious a control portion configured to process one end of the workpiece);
the control portion rotates the workpiece mounting portion and the workpiece holder to a second rotational position by a predetermined angle and sets a second reference position of the workpiece (¶35, ¶68), (Predki explicitly teaches rotating the workpiece spindle by a calculated angle α to a second rotational position and recalculating/setting the reference position for the next target feature. As such, Predki renders obvious a control portion configured to rotate the workpiece to a second rotational position by a predetermined angle);
the control portion then processes the other end of the workpiece based on the second reference position to form a second tooth (¶35, ¶68) (Predki’s controller repeats the machining cycle at subsequent indexed angular positions around the workpiece until all distinct teeth (including at opposing ends of the workpiece) are completed. As such, Predki renders obvious a control portion configured to process the other end of the workpiece based on a second reference position of a workpiece).
Moon discloses a multi-axis dual-spindle dental apparatus structure; and, Moon does not disclose a control portion configured for the two-stage indexing sequence as recited in the wherein clause. Predki discloses a multi-axis CNC controller configured to set a first reference position, drive a tool to machine a first tooth feature, rotate the workpiece by a predetermined angle, set a second reference position, and machine a second tooth feature on the same blank. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to configure the control portion of Moon with Predki’s rotational indexing and dynamic reference-setting routines to machine a second artificial tooth from the opposing end of the raw block, thereby maximizing material yield and fully automating multi-part production (Predki, ¶42). See MPEP §2143 A which describes the prima facie obviousness of combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Claim 3.
Moon in view of Predki renders obvious the artificial tooth processing device of claim 1, wherein the predetermined angle at which the workpiece mounting portion and the workpiece holder rotate is set such that the wear portion formed by coming into contact with the processing tool at the first rotational position does not come into contact with the processing tool at the second rotational position (Predki, ¶25, ¶26). Predki discloses the geometric offset (α) is acquired “in order, for example, to enable a collision-free threading of a measuring feeler into a specific tooth gap.” Predki further discloses the setting of the angular position is executed “in order, for example, to enable a collision-free introduction of a grinding or holding tool into a gap.” Therefore, Predki’s control portion is obviously configured so that the angle (α) is set specifically to prevent unwanted tool contact/collisions at the second operation as required of claim 3.
Claim 4:
Moon in view of Predki renders obvious the artificial tooth processing device of claim 1, wherein second artificial tooth shape data for processing the second artificial tooth is also converted based on the position rotated at the predetermined angle (Predki, ¶14, ¶42). Predki teaches storing distance/angular metrics vectorially with respect to the machine coordinate system. Predki further teaches using stored geometry data to correct/transform process kinematics for subsequent machining steps at rotated orientations. Therefore, Predki’s control portion is obviously configured for providing workpiece processing data based on the position rotated at the predetermined angle as required of claim 4.
Claim 5:
Moon in view of Predki renders obvious the artificial tooth processing device of claim 1, wherein the control portion stores identification information of the workpiece on which the artificial tooth is processed two times or more and information on the angle at which the reference position is previously set for the workpiece (Predki, ¶14, ¶34, ¶65). Predki discloses storing a workpiece-specific data set containing a unique identifier (barcode, QR code, RFID) and the associated angular offset (α), in a database. Predki further discloses the QR code (4) provides a unique identifier for identifying the workpiece (2), so that the distances (r1)and (α) stored in the database can be retrieved in subsequent manufacturing steps. Therefore, Predki’s control portion is obviously configured for storing identification information of the workpiece on which the workpiece is processed and the reference position for the workpiece as required of claim 5.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 2:
The prior art of record fails to disclose or fairly suggest the artificial tooth processing device of claim 1, wherein the control portion detects a position where a rotational load of the processing tool changes when the end of the processing tool comes into contact with the workpiece holder or the workpiece while moving any one processing tool in the left-right direction, and detects a position where the rotational load of the processing tool changes when the side of the processing tool comes into contact with the workpiece holder or the workpiece while moving any one processing tool in the up-down direction, so that the reference position of the workpiece is set.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Benedict et al. (US 10,416,647 B1) discloses an apparatus for determining axes for the computer assisted setup of a machine tool table. Tsuda et al. (US 2019/0271965 A1) discloses a numerical controller includes an analysis unit to analyze a machining program and extract a coordinate rotation angle.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Lee Holly whose telephone number is (571)270-7097. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 to 5:00 EST.
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.
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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Lee A Holly/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726
Prosecution Insights