CTNF 19/064,787 CTNF 94612 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a) (1 ) as being anticipated by Macleod at al. (WO 2015/157151) . Regarding claim 1 , Macleod discloses that, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, an injection molding machine comprising: a material supply unit configured to supply a shaping material including plasticized thermoplastic resin (page 3, lines 9-10 (as shown in Fig. 1)); an injection unit including a manifold including a main flow path communicating with the material supply unit and a plurality of branch flow paths branching from the main flow path, and a plurality of nozzles respectively coupled to the branch flow paths and configured to inject the shaping material to a die unit (for example, items 120 and 130 for the split manifold assembly 110 (page 3, lines 14-20); a flow channel 112 as a branch flow(s) having a main flow path in fluid communication with the injection unit 902 and the mold assembly 906 (i.e., the die unit) (page 3, lines 16-17); as illustrated in Fig. 1, the molding material distributor 100 may include a sprue to receive molding material from the injection unit 902 and a nozzle to transfer the molding material from the flow channel 112 to the mold cavity 920 (page 3, lines 20-22)); a positioning unit configured to position the injection unit and the die unit (i.e., as illustrated in Fig. 1, at least the molding material distributor 100 is provided a positioning function to align each nozzle to the corresponding mold cavity 920); and a control unit configured to control operation of the material supply unit and the injection unit (page 6, lines 19-32), wherein the manifold includes a first member and a second member that are bodies separate from each other and can be assembled and separated (for example, as illustrated in Fig. 2, item 120 can be considered as the first member and item 130 can be considered as the second member (page 4, lines 6-15)), and the branch flow paths are formed in a boundary portion of the first member and the second member in an assembled state of the first member and the second member (as shown in Fig. 2). Regarding claim 2 , Macleod discloses that, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, the first member and the second member are respectively formed in plate shapes and are superimposed in a direction in which thickness directions thereof coincides in the assembled state (e.g., as shown in Fig. 2). Regarding claim 3 , Macleod discloses that, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, the first member includes a first groove (e.g., item 122 in Fig. 2 (page 4, line 17)) opened in the boundary portion, the second member includes a second groove (e.g., item 132 in Fig. 2 (page 4, lines 17-18)) opened in the boundary portion, and the branch flow paths are formed by the first groove and the second groove in the assembled state (as shown in Figs. 1 and 2). Regarding claim 4 , Macleod discloses that, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, the branch flow paths are radially disposed centering on the main flow path when viewed in an extending direction of the main flow path (e.g., as shown in Fig. 2). Regarding claim 5 , Macleod discloses that, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, the manifold includes a pair of first heaters provided while being separated from each other, and the branch flow paths are located between the pair of first heaters (e.g., item 140 in Figs. 1 and 2 (page 4, lines 32-36 and page 5, lines 1-5 (i.e., operable flow-control device 140 can be heaters))). Regarding claim 6 , Macleod discloses that, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, a flow rate adjustment unit configured to adjust a flow rate of the shaping material flowing through the branch flow paths (e.g., item 140 in Figs. 1, 2 (page 4, lines 32-36 and page 5, lines 1-5)), wherein the control unit controls operation of the flow rate adjustment unit to close the nozzle not in use among the plurality of nozzles (page 6, lines 11-17 (i.e., through the parameters related to the flow rate)). Regarding claim 7 , Macleod discloses that, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, a pressure detection unit configured to detect pressure of the shaping material flowing through the branch flow paths (e.g., the sensor 160 can be a pressure sensor (page 6, lines 5-17)), wherein when a number of the nozzles in use is changed, the control unit controls the operation of the injection unit to wastefully inject the shaping material until a pressure value measured by the pressure detection unit becomes constant (It is noticed that, as illustrated in Fig. 5, at least the controller 170 is capable of working with the pressure sensor 160 to provide the necessary operating adjustment such as continuously injecting melting material to build up the proper pressure of the cavity) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Macleod at al. (WO 2015/157151) as applied to claim 1 above, further in view of Fischer et al. (US 2006/0228442) . Regarding claim 8 , Macleod does not explicitly disclose the temperature sensor disposed on the nozzles to measure the shaping material heated by the second heater. In the same field of endeavor, manifold, Fischer discloses that, as illustrated in Fig. 1, nozzle assembly 34 is heated by a heater 72 and further includes a thermocouple 71b ([0026], lines 1-2 from bottom). It would have been obvious to use the apparatus of Macleod to have the injection molding machine as Fischer teaches that it is known to have the heater(s) heating the nozzle(s) combining with thermocouples for measuring the temperature(s) of the shaping materials. It has been held that the combination of known technique to improve similar device is likely to be obvious when it does not more than yield predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art. KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007) (See MPEP 2143- exemplary rationales). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHIBIN LIANG whose telephone number is (571)272-8811. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:30 - 4:30. 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, Alison L Hindenlang can be reached on 571 270 7001. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SHIBIN LIANG/Examiner, Art Unit 1741 /ALISON L HINDENLANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1741 Application/Control Number: 19/064,787 Page 2 Art Unit: 1741 Application/Control Number: 19/064,787 Page 3 Art Unit: 1741 Application/Control Number: 19/064,787 Page 4 Art Unit: 1741 Application/Control Number: 19/064,787 Page 5 Art Unit: 1741 Application/Control Number: 19/064,787 Page 6 Art Unit: 1741 Application/Control Number: 19/064,787 Page 7 Art Unit: 1741
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