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 .
Prior art of Record
The prior art made of record in this office action shall be referred to as follows;
U.S. 2021/0178496 Takahiro Aso (‘Aso hereafter).
The above references will be referred to hereafter by the names or numbers indicated above.
Claim status:
Claims 1 - 5 are currently being examined.
No Claims have been canceled.
No Claims are allowed or objected to for allowable subject matter.
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 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 - 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. 2021/0178496 Takahiro Aso (‘Aso hereafter).
Regarding Claim[s] 1, ‘Aso discloses all the claim limitations including: A cutting insert (‘Aso, #2 (cutting insert)), comprising: an upper surface (‘Aso, #5 (upper surface)), a lower surface (‘Aso, #6 (lower surface)) on a side opposite to the upper surface (‘Aso, #5 (upper surface) and #6 (lower surface) are shown to be opposite sides of #2 (cutting insert)), and
a peripheral side surface (‘Aso, #7 (circumferential side surface)) that connects the upper surface and the lower surface (‘Aso, Figs 2 & 6),
wherein an edge where the upper surface and the peripheral side surface intersect includes at least one cutting edge (‘Aso, #50 (main cutting edge));
the peripheral side surface (‘Aso, #7 (circumferential side surface)) includes a flank (‘Aso, Fig 2, #71 (first side surface)) adjacent to the at least one cutting edge (‘Aso, Fig 2),
a thickness-reduced surface (‘Aso, Fig 2, #72 (second side surface)) adjacent to the flank from the lower surface side (‘Aso, Fig 2), and
a contact surface adjacent to the thickness-reduced surface (‘Aso, Fig 6 (below), #-B-) from the lower surface side (‘Aso, Fig 2); and
in a section orthogonal to the cutting edge (‘Aso, Fig 6 (below)),
an angle formed by a virtual plane (‘Aso, Fig 6, #-A- (below)) parallel to a central axis (‘Aso, Figs 2 – 4, 8 & Fig 6 (below), #O (central axis)) passing through a center of the upper surface (‘Aso, Fig 6, on and through #5 (upper surface)) and a center of the lower surface (‘Aso, Fig 6, #6 (lower surface)) and passing through the at least one cutting edge (‘Aso, Fig 6, #50 (main cutting edge)) and the contact surface (‘Aso, Fig 6, #53 (corner edge)) is larger than an angle formed by the virtual plane (‘Aso, Fig 6, #-A- (below)) and the thickness-reduced surface (‘Aso, Fig 6 (below), shows angle #Alpha is larger than angle #Beta).
Regarding Claim[s] 2, ‘Aso discloses all the claim limitations including:
which is a cutting insert (‘Aso, #2 (cutting insert)) that can be mounted on a tool body (‘Aso, #3 (tool body)) of a milling tool (“of a milling tool” is an intended use limitation (below)) (‘Aso, Para 0002, “The present invention relates to a cutting insert used for a rotating tool such as a face milling tool.”), wherein in a state of being mounted on the tool body, the contact surface is in contact with the tool body (‘Aso, Para 0018, “FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a rotating tool on which a cutting insert according to each embodiment of the present invention is mounted.”), and the thickness-reduced surface (‘Aso, Fig 2, #72 (second side surface)) is not in contact with the tool body (‘Aso, FIG. 1).
A recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. In a claim drawn to process of making, the intended use must result in a manipulative difference as compared to the prior art. See In re Casey, 152 USPQ 235 (CCPA 1967) and In re Otto, 136 USPQ 458,459 (CCCPA 1963).
Regarding Claim[s] 3, ‘Aso discloses all the claim limitations including: wherein the upper surface is a substantial polygon (‘Aso, Figs 2 – 4 & 8 show a polygon), which is rotationally symmetric with respect to the central axis (‘Aso, Figs 2 – 4 & 8 show symmetry about #O), and has a plurality of corners including a first corner and a second corner adjacent to each other (‘Aso, Fig 2, shows corners #A through #H adjacent to each other); and the thickness-reduced surface (‘Aso, Fig 2, #72 (second side surface)) is formed at a position facing an intermediate position between the first corner and the second corner on the peripheral side surface (‘Aso, Fig 2).
Regarding Claim[s] 4, ‘Aso discloses all the claim limitations including: wherein the contact surface is formed into a substantially conical surface or a substantially columnar surface (‘Aso, Fig 6, shows a conical surface), and the thickness-reduced surface is formed into a substantially flat surface (‘Aso, Fig 2, #72 (second side surface) is formed into a flat surface).
Regarding Claim[s] 5, ‘Aso discloses all the claim limitations including: A milling tool (‘Aso, Para 0002, “The present invention relates to a cutting insert used for a rotating tool such as a face milling tool.”) comprising a tool body (‘Aso, #3 (tool body)) and a cutting insert (‘Aso, #2 (cutting insert)) on which the tool body (‘Aso, #3 (tool body)) is mounted (‘Aso, Fig 1, shows #2 mounted on #3), wherein the cutting insert (‘Aso, #2 (cutting insert)) has an upper surface (20) (‘Aso, #5 (upper surface)), a lower surface (‘Aso, #6 (lower surface)) on a side opposite to the upper surface ‘Aso, #5 (upper surface) and #6 (lower surface) are shown to be opposite sides of #2 (cutting insert)), and a peripheral side surface (‘Aso, #7 (circumferential side surface)) that connects the upper surface and the lower surface (‘Aso, Figs 2 & 6); an edge where the upper surface and the peripheral side surface (30) intersect includes at least one cutting edge (‘Aso, #50 (main cutting edge)); the peripheral side surface (‘Aso, #7 (circumferential side surface)) includes a flank (‘Aso, Fig 2, #71 (first side surface)) adjacent to the at least one cutting edge (‘Aso, Fig 2), a thickness-reduced surface (‘Aso, Fig 2, #72 (second side surface)) adjacent to the flank from the lower surface side (‘Aso, Fig 2), and a contact surface adjacent to the thickness-reduced surface (‘Aso, Fig 6 (below), #-B-) from the lower surface side (‘Aso, Fig 2); and the tool body is in contact with the contact surface (‘Aso, Fig 6, #53 (corner edge)) and is not in contact with the thickness reduced surface (‘Aso, Fig 2, #72 (second side surface), as shown in Fig. 1).
[AltContent: textbox (Angle Beta)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (Angle alpha)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (-A-)][AltContent: textbox (-B-)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (O)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: connector][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector]
PNG
media_image1.png
742
1037
media_image1.png
Greyscale
U.S. 2021/0178496 Figure 6
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
U.S. 2021/0178497 Takahiro Aso -relevant to claims 1 – 5.
U.S. 2019/0160563 Assaf Ballas – relevant to claims 1, 3 & 4.
U.S. 2008/0304928 Engstrom et al. - relevant to claims 1 – 5.
U.S. 2016/0158854 Hiroshisa Ishi - relevant to claims 1 – 5.
U.S. 2007/0160431 Goran Pantzar - relevant to claims 1 – 5.
U.S. 2005/0111925 Svenningsson et al. - relevant to claims 1 – 5.
Examiner encourages Applicant to fill out and submit form PTO-SB-439 to allow internet communications in accordance with 37 CFR 1.33 (MPEP 02.03). Should the need arise to perfect applicant-proposed or examiner’s amendments, authorization for e-mail correspondence would have already been authorized and would save time.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAWRENCE AVERICK whose telephone number is (571)270-7565. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00AM - 3:00PM M- F ET.
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.
/LAWRENCE AVERICK/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799
08/05/2026a
Prosecution Insights