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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 6-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 September 06, 2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4 recites “…the second stocker moves so as to retract to a non-movable area of an arm part of the tool changing robot, when the tool changing robot performs tool change in the first stocker”.
This is a method step of using an apparatus. Because the preamble of the claim is directed towards an apparatus and not a method of using the apparatus, it is not clear as to whether Applicant intends the limitations to be required, such that the claim is directed towards a method and not simply the apparatus, or whether Applicant intends the limitations to be functional language, such that the claimed apparatus merely has to be capable of performing the given steps. Also, the aforementioned method step does not further limit the claim as said step does not recite/claim any structural features of the claimed apparatus.
Claim 5 recites “…the second stocker moves to a position not overlapping the first stocker in the second direction with reference to a fixed position of the first stocker”.
This is a method step of using an apparatus. Because the preamble of the claim is directed towards an apparatus and not a method of using the apparatus, it is not clear as to whether Applicant intends the limitations to be required, such that the claim is directed towards a method and not simply the apparatus, or whether Applicant intends the limitations to be functional language, such that the claimed apparatus merely has to be capable of performing the given steps. Also, the aforementioned method step does not further limit the claim as said step does not recite/claim any structural features of the claimed apparatus.
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 (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.
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 Dallan (WO 2017212386).
Re Claim 1, Dallan discloses a tool storage device MC, comprising: a first stocker 32 on which a plurality of tools U used for bending processing are mountable in a first direction; and at least one second stocker 32 on which the plurality of tools U are mountable in the first direction, the at least one second stocker 32 being arranged side by side with the first stocker 32 in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the second stocker 32 is configured to be movable in a third direction orthogonal to each of the first direction and the second direction (Pg. 1, Lines 1-4, Pg. 7, Line 28-Pg. 8, Line 9, Pg. 8, Lines 16-18 and Pg. 9, Lines 4-14, Figs. 1-4).
Re Claim 2, Dallan discloses the first stocker 32 and the second stocker 32 each include a plurality of stages in the third direction (See figure 7).
Re Claim 3, Dallan discloses the first stocker 32 and the second stocker 32 are provided in order of the first stocker 32 configured in a fixed state and the second stocker 32 configured to be movable, from a side far from a tool changing robot 60, 62 the tool changing robot 60, 62 being arranged on one side of the tool storage device MC in the second direction (Page 9, Lines 4-14, Figs.1-4).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Sartorio (US 5857377) discloses a tool storage device, comprising: a first stocker 406 on which a plurality of tools used for bending processing are mountable in a first direction (Col. 13, Lines 43-48, Fig. 31).
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/BAYAN SALONE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726
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