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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: please update the status of parent application 18/377,176 in paragraph [0001].
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yonemochi et al. (2009/0121385).
Yonemochi et al. discloses an injection molding apparatus, comprising:
a mold 50 composed of a movable mold 52 and a stationary mold 51 and having a predetermined mold gap 4, 7 therebetween,
a mold clamping device 10 which performs a compression process of applying a predetermined mold closing pressure to the mold into which the molding material has been injected and filled, thereby compressing the molding material [0088], and
a molding machine controller 30 which controls the injection device 20 and the mold clamping device 10,
wherein the molding machine controller 30 includes molding device control section 31, a mold closing condition setting section 32, a mold closing control section 33, and an injection machine control section 35, 38.
Wherein the injection machine control section 35 is provided to receive a molding condition data signal from a mold closing condition setting section 32 to control the operation of the mold closing device 10. The changing pattern storing section 34 is provided to receive from the mold closing condition setting section 32 some molding condition data signals such as a mold opening amount of the mold portions 51, 52 and a mold closing force of the mold portions 51, 52, and to convert these data signals into the molding condition data signals of the stroke of the mold closing cylinder 13 and to send these signals to the mold closing control section 33, [0095].
Regarding claim 2, wherein the molding machine controller has a display which graphically displays the mold gap, the mold closing pressure, a differential value of the closing pressure by a graphic display section – see Fig. 4(b).
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.
Claims 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yonemochi et al. (2009/0121385) as applied to claims 1-2 above, and further in view of Duffner et al. (2021/0069955).
Regarding claims 3-4, Yonemochi et al further discloses that the mold clamping device 10 comprises a stationary platen 11 and a moving platen 12 which is guided by a tie rod 14 and movable back and forth by a hydraulic cylinder 13 to open and close the mold device 50.
However, Yonemochi et al. fails to disclose a chuck mechanism section which is integrally provided on the mold clamping platen and can fix the mold clamping platen at a predetermined position on the tie bar mechanism section.
Duffner et al. discloses a mold-closing unit for an injection molding machine, comprising a locking device 15 has a floating collect chuck 16 which is connected to a piston-cylinder unit 17, wherein the collect chuck 16 is forcibly guided and locked to the force transmitting element and the mold platen during the molding process.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide Yonemochi et al. with a locking chuck as taught by Duffner et al. in order to improve the connection between the tie bar/mold clamping mechanism and the mold plate.
Regarding claim 5, wherein Yonomochi et al. further discloses a meter-out circuit connected to the mold clamping cylinder, such as an oil system being supplied to a mold closing hydraulic cylinder in a toggle type injection molding machine [0040].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Thu-Khanh T. Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)272-1136. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30-4:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Galen Hauth can be reached at 571-270-5516. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Thu Khanh T. Nguyen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1743
