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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 05/30/2025 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-19 and 21-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kalm et al. (U.S. Patent No. 11,345,500) in view of Ensor et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2015/0298841).
Regarding claims 1 & 14: Kalm discloses a transport mechanism for engaging a pouch in an erect configuration at a first station of a packaging machine and transferring the pouch to a second station of the packaging machine, the transport mechanism comprising:
a carriage (Figs. 1-4; via carriage 106 and/or 308), that is moveable between the first station and the second station (via; “The picker 106 can be drivingly mounted to support frame 124 to move along the support frame…can move to one or more positions for picking the packages 104 and one or more positions for transferring the packages to the grabbing assembly”); and
a grip assembly (Figs. 1-4; via 234/310 and Figs. 5-8; via 402, 404, 406A, 406B) coupled to “below the carriage” (via gripping mechanism 234/310 positioned below carriage support 106), such that the carriage carries the grip assembly (via 106 carries 234/310), the grip assembly being at least partially moveable relative to the carriage between an engaged position for clamping the pouch in the erect configuration within the grip assembly, and a released position, see for example (Figs. 3-4; via grip mechanism 234 or 310 are movable in respect to the carriage support or beam 106), see annotated figure below.
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Kalm does not suggest the use of grip assembly comprises a first grip for engaging a first side of the pouch and a second grip for engaging a second opposite side of the pout, wherein each of the first and the second grips comprise an inner clip for engaging an inner surface of the pouch and an outer clip for engaging an outer surface of the pouch, wherein the inner and outer clips are movable such that the inner and out clips move close to one another to apply pressure on the pouch to pinch the pouch therebetween. However, Ensor discloses similar mechanism with first and second grippers each comprises an inner and outer clip for engaging inner and outer surfaces of pouch, see for example (Figs. 7-9 & paragraph 0031; via bag holder mechanism 19 comprises clips 55-58 one in each side of the pouch; inherently holding clips will have two moving parts toward and away from each other to open and close in order to grip and apply pressure on the pouch from inner/outer surfaces).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Kalm’s grip assembly, by having first and second gripping mechanism each with an inner and outer clips to engage both sides of the pouch, as suggested by Ensor, in order to assure stronger grip and hold of the pouch and enhances the reliability of the bag handling process (paragraph 0015).
Regarding claims 2 & 15: Kalm discloses that wherein the first and second grip are each configured to clamp the pouch in the erected configuration at the first station to allow for loading of a product into the pouch through an open end of the pouch (Figs. 4-8; via opposite gripping mechanism 406A/406B).
Regarding claims 3 & 16: Kalm discloses that the carriage is moveable along a machine transfer direction between the first station and the second station, and wherein the grip assembly is rotatable about a rotational axis that is perpendicular to the machine transfer direction, see for example (Figs. 3-4; via movement of 106 and/or 308).
Regarding claim 7: Kalm further comprising a controller in communication with the transport mechanism and operable to automatically control operation of at least one of the grip assembly and the carriage, see for example (Fig. 9; via controller 902).
Regarding claim 8: Kalm discloses that the first station is an erecting station that includes a landing for receiving the pouch and a pulling assembly configured to engage the pouch, the pulling assembly being moveable relative to the landing for erecting the pouch on the landing (Figs. 3-8; via gripping and erecting the pouch mechanism), and wherein the second station is a sealing station that is configured to close the pouch (Fig. 2; via sealing station 118).
Regarding claim 9: Kalm suggests that the carriage is moveable along a machine transfer direction between the first station and the second station, and wherein the pulling assembly comprises at least one vacuum suction cup operable to selectively engage and erect the pouch, the at least one vacuum suction cup being moveable in a direction perpendicular to the machine transfer direction (via moving mechanism of 106/304).
Regarding claim 10: Kalm discloses that the packaging machine includes a frame at least partially defining the first station and the second station (Figs. 1-4; via the shown machine’s frame), and wherein the transport mechanism further comprises a track extending along the frame from the first station to the second station, the carriage being moveable along the track (via the shown movement of 106 along the machine’s frame).
Regarding claim 11: Kalm discloses that the carriage is moveable along a machine transfer direction between the first station and the second station (via movement of 106/304 between different positions), wherein the grip assembly comprises a first grip and second grip each rotatably coupled to the carriage, the first grip being offset from the second grip in a closing direction that is perpendicular to the machine transfer direction, the first and second grip being moveable relative to the carriage in the closing direction between a first configuration in which the first grip is spaced from the second grip and a second configuration in which the first grip contacts the second grip (via the rotating mechanism of 106; “The picker 106 can rotate to the transport orientation”).
Regarding claim 12: Kalm suggests that the second station comprises an adhesive applicator (via sealing devices 120) configured to dispense an adhesive onto an inner surface of the pouch while the grip assembly holds the pouch in the erected configuration (column 16, lines 27-33).
Regarding claim 13: Kalm discloses that the carriage is moveable along a machine transfer direction between the first station and the second station (via movement of 106/108), and wherein the second station comprises a pair of pressure bars offset from one another (Fig. 2, shows offset bars) in a closing direction that is perpendicular to the machine transfer direction, the pressure bars each being moveable in the closing direction for sealing the pouch, see for example (claim 1).
Regarding claims 4 & 17: Ensor discloses that the outer clip being positioned below the inner clip, (Fig. 19; via 141 structurally appears to be positioned below 131).
Regarding claims 5 & 18: Ensor discloses that the grip assembly further comprises a first rod rotatably coupled to the carriage and rotatable about a first rotational axis and a second rod rotatably coupled to the carriage and rotatable about a second rotational axis, the inner clip being coupled to the first rod and the outer clip being coupled to the second rod, see for example (Figs. 19-21; the shown rotating and supporting rod and/or mechanisms via conveyor and wheels 51/52).
Regarding claims 6 & 19: Ensor discloses that the grip assembly transitions from the released position to the engaged position, the first rod rotates in a first rotational direction and the second rod rotates in a second, opposite, rotational direction (Figs. 19-21 via the gripping and releasing positions of 131/141).
Regarding claim 21: Ensor discloses the first rod and the inner clip are positioned vertically above the respective second rod and outer clip, see for example (Figs. 19-21; via the shown orientations of vertical portion rod of 131 and/or 141).
Regarding claim 22: Kalm discloses that the packaging machine further comprises a tube conveyor for conveying a flattened tube of stock packaging material to a separator, wherein the separator separates a custom length of the flattened tube to form the container, see for example (Figs. 3-4 and “the package 104, e.g., which may separate sides of the package 104 that may have been incompletely opened or separated by action of the separators 406A and 406B alone”; the noted “package” could be considered as tube).
Regarding claim 23: Kalm further comprises a tube conveyor for conveying a flattened tube of stock packaging material to a separator, wherein the separator separates a custom length of the flattened tube to form the container, see for example (“The output station 122 can include a suitable receptacle, conveyor…transport the of package 104”; Figs. 3-4 and “the package 104”; again, it is noted that “package” 104 could be considered as tube).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-19 & 21-23 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection modified to address the latest filed amendment.
Applicant argues that the secondary applied art of Ensor ‘841 show clips 55-58 to hold the bag 18 firmly to the bag holder 19 only when the operator places bag 18 into the bag holder 19, therefore clips 55-58 can only hold the outer surface of the bag. Further those clips 55-58 are not moved close to one another to apply pressure to pinch the bag in between.
The Office as explained above believes that ‘841 clips 55-58 are representing and part of the bag holder 19, not being separate of it as clearly shown in Fig. 8 and supported in paragraph 0030; it shows clips 55 an d56 as part of the holder 19. The disclosed bag holder 19 is not a separate or member in its own, it is referring to the clipping and gripping mechanisms 55-58 as one single unit for gripping.
Further, it is noted that each of those mentioned clips 55-58 in order to clip and hold the bag it has to open and close to hold both inner and outer surfaces of each side of the bag as clearly mentioned on paragraph 0031; “bags 18 over bag holder 19 and under open clips 55, 56, 57, and 58”. That is clearly referring to each one of those clips is being capable to “open” and inherently closes to grip and hold the bag (two or one member moving toward and way from each other to apply pressure on each side of the bag to perform the clipping; Fig. 8; via each of 55-58).
Conclusion
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/SAMEH TAWFIK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731