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 .
Response to Amendment
Claims 1, 4-8, and 10-23 are pending. The amendments to the drawings and specification are not entered as pertaining new matter. The rejections are maintained.
The amendment filed February 18, 2026 is objected to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure. 35 U.S.C. 132(a) states that no amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention. The added material which is not supported by the original disclosure is as follows:
Applicant adds new subject matter to Fig. 8, by adding new structures not previously depicted.
Applicant adds new subject matter to [0177].
Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the limitation “the hollow chambers of the system being at least partly embodied in the form of honeycombs and arranged spatially between and bordering the melt channels, the hollow-chamber system further comprising through-holes between adjacent hollow chambers so that a temperature-control fluid can flow at least through the hollow chambers bordering the melt channels” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier.
Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
Regarding claim 12, the “static functional element for inducing the designated polymer melt at least indirectly” is interpreted as invoking 35 U.S.C. 112(f) in accordance with the specification as a “static mixing element” as detailed in [0110].
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Allowable Subject Matter
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Claim 1 recites, “A melt conductor for an extruding die of an extrusion facility, the melt conductor comprising: a melt conductor block with a multi-channel system, the melt conductor block having at least one medium channel for a circulating fluid supply for temperature control, the multi-channel system being arranged with three-dimensional extension inside the melt conductor block and having at least one input and at least one output for polymer melt, where between an input and an output fluidically connected to the input, several branchings arranged in series and several levels of sub-branches are formed over several levels of divided melt channels, wherein the sub-branches and the melt channels form distribution systems, and wherein at least two of the distribution systems are arranged on separate planes, m melt channels of an a* level with xth local cross-sections and n melt channels of a b* level with y*h local cross-sections being present, wherein n>m if b>a, the yth local cross-sections of the melt channels of the b* level being smaller than the xth local cross-sections of the melt channels of the ath level, wherein in a designated direction of flow of the polymer melt, the melt channels of the a* level are oriented towards the input and the melt channels of the b* level towards the output such that the melt conductor acts as a melt distributor for a designated melt stream of the polymer melt, and wherein the melt conductor block comprises a hollow-chamber system having a honeycomb structure, the hollow chambers of the system being at least partly embodied in the form of honeycombs and arranged spatially between and bordering the melt channels, the hollow-chamber system further comprising through-holes between adjacent hollow chambers so that a temperature-control fluid can flow at least through the hollow chambers bordering the melt channels.”
Claim 18 recites, “A melt conductor for an extruding die of an extrusion facility, the melt conductor comprising: a melt conductor block with a multi-channel system, the melt conductor block having at least one medium channel for a circulating fluid supply for temperature control, the multi-channel system being arranged with three-dimensional extension inside the melt conductor block and having at least one input and at least one output for polymer melt, where between an input and an output fluidically connected to the input, several branchings arranged in series and several levels of sub-branches are formed over several levels of divided melt channels, wherein the sub-branches and the melt channels form distribution systems, and wherein at least two of the distribution systems are arranged on separate planes, m melt channels of the ath level with x* local cross-sections and n melt channels of the b* level with y*f local cross-sections being present, wherein n>m if b>a, the yth local cross-sections of the melt channels of the bth level being smaller than the x* local cross-sections of the melt channels of the ath level, and wherein in the designated direction of flow of the polymer melt, the melt channels of the ath level are oriented towards the input and the melt channels of the b* level towards the output such that the melt conductor acts as a melt distributor for a designated melt stream of the polymer melt, or in the designated direction of flow of the polymer melt, the melt channels of the ath level are oriented towards the output and the melt channels of the bth level towards the input, such that the melt conductor acts as a melt mixer for a designated melt stream of the polymer melt, wherein a cross-section of at least two melt channels originating from one common melt channel and divided is dimensioned in dependence on
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with A1 being the first cross-sectional area of the common melt channel, A2 being the second cross-sectional area of one of the divided melt channels, nk being the total number of divided melt channels and y being at least a value of 2, and y being at the maximum a value of 7, wherein the melt conductor block comprises a hollow-chamber system having a honeycomb structure, the hollow chambers of the system being at least partly embodied in the form of honeycombs and arranged spatially between and bordering the melt channels, the hollow-chamber system further comprising through-holes between adjacent hollow chambers so that a temperature-control fluid can flow at least through the hollow chambers bordering the melt channels.”
Nelson (US 4017240) teaches the melt conductor block having at least one medium channel for a circulating fluid supply for temperature control (inlet pipes 46 and outlet pipes 47 see 46 and 47 of Fig. 5; col. 4, ll. 15-28, title, abstract). However, these pipes of Nelson, while they flow near the melt channel being regulated (and therefore border the melt channels), and perhaps in some sense flow between melt channels, they do not have through-holes between adjacent pipes (cooling passageways 45A and 45B).
It is noted that the shape of the cooling passageways in Nelson are not meaningfully distinct from the hexagonal shape recited by Applicant. References such as Fig. 3 of Rynerson (US 2007/0007699) teach art recognized equivalents for fluid conduction vents, with hexagons comparable to circular, triangular, square, and rectangular cross-sections.
References such as Tucker (US 2024/0262487), Zhou (US 2019/0387650) and Schlieper (US 2021/0270542) teach honeycomb structures with temperature regulation fluid passing through the hexagonal cells. However, these references do not teach or suggest hollow chambers of the system arranged spatially between and bordering the melt channels, the hollow-chamber system further comprising through-holes between adjacent hollow chambers so that a temperature-control fluid can flow at least through the hollow chambers bordering the melt channels.
Of note, [0097-99] and Figs. 14-16 of RossBach (US 2018/0200740; US 10,960,420) teaches honeycombs 76 which penetrate through the entire housing, with small openings or interruptions with internal structures of the spray head 10, like feed channels 40. It appears that [0097] teachings gaps in the honeycomb system rather than openings for these structures to flow through.
[0018] [0024] [0027], Fig. 5 of Jenko (US 2016/0151948; US 10,766,176) teaches having non-melt heating/cooling channels passing as close to melt-channels as possible for temperature regulation and to have the non-melt channels zig-zag around the melt channels. As close as possible does not appear to include the melt or non-melt channels impinging on the other type of channel.
Accordingly, the available prior art does not provide an adequate rationale for each and every element of “wherein the melt conductor block comprises a hollow-chamber system having a honeycomb structure, the hollow chambers of the system being at least partly embodied in the form of honeycombs and arranged spatially between and bordering the melt channels, the hollow-chamber system further comprising through-holes between adjacent hollow chambers so that a temperature-control fluid can flow at least through the hollow chambers bordering the melt channels.”
Accordingly, claims 1, 4-8, and 10-23 are not obvious over the available prior art, either directly or because they depend from claims 1 or 18.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed February 18, 2026, with respect to the rejections under 35 USC 112a have been fully considered and are persuasive. The previous rejection under 35 USC 112a have been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed February 18, 2026, with respect to the drawing objection have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s arguments regarding the drawing objection are based on an amendment that has not been entered. The drawings do not depict “the hollow chambers of the system being at least partly embodied in the form of honeycombs and arranged spatially between and bordering the melt channels, the hollow-chamber system further comprising through-holes between adjacent hollow chambers so that a temperature-control fluid can flow at least through the hollow chambers bordering the melt channels.” No through-holes are depicted, and the honeycombs are not depicted as bordering the melt channels.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS J CHIDIAC whose telephone number is (571)272-6131. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sam Xiao Zhao can be reached at 571-270-5343. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NICHOLAS J CHIDIAC/ Examiner, Art Unit 1744
/XIAO S ZHAO/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1744
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