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 .
Response to Amendment
This Final Rejection is in response to the Amendment dated December 5, 2025 filed in response to the Non-final Rejection dated June 5, 2025.
Cancelation of claims 11 and 14-18 in the Amendment is acknowledged.
The claim objection in the Non-final Rejection is withdrawn in view of the correction addressing the objection.
The 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection in the Non-final Rejection is withdrawn in view of amendments made to claim 9 addressing the rejection.
The 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) rejection in the Non-final Rejection citing U.S. Patent No. 3,659,427 to Harza as the anticipating prior art reference is maintained as explained below.
The 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) rejection in the Non-final Rejection citing U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2019/0193361 A1 by Walsh et al. as the anticipating prior art reference is withdrawn in view of amendments made to the claims. However, those claims are unpatentable over the prior art under 35 U.S.C. 103 as explained below.
The 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection of claims 23 and 24 in the Non-final Rejection is withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
On page 2 of the Amendment, Applicant argues Harza does not disclose at least one sidewall folds during a compaction operation. Examiner respectfully disagrees. While it is true springs 88 and 90 in Fig. 5 of Harza urge flat portions 80 and 82 to eject compacted refuse in a post-compaction operation as argued, flat portions 80 and 82 do fold during a compaction operation because they are positioned in the inclined arrangement shown in solid line in Fig. 5 prior to a compaction operation and are folded downward into the flat orientation shown in dashed-line during a compaction operation. See column 7, lines 45-65. Therefore, Examiner does not find the argument persuasive. The rejection is maintained.
In the top half of page 3 of the Amendment, Applicant asserts claim 1 has been amended to include the allowable subject matter indicated in the Non-final Rejection such that claim 1 is now allowable. Examiner respectfully disagrees. Claim 1 has been amended to include the subject matter previously contained in dependent claims 11 and 14, but does not include the subject matter of intervening dependent claims 12 and 13. Amended claim 1 is anticipated by Harza as explained below.
In the middle of page 3, Applicant asserts claim 23 has been amended to include the allowable subject matter of claims 14 and 16-18 such that claim 23 is now allowable. Examiner agrees. Claim 23 has been amended to include the previously-indicated allowable subject matter of claims 16-18 such that claim 23 is now allowed.
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 1-2, 6-8 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 3,659,427 to Harza, hereinafter “Harza”.
Regarding claim 1, Harza discloses a compactor for waste material (compactor in Fig. 5; col. 7, line 30 through col. 8, line 3) comprising:
a housing (housing 14a in Fig. 5) for receipt of a bag (bag 30 in Fig. 5), the housing comprising sidewalls (sidewalls of housing 14a and sidewall modified base plate 76 in Fig. 5; col. 7, line 38-47) including at least one openable sidewall (openable sidewall loading door in Fig. 5 given reference number 58 in Fig. 4; col. 7, line 42-43), a plurality of bag mounting hooks (bag connector hooks 40 in Figs. 2 and 3; col. 4, line 63-66) disposed around a periphery of the housing (3) (14a in Fig. 5) configured to suspend a bag over a base of the housing during a compacting operation (bag 30 in Fig. 5 is suspended over the base of the housing), wherein the bag mounting hooks comprise a support arm, a hook arm connected to the support arm for pivotal movement between first and second bag tensioning positions, and a tensioning spring mounted between the support arm and hook arm (col. 4, line 63-66 disclose bag connector hooks 40 may take the form of conventional alligator clips which comprise a pair of pivotally-connected and spring-tensioned arms, where one arm would serves as a “support arm” and one would serve as a “hook arm” as claimed); and
a compacting press comprising an actuator (compacting press compressor mechanism 56a in Fig. 5; col. 7, line 37) to force material into the bag when it is housed in the housing (Fig. 5 shows mechanism 56 forces material into bag 30 housed in housing 14a),
characterized in that at least one of the sidewalls (sidewall modified base plate 76 in Fig. 5) comprises two adjacent panels (panel flat portions 80 and 82 in Fig. 5; col. 7, line 45-47) connected by articulation means (articulation hinge means 84 in Fig. 5) allowing the at least one sidewall to fold during a compaction operation (Fig. 5 shows modified base plate 76 folding from the position shown in solid lines in the figure to the dashed-line position in the figure during compaction; col. 7, line 45-65. That is, portions 80 and 82 are positioned in the inclined arrangement shown in solid line prior to a compaction operation and are folded downward into the flat orientation shown in dashed-line during the compaction operation.).
Regarding claim 2, Harza anticipates the compactor according to claim 1 as explained above. Harza further discloses the housing (14a in Fig. 5) comprises at least two sidewalls (sidewall base plate 76 and the right sidewall of housing 14a in Fig. 5) each comprising two adjacent panels (Base plate 76 comprises adjacent panels 80 and 82. The right sidewall of housing 14a in Fig. 5 comprises two adjacent panels. See “First Panel” and “Second Panel” annotations to Fig. 5 of Harza reproduced below.) connected by articulation means (Second Panel trap door 78 in Fig. 5 is connected to the First Panel by a hinge) allowing the two sidewalls to fold during a compaction operation (the sidewalls fold during operation as disclosed at col. 7, line 66 through col. 8, line 3).
PNG
media_image1.png
1084
756
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 6, Harza anticipates the compactor of claim 1 as explained above. Harza further discloses at least two of the sidewalls (sidewall base plate 76 and the right sidewall of housing 14a in Fig. 5) are connected together by articulation means to allow the at least two sidewalls fold during a compaction operation (articulation means pivoting mechanism 86 in Fig. 5 connects sidewall base plate 76 to the bottom of the First Panel of the right sidewall of housing 14a).
Regarding claim 7, Harza anticipates the compactor according to claim 1 as explained above. Harza further discloses the housing (14a in Fig. 5) comprises a front wall fixed to or forming part of the compacting press and having an aperture for receipt of waste from the compacting press (housing 14a in Fig. 5 has a front wall, as annotated by the dashed line annotation to Fig. 5 of Harza reproduced below, forming part of compressor mechanism 56a which has an aperture for receiving waste from mechanism 56a), in which at least one sidewall is connected to the front wall by articulation means (the right sidewall of housing 14a is connected to the front wall by the hinge of trap door 78 which is the Second Panel of the sidewall).
PNG
media_image2.png
1084
608
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 8, Harza anticipates the compactor according to claim 7 as explained above. Harza further discloses two sidewalls are connected to the front wall by articulation means. Pivot mechanism 86 and the hinge of trap door 78 connect sidewall base plate 76 and the right sidewall of housing 14a to the Front Wall as annotated above.
Regarding claim 12, Harza anticipates the compactor of claim 1 as explained above. Harza further discloses the bag mounting hooks are configured for rotation relative to the housing about a vertical axis (bag connector hooks 40 in Figs. 2 and 3 are mounted on arm members 39 which pivot connector hooks 40 about a vertical axis).
Regarding claim 13, Harza anticipates the compactor according to claim 12 as explained above. Harza further discloses the bag mounting hooks comprise tensioning means configured to lower the suspended bag as the weight in the bag increases (Col. 4, line 45-66 discloses arm members 39 are pivotably connected. The pivotal connection of arm members 39 configures them to lower suspended bag 30 as the weight of the bag increases.).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-5 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2019/0193361 A1 by Walsh et al., hereinafter “Walsh”, in view of Harza.
Regarding claim 1, Walsh discloses a compactor (compactor 300 in Fig. 14; ¶[0093]) for waste material comprising:
a housing (housing enclosure 305 in Fig. 14; ¶[0093]) for receipt of a bag (bag B in Fig. 16; ¶[0101]), the housing comprising sidewalls (sidewalls 311 and 312 and end panels 306 in Fig. 14; ¶[0094]) including at least one openable sidewall (end panels 306 are hinged so as to be openable); and
a compacting press comprising an actuator to force material into the bag when it is housed in the housing (compacting press plunger housing 301 in Fig. 14; ¶[0093]),
characterized in that at least one of the sidewalls comprises two adjacent panels connected by articulation means fold during a compaction operation (sidewall end panels 306 in Fig. 14 are two adjacent “saloon door”-style panels connected by a lock which allows a degree of freedom of movement during compaction operation; ¶[0094]).
However, Walsh does not disclose the language amended into claim 1, namely:
a plurality of bag mounting hooks disposed around a periphery of the housing configured to suspend a bag over a base of the housing during a compacting operation, wherein the bag mounting hooks comprise a support arm, a hook arm connected to the support arm for pivotal movement between first and second bag tensioning positions, and a tensioning spring mounted between the support arm and hook arm
Harza teaches a compactor housing comprising a plurality of bag mounting hooks disposed around a periphery of the housing (bag connector hooks 40 in Figs. 2 and 3 are disposed around the periphery of housing 14a in Fig. 5) configured to suspend a bag over a base of the housing during a compacting operation, wherein the bag mounting hooks comprise a support arm, a hook arm connected to the support arm for pivotal movement between first and second bag tensioning positions, and a tensioning spring mounted between the support arm and hook arm (col. 4, line 63-66 disclose bag connector hooks 40 may take the form of conventional alligator clips which comprise a pair of pivotally-connected and spring-tensioned arms, where one arm would serves as a “support arm” and one would serve as a “hook arm”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use bag mounting hooks around the periphery of Walsh’s housing 305 to hold open bag B to receive waste in the same way Harza teaches using bag mounting hook connectors 40 around the periphery of Harza’s housing 14a to hold open bag 30 to receive waste. A person of ordinary skill would have recognized applying the teaching of Harza to Walsh’s compactor would achieve the predictable result of adding bag mounting hooks to Walsh’s compactor to improve its waste compaction capability.
Regarding claim 2, the prior art reference combination of Walsh in view of Harza renders the compactor according to claim 1 unpatentable as explained above. Walsh further discloses the housing comprises at least two sidewalls each comprising two adjacent panels connected by articulation means allowing the two sidewalls to fold during a compaction operation (each of sidewalls 311 and 312 comprise two adjacent panels, see annotations to Fig. 16 of Walsh reproduced below, connected by hinge articulation means 314).
PNG
media_image3.png
462
549
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 3, the prior art reference combination of Walsh in view of Harza renders the compactor according to claim 2 unpatentable as explained above. Walsh further discloses the two foldable sidewalls are opposed sidewalls (sidewalls 311 and 312 are opposed to one another as shown in Fig. 14).
Regarding claim 4, the prior art reference combination of Walsh in view of Harza renders the compactor according to claim 3 unpatentable as explained above. Walsh further discloses the openable sidewall is disposed in between the opposed sidewalls (openable sidewall 306 is disposed between opposed sidewalls 311 and 312 as shown in Fig. 14 of Walsh reproduced below).
PNG
media_image4.png
452
570
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 5, the prior art reference combination of Walsh in view of Harza renders the compactor according to claim 1 unpatentable as explained above. Walsh further discloses the openable sidewall is configured to fold while remaining closed during a compaction operation (sidewall end panels 306 in Fig. 14 are two adjacent “saloon door”-style panels connected by a lock which allows a degree of freedom of movement during compaction operation as shown in Fig. 31; ¶[0094]).
Regarding claim 9, the prior art reference combination of Walsh in view of Harza renders the compactor according to claim 1 unpatentable as explained above. Walsh further discloses comprising
a front wall fixed to the compacting press and having an aperture for receipt of waste from the compacting press (front wall 315 in Fig. 15 is fixed to press 301 and has an aperture for receipt of waste from the press);
two sidewalls at least one of which comprising two adjacent panels connected by articulation means allowing the at least one sidewall to fold during a compaction operation (both sidewalls 311 and 312 comprise two adjacent panels as explained in the rejection of claim 2 above which fold during compaction as shown in Fig. 31); and
an openable sidewall disposed between and connected to the sidewalls by articulation means (openable sidewall 306 in Fig. 14 is disposed between and connected to sidewalls 311 and 312 by hinge articulation means 314).
Regarding claim 10, the prior art reference combination of Walsh in view of Harza renders the compactor according to claim 1 unpatentable as explained above. Walsh further discloses the openable sidewall is disposed facing the front wall (openable sidewall 306 is disposed facing front wall 315 in Fig. 15).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 23 and 24 are allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: claim 23 has been amended to contain the previously-indicated allowable subject matter of now-cancelled claims 16-18. Numbered paragraph 45 on page 15 of the Non-final Rejection provides the reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 PAUL DEREK PRESSLEY whose telephone number is (313)446-6658. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am to 3:30pm Eastern.
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, Christopher Templeton can be reached at (571) 270-1477. 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.
/P DEREK PRESSLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 3725
/Christopher L Templeton/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3725