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 .
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.
Claim 50 is 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.
In claim 50 it is unclear how there is a “third” conveyor, there has been no previous recitation of a “second” conveyor.
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.
Claim(s) 31-34, 37 and 39 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hoegger (EP 05405275).
There is disclosed in Hoegger a pressing device for pressing meat products, comprising: a pressing chamber 7 which extends along a longitudinal direction (fig. 5) and into which a product to be pressed can be inserted; an insertion device in the form of a first conveyor 15 that is configured to convey the product transversely to the longitudinal direction of the pressing chamber (fig. 5) to and insertion section 70; a support frame (fig. 4) for the first conveyer to support the conveyor at a housing of the pressing device (fig. 4), wherein the conveyor and conveyor frame could be moved relative to the housing between an insertion position adjacent the insertion section and an inactive position away from the insertion section.
In regards to claim 34, the first conveyor and conveyor support could be located to any position with respect to the housing when in an inactive position.
In regards to claim 39, the first conveyor appears to be in a fixed or locked position (figs. 2, 4) when delivering a meat product to the pressing chamber.
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.
Claim(s) 36 and 38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hoegger in view of Pujolas (EP 1867233).
In regards to claim 36, Pujolas discloses the use of a plurality of chambers 5 on a conveyor 4, wherein products can be inserted into each of the chambers.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to provide the conveyor of Hoegger with chambers disclosed in Pujulas, in order to ensure separation of the meat products before insertion into the pressing chamber.
In regards to claim 38, Pujolas discloses the use of a sensor arrangement 26, 27 at an opening location of pressing chamber and association with a product conveyor, wherein a position of a conveyor chamber, and therfor a product therein, is detected.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to provide the device of Hoegger with the detection sensor arrangement disclosed in Pujolas, in order to track the location of meat products and prevent entry to the pressing chamber of multiple products.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 35 and 40-49 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 50 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art references to Antrag (DE 102020103312), Esparza et al. and Volkl are cited for their disclosure of the state of the art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REGINALD L. ALEXANDER whose telephone number is (571)272-1395. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 5:30-2:00.
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, Ibrahime Abraham can be reached at 571-270-5569. 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.
/REGINALD ALEXANDER/
Examiner
Art Unit 3761