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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 05/13/2025 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 and 3-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hatano et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 8,579,777) in view of Martin et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0120948).
Regarding claim 1: Hatano discloses a box-making device for making a carton including a body portion formed in a tubular shape, first flaps formed at axial ends of the body portion, and second flaps facing the first flaps by bonding the first flaps and the second flaps together in a folded state,
the box-making device comprising:
a transporter including a transportation conveyor for transporting the carton (Fig. 3; lower conveyors 74); capable of supporting upstream-side end parts of the carton being transported (via supporting the flaps of the board boxes G and/or sheets S);
applicators for applying a bonding material to the second flaps in a folded state (Fig. 3; via gluing unit 75);
flap-folding guides for folding the first flaps at outer sides of the second flaps in a folded state by coming into contact with the first flaps in accordance with the transportation of the carton (Fig. 3; via folding bars 76);
pushing members for pushing the first flaps folded by the flap-folding guides toward the second flaps so as to bring the first flaps and the bonding material applied to the second flaps into contact with each other (via upper belt 73 and/or Figs. 1 and 4; via lower rollers 13, 23, 32, 37); and
regulating members for regulating orientations of the first flaps in a transportation direction at least when the contact between the first flaps pushed by the pushing members and the bonding material begins, by coming into contact with at least upstream-side end parts of the first flaps in the carton (Fig. 1; via 47 and/or Fig. 4; via 86);
wherein the regulating member moves along the transportation direction and comes into contact with upstream-side end parts of the first flaps in the carton, (via 74 and/or 86 moves along the transportation direction; what is it for such as to “comes into contact with upstream-side end parts of the first flaps in the carton” is an intended use limitations, not given much patentable weight).
It is noted that the latest filed amendment filed on 04/14/2025 referring to the “regulating member” as “only” contacting the upstream side end part of the flaps and does not come into contact with the body portion, is an indented use of the claimed “regulating member”, which not given much patentable weight.
Being that said, it is believed that a use of “regulating member” to only contact side end parts of flaps and does not come into contact with the body portion of the carton is old and know, see for example (U.S. Pat. No. 2,982,189, Figs. 1, 2, and 5; via 313/314 folding members to fold and contacting only end flaps of the blank).
Hatano does not disclose the claimed spacers that are provided on the transporting conveyor. However, Martin discloses similar box making device with the use of spacers provided on the transporting conveyor, see for example (Fig. 1; via 150).
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 Hatano’s conveyor to have spacer, as suggested by Martin, in order to easily convey and accommodate various carton configurations paragraph 0005).
Regarding claim 3: Hatano comprising regulators including endless belts to be rotationally driven and the regulating members attached to outer peripheral surfaces of the endless belts (Fig. 1; via endless belts 41/47), the regulating members moving in accordance with the rotations of the endless belts, wherein the regulator includes a contactable region where the regulating member moves along the transportation direction of the carton and the moving regulating member is contactable with the first flap (via when belts are facing and pressing on the conveyed S), and a retraction region (via when belts 41/47 rotates away from the pressed and conveyed S), where the regulating member moves at a position farther away from the carton as compared with when the regulating member moves in the contactable region, and the regulating member that comes into contact with the first flap in the contactable region is separated from the first flap before moving from the contactable region to the retraction region (Fig. 1; via both contacting region of belts 41/47 when pressing on S in respect to the other region when they are away from S).
Regarding claim 4: Hatano discloses that wherein the regulating member that is separated from the first flap in the retraction region comes into contact with the first flap after moving from the retraction region to the contactable region (Fig. 1; via the shown rotation of belts 41/47 comes in contact and away from S with its flaps).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 3-4 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection adjusted to address the newly added limitations.
Applicant amended the claims and continue to argue that the applied art of record to Hatano ‘777 does not use a “regulating member” comes into contact with “only” upstream-side end parts of the first flaps in the carton and does not come into contact with the body portion.
The Office as set forth above and in the previous filed FR. on 02/13/2025 believes that giving the claims the broadest reasonable meaning, it is believed that ‘777 shows the structural limitations as claimed to be moving “along the transportation direction”, whether or not the “regulating member” comes into contact with “only” upstream-side end parts of the first flaps in the carton and/or does not come into contact with the body portion; that is an intended use of the claimed structure of the “regulating member”, which are not given much patentable weight in the apparatus claims.
It is noted that a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
Further, the Office as explained above believes that a use of “regulating member” to only contact the side end parts of flaps and does not come into contact with the body portion of the carton is old and well known in the art, see for example (U.S. Pat. No. 2,982,189, Figs. 1, 2, and 5; via 313/314 folding members to fold and contacting only end flaps of the blank).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMEH TAWFIK whose telephone number is (571)272-4470. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
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/SAMEH TAWFIK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731