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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 25 November 2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Receipt is acknowledged of an amendment, filed 25 November 2025, which has been placed of record and entered in the file.
Status of the claims:
Claims 1, 3-14, and 17-19 are pending.
Claims 1, and 11 are amended.
Claims 17-19 are new.
Claims 2 and 15-16 are canceled.
Specification and Drawings:
Amendments to the specification have been submitted in the amendment filed 25 November 2025.
Amendments to the drawings have not been submitted in the amendment filed 25 November 2025.
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.
Claims 1, 3-14, and 17-19 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitations "the information", “the connection strand”, and “the fastening” in lines 16-18. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 11 recites the limitations “the information”, “the connection strand”, and “the fastening” in lines 16-18. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 17 recites the limitation "the lasso function" in line 3 and in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 3-10 and 18-19 depend from claim 1, and are likewise rejected.
Claims 12-14 depend from claim 11 and are likewise rejected.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 3-5, 9-13, and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lofgren (US Patent No. 5,415,268) in view of Maguire (US Patent Publ. No. 2018/0370701).
With respect to claim 1, Lofgren discloses a method for producing containers filled with beverages and provided with container closures (bottles 2 filled with contents such as pharmaceutical preparations and closed by closure 49, fig. 6, col. 1, l. 10-23), wherein the container closure has a closure cap screwed onto a mouth of the container (screw capsule 49, fig. 6, col. 6, l. 51-59), wherein the containers are transported using a transport device (bottles 2 are transported on wheels 7, 8, fig. 1) and are inspected by an inspection device (optical sensor means 51 that senses marking 50 on screw capsule 49, fig. 6, col. 6, l. 56-68), wherein a rotational position of the closure cap is determined relative to the container (the rotational position of the screw capsule 49 and the rotational position of the bottle 2 is determined by the sensing of the marking 50; the container can include markings such that the rotational position of the capsule with respect to the container marking is determined, col. 7, l. 1-11 and 25-36), wherein after the inspection of the containers, the containers are provided with a label and/or a print (after inspection by the sensor means, the rotation of the bottles is stopped by the locking means so as to be positionally and orientationally fixed to receive a label at labeling station 10, col. 5, l. 17-26), wherein the determined rotational position of the container closure is taken into account for this provided feature (after sensing the marking 50, the rotation of the bottle 2 and screw capsule 49 is stopped by the locking means 52 to lock the bottle 2 and screw capsule 49 in the selected orientation for receipt of the label, col. 7, l. 1-11), and wherein the rotational position of the container closure is determined from a position of the marking 50 (the rotational position of the screw capsule 49 and the rotational position of the bottle 2 is determined by the sensing of the marking 50, col. 7, l. 1-11).
Lofgren fails to disclose the container closure including a securing means arranged in a longitudinal direction of the container below the mouth on the container, a connecting strand which connects the securing device to the closure cap, a first fastening section on which the connecting strand is attached to the closure cap, and a second fastening section with which the connecting strand is arranged on the securing device, and the rotational position of the container closure is determined from a position of the connecting strand and/or a position of at least one fastening section, and wherein the information from which the rotational position of the container closure relative to the container is derived is not determined by markings affixed to the container but rather by the connection strand or the fastening of the securing device.
Maguire discloses a container closure (cap 301 and ring member 302, cap 301 may be screwed onto the container, [0051], fig. 17) including a securing device arranged in a longitudinal direction of the container below the mouth on the container (ring member 302 that is arranged below mouth of the container, fig. 17), a connecting strand which connects the securing device to the closure cap (connection portion 305 between cap 301 and ring member 302, [0049], fig. 18), a first fastening section at which the connecting strand is fastened to the closure cap (place where connection portion 305 is attached to cap 301, fig. 19, [0049]) and a second fastening section with which the connecting strand is arranged on the securing device (place where connection portion 305 is attached to ring member 302, fig. 19, [0049]).
It 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 to modify the method of Lofgren to replace the screw capsules and determining the rotational position of the screw capsules by the marking, with the caps having a securing means and connecting strands and determining the rotational position of the caps by connecting strands and wherein the information from which the rotational position of the container closure relative to the container is derived is not determined by markings affixed to the container but rather by the connecting strand of the fastening, as taught by Maguire, to provide a tamper proof and reusable cap, and as the substitution of an alternative type of screw cap, and in the absence of any indication to the contrary, the method performed on the caps with connecting strands and a securing means would not perform differently from the method of Lofgren, especially since Lofgren teaches using any alternative type of marking or surface feature on the cap or container for rotational orientation to receive the label (col. 7, l. 12-36).
With respect to claim 3, Lofgren disclose that after inspection, the container provided with the closure is aligned with regard to its rotational position with respect to its longitudinal direction and is rotated by a predetermined angle with respect to the longitudinal direction (after inspection starts, the capsule and bottle are rotated about the longitudinal axis of the bottle until the marking is sensed and bottle/capsule rotation is stopped, col. 7, l. 1-11).
With respect to claim 4, Lofgren discloses that the predetermined angle is determined taking into account the determined rotational position of the container closure (the angle of rotation is achieved and the rotation of the bottle/capsule is stopped when the marking is detected, col. 7, l. 1-11).
With respect to claim 5, Lofgren disclose that the alignment is carried out in such a way that the provided feature (the label) is opposite the marking (the inspection device is opposite the label applying station 10, figs. 1, 6)
Lofgren fails to disclose a cap having a connecting strand.
Maguire discloses a container closure (cap 301 and ring member 302, cap 301 may be screwed onto the container, [0051], fig. 17) including a connecting strand which connects the securing device to the closure cap (connection portion 305 between cap 301 and ring member 302, [0049], fig. 18).
It 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 to modify the method of Lofgren to replace aligning the label opposite the marking, with aligning the label opposite a connecting strand, as taught by Maguire, to provide a tamper proof and reusable cap, and as the substitution of an alternative type of screw cap, and in the absence of any indication to the contrary, the method performed on the caps with connecting strands would not perform differently from the method of Lofgren, especially since Lofgren teaches using any alternative type of marking or surface feature on the cap or container for rotational orientation to receive the label (col. 7, l. 12-36).
With respect to claim 9, Lofgren discloses that the container is inspected in a longitudinal direction of the container and/or perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the container (the bottle/capsule is inspected while rotating about the longitudinal axis of the bottle/capsule (figs. 2, 6, col. 6, l. 56-68).
With respect to claim 10, Lofgren discloses that a type of the container closure is taken into account for determining the rotational position of the container closure (the type of closure including a screw cap and marking is used to determine rotational position of the closure, col. 7, l. 1-16).
With respect to claim 11, Lofgren discloses an apparatus for producing containers filled with beverages and provided with container closures (apparatus, figs. 1, 6, for producing bottles 2 filled with contents such as pharmaceutical preparations and closed by closure 49, fig. 6, col. 1, l. 10-23), wherein the container closure has a closure cap screwed onto a mouth of the container (screw capsule 49, fig. 6, col. 6, l. 51-59), having a transport device which transports the containers along a predetermined transport path (bottles 2 are transported on wheels 7, 8 along a path, fig. 1), and having an inspection device for inspecting the containers provided with the container closures (optical sensor means 51 that senses marking 50 on screw capsule 49, fig. 6, col. 6, l. 56-68), which is suitable for determining a rotational position of the container closure relative to the container (the rotational position of the screw capsule 49 and the rotational position of the bottle 2 is determined by the sensing of the marking 50; the container can include markings such that the rotational position of the capsule with respect to the container marking is determined, col. 7, l. 1-11 and 25-36), wherein the apparatus has a feature providing device downstream from the inspection device in the transport direction which provides the container with a label and/or a print (after inspection by the sensor means, the rotation of the bottles is stopped by the locking means so as to be positionally and orientationally fixed to receive a label at labeling station 10, col. 5, l. 17-26), wherein the apparatus is configured for providing a feature for the container taking into account the rotational position of the container closure (after sensing the marking 50, the rotation of the bottle 2 and screw capsule 49 is stopped by the locking means 52 to lock the bottle 2 and screw capsule 49 in the selected orientation for receipt of the label, col. 7, l. 1-11).
Lofgren fails to disclose the container closure including a securing means arranged in a longitudinal direction of the container below the mouth on the container, a connecting strand which connects the securing device to the closure cap, a first fastening section on which the connecting strand is attached to the closure cap, and a second fastening section with which the connecting strand is arranged on the securing device, and providing a feature taking into account the rotational position of the connecting strand and/or a position of at least one fastening section, and wherein the information from which the rotational position of the container closure relative to the container is derived is not determined by markings affixed to the container but rather by the connection strand or the fastening of the securing device.
Maguire discloses a container closure (cap 301 and ring member 302, cap 301 may be screwed onto the container, [0051], fig. 17) including a securing device arranged in a longitudinal direction of the container below the mouth on the container (ring member 302 that is arranged below mouth of the container, fig. 17), a connecting strand which connects the securing device to the closure cap (connection portion 305 between cap 301 and ring member 302, [0049], fig. 18), a first fastening section at which the connecting strand is fastened to the closure cap (place where connection portion 305 is attached to cap 301, fig. 19, [0049]) and a second fastening section with which the connecting strand is arranged on the securing device (place where connection portion 305 is attached to ring member 302, fig. 19, [0049]).
It 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 to modify the apparatus of Lofgren to replace the screw capsules and providing a feature for the container taking into account the rotational position of the container closure with the caps having a securing means and connecting strands and providing a feature taking into account the rotational position of the connecting strand and wherein the information from which the rotational position of the container closure relative to the container is derived is not determined by markings affixed to the container but rather by the connecting strand of the fastening, as taught by Maguire, to provide a tamper proof and reusable cap, and as the substitution of an alternative type of screw cap, and in the absence of any indication to the contrary, the operation of the apparatus performed on the caps with connecting strands and a securing means would not perform differently from the operation of the apparatus of Lofgren, especially since Lofgren teaches using any alternative type of marking or surface feature on the cap or container for rotational orientation to receive the label (col. 7, l. 12-36).
With respect to claim 12, Lofgren discloses an alignment device which aligns the containers with regard to their rotational positions with respect to their longitudinal directions (the rotational position about the longitudinal axis of the bottles is aligned by the stopping of rotation by the locking means 52, col. 7, l. 1-11).
With respect to claim 13, Lofgren discloses a closing device which closes the containers with closures (bottles 2 arrive in the inspection station from a capsulation station (col. 4, lines 64-68).
With respect to claim 17, Lofgren fails to disclose the lasso function or the connecting strand is used as a feature on the closure and/or the rotational position is detected by detecting the lasso function.
Maguire discloses a container closure (cap 301 and ring member 302, cap 301 may be screwed onto the container, [0051], fig. 17) including a securing device arranged in a longitudinal direction of the container below the mouth on the container (ring member 302 that is arranged below mouth of the container, fig. 17), a connecting strand which connects the securing device to the closure cap (connection portion 305 between cap 301 and ring member 302, [0049], fig. 18), a first fastening section at which the connecting strand is fastened to the closure cap (place where connection portion 305 is attached to cap 301, fig. 19, [0049]) and a second fastening section with which the connecting strand is arranged on the securing device (place where connection portion 305 is attached to ring member 302, fig. 19, [0049]).
It 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 to modify the method of Lofgren to replace the screw capsules and determining the rotational position of the screw capsules by the marking, with the caps having connecting strands used as a feature for determining the rotational position of the caps, as taught by Maguire, to provide a tamper proof and reusable cap, and as the substitution of an alternative type of screw cap, and in the absence of any indication to the contrary, the method performed on the caps with connecting strands and a securing means would not perform differently from the method of Lofgren, especially since Lofgren teaches using any alternative type of marking or surface feature on the cap or container for rotational orientation to receive the label (col. 7, l. 12-36).
With respect to claim 18, Lofgren discloses the rotational position of the container closure is detected and compared with a target rotational position (the position at which the container and closure are locked is the target position since the locked position is the desired position, after inspection by the sensor means, the rotation of the bottles is stopped by the locking means so as to be positionally and orientationally fixed to receive a label at labeling station 10, col. 5, l. 17-26).
Claims 6-8, 14, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lofgren (US Patent No. 5,415,268) in view of Maguire (US Patent Publ. No. 2018/0370701), as applied to claims 1 and 11 above, and further in view of Bruecklmeier et al. (US Patent Publ. No. 2015/0211958).
With respect to claim 6, Lofgren fails to disclose one image of an upper side of the container closure is recorded.
Bruecklmeier et al. disclose a container closure inspection device including a camera 140 for recording an image of an upper side of the closure (cameras take an image of the top of closure, and send the image to computer 150 for processing, fig. 2, [0033], [0034]), for inspecting for seal integrity ([0032], [0033]).
It 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 to modify the method of Lofgren to include recording an image of an upper side of the container, as taught by Bruecklmeier et al., to inspect for seal integrity of the screw capsules to improve efficacy of the method and improve the sealed containers.
With respect to claim 7, Lofgren fails to disclose the inspection device determines at least one additional characteristic property of the container closure and/or its arrangement on the container, and the additional property is selected from a group of properties which includes a color of the container closure, a type of the container closure, an orientation of the container closure on the container, damage to the container closure or to the container.
Bruecklmeier et al. disclose a container closure inspection device that determines an additional characteristic property of the container closure including the orientation of the container closure on the container and damage to the container closure or to the container (seal inspection system 110 detects marks on the closure and the container to determine their relative positions indicating the closure is sealed to the container, [0032], [0033], fig. 2).
It 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 to modify the method of Lofgren to include the closure inspection device determines an additional characteristic property of the container closure including the orientation of the container closure on the container and damage to the container closure or to the container, as taught by Bruecklmeier et al., to inspect for seal integrity of the screw capsules to improve efficacy of the method and improve the sealed containers.
With respect to claim 8, Lofgren fails to disclose the inspection device records at least one spatially resolved image of the container and the container closure.
Bruecklmeier et al. disclose a container closure inspection device including cameras 140 for recording a spatially resolved image of the container and closure (cameras take images of the top and sides of the closure from several angles, the processor can determine the angle between marks on the container and marks on the closure and thus are spatially resolved images, and send the images to computer 150 for processing, fig. 2, [0033], [0034]), for inspecting for seal integrity ([0032], [0033]).
It 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 to modify the method of Lofgren to include recording at least one spatially resolved image of the container and closure, as taught by Bruecklmeier et al., to inspect for seal integrity of the screw capsules to improve efficacy of the method and improve the sealed containers.
With respect to claim 14, Lofgren fails to disclose the apparatus has an image evaluation device which is configured for outputting, from at least one of the recorded images, at least one value which is characteristic of an angular position of the connecting strand and/or at least one fastening section.
Bruecklmeier et al. disclose a container closure inspection device an image evaluation device which is configured for outputting, from at least one of the recorded images, at least one value which is characteristic of an angular position of the connecting strand and/or at least one fastening section (cameras take images the closure, the processor can determine the angle between marks on the container and marks on the closure, fig. 2, [0034], [0035]), for inspecting for seal integrity ([0032], [0033]).
It 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 to modify the method of Lofgren, as modified by Maguire, to include an image evaluation device which is configured for outputting, from at least one of the recorded images, at least one value which is characteristic of an angular position of the connecting strand and/or at least one fastening section, as taught by Bruecklmeier et al., to inspect for seal integrity of the screw capsules to improve efficacy of the method and improve the sealed containers.
With respect to claim 19, Lofgren fail to disclose at least one image of the container closure and the connecting strand and at least one fastening section is recorded.
Bruecklmeier et al. disclose a container closure inspection device including a camera 140 for recording an image of an upper side of the closure (cameras take an image of the top of closure, and send the image to computer 150 for processing, fig. 2, [0033], [0034]), for inspecting for seal integrity ([0032], [0033]).
It 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 to modify the method of Lofgren, as now modified by Maguire, to include at least one image of the container closure and the connecting strand and at least one fastening section is recorded, as taught by Bruecklmeier et al., to inspect for seal integrity of the screw capsules to improve efficacy of the method and improve the sealed containers.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection of claims 1 and 11 under 35 U.S.C. 103 over Lofgren in view of Maguire have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Lofgren discloses that “these can be used for positioning and fixing the container so that the cap is placed in a predetermined position in relation to the position of the identification element on the bottle or container”, and thus “only determines the rotational position of a container”.
In response, Lofgren specifically discloses determining a rotational position of the closure (the rotational position of the screw capsule 49 and the rotational position of the bottle 2 is determined by the sensing of the marking 50, the sensor detects a decrease in the intensity of reflected light when the marking moves into the optical field; col. 7, l. 1-11), and determining a rotational position of the container closure relative to the container (the container can include markings such that the rotational position of the capsule with respect to the container marking is determined, “the principle of the invention can also be applied to bottles or other essentially rotationally symmetric containers having labels, logos, imprints, pre-prints, marks, stamps or any sort of such or other markings on the outer surface of the container or being detectable from outside. In such case these markings can be used for positional orientation and fixation of the bottle or rotationally symmetric container in such way that the capsule is put on in a predetermined position in relation to the position of the marking on the bottle or container”; col. 7, l. 25-36). In other words, the position of the marking on the cap is specifically oriented with respect to the marking/label on the container. Therefore, Lofgren discloses that the rotational position of the closure cap relative to the container is determined.
Further, Maguire discloses a container closure including a connecting strand which connects the securing device to the closure cap (connection portion 305 between cap 301 and ring member 302, [0049], fig. 18), a first fastening section at which the connecting strand is fastened to the closure cap (place where connection portion 305 is attached to cap 301, fig. 19, [0049]) and a second fastening section with which the connecting strand is arranged on the securing device (place where connection portion 305 is attached to ring member 302, fig. 19, [0049]).
It 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 to modify the method of Lofgren to replace the screw capsules and determining the rotational position of the screw capsules by the marking, with the caps having a securing means and connecting strands and determining the rotational position of the caps by connecting strands, as taught by Maguire, to provide a tamper proof and reusable cap, and as the substitution of an alternative type of screw cap, and in the absence of any indication to the contrary, the method performed on the caps with connecting strands and a securing means would not perform differently from the method of Lofgren, especially since Lofgren teaches using any alternative type of marking or surface feature on the cap or container for rotational orientation to receive the label (col. 7, l. 12-36).
Applicant further argues that Maguire fails to cure the deficiencies of Lofgren.
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
Accordingly, in view of all of the above, the rejection of claims 1 and 11 under 35 U.S.C. 103 over Lofgren in view of Maguire is still deemed proper.
Applicant has provided no arguments pointing out errors with the respect to the rejections of dependent claims 3-5, 9-10, and 12-13, and these rejections are still deemed proper.
With respect to dependent claims 6-8 and 14, Applicant argues that Bruecklmeier fail to cure the deficiencies of Lofgren and Maguire. In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). These rejections are still deemed proper.
Conclusion
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/LINDA J. HODGE/Examiner, Art Unit 3731