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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I in the reply filed on 4/10/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 7-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Groups II and III, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 4/10/2026.
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.
Claim(s) 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Marinelli et al. US Patent Publication 2012/0277706 in view of Gordon et al, US Patent Publication 2015/0204020.
Regarding claim 1, Marinelli teaches a method (see abstract) comprising:
forming a wet part composed of fibers from a slurry of the fibers (precursor web made to be filter paper [011]) on a forming screen having pores [0002], the wet part having a first surface in contact with the forming screen (see figures);
and adjusting the web through a “de-densified technique” [0057 and 0095]); and
following a predefined length of time after initiation of the pulling of the second surface away from the first surface (implicitly taught by the operation of the continuous belts and modifications to control the density [0095]), removing the wet part from the forming screen, wherein an article formed from the wet part is to function as a filter following the wet part being dried (see claim 2).
Marinelli teaches multiple methods for the de-densified material to occur some of which include the act of contact on both sides of the member (methods A-G [0095]), but is silent on the specific use of vacuum on the second side to pull away form the first side under vacuum.
In the same field of endeavor of modifying the density of a pulp web, Gordon is presented.
Gordon teaches a method (see abstract) comprising:
forming a wet part composed of fibers from a slurry of the fibers (wet pulp pre-form [0166 and 0171] (see figures 1 and 2) on a forming screen having pores, the wet part having a first surface in contact with the forming screen [0166];
pulling a second surface of the wet part away from the first surface (further suction head not shown in figures [0166]) of the wet part while a suction force is applied onto the first surface through the pores in the forming screen to cause a density at which the fibers are arranged in the wet part to be decreased ([0166 teaches the act of adjusting the density through the use of the two suction heads as well as teaching that the suction heads can be modified for “local control of the pulp density” [0166]); and
following a predefined length of time after initiation of the pulling of the second surface away from the first surface (implicitly taught by the operation of the continuous belts and modifications to control the density [0165-0171]), removing the wet part from the forming screen.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to utilize Gordons teaching of opposite suctions to adjust the density during the formation of the web as one of the “de-densified” methods of the Marinelli as it would have been a simple substitution of one known element to arrive at the same end result when the Marinelli reference already teaches multiple options to reduce the density of the web.
Regarding claims 2-5, Marinelli and Gordon teach the act of utilizing transfer screens to blow air to switch the suction force of the web for relocation purposes([0071] of Gordon) and using time to control when each stage occurs (again this is implicitly taught by the positioning of the different components on a continuous production line) while actively controlling the densities of the web by modifying the suction of the different suction components during formation and removal of the web.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACOB T MINSKEY whose telephone number is (571)270-7003. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-6 PM.
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JACOB T. MINSKEY
Examiner
Art Unit 1741
/JACOB T MINSKEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1748
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