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
Claims 1, 4-7, 9, and 13 are pending. Claim 3 is canceled. Claims 6-7 and 9 remain withdrawn.
In view of the amendment, filed 11/04/2025, the following objections and rejections are withdrawn from the previous Office Action mailed 08/07/2025:
Claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b)
Claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103
New grounds of rejection are necessitated by claim amendments.
Claim Interpretation
The examined claims are directed to a device (apparatus), and material worked upon by an apparatus in its intended use (i.e., a filament three-dimensional bonded member, a cut surface) is only given patentable weight to the extent that the intended use limits the structure of the claimed device. Furthermore, the manner or method in which an apparatus is to be utilized is not subject to the issue of patentability of the apparatus itself. 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. See MPEP 2114-2115.
Regarding the effect of the preamble, if the body of a claim fully and intrinsically sets forth all of the limitations of the claimed invention, and the preamble merely states, for example, the purpose or intended use of the invention, rather than any distinct definition of any of the claimed invention’s limitations, then the preamble is not considered a limitation and is of no significance to claim construction. In this case, the application defines a structurally complete invention in the claim body, where the preamble is used to state the purpose or intended use for the invention (“cut surface smoothing”) and thus is not a claim limitation. See MPEP 2111.02.
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(s) 1, 4-5, and 13 is/are 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 limitation “upstream rollers…are rotatably installed with its center axis extending in the up/down direction used as a first rotation axis.” The limitation introduces plural rollers and then refers to a single center axis and a single rotation axis, rendering the claim unclear as to which center axis and rotation axis is referenced. If the limitation is intended to refer to both rollers, then it is unclear in view of the specification how the two rollers provided opposite each other and otherwise arranged as claimed can have a single/same rotation axis.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “downstream rollers…are rotatably installed with its center axis extending in the up/down direction used as a second rotation axis.” The limitation is unclear for the reasons provided above.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “coating rollers…with its center axis extending in the up/down direction used as a third rotation axis.” The limitation is unclear for the reasons provided above.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the outer surfaces" in line 19. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 4 recites the limitation of a blower “configured to supply cooling air between the upstream rollers and the downstream rollers inside the belts.” The limitation as recited has multiple possible interpretations reflecting a number of different configurations and thereby rendering the claim scope unclear. For example, “between the upstream rollers and the downstream rollers inside the belts” can mean a configuration of the blower that supplies air between the upstream rollers and that also supplies air between the downstream rollers, or can mean a configuration of the blower that supplies air between each upstream roller and the corresponding downstream roller on the same side, or that supplies air between each upstream roller and the downstream roller on the opposite side, etc. “Inside the belts” can mean inside each of the single belts or inside a space defined between the two belts (e.g., where a conveyor would pass). The disclosure does not depict a blower to provide further clarity. For further examination, any such interpretation would be considered to meet the claim.
The indicated dependent claims are rejected for the reasons provided above.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noble, GB 736697 A (of record), in view of Witlin et al., US 20080020221 A1, and Nagazoe, JP 2013071042 A (Espacenet translation attached and referenced below).
Regarding claim 1, Noble discloses a cut surface smoothing device (heat-sealing apparatus including heat sealing devices 5, Figs. 1, 3) having an up/down direction, a left-right direction and a forward/backward direction which are orthogonal to each other (up/down direction through the page, left-right direction being horizontal direction perpendicular to travel direction of wrapper 1, forward/backward direction being horizontal travel direction of wrapper 1 indicated by arrow), comprising:
A conveyor (conveyor 4, Fig. 1) configured to convey a filament three-dimensional bonded member in the forward/backward direction (configured to convey a three-dimensional product, shown as wrapper 1, in the forward/backward direction, Fig. 1, thus capable of conveying a filament three-dimensional bonded member in the same direction);
Upstream rollers (upstream roller of each heat sealing device 5, Figs. 1, 3), provided on both left and right sides of the conveyor so as to be opposite each other in the left-right direction (Fig. 1), and are [each upstream roller is] rotatably installed with its center axis extending in the up/down direction used as a first rotation axis (Figs. 1, 3, each roller having a center axis extending in the up/down direction and being a corresponding rotation axis);
Downstream rollers (downstream roller of each heat sealing device 5, Figs. 1, 3), provided on both left and right sides of the conveyor so as to be opposite each other in the left/right direction on a front side of the upstream rollers (Fig. 1), and are [each downstream roller is] rotatably installed with its center axis extending in the up/down direction used as a first rotation axis (Figs. 1, 3, each roller having a center axis extending in the up/down direction and being a corresponding rotation axis);
Belts (bands 6, Figs. 1, 3), disposed on both left and right sides of the conveyor (Fig. 1), and the belts being tensioned and supported by the upstream rollers and the downstream rollers (Fig. 1, p. 2, left column, lines 21-25); and
Coating elements (wick 11, to apply a lubricant, Fig. 3, p. 2, lines 62-67), installed on outer sides of the belts in the left/right direction (shown on outer side of one belt in detailed Fig. 3, the configurations are mirrored, Fig. 1, so the coating elements are installed on the left/right sides);
Wherein the outer surfaces of the belts configure a high temperature portion (p. 1, lines 27-40, the band is a heated/hot surface intended to contact the sealing material; p. 2, lines 16-17, the band is heated to the required sealing temperature),
Wherein the high temperature portion is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than a melting point of the filament three-dimensional bonded member (the band is heated to a temperature capable of sealing the plastic lacquer of the wrapper, p. 2, lines 16-17; the limitation requires at most the capability of being heated to a melting temperature of any filament three-dimensional bonded member – the band 6 is a heated metallic band, p. 2, lines 3-5, and thus is capable of being heated at/above a melting temperature of an unspecified filament three-dimensional bonded member),
Wherein the high temperature portion is applied to a cut surface of the filament three-dimensional bonded member to smooth the cut surface (heated band 6 is applied to ends of a wrapper 1 so as to seal the ends, p. 1, line 85 – p. 2, line 9, Fig. 1),
Wherein the filament three-dimensional bonded member is conveyed in the forward/backward direction parallel to the cut surface that is smoothed (Fig. 1, see arrows), and
Wherein the high temperature portion is arranged to rotate in a same direction as a conveyance of the conveyer while being applied to the cut surface (Fig. 1, see arrows).
Noble discloses a heater (hot plate 7, Fig. 3) arranged on each side of the conveyor (Fig. 1) but does not disclose a heater being arranged in each of the upstream rollers.
In the analogous art, Witlin discloses arrangements for heating and fusing plastic materials (Abstract). Witlin discloses an arrangement using a heated upstream roller 130 in combination with downstream rollers 235 and a cooperating belt 230 (Fig. 2D). The rollers 130 are heated by a heater 140 ([0044], element depicted below text of “130 Roller,” as shown in Figs. 2B, 2C), which can be controlled to a desired temperature ([0059]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the heat-sealing devices of Noble to use a controllably heated roller in place of the hot plates as a substitution of one known heated surface for another yielding predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(B). In this case, each of the heated surfaces was used inside oppositely arranged cooperating endless belts to heat and thereby seal plastic materials moving between opposing outer surfaces of the belts. With the modification, the heated roller pair comprised of the heated rollers on each side of the conveyor would be the “upstream rollers” and the downstream rollers would remain the “downstream rollers,” as they would continue to be arranged downstream of the heated rollers.
Noble discloses the coating elements (wick 11, Fig. 3) but does not disclose that they are rollers installed rotatably and with its center axis [a center axis of a coating roller] extending in the up/down direction used as a third rotation axis.
In the analogous art, Nagazoe discloses a device for working on side surfaces of a conveyed sheet material by a belt and roller arrangement provided with a coating roller for coating the belt (Fig. 1, supply roller 10). Nagazoe teaches providing the rotating belt arrangement with the supply roller 10 installed rotatably and having a center axis extending in the same direction as the other rollers of the rotating belt and used as an additional rotation axis (Fig. 1). Nagazoe teaches that the coating roll is penetrated with the coating material and disposed so as to be in contact with the outer surface of the rotating belt 60 ([0016]-[0018]), and the supply configuration prevents unnecessary leakage and allows for an amount of the material held by the coating element to be stabilized, where the roll can contain a predetermined amount of the coating material ([0039]-[0040]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the coating wick arrangement of each band device of Noble to use the coating roller arrangement of Nagazoe including a coating roller installed rotatably and with its center axis extending in the up/down direction used as a third rotation axis as a substitution of one known coating arrangement for another yielding predictable results of coating the rotating belt with the coating material. MPEP 2143(I)(B). Furthermore, the coating arrangement of Nagazoe beneficially prevents leakage and allows for an amount of material held by the supply roller to be stabilized and predetermined.
Regarding claim 5, modified Noble discloses the device according to claim 1, and the combination discloses the cut surface smoothing device further comprises a mold release agent supply device (Nagazoe: reservoir 31 of coating device, Fig. 1, [0018]) configured to supply a mold release agent to impregnate the coating rollers (Nagazoe: supplies material to supply hose 22 and thereby to coating roll 13 of supply roller 10 for impregnating the coating roll 13, Fig. 1, [0017]-[0018]; Noble: the coating roller arrangement being used to supply lubricating oil, p. 2, lines 62-67, i.e., a mold release agent), wherein the coating rollers are configured to perform a coating treatment to coat the mold release agent on the outer surfaces of the belts (Nagazoe: coating roll 13 of supply roller 10 is configured to coat the material on the belt 60, Fig. 1, [0019]; Noble: the coating roller arrangement being used to supply lubricating oil to the belt, p. 2, lines 62-67) that easily separates the cut surface of the filament three-dimensional bonded member from the outer surfaces of the belts (Noble: the coated material being the lubricating oil to prevent sticking, p. 2, lines 62-67).
Claim(s) 4 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noble, GB 736697 A, in view of Witlin et al., US 20080020221 A1, and Nagazoe, JP 2013071042 A, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hagiwara et al., JP H01184121 A (Espacenet translation attached and referenced below).
Regarding claim 4, modified Noble discloses the device according to claim 1, and the combination discloses the belts are heated by the heater provided in each of the upstream rollers (heated upstream rollers of the combination that heat band 6 of Noble Fig. 1). The combination does not disclose a blower configured to supply cooling air between the upstream rollers and the downstream rollers inside the belts.
In the analogous art, Hagiwara discloses a device for heat-welding opposing surfaces of a conveyed sheet material by a belt and roller arrangement provided with heating and cooling means (Fig. 1, p. 1, lines 9-11). Hagiwara teaches providing a cooling means on the exit side of an endless belt to cool the discharged product (p. 2, lines 1-11). Hagiwara teaches providing blower fans (7a, 7b, Fig. 1) and cooling rollers (2a, 2b) between heated endless belts (3a, 3b) to cool inside the belts downstream of the heated elements (rollers 1a, 1b, heating elements 6a, 6b) to a curing temperature of the heat-welded product (p. 2, lines 22-28, 37-39). Hagiwara teaches that cooling the heated/sealed product can avoid distortion of the product by hardening/curing the softened state so that it can be discharged in a completely finished state (p. 3, lines 1-13).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the device of Noble to include the cooling arrangement of Hagiwara including a blower configured to supply cooling air between the upstream rollers and the downstream rollers inside the belts so as to provide the capability of cooling and hardening the heated and softened product so that it could be discharged in a completely finished state without risk of further distortion, as taught by Hagiwara.
Regarding claim 13, modified Noble discloses the device according to claim 4, as set forth above, and the combination further discloses the remaining limitations as set forth above for claim 5.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pp. 10-14, filed 11/04/2025, with respect to the claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejections have been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration in view of claim amendments, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Noble, Witlin, and Nagazoe. The combination addresses the requirements of amended claim 1 as set forth above.
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.
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/J.L.G./Examiner, Art Unit 1754
/SUSAN D LEONG/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1754