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
Amendments to the specification, abstract, and claims received on November 25th, 2025 have been entered. Claims 1-5 and 8-13 have been amended. Objections to the specification, and abstract filed on August 28th, 2025 have been withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed November 25th, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant argues that Petri discloses that the second reel 2’ is stationary when it reaches the unwinding station and does not rotate as it reaches the unwind station S1. The examiner agrees that Petri’s paragraphs 27-28 describe a halt in rotation of the reel 2’. However, the examiner emphasizes that Petri’s paragraphs 27-28 and 30 merely summarizes the transition from one station to the next and does not go into detail of the replacement of the reels. The applicant’s claimed invention requires that “in said joining area the second web material is guided on a guide surface which guides it towards said joining area, wherein the second parent reel is put into rotation about the respective longitudinal axis before the completion of said replacement". The examiner points to the joining and cutting process, described in Petri’s paragraphs 31-34. The examiner further emphasizes the following paragraphs:
“[0033] The tail end "LC "and the head end "LT" of the webs supplied respectively by the reels 2 and 2' overlap while they are both moving, that is directed towards the exit or output of the unwinder. More in particular, as may be seen in the detail in FIG. 9, said overlap begins along the surface of the reel 2', that is right next to it.
[0034] The control of the cutting means 28 may be programmed to cut the web of the finishing reel 2 in a stage in time after that of said overlap and also in a previous phase (for example with relation to the length of the plane 13, that is to say the distance between the stations S1 and S2). In the first case, said overlap takes place while both the reels 2 and 2' are rotating about their respective axes. In the second case, said overlap takes place while only the reel 2' is rotating, the reel 2 being stopped in the station S2 due to cutting of the respective web and, therefore, not being subject to any action that determines its rotation.”
The instance wherein the tail ends are joined and cut is when it is understood that the transfer has been completed. Therefore, Petri discloses the tail ends of the parent reels overlapping “while they are both moving” and discloses the cutting “in a stage in time after that of said overlap and also in a previous phase” indicating a completion of the replacement, and further discloses that either both the parent reels 2, 2’ or only the second reel 2’ is/are in rotation during the joining and cutting phase and thus the parent reel is in rotation before the completion of the replacement.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-4, 6, 8-10, and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Petri (US 2009/0114757 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Petri discloses method for unwinding web materials from two corresponding parent reels (Fig. 1, reels 2, 2’), wherein a first parent reel in a depletion phase is replaced by a second parent reel which takes the place of the first parent reel at the end of the replacement, wherein during said replacement a first and a second web material are unwound from both parent reels, wherein the first parent reel and the second parent reels have respective longitudinal axes (Pg. 3, claim 1), wherein before the completion of said replacement the first web material is joined to the second web material (Pg. 3 ¶33 & Pg. 4, claim 5 stating that the joining of the tail portions of the new reel 2’ and the nearly empty reel 2 occurs during the substitution phase indicating that the joining of the tails happens before the complete replacement of the reel) and then the first web material is cut (Pg. 3, ¶34), wherein the joining of said web materials is preceded by a step of inserting the second web material in an area where the two web materials are joined, wherein during the step of inserting the second web material in said joining area the second web material is guided on a guide surface which guides it towards said joining area, wherein the second parent reel is put into rotation about the respective longitudinal axis before the completion of said replacement (Pg.3 ¶¶33-34) and, in said insertion step, the second web material adheres pneumatically to said guide surface (Pg. 3, ¶36 describing adhesion via suction plane).
Regarding claim 2, Petri discloses before carrying out said replacement, the second parent reel is placed in a waiting and temporary unwinding position above another position occupied by the first parent reel (Pg. 2, ¶24).
Regarding claim 3, Petri discloses the first parent reel is rotated by a motorized belt acting on it by contact in a position occupied by the first parent reel (Pg. 2, ¶25).
Regarding claim 4, Petri discloses the guide surface consists of motorized belts which, while guiding the second web material towards said joining area, cause the rotation of the second parent reel around the respective longitudinal axis (Pg. 3, ¶36).
Regarding claim 6, Petri discloses said web- like materials are made of paper (Pg. 1, ¶1).
Regarding claim 8, Petri discloses an unwinder configured for unwinding web materials from respective parent reels comprising: a structure on which support members adapted to support a first parent reel and a second parent reel in different positions are formed (Pg. 2, ¶20), said support members being configured for supporting the parent reels during rotation of the same about respective longitudinal axes (Pg. 2, ¶26), motorized dragging means configured to control the rotation of said parent reels with a predetermined angular speed around the respective longitudinal axes (Pg. 2, ¶23), joining means for joining together the web materials unwound from the parent reels when one of them, in a phase of depletion, must be replaced with the other, means for transferring a parent reel of the parent reels from a waiting position to an operating position when the diameter of the parent reel arranged in the operating position reaches a predetermined minimum value (Pg. 3, ¶36), means for transferring the parent reel from the operating position to a removal position when the other parent reel is transferred from the waiting position to the operating position, a guide surface configured to guide the web unwound from the reel of the waiting position towards said joining means, pneumatic means that can be activated to produce, on the web material unwound from the reel of the waiting position, a pressure or suction directed towards the guide surface while the latter guides it towards the joining means (Pg. 3, ¶¶36-37), wherein the motorized dragging means drag into rotation the parent reel of the waiting position when the parent reel of the waiting position is transferred from the waiting position to the operative position (Pg. 3, ¶¶33-34).
Regarding claim 9, Petri discloses said guide surface is a movable surface supported by an arm controlled to arrange the guide surface in contact with the reel of the waiting position to drag the reel of the waiting position into rotation around the respective longitudinal axis (Pg. 2, ¶¶20, 26).
Regarding claim 10, Petri discloses said positions are formed by concave supports with the concavity facing upwards, a support is formed on a carriage which can be moved alternatively between the waiting position and the operating position, and a support is formed on another carriage which can be moved alternately between the removal position and the operating position (Fig. 3, shaped part 12).
Regarding claim 12, Petri discloses said means for joining the web-like materials comprise a ply-bonding unit (Pg. 4, claim 7).
Regarding claim 13, Petri discloses comprising cutting means suitable for cutting the web material unwound from the reel which occupies the operating position (Pg. 3, ¶34).
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.
Claims 5 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Petri (US 2009/0114757 A1), in view of Gelli (US 2008/0258001 A1).
Regarding claims 5 and 11, Petri discloses characterized in that the adhesion of the second web material to the guide surface is carried out by means of compressed air (Pg. 3, ¶36), but fails to disclose wherein the compressed air is supplied via nozzles. However, Gelli teaches wherein the compressed air is supplied by nozzles oriented towards said surface or by suction operated through the guide surface by means of a suction box (Pg. 4-5, ¶53). Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the compressed air being supplied by nozzles to the guide surface to provide precise gripping and movement of the web material.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Petri (US 2009/0114757 A1), in view of Matsuo (US 2009/0283504 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Petri discloses wherein the web materials are paper or other materials in web form (Pg.1, ¶1) but does not necessarily specify the web material being non-woven fabrics. However, Matsuo teaches said web- like materials are non-woven fabric webs (Pg. 3, ¶54). Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated nonwoven fabric webs into the unwinding machine as it is known in the art that unwinding mechanisms, such as the one described by the applicant, may be used for any web-like material such as nonwoven fabrics.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERMIA E MELIKA whose telephone number is (571)270-5162. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Victoria P. Augustine can be reached at (313) 446-4858. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERMIA E. MELIKA/ Examiner, Art Unit 3654
/ANNA M MOMPER/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3619