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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 15 December 2025 has been entered.
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.
Claims 10-16 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0168120 to Wessling et al. (hereafter Wessling) and U.S. Patent No. 6,213,645 to Beer (hereinafter Beer).
Regarding claim 10, Wessling discloses an enclosure (1) comprising:
a front wall (4), a back wall (5), a first lateral side wall (7), and a second lateral side wall (26), the front wall opposing the back wall, the first lateral side wall opposing the second lateral side wall, wherein the front wall, the back wall, the first lateral side wall, and the second lateral side wall of the enclosure are formed from a flexible material;
reclosable fastener strips (9 and 18) coupled to an interior portion (11) of the front wall, the back wall, the first lateral side wall, and the second lateral side wall, ends of the reclosable fastener strips (9 and 18) are spaced-apart a predetermined distance (Figs. 4 and 7);
an upper end (2) openable by separating the reclosable fastener strips; and
corners (15 and 16) positioned between the front wall, the back wall, the first lateral side wall, and the second lateral side wall (Figs. 4 and 7).
the corners formed from the predetermined distance between the reclosable fastener strips, wherein the reclosable fastener strips are spaced apart from each other by the corners (Figs. 4 and 7).
Wessling discloses the hook-and-loop closure strips (9) are fastened to the inside of both bag walls (4 and 5) to occupy virtually the entire interior width of the bag and, at the ends of the closure strips, they are drawn into the weld seams (15 and 16), and fused to the material of the bag walls (4 and 5) and side pleats (7; paragraph [0017]) Wessling further recites “If such fusion into the seams 15 and 16 presents difficulties because, for example, of a higher melting point of the plastic used in the hook-and-loop strips, the hook-and-loop strips 9 can terminate at a short distance from the seams 15 and 16” (Paragraph [0017], 2nd sentence thereof). Wessling further discloses the hook-and-loop strips (18) extend over substantially the entire width of the side pleats (7), across the center creases (12) to the lateral weld seams (15 and 16), but do not reach into them (paragraph [0020]). Therefore, the lateral weld seam (15 and 16) define a predetermined distance between the ends of hook-and-loop closure strips (9 and 18), which meets the recitation
“ reclosable fastener strips coupled to an interior portion of the front wall, the back wall, the first lateral side wall, and the second lateral side wall, ends of the reclosable fastener strips that are next to each other spaced-apart from each other by a predetermined distance to form gaps between the fastener strips…and
The sealed corners formed from sections of the front wall, the back wall, the first lateral side wall, and the second lateral side wall that are located within the gaps and between the ends of the fastener strips that are next to each other, and that are sealed to each other without capturing any of the ends of the reclosable fastener strips within any of the sealed corners” Noting Wessling discloses having both portions 9 and 18 of material stop short of the corner seals (Noting the 2nd sentence of Paragraph 0017 as an alternative to having the material extend into the seam as stated in the first sentence of Paragraph 0017).
Wessling does not specifically disclose the front, back, and lateral side walls formed from a single web of flexible material having sealed corners.
Beer demonstrates a similarly configured package formed from a single web of material having a front, rear, and sides formed by folded and sealed corners (noting 34A/38A/40A).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to take the device of Wessling and use the teaching of Beer and form the package out of a single web of flexible material having folded and sealed corners rather than separate webs sealed together because such a change would require a the maker to weigh the pros and cons of two well-known corner/seam forming structures.
Regarding claim 11, modified Wessling discloses the reclosable fastener strips are heat sealed to the interior portion (paragraph [0015]).
Regarding claim 12, modified Wessling discloses the reclosable fastener strips include a self-mating zipper assembly (paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 13, modified Wessling discloses the reclosable fastener strips include one or more male locking portions (hooks; paragraph [0007]) and one or more female locking portions (tangled surface; paragraph [0007]).
Regarding claim 14, modified Wessling discloses as discussed above regarding claim 13. Wessling further discloses any appropriate hook-and-loop closure strips available commercially can be used, both in the classical mode, in which one strip is provided with small hooks on its attaching surface, which hook into the tangled surface of the other strip (paragraph [0007]), and a reclosing device (8) is formed near the top end between the two bag walls (4 and 5) and comprises two hook-and-loop strips (9) made of weldable material like a thermoplastic film, of which the one is welded or heat-sealed or, if desired, also cemented to the front wall of the bag and the other is affixed to the back wall (paragraph [0015]). Therefore, the hook-and-loop strips attached to the front and back walls of the Wessling enclosure, as discussed above, meets the recitation “wherein the one or more male locking portions are configured to be attached to the front wall and the one or more female locking portions are configured to be attached to the back wall.”
Regarding claim 15, modified Wessling discloses the first and second lateral side walls are gusseted side walls (7) are gusseted walls (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 16, modified Wessling discloses the claimed invention, especially a sealed bottom end made in any practical manner (paragraph [0013]). However, Wessling does not disclose the sealed bottom end being a bottom wall connected to the front wall, the back wall, and the first and second lateral side walls.
Beer further teaches that it is known in the art to provide a sealed bottom end as a bottom wall connected to a front wall, a back wall, and first and second lateral side walls in an analogous enclosure (Figs. 1 and 6).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the sealed bottom end as a bottom wall connected to the front wall, the back wall, and the first and second lateral side walls in the Wessling enclosure, as in Beer, in order to form the enclosure into the shape of a box.
Regarding claim 21, modified Wessling discloses the claimed invention, especially gaps between the ends of the reclosable fastener strips that are next to each other, as discussed above. However, Wessling does not disclose the gap being between one and fifteen millimeters long.
Beer further teaches that it is known in the art to provide gaps that are between one and fifteen millimeters long (5 millimeters) between ends of fastener strips (48) that are next to each other in an analogous enclosure (column 5, lines 7-24).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make each of the gaps between one and fifteen millimeters long between the ends of the reclosable fastener strips that are next to each other in the Wessling enclosure, as in Beer, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component; in this case the component being each gap between the ends of the fastener strips. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 22, modified Wessling discloses no part of any of the reclosable fastener strip (18) extends into any of the gaps or the corners (15 and 16) formed in the gaps because the hook-and-loop strips (18) extend over substantially the entire width of the side pleats (7), across the center creases (12) to the lateral weld seams (15 and 16), but do not reach into them (paragraph [0020]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 15 December 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Wessling fails to teach or disclose an enclosure formed from a single web of material folded in gaps between ends of zipper assemblies, where the ends of the zipper assemblies are not captured within the sealed corners of the gaps. Examiner notes that Wessling is not relied on to teach the single web of material including folded and sealed corners. Regarding the limitation of the zipper assemblies are not captured within sealed corners, Examiner notes that Wessling recites “As it can be seen especially in FIGS. 2 to 6, the hook-and-loop closure strips 9 fastened to the inside of both bag walls 4 and 5 occupy virtually the entire interior width of the bag and, at the ends, they are drawn into the weld seams 15, 16, and fused to the material of the bag walls 4 and 5 and side pleats 7 by the welding operation that is performed. If such fusion into the seams 15 and 16 presents difficulties because, for example, of a higher melting point of the plastic used in the hook-and-loop strips, the hook-and-loop strips 9 can terminate at a short distance from the seams 15 and 16” (Paragraph [0017]) as well as “The hook-and-loop strips 18 extend over substantially the entire width of the side pleats 7, across the center creases 12 to the lateral weld seams 15 and 16, but do not reach into them” (Paragraph [0020]). Thereby Wessling contemplates both sets of zipper material stopping short of the corner seams and forming a gap therebetween. Wessling is considered to meet all of the limitations of claim 1 except for the device formed from a single web of flexible material having sealed corners. To this degree Beer is relied on to teach the ability to form a package from a single web of material as well as demonstrating folded and sealed corners.
Conclusion
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/M.T.T./Examiner, Art Unit 3734
/NATHAN J NEWHOUSE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3734