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 .
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required: Claim 4 recites the limitation “a rubber band”, however there is no rubber band disclosed in the specification.
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 1-11 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.
Regarding claim 1, the phrase "preferably" in line 9 renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Regarding Claim 1, the phrase “the conveyor belt” in lines 12 and 26 renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear. It is unclear whether the phrase refers to new/different conveyor belt or the aforementioned “two conveyor belts interconnected” or “a conveyor constructed on a base” .
Claim 2 recites the limitation "the conveyor belts external to the equipment" in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Regarding Claims 3 and 4 , the phrase “the conveyor belt” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear. It is unclear whether the phrase refers to new/different conveyor belt or the aforementioned “two conveyor belts interconnected” or “a conveyor constructed on a base” .
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.
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 1-6 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Que (Chinese Patent Application CN208930666U) in view of Zhang (Chinese Patent Application CN111620077A), Novak (United States Patent US3339702A) and Parsons (European Patent Application EP1483153A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Que discloses An equipment for stamping barcodes on separate hydraulic connections, with automated positioning for counting, stamping and packaging parts, (Page 1, lines 14-15: "The invention relates to the technical field of PVC pipe production and processing, in particular to an intelligent production line of fully automatic PVC pipes.")comprising two conveyor belts interconnected,(Figure 1: Feeding machine 1) on the conveyor belt position sensors are provided to determine which side the part should tip over by means of pneumatic tippers, each tipper being based on a set of double-acting cylinders driven with a double-solenoid valve; a reducer guide with automatic mechanism controlled by a pneumatic cylinder, configured in the preset; the pneumatic tippers present height adjustment and selection of fin side, a height adjustment movement being made through the pneumatic cylinder to determine which gauge of the parts will be used by placing fins to work at a correct height to perform the lateral tipping, adjusted in the preset; the selection of which side of the part must tip is made by alternating which side the fin of the tippers will be used by making a controlled obstruction of a path where the part passes through the fin, selected by means of the pneumatic cylinder mounted horizontally, and its stroke limits are used for a system to recognize a selected position of the fins; bulkheads, which allow the parts to first hit an upper bulkhead, which will cause it to be thrown to the left by a lower bulkhead to rotate and tip it laterally; passive turning system formed by bulkheads and the movement of the conveyor belt that forces the part to rotate 180°, all with the same positioning for stamping;(Pages 3-4, lines 176-180: "and the side turning device is a rollover frame on one side of the cutting device a connecting shaft fixed on the rollover frame, a side turn plate which is set on the connecting shaft and hinged with the rollover frame, and a third cylinder connected to the other end of the side turn plate, and the side turn plate is opened U-shaped slot, U-shaped slot is equipped with a weight sensor, and the side-turning frame is provided with an infrared scanning detector and a printer.")a pair of sensors, which determine whether the part has been positioned correctly, and can be removed from a line in case of failure in positioning (Page 2, lines 72-75: "The weight sensor is configured to measure the weight of the PVC pipe after cutting and send information to the industrial computer, and the infrared scanning detector is configured to detect the quality of the PVC pipe after cutting and send information to the industrial computer, The IPC integrates and sends the information to the printer and the PVC pipe is coded by the printer.")stamping of a production and traceability information by a laser or ink-jet equipment; and packaging machine that prints the traceability code in the formation of a parts package.(Figure 1: Inkjet printer 8).
However, Que does not disclose a receiver consisting of an inclined tray coupled to the conveyor belts that directs parts to a longitudinal positioner, which contains gutters that direct the parts to a set of helical rollers equipped with helical gears that rotate in opposite directions; wherein the rollers move in opposite directions forcing the parts to rotate on their axis and having their lateral movement limited by two lateral limiters; a conveyor is constructed on a base with rubber straps that has motorization similar to the conveyor belts, and transports the parts to two rotary tippers, preferably equipped with rods on cardinal and collateral axes that touch the parts at their upper end; a pair of sensors, a first sensor of contact with the part and a sensor after to prevent back up when tipping; by means of an air nozzle, where the part goes back to the start of a cycle; a motor shaft connected to a side guide that restricts the positioning, forcing the parts to align in the direction of the length of a conveyor.
Zhang discloses a similar conveying equipment comprising a receiver consisting of an inclined tray coupled to the conveyor belts that directs parts to a longitudinal positioner, which contains gutters that direct the parts(Figure 6: Guide plate 150).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Que to include the receiver of Zhang. The motivation for the modification would have been to allow for a material sorting equipment that can move materials from one process to another, while arranging materials to not be in a scattered state (Page 1, lines 19-27).
Novak discloses a similar device for orienting objects comprising directing objects to a set of helical rollers equipped with helical gears that rotate in opposite directions; wherein the rollers move in opposite directions forcing the parts to rotate on their axis and having their lateral movement limited by two lateral limiters; (Figure 7: Timing screw mechanism)a conveyor is constructed on a base with rubber straps that has motorization similar to the conveyor belts, (Figure 1B: Shows bottles 33 conveyed along belt 52 towards a filling machine).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Que to include the helical rollers of Novak. The motivation for the modification would have been to allow for the aligning of objects in a particular position in order to receive further processing (Column 1, lines 18-43).
Parsons discloses a similar placement apparatus comprising a conveyor that transports the parts to two rotary tippers, preferably equipped with rods on cardinal and collateral axes that touch the parts at their upper end; (Figure 1: Conveyor 60 with flights 62)a pair of sensors, a first sensor of contact with the part and a sensor after to prevent back up when tipping;(Column 5, lines 25-30: "A photocell may be provided on each accumulation track to determine when the accumulation track requires further product, and the corresponding further track may be vibrated when the photocell indicates that the accumulation track requires further product.")by means of an air nozzle, where the part goes back to the start of a cycle;(Figure 1: Air jet unit 44, wherein it would be an obvious possible modification to change the finger 78 to be an air nozzle to push the piece onto the recycle conveyor 16)a motor shaft connected to a side guide that restricts the positioning, forcing the parts to align in the direction of the length of a conveyor; (Figure 1: Tracks 10 and 30).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Que to include the rotary tippers of Parsons. The motivation for the modification would have been to allow for an apparatus that can deliver products from a hopper to further processing at high speeds, wherein products are aligned throughout the movement process without the need for pre-alignment (Column 1, lines 7-45).
Regarding Claim 2, Que in view of Zhang, Novak and Parsons discloses the equipment according to claim 1, as seen above. Parsons further discloses wherein the conveyor belts external to the equipment have programmable speed adjustment and an intermittent mode, which determines the time each conveyor belt is turned on and off separately.(Column 9, lines 30-36: "A series of mould trays 66 with cavities 68 are driven by conveyor 64 past the ends 70 of the feed guides 50 synchronously with the motion of product conveyor 60. The speed and relative position of the product conveyor 60 and mould conveyor 64 can be fine tuned to align the product pieces 1 with the cavities 68 in the mould trays.")
Regarding Claim 3, Que in view of Zhang, Novak and Parsons discloses the equipment according to claim 1, as seen above. Parsons further discloses wherein the conveyor belt is constructed based on a belt equipped with rubber strips, pulled by a geared motor and drive with frequency inverter, and the structure of the conveyor belt is made of steel and rolling shafts; and the conveyor belt is composed of a reservoir positioned below a gate, interconnected to the slide coupled to the conveyor belt.(Column 6, lines 43-45: "The first conveyor 16 is a recycle conveyor for accepting any excess product taken out of the storage hopper that does not fall onto the carrier track 10. Finger 78 is provided to remove misoriented product pieces from the first tracks 10, and tip them onto recycle conveyor 16. A waste conveyor 18 is arranged under a slot 20 in the carrier tracks.")
Regarding Claim 4, Que in view of Zhang, Novak and Parsons discloses the equipment according to claim 1, as seen above. Parsons further discloses wherein the conveyor belt is constructed based on a belt equipped with a smooth rubber strap, pulled by a geared motor and drive with frequency inverter, and the structure of the conveyor belt is made of steel and rolling shafts; and also contains rubber strips welded to a rubber band.(Column 6, lines 43-45: "The first conveyor 16 is a recycle conveyor for accepting any excess product taken out of the storage hopper that does not fall onto the carrier track 10. Finger 78 is provided to remove misoriented product pieces from the first tracks 10, and tip them onto recycle conveyor 16. A waste conveyor 18 is arranged under a slot 20 in the carrier tracks.", wherein a conveyor belt made of steel and shafts with rubber strips is merely a common design choice in the art)
Regarding Claim 5, Que in view of Zhang, Novak and Parsons discloses the equipment according to claim 1, as seen above. Parsons further discloses wherein the receiver is replaced by a meter coupled to an electromagnetic vibrator that provides a continuous and controlled movement.(Column 6, lines 33-40: "The first feed section 2 includes a storage hopper 3 for accepting product pieces. The storage hopper 3 is mounted on vibrating panel 6 for shaking product pieces out through outlet 8 of the storage hopper onto a plurality of carrier tracks arranged in parallel sloping downwards from an inlet end 12 adjacent to the hopper to an outlet end 14. The carrier tracks 10 have a v-shaped cross section as shown.")
Regarding Claim 6, Que in view of Zhang, Novak and Parsons discloses the equipment according to claim 1, as seen above. Novak further discloses wherein the helical rollers to be constructed of polymeric material and driven by stepper motors with constant speed; and the rollers along with the lateral limiters, have linear movement mechanism for each side of the conveyor, being adjusted according to the gauge of the parts; and their movement to be determined by electronic control and driven by stepper motors and trapezoidal spindles.(Columns 5-6, lines 47-5: "FIG. 7 shows another form of timing screw mechanism to erect the bottles to a filling position. As may be seen, the bottles 33 approach from the left and are carried along on the conveyor belt 52 in the direction of the arrow 91. Instead of a single timing screw 57, as described in connection with FIG. 1, FIG. 7 shows two timing screws 157 and 157a which are rotated in opposite directions by a motor (not shown). As the bottles 33 approach the timing screws, they are aligned end-to-end and the neck of each bottle faces in the opposite direction from the arrow 91. The spacing between the root diameters of the timing screws is approximately equal to, or slightly greater than, the -diameter of each of the bottles 33. An almost helical thread 92 is formed upon the root diameter of the screw 157 and a similar thread 92a is formed upon the screw 157a and, as may be seen, the width of the outside diameters of the threads 92 and 92a on each of the screws 157 and 157a increases toward the right end of the screws. The distance along the root diameter between the forward surface 93 and the rear surface 94 of the thread 92 and the corresponding surfaces 93a and 94a of the thread 92a is approximately equal to the length of the main portion of each of the bottles 33 between the shoulder and the bottom of the bottle. As he bottle proceeds along the first few turns of the screws 157 and 157a, they are simply spaced apart but in the position indicated by the bottle 33f, the distance between the surfaces 93 and 94 and the surfaces 93a and 94a decreases and the outside diameter increases so that the bottle is 6 forced to tilt toward an upright position. This manipulation of the bottle continues until, as indicated by the position of the bottle 33g, the bottle is completely upright, in which position it emerges from between the screws 157 and 157a and proceeds along the belt 52.")
Regarding Claim 8, Que in view of Zhang, Novak and Parsons discloses the equipment according to claim 1, as seen above. Que further discloses wherein the laser stamper has a stamping area, which can be from 100x100 mm up to 300x300 mm, depending on focus lens.(Figure 1: Inkjet printer 8, wherein the size of the print is dependent on the size of the pipes)
Regarding Claim 9, Que in view of Zhang, Novak and Parsons discloses the equipment according to claim 1, as seen above. Que further discloses wherein an Ink-jet stamper, have the positioning of a fixed stamping, requiring an auxiliary horizontal axis, for a correct positioning of a stamping head in relation to the trajectory of the part on the conveyor.(Figure 1: Inkjet printer 8)
Regarding Claim 10, Que in view of Zhang, Novak and Parsons discloses the equipment according to claim 1, as seen above. Parsons further discloses wherein the use of the laser as an ink-jet requires compensation of the height of a stamper in relation to the part, by means of a linear axis mounted vertically, driven with stepper motors and referenced from the height of the conveyor.(Page 4, lines 200-206: "The cutting, after the cutting, the first cylinder and the second cylinder are lifted, the tractor pulls the subsequent PVC pipe to push the cut PVC to the side flap, the PVC pipe falls into the U-shaped groove, the weight sensor detects the weight, the infrared The scanning detector detects the quality and sends the data to the industrial computer. The industrial computer sends a signal to the inkjet printer according to the data, and controls the inkjet printer to spray the PVC pipe. After the inkjetting is finished, the third cylinder shrinks and drives the side flap. Tilt so that the PVC tubing on the side flaps falls onto the tube stacker.")
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7 and 11 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding Claim 7, there is no prior art alone or in combination that included the combination of recited limitations in Claims 1 and 7. The art alone or in combination did not teach wherein the rotating tippers have the height determined in an electronic control, with a height variation being performed by a lifting mechanism with the stepper motor and a spindle with trapezoidal thread. The closest prior art of record Parsons (European Patent Application EP1483153A1) teaches a similar placement apparatus with a storage hopper, a carrier, and a product conveyor with rotary tippers to push products into proper placement, but fails to teach wherein the rotating tippers have the height determined in an electronic control, with a height variation being performed by a lifting mechanism with the stepper motor and a spindle with trapezoidal thread. Additionally, no other references, or reasonable combination thereof, could be found which disclose or suggest these features in combination with other limitations in claims.
Regarding Claim 11, there is no prior art alone or in combination that included the combination of recited limitations in Claims 1 and 11. The art alone or in combination did not teach wherein the equipment is stamped with the part in motion, having this travel speed informed to a stamper by means of an encoder directly coupled to the conveyor. The closest prior art of record Que (Chinese Patent Application CN208930666U) teaches a similar production line comprising a feeding machine, extruding machine, side turning device, detector and printer, but fails to teach wherein the equipment is stamped with the part in motion, having this travel speed informed to a stamper by means of an encoder directly coupled to the conveyor. Additionally, no other references, or reasonable combination thereof, could be found which disclose or suggest these features in combination with other limitations in claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
United States Patent Application US 2001/0032932 A1 (Heinz, Focke): Heinz teaches a similar process and apparatus for printing equipment comprising a loading area, printing area, disposal area, and rotation are, as seen in Figure 1.
International Patent Application WO 2024/156885 A1 (Wagenaar, Richard): Wagenaar teaches a similar conveying and orienting equipment comprising a product conveyor, a roller mechanism, and a handling system with a sensor as seen in Figure 1a.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABBY ALLURA JORGENSEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7124. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5:30.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gene Crawford can be reached at (571) 272-6911. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ABBY A JORGENSEN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3651
/GENE O CRAWFORD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3651