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 .
The amendment filed August 7, 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 13-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 13 now requires the protrusions to extend “along an -r direction from the guide roll surface of the guide roll.” The specification defines the positive radial direction as extending outward from the roll axis and places the protrusion and displacer apices at their radially outermost portions (¶¶ 79, 81, 97, 136). The newly added limitation indicates inward extension, whereas the claimed penetration of a web in the nip and the disclosed working embodiments disclose outward projection. There is no support in the application as filed for inward extension.
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 13-19 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 13 now requires the protrusions to extend “along an -r direction from the guide roll surface of the guide roll.” The specification defines the positive radial direction as extending outward from the roll axis and places the protrusion and displacer apices at their radially outermost portions (¶¶ 79, 81, 97, 136). The newly added limitation indicates inward extension, whereas the claimed penetration of a web in the nip and the disclosed working embodiments disclose outward projection. For the purpose of examination, the protrusions will be considered to be outwardly extending.
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 13-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Curro (US 2002/0039867) in view of Wiwi (US 2007/0062658).
Claim 13: Curro discloses a process for creating particle free regions in a particle loaded fibrous web on an apparatus for continuous operation (abstract), including providing a particle-loaded fibrous web (30, 130; ¶¶ 74, 109) including an aggregation of fibers and a plurality of particles positioned in interfiber interstices of the web or on an x-y-extending surface of the web (30, 130; ¶¶ 74, 90, 109), two web guides (fig. 9), a first web guide being a guide roll exhibiting radial and angular coordinates aligned with a machine direction of the apparatus when the web is in a tangential positioning to the guide roll and a cross-direction perpendicular to the machine direction (fig. 9), the guide roll further including a guide roll surface and a plurality of protrusions (116) positioned on and extending r-directionally from the surface of the roll (fig. 10) and a plurality of displacer tools (protuberances 116) positioned on and extending r-directionally from the surface of the web guide roll (figs. 9-10), the web guides forming a nip between the surface of the guide roll and the further web guide adapted to receive the web and exhibiting a nip width (figs. 9-10); feeding the web into the nip while concurrently rotating the guide roll such that the displacer tools penetrate into the web prior to the protrusions (figs. 9-10), while concurrently rotating the guide roll such that the displacer tools penetrate into the web prior to the protrusions (figs. 9-10, thereby dislocating particles cross-directionally and creating a particle free fibrous region corresponding to an apex of the displacer tools when the apex is in its point of culmination relative to the web (¶¶ 44, 70-78) and the outer layers contain fibers (¶¶ 97, 101), thereby creating a particle-free fibrous region in the web, with no displacement in a -r direction (¶¶ 44, 70-78, figs. 9-10), wherein the displacer tools exhibit a curved leading ridge (fig. 10; protuberances 116; ¶ 106).
Curro is silent as to the curved leading ridge being curved along a radial direction of the guide roll. However, in the same field of endeavor, Wiwi discloses a curved leading transition region 130 between leading sidewall 115 and distal end 110 of a roll protrusion. Figure 6 shows that curvature in the radial side profile. Paragraphs 71-73 describe circular-arc rounding and a planar distal end. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to have rounded the forward sidewall-to-distal-surface transition of Curro’s protuberance according to Wiwi, to obtain the smoother, blunter embossment characteristics that Wiwi associates with rounded transition. This modification is consistent with Curro’s objective of minimizing localized cutting and tearing. The combination retains Curro’s narrow, elongated distal bonding surface while rounding its leading transition.
Claim 14: Curro discloses the web including thermoplastic material and creating meltfusion bonding in the particle free region by applying heat energy (¶¶ 53, 65, 67, 103).
Claim 15: Curro discloses applying a hot melt adhesive to the particle free regions (Table 1).
Claim 16: Curro discloses the web including non-thermoplastic material (¶ 46).
Claim 17: Curro discloses the web including sub-webs (figs. 9-10; ¶¶ 70-78).
Claims 18-19: Curro discloses the web including being liquid absorbing and superabsorbent polymer particles (¶ 90).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed March 18, 2026 have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LARRY THROWER whose telephone number is (571)270-5517. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm MT M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Susan Leong can be reached at 571-270-1487. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LARRY W THROWER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1754
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