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 .
Examiner Note
This is a Non-Final Detailed Action in response to application filed on 08 September 2023. The present application claims 1-12, submitted on 08 September 2023 are pending.
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.
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.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goldman (U.S. Pub. No. 2019/0100341) in view of Pace (U.S. Pub. No. 2014/0116004).
Regarding claim 1, Goldman discloses (see Figure 2 and Figure 7) a handheld wrap-dispensing tool (100) for dispensing wrap material from a roll (150) over packages supported on a shipping pallet, also facilitating quick and easy changing of the roll (150), the tool (100) comprising: a pole (110) having a handle end (115), and a locking end having a retaining pin (147; as seen in Figure 7); a lock collar (119) adjustably mounted at a position along the pole (110); a spring (130) mounted along the pole (110) and abutting the lock collar (119), the spring (130) configured to be compressed in accordance with the position of the lock collar (119) along the pole (see Paragraph 0020); a top plate (140) slidably mounted along the pole (110) and abutting the spring (130), also configured to press against a roll of wrap material (150) when the spring (130) is compressed; a bottom cone (145) having a through-slot (as seen in Figure 7 interpreted to be equivalent to the opening permitting the pole to be inserted) and a retention notch perpendicular to the through-slot (see Paragraph 0022).
Goldman discloses all of the elements of the current invention as stated above except for the explicit disclosure of a bottom cone having a through-slot configured to allow passage of a pole having a retaining pin and rotating the pole 90 degrees to seat or unseat the retaining pin in a retention notch.
Pace discloses (see Figure 11A and Figure 12c) a handheld wrap-dispensing tool (10) for dispensing wrap material from a roll (22) over packages supported on a shipping pallet, the tool (10) comprising a pole (12) having a handle end (16), and a locking end (84) having a retaining pin (94), and a bottom cone (26) having a through-slot (84) and a retention mechanism (28) perpendicular to the through-slot (84) configured to allow passage of a pole (12) that includes the retaining pin (94) and rotating the retention mechanism (28) 90 degrees to seat or unseat the retaining pin (94) in a retention notch (see Paragraph 0072).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the applicant's claimed invention, to have modified Goldman to incorporate the disclosure of Pace to include a bottom cone having a through-slot configured to allow passage of a pole having a retaining pin and rotating the pole 90 degrees to seat or unseat the retaining pin in a retention notch. Doing so would enable efficient replacement of rolls of wrapping material with new rolls of wrapping material.
Regarding claim 2, Goldman discloses (see Figure 4) wherein the lock collar (115) includes a set screw (135) configured to be adjustably secured at the position along the pole (see Paragraph 0020).
Regarding claim 3, Goldman discloses wherein the bottom cone (145) has a bottom surface that is configured to create friction between the bottom and the floor so as to prevent rotation of the bottom cone relative to the floor when rotating the pole 90 degrees so as to either seat or unseat the retaining pin in the retention notch to respectively attach or remove the bottom cone from the locking end of the pole so as to change the roll of material.
Regarding claim 4, Goldman discloses (see Figure 2) wherein the bottom cone (145) is configured to stand upright (see Paragraph 0020).
Regarding claim 5, Goldman discloses (see Figure 2) wherein the bottom cone (145) is configured to have a portion that fits within an end of a roll of wrap material (150) when the spring is compressed (see Paragraph 0020).
Regarding claim 6, Pace discloses (see Figure 11D) wherein the bottom cone (26) is a truncated cone (82) of a height that provides clearance to allow pushing the pole (12) towards the bottom cone (26) so as to compress the spring, and then to allow rotating the pole 90 degrees so as to either seat or unseat the retaining pin in the retention notch (see Paragraph 0069).
Regarding claim 7, Goldman discloses (see Figure 2) wherein the pole (110) is a tube having a length and a diameter each configured to accommodate a plurality of various rolls of wrap material (see Paragraph 0017).
Regarding claim 8, Goldman discloses (see Figure 2) wherein the lock collar (119) is configured to be locked along the pole (110) at a specific position in accordance with the weight and stability of a palletized load, thereby creating and maintaining an amount of spring compression force that results in a repeatable wrap force that can provide a required containment force for the palletized load (see Paragraph 0019).
Regarding claim 9, Goldman discloses (see Figure 2) wherein the top plate (140) is configured to have a portion that fits within an end of a roll of wrap material (150) when the spring is compressed (see Paragraph 0023).
Regarding claim 10, Pace discloses (see Figure 11D and Figure 16) wherein the retaining pin (94) is shorter than the inner diameter of a roll of wrap material (as seen in Figure 11D and Figure 16).
Regarding claim 11, Pace discloses (see Figure 11D and Figure 16) wherein the retaining pin (94) is shorter than the inner diameter of a roll of wrap material (as seen in Figure 11D and Figure 16).
Regarding claim 12, Goldman discloses (see Figure 2) wherein the handle end (115) of the pole (110) is covered by a material configured to enhance grip effectiveness and comfort (see Paragraph 0019).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to XAVIER A MADISON whose telephone number is (571)272-7786. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thanh Truong can be reached on (571) 272-4472. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/XAVIER A MADISON/Examiner, Art Unit 3731
/ROBERT F LONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
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