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 .
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.
Claim(s) 8 & 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticfipated by Kenney (US 8,365,508).
With respect to claim 8, Kenney discloses-
a carrying device 116 that comprises an arm 108, e.g. support part, and a band 20, e.g. strap, that is adapted to be placed around a stack 10 on a lower face thereof;
a rotatably mounted strap storage spool 106 is arranged on an upper side of support part 108 (indicated generally upper end of arm 108 in FIG. 1D) , from which spool a strap is adapted to be drawn and onto which a strap is adapted to be wound; and
a gripping finger 404, e.g. gripping device, via which a strap is gripped and drawn from a strap storage spool and placed around a stack on its lower face and secured in a releasable manner.
With respect to claim 9, Kenney discloses a drive device 130.
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.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kenney in view of Gamberini (US 6,658,819).
Kenney does not disclose a compression device. In combination with a stacking gripping strapper Gamberini discloses an upper pressing plate 12, e.g. compression device, for compressing a strapped stack so that there are "no empty spaces, which could cause undesired loosening of the" strapping during transport. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the invention of Kenney to include a compression device, as taught by Gamberini, so that the banded articles have no empty spaces which could cause undesired loosening of the strap.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-7 are allowed. And, claims 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY W ADAMS whose telephone number is (571)272-8101. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri, 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Saul Rodriguez can be reached at (571)272-7097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GREGORY W ADAMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit
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