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 .
Election/Restriction
Applicant’s election of Invention I is acknowledged. Because Applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the Requirement for Restriction, the election has been treated as an election without traverse. MPEP § 818.01(a). Claims 1-15 are pending. Claims 8-15 are withdrawn from further consideration under 37 C.F.R. § 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed on 12/28/2023 fails to comply with 37 C.F.R. § 1.98(a)(3)(i) because it does not include a concise explanation of the relevance, as it is presently understood by the individual designated in 37 C.F.R. § 1.56(c) most knowledgeable about the content of the information, of each reference listed that is not in the English language. Specifically, the included translation of the indicated reference is for the counterpart application publication and not the reference itself. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
The information disclosure statement filed on 04/28/2025 fails to comply with 37 C.F.R. § 1.98(a)(3)(i) because it does not include a concise explanation of the relevance, as it is presently understood by the individual designated in 37 C.F.R. § 1.56(c) most knowledgeable about the content of the information, of each reference listed that is not in the English language. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 C.F.R. § 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings, specifically Figs. 1-9, are objected to under 37 C.F.R. § 1.84(p)(3). Numbers, letters, and reference characters must measure at least 0.32cm (1/8in) in height.
The drawings are objected to because Figs. 1-2 and 6 are low resolution, dithered, and in grayscale/halftones, rendering them visually unclear. In accordance with 37 C.F.R. § 1.84(a)(1), black and white drawings are normally required; India ink, or its equivalent that secures solid black lines, must be used for drawings. Every line, number, and letter must be durable, clean, black, sufficiently dense and dark, and uniformly thick and well-defined, and the weight of all lines and letters must be heavy enough to permit adequate reproduction. 37 C.F.R. § 1.84(l). Moreover, the clarity of the drawings must be sufficient for clear reproduction to two-thirds size. 37 C.F.R. § 1.84(k). For examples of acceptable drawing clarity and quality, see US 20220362902 A1, US 20230076152 A1, US 20230286103 A1, and US 20240009795 A1. Examiner suggests outputting and resubmitting the drawings as vector graphics instead of raster images (bitmap) and uploading them to USPTO Patent Center as “Drawings-other than black and white line drawings”, which should cause the filed image file to be stored in the SCORE database without any image conversion.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 C.F.R. § 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” in compliance with 37 C.F.R. § 1.121(d). No new matter should be entered. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, Applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it uses the phrase “according to one example of the present invention”, which is a phrase that can be implied. Correction is required. MPEP § 608.01(b). No new matter should be entered.
The amended statement of incorporation by reference to International Application No. PCT/KR2022/013746 and Korean Application No. 10-2021-0122831 (12/28/2023 Preliminary Amendment at 2) is ineffective because it was added on the date of entry into the U.S. national phase, which is after the filing date of this application. The filing date of this U.S. national stage application is the filing date of the associated international application, which is 09/15/2022. MPEP § 1893.03(b). Thus, the specification amendment of 12/28/2023 is new matter. MPEP § 608.01(p)(I)(B). To be clear, the objection is not to the priority claim; the objection is only with respect to the incorporation-by-reference statement. Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office action.
Claim Objections
Claims 5 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“wherein each knife” (claim 5, lines 1-2) should be changed to --wherein the at least one knife is a plurality of knives, wherein each knife of the plurality of knives-- (for clarity).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. § 102
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.
Zhuang
Claims 1-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20210131126 A1 (“Zhuang”).
Regarding claim 1, Zhuang discloses:
A roll cleaning device (Figs. 1-8, device as shown in Fig. 1 is capable of cleaning a roll; Examiner notes that this limitation includes a recitation of intended use. A recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. In re Schreiber, 128 F.3d 1473, 1477 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (“It is well settled that the recitation of a new intended use for an old product does not make a claim to that old product patentable.”); MPEP § 2111.02(II)), comprising:
at least one knife (Figs. 1-8, knives 33, 43);
a cleaning part configured to surround a target roll and configured to contact an outer circumferential surface of the target roll on which foreign substances are present (Figs. 1-8; ¶ 0030, cleaning parts 3 and 4, including knives 33, 43 are configured to surround a roll (e.g., a cylindrical roll) and contact the outer circumferential surface of the roll in order to clean the outer circumferential surface of the roll);
and an operating part, connected to the cleaning part, the operating part configured to move the at least one knife in a circumferential direction along the outer circumferential surface of the target roll (Figs. 1-8; ¶ 0032, operating part including motor 6 is connected to cleaning parts 3 and 4 in order to rotate knives 33, 43 circumferentially around the circumferential surface of the roll).
Regarding claim 2, Zhuang discloses the roll cleaning device of claim 1 as applied above and further discloses:
wherein the cleaning part comprises:
a cleaning body configured to surround the target roll (Figs. 1-8, cleaning parts 3 and 4 include cleaning bodies 12 configured to surround the roll);
a rotary gear on which the at least one knife is mounted, the rotary gear disposed on the cleaning body, the rotary gear being rotatably mounted onto the cleaning body, each of the at least one knife being disposed along an inner circumferential surface of the cleaning body facing the target roll (Figs. 1-8; ¶¶ 0030-0032, knives 33, 43 are mounted on the rotary gears 35, 45 respectively, which are disposed and rotatably mounted on bodies 12, knives 33, 43 are disposed along the inner circumferential surface of cleaning bodies 12 and face the roll);
and a driving gear gear-coupled to the rotary gear, the driving gear coupled to an operating shaft that is connected to an operating part, the operating shaft configured to transmit rotational force from the operating part to the rotary gear (Figs. 1-8; ¶ 0032, driving gears 131, 132 are coupled to rotary gears 35, 45 respectively, and are coupled to shaft 13, which is connected to motor 6 is configured to transmit rotational force from the motor 6 to the rotary gears 35, 45).
Regarding claim 3, Zhuang discloses the roll cleaning device of claim 2 as applied above and further discloses wherein the at least one knife protrudes toward the target roll and extends within a movement passage defined within the inner circumferential surface of the cleaning body (Figs. 4-5; ¶ 0031, knives 33, 43 protrude towards the roll and extends within movement passage 31, 41, which is within the inner circumferential surface of cleaning bodies 12).
Regarding claim 4, Zhuang discloses the roll cleaning device of claim 3 as applied above and further discloses:
wherein the at least one knife is a plurality of knives each coupled to the cleaning body (Figs. 1-8, knives 33, 43 are coupled to cleaning body 12 (via rotary gears 35, 45),
and the plurality of knives are spaced apart from one another at predetermined intervals along the inner circumferential surface of the cleaning body in the circumferential direction (Figs. 1-8, knives 33, 43 are spaced apart from one another at predetermined intervals circumferentially as recited).
Regarding claim 5, Zhuang discloses the roll cleaning device of claim 3 as applied above and further discloses [wherein the at least one knife is a plurality of knives,] wherein each knife [of the plurality of knives] has a blade part configured to contact the outer circumferential surface of the target roll, and each blade part is curved with a predetermined curvature (Figs. 1-8, see annotated Fig. 5 below).
[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Blade part)][AltContent: textbox (Blade part with a predetermined curvature)]
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Zhuang Fig. 5 (annotated)
Regarding claim 7, Zhuang discloses the roll cleaning device of claim 5 as applied above and further discloses wherein each blade part is configured to be elastically movable relative to the cleaning body in a radial direction closer to or away from the target roll (Figs. 4-5; ¶ 0031, each blade part of knives 33, 43 are configured to be elastically movable (via springs 34, 44 on guiding columns 32, 42) relative to cleaning body 12 in the radial direction, both towards or away from the roll).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is 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 (and rewritten to overcome the claim objection of claim 5 as set forth in this Office action).
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, Applicant’s reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. 37 C.F.R. § 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
The following is Examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The closest prior art of record is US 20210131126 A1 (“Zhuang”).
Regarding claim 6, Zhuang discloses the roll cleaning device of claim 5 as applied above. Zhuang does not explicitly disclose the limitation “wherein each blade part is curved with a same curvature as a curvature of the outer circumferential surface of the target roll.” Based on the prior art of record, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of this application would not have modified Zhuang to implement this limitation without hindsight based on Applicant’s disclosure. For example, Zhuang’s roll cleaning device is adjustable for rolls of different sized circumferences (Zhuang Figs. 4-5; ¶ 0031, different circumferences are adjusted for via springs 34, 44 and guiding columns 32, 42). Therefore, having a blade part curved with the same curvature as that of the roll’s circumference (i.e., the curvature of the blade part matches that of the roll) does not appear to be an obvious modification because the adjustability of Zhuang would make useless the match of the blade curvature with that of the roll.
In view of the prior art of record and its deficiencies, Applicant’s invention is novel, non-obvious, and allowable as claimed.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-15 are pending. Claims 8-15 have been withdrawn from further consideration under 37 C.F.R. § 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention.
Claims 1-5 and 7 are rejected. Claim 6 is objected to.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure:
US 2802495 A (“Nicholson”) discloses a log bark cleaning device (Figs. 1-6, 11-14);
US 5199226 A (“Rose”) discloses a pipe coating removal machine (Abstr.; Figs. 4-8);
US 3333615 A (“Robbins”) discloses a log bark cleaning device (Figs. 1-6, 11-14);
US 2908302 A (“Mullis”) discloses a log bark cleaning device (Figs. 1-8);
US 3119422 A (“Brown”) discloses a log bark cleaning device (Figs. 1-8);
US 3190327 A (“Robbins2”) discloses a log bark cleaning device (Fig. 1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENT N SHUM whose telephone number is (703)756-1435. The examiner can normally be reached 1230-2230 EASTERN TIME M-TH.
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, MONICA S CARTER can be reached at (571)272-4475. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571)273-8300.
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/KENT N SHUM/Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/MONICA S CARTER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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