DETAILED ACTION
The communication dated 2/24/2026 has been entered and fully considered. Claims 1-20 are pending. Claims 1-19 are elected for prosecution.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group 1 (claims 1-19) in the reply filed on 2/24/2026 is acknowledged.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7 and 8 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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.
Claim(s) 1, 5, 6, 10, 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by PORTER (US 20050009428 A1).
For claim 1, PORTER teaches the manufacturing of a fabric and reinforcements used in board manufacturing [abstract and 0104]. The fabric includes a polymer coating layer [0084]. This teaches the limitation of “A press cover, comprising: at least one polymer layer”. PORTER teaches a reinforcing structure made of glass fiber that is coated in a polymer [0017] and embedded into a cementitious material including polymer-matrix to form the board [0055]. This teaches the limitation of “a reinforcing structure embedded in said at least one polymer layer”. PORTER teaches the glass fiber acts a scrim layer made from longitudinal thread extending in the transverse with a circumferential thread around it to produce a weave structure [0021 and Fig 1-3]. This teaches the limitation of “said reinforcing structure being a scrim with a first, radially inner layer made of multiple longitudinal threads extending in an axial direction of the press cover and a second, radially outer layer made of at least one circumferential thread extending substantially in a circumferential direction of the press cover”. PORTER teaches the entire woven structure is made of reinforcing thread with twisted yarn [ABSTRACT]. The yarn have two different twists rates and directions (warp and weft) [ABSTRACT]. This teaches the limitation of “said longitudinal threads of said first layer, and optionally also the at least one circumferential thread of the second layer, being formed as a reinforcing thread that is formed as a twisted yarn, in that firstly several individual fibers or fiber bundles are twisted together in a first twist direction at a first turn rate so as to form a pre-twist, and then several such pre-twists are twisted together in a second twist direction, opposite the first twist direction, at a second turn rate”. PORTER further teaches the first rate is lower than the second [ABSTRACT] and the thread touch each other [Fig 1]. This teaches the limitation of “wherein the first turn rate is lower than the second turn rate and, viewed in the radial direction of the press cover, said longitudinal threads and said at least one circumferential thread are arranged to touch one another”.
For claim 5, PORTER teaches the press cover according to claim 1, as above. PORTER teaches the twist in the S direction then Z direction [0008 and 0067]. This teaches the limitation of “wherein the first twist direction is an S direction and the second twist direction is a Z direction”.
For claim 6, PORTER teaches the press cover according to claim 1, as above. PORTER teaches two strands are twisted together to make the yarn [0067]. This teaches the limitation of “wherein each pre-twist is formed from two individual fibers or fiber bundles, and the final twisted yarn is formed from three pre-twists”.
For claim 10, PORTER teaches the press cover according to claim 1, as above. PORTER teaches the reinforcing structure is made of glass fiber thread that is coated in a polymer [0017]. This teaches the limitation of “wherein the twisted yarn of said at least one reinforcing thread includes a coating”.
For claim 15, PORTER teaches the press cover according to claim 1, as above. PORTER teaches the reinforcing structure is made into twisted yarn [0053 and 0067]. This teaches the limitation of “wherein all threads of said reinforcing structure of the press cover correspond to said at least one reinforcing thread formed as a twisted yarn”.
For claim 16, PORTER teaches the press cover according to claim 1, as above. PORTER teaches the thread fibers are made by the same process [0065]. This teaches the limitation of “wherein all threads of said reinforcing structure of the press cover are formed identically to one another”.
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.
Claim(s) 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PORTER (US 20050009428 A1).
For claim 11, PORTER teaches the press cover according to claim 1, as above. PORTER teaches the glass fiber used has a fineness of 33-400 tex (equivalent to 330-4000 dtex) [0021]. This encompasses the instant claim range of “wherein the at least one reinforcing thread formed as a twisted yarn has a fineness between 800 dtex and 1500 dtex”.
For claim 12, PORTER teaches the press cover according to claim 11, as above. PORTER teaches the glass fiber used has a fineness of 33-400 tex (equivalent to 330-4000 dtex) [0021]. This encompasses the instant claim range of “wherein the at least one reinforcing thread has a fineness between 1000 dtex and 1200 dtex”.
For claim 13, PORTER teaches the press cover according to claim 11, as above. PORTER teaches the glass fiber used has a fineness of 33-400 tex (equivalent to 330-4000 dtex) [0021]. This encompasses the instant claim range of “wherein the at least one reinforcing thread has a fineness of 1100 dtex”.
Claim(s) 2-4, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PORTER (US 20050009428 A1) in view of BEAL (US 20190040574 A1).
For claim 2, PORTER teaches the press cover according to claim 1, as above. PORTER does not teach the twist within the range of the instant claim. BEAL teaches a similar reinforcing fiber made of warp and weft yarn [abstract]. BEAL also teaches the second twist is greater than the first and both are in opposite directions like PORTER [0029]. BEAL teaches the first and second twists range from 10 to 120 tpm (twists per meter) [0029]. This range allows the first twist to be 8% to 100% of the second twist. Both the value range and percentage encompass the instant claim range of “wherein the first turn rate amounts to 70% to 90% of the second turn rate, and the first turn rate is between 70 and 90 turns per meter”. See 2144.05. BEAL teaches the hybrid cable configuration allows for versatile uses [0033].
It would be obvious to one skilled in the arts to substitute the reinforcement thread of BEAL into the structure of PORTER. One would be motivated to combine the art based on the added benefit of a more versatile use case.
For claim 3, PORTER and BEAL teach the press cover according to claim 2, as above. BEAL teaches the first and second twists range from 10 to 120 tpm (twists per meter) [0029]. This range encompasses the instant claim range of “wherein the first turn rate is between 75 and 85 turns per meter”.
For claim 4, PORTER and BEAL teach the press cover according to claim 2, as above. BEAL teaches the first and second twists range from 10 to 120 tpm (twists per meter) [0029]. This range encompasses the claim range of “wherein the first turn rate is 80 turns per meter”.
For claim 9, PORTER teaches the press cover according to claim 1, as above. PORTER teaches the use of a multilayer structure. BEAL teaches a similar reinforcing fiber made of warp and weft yarn [abstract]. BEAL also teaches the second twist is greater than the first and both are in opposite directions like PORTER [0029]. BEAL further teaches the structure can be made of only two layers [0020]. This teaches the limitation of “wherein an entire said reinforcing structure of the press cover consists only of the first layer and the second layer”. BEAL teaches the hybrid cable configuration allows for versatile uses [0033]. It would be obvious to one skilled in the arts to substitute the reinforcement thread of BEAL into the structure of PORTER. One would be motivated to combine the art based on the added benefit of a more versatile use case.
Claim(s) 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PORTER (US 20050009428 A1) in view of HARRINGTON (US 20180051417 A1).
For claim 14, PORTER teaches the press cover according to claim 1, as above. PORTER teaches the use of multifilament yarn [0093] and the total filament count [0083]. PORTER does not teach the number of filament per bundle. HARRINGTON teaches a papermaking fabric [0003]. HARRINGTON further teaches the fabric has a thread count of 200 which allows for no loss of fiber fines [0075]. This value is within the instant claim range of “wherein each of said pre-twists are formed from several fiber bundles, with each fiber bundle having between 180 and 230 individual filaments”. It would be obvious to one skilled in the arts to substitute the reinforcement thread of HARRINGTON into the structure of PORTER. One would be motivated to combine the art based on the added benefit of less fiber loss.
Claim(s) 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PORTER (US 20050009428 A1) in view of YAZAKI (US 20110017419 A1).
For claim 17, PORTER teaches the press cover according to claim 1. PORTER does not teach the use of the reinforced fiber structure in a shoe press belt. YAZAKI teaches a similar reinforced thread structure [0052]. YAZAKI teaches the improved belt provides better shape retention for the final product [0019]. This teaches the limitation of “A press roll for a shoe press for processing a fibrous material web, the press roll comprising at least one press cover according to claim 1”. It would be obvious to one skilled in the arts to substitute the reinforcement thread of PORTER into the structure of YAZAKI. One would be motivated to combine the art based on the added benefit of improved shape retention as taught by YAZAKI.
For claim 18, PORTER teaches the press cover according to claim 1. PORTER does not teach the use of the reinforced fiber structure in a shoe press belt. YAZAKI teaches a similar reinforced thread structure [0052]. YAZAKI teaches the improved belt provides better shape retention for the final product [0019]. The shoe press includes a press roll with counter roll [0002], a nip [0054], and a belt (equivalent to cover) [abstract]. This teaches the limitation of “A shoe press for processing a fibrous material web, the shoe press comprising: a press roll and a counter-roll which together form or delimit an extended pressing nip, wherein said press roll comprises a circumferential press cover configured as a press cover according to claim 1”. It would be obvious to one skilled in the arts to substitute the reinforcement thread of PORTER into the structure of YAZAKI. One would be motivated to combine the art based on the added benefit of improved shape retention as taught by YAZAKI.
For claim 19, PORTER and YAZAKI teaches the shoe press according to claim 18, as above. YAZAKI teaches the use of the shoe belt (cover) for the formation of a paper web [0041]. This teaches the limitation of “configured for processing a paper web, a cardboard web, or a tissue web”.
Conclusion
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/S.M.R./Examiner, Art Unit 1748
/Abbas Rashid/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1748