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/Restrictions
Claims 7-12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 6/18/2026.
Applicant's election with traverse of the election of Group I and Species I in the reply filed on 6/18/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that Group I, II, and III are technically and functionally inseparable and encompass the same invention, and that Species I and Species II are obvious variations. This is not found persuasive because in addition to applicant admitted possibility that the process as claimed can be practiced by another materially different apparatus, the apparatus can as claimed be used to practice another materially different process such as cutting a difference workpiece or cutting the same workpiece in a different manner. Further, the apparatus as claimed can be used to make a different product such as a different container or cut object. Additionally, Species 1 and Species 2 are mutually exclusive variations of the drive mechanism to be used in the invention, and therefore the restriction requirement between the species is appropriate.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Objections
Claims 5 and 6 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 5 and 6 recite “a weak portion reduced in thickness from other portion”, which is improper grammar. Examiner recommends rephrasing to “a weak portion reduced in thickness from another portion”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 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 1 recites the limitation "the other end" in line 5 without introducing an other end. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 3 and 4 recite the limitation "the inclined state" without introducing an inclined state. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Similarly, claims 3 and 4 recite “the other short side” and “the other long side” without first introducing an other short side or an other long side.
Claims 5 and 6 recite the limitation "the movement" without introducing a movement. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hiroki Tanaka et al. (US 20150224668 A1 – hereinafter Tanaka) in view of Leo Shippy et al. (US 2526163 A – hereinafter Shippy).
Regarding claim 1, Tanaka teaches a trimming device (Fig. 9) for a rectangular container (Fig. 1A), which is configured to cut a rectangular container along a plane including a predetermined trim line parallel to a bottom surface, the rectangular container having one end opened and a bottom portion at the other end and having a transverse cross-sectional shape parallel to the bottom surface being a rectangular shape (Fig. 1B, shape and cut shown), the trimming device comprising: a die (Fig. 2A, Die Cutter 3), which is integrally supported on a trimming device main body, accommodates an outer periphery of the rectangular container, and is arranged along the trim line (Fig. 9); a punch (Fig. 2A, Punch Cutter 6), which is accommodated inside the rectangular container with a predetermined gap with the transverse cross-sectional shape inside the rectangular container, and is supported on the trimming device main body so as to be movable within a plane parallel to the bottom surface (Fig. 9); a long-axis direction drive unit (Fig. 12, 73’), which is configured to move the punch along a long-axis direction in the transverse cross-sectional shape of the rectangular container ([0087]); a first short-axis direction drive unit (Fig. 12, 74’), which is configured to move the punch along a short-axis direction in the transverse cross-sectional shape of the rectangular container ([0087]).
Tanaka does not teach a second short-axis direction drive unit, which is arranged side by side with the first short-axis direction drive unit along the long-axis direction, and is configured to move the punch along the short-axis direction in the transverse cross-sectional shape of the rectangular container.
However, Shippy teaches a trimming device (Fig. 2) with a long-axis direction drive unit (Fig. 2, bottommost Cylinder 40), which is configured to move the punch along a long-axis direction in the transverse cross-sectional shape of the rectangular container; a first short-axis direction drive unit (Fig. 2, middle Cylinder 40), which is configured to move the punch along a short-axis direction in the transverse cross-sectional shape of the rectangular container; a second short-axis direction drive unit (Fig. 2, topmost Cylinder 40), which is arranged side by side with the first short-axis direction drive unit (Fig. 2, middle Cylinder 40) along the long-axis direction, and is configured to move the punch along the short-axis direction in the transverse cross-sectional shape of the rectangular container (Fig. 9-14, movement shown).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Tanaka to replace the drive system of Tanaka with the drive system above as taught by Shippy. Doing so is beneficial as the punch can be moved in an oscillatory travel pattern to progressively shear through the container wall (Shippy; Col. 1, lines 21-37).
Regarding claim 2, the existing combination of Tanaka and Shippy already teaches The trimming device for a rectangular container according to claim 1, wherein the long-axis direction drive unit (Shippy; Fig. 2, bottommost Cylinder 40 – independently driven via corresponding Metering Valve 53), the first short-axis direction drive unit (Shippy; Fig. 2, middle Cylinder 40 – independently driven via corresponding Metering Valve 53), and the second short-axis direction drive unit are driven independent of each other (Shippy; Fig. 2, topmost Cylinder 40 – independently driven via corresponding Metering Valve 53).
Regarding claim 3, the existing combination of Tanaka and Shippy already teaches the trimming device for a rectangular container according to claim 1, the trimming device being configured to: drive the long-axis direction drive unit and move the punch along the long-axis direction to trim one short side of a rectangular container along the trim line in cooperation with the die; drive one of the first short-axis direction drive unit and the second short-axis direction drive unit, which is on a side closer to the one short side, and move the punch in the short-axis direction from a state of the punch that has ended the trimming, to incline the punch and to trim a side of one long side on the one short side of the rectangular container that is connected to the one short side along the trim line, in cooperation with the die; drive one of the first short-axis direction drive unit and the second short-axis direction drive unit, which is on a side farther from the one short side, and move the punch in the short-axis direction from a state of the punch that has ended the trimming, to return the punch from the inclined state to a state of being parallel to the long-axis direction, and trim an uncut portion of the one long side along the trim line in cooperation with the die; reversely drive the long-axis direction drive unit and move the punch in the long-axis direction from a state of the punch that has ended the trimming, to trim the other short side of the rectangular container along the trim line in cooperation with the die; drive the first short-axis direction drive unit and the second short-axis direction drive unit and move the punch in parallel toward the other long side of the rectangular container from a state of the punch that has ended the trimming, to trim an uncut portion of the other short side along the trim line in cooperation with the die; drive one of the first short-axis direction drive unit and the second short-axis direction drive unit, which is on a side closer to the other short side, and move the punch in the short-axis direction from a state of the punch that has ended the trimming, to incline the punch and trim a side of the other long side on the other short side along the trim line in cooperation with the die; drive one of the first short-axis direction drive unit and the second short-axis direction drive unit, which is on a side farther from the other short side, and move the punch in the short-axis direction from a state of the punch that has ended the trimming, to return the punch from the inclined state to a state of being parallel to the long-axis direction, and trim an uncut portion of the other long side along the trim line in cooperation with the die; and drive the long-axis direction drive unit and move the punch in the long-axis direction from a state of the punch that has ended the trimming, to trim an uncut portion of the one short side along the trim line in cooperation with the die (Shippy; Fig. 9-14 - because the valves can be set to any combination of positions via valves 53, the invention of the combination of Tanaka and Shippy is configured to make all of the aforementioned movements even if the exact choreography is not described in the prior art).
Regarding claim 4, the existing combination of Tanaka and Shippy already teaches the trimming device for a rectangular container according to claim 2, the trimming device being configured to: drive the long-axis direction drive unit and move the punch along the long-axis direction to trim one short side of a rectangular container along the trim line in cooperation with the die; drive one of the first short-axis direction drive unit and the second short-axis direction drive unit, which is on a side closer to the one short side, and move the punch in the short-axis direction from a state of the punch that has ended the trimming, to incline the punch and to trim a side of one long side on the one short side of the rectangular container that is connected to the one short side along the trim line, in cooperation with the die; drive one of the first short-axis direction drive unit and the second short-axis direction drive unit, which is on a side farther from the one short side, and move the punch in the short-axis direction from a state of the punch that has ended the trimming, to return the punch from the inclined state to a state of being parallel to the long-axis direction, and trim an uncut portion of the one long side along the trim line in cooperation with the die; reversely drive the long-axis direction drive unit and move the punch in the long-axis direction from a state of the punch that has ended the trimming, to trim the other short side of the rectangular container along the trim line in cooperation with the die; drive the first short-axis direction drive unit and the second short-axis direction drive unit and move the punch in parallel toward the other long side of the rectangular container from a state of the punch that has ended the trimming, to trim an uncut portion of the other short side along the trim line in cooperation with the die; drive one of the first short-axis direction drive unit and the second short-axis direction drive unit, which is on a side closer to the other short side, and move the punch in the short-axis direction from a state of the punch that has ended the trimming, to incline the punch and trim a side of the other long side on the other short side along the trim line in cooperation with the die; drive one of the first short-axis direction drive unit and the second short-axis direction drive unit, which is on a side farther from the other short side, and move the punch in the short-axis direction from a state of the punch that has ended the trimming, to return the punch from the inclined state to a state of being parallel to the long-axis direction, and trim an uncut portion of the other long side along the trim line in cooperation with the die; and drive the long-axis direction drive unit and move the punch in the long-axis direction from a state of the punch that has ended the trimming, to trim an uncut portion of the one short side along the trim line in cooperation with the die (Shippy; Fig. 9-14 - because the valves can be set to any combination of positions via valves 53, the invention of the combination of Tanaka and Shippy is configured to make all of the aforementioned movements even if the exact choreography is not described in the prior art).
Regarding claim 5, Tanaka further teaches the trimming device for a rectangular container according to claim 1, further comprising a weak portion forming portion (Fig. 2A, the short side of 6 having a corner which extends further than the other corner) configured to form, at the time of driving the long-axis direction drive unit and moving the punch in the long-axis direction to trim one short side of the rectangular container along the trim line in cooperation with the die, a weak portion reduced in thickness from other portion on an opening side above the trim line of the one short side of the rectangular container by using the movement of the punch (Fig. 3A-3B, movement shown and weak portion reduction in thickness shown).
Regarding claim 6, Tanaka further teaches the trimming device for a rectangular container according to claim 2, further comprising a weak portion forming portion (Fig. 2A, the short side of 6 having a corner which extends further than the other corner) configured to form, at the time of driving the long-axis direction drive unit and moving the punch in the long-axis direction to trim one short side of the rectangular container along the trim line in cooperation with the die, a weak portion reduced in thickness from other portion on an opening side above the trim line of the one short side of the rectangular container by using the movement of the punch (Fig. 3A-3B, movement shown and weak portion reduction in thickness shown).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELLA LORRAINE KEENA whose telephone number is (571)272-1806. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am - 5:00 pm ET.
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/ELLA L KEENA/Examiner, Art Unit 3724 /BOYER D ASHLEY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3724
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