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Claims 9-24 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 6/22/2026.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4 and 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being unpatentable by Ford et al. (US 2007/0256788)
With respect to claim 1, Ford teaches a label applying system (radio frequency identification label applicator (100) to apply RFID labels (102) to articles or items (104). The RFID label applicator may also be used to program RFID labels (102), to detect defective RFID labels, and to reject the defective labels; paragraph 0022), comprising:
a feed path along which a label supply (112), comprising multiple labels attached to a label liner after the RFID labels (102) are removed or rejected (paragraph 0023), is moved;
a label applier (150, 152), movable between a label load position for receiving a label and a label applying position, passing the web around the peel tip (142) of the peeler member (140);
a label transition ramp between the label peel mechanism and a location of the forward label holding surface when the label applier is in the label load position (4A), the label transition ramp having a fixed position that does not move with the label applier such that a positional relationship between the label peel mechanism and the label transition ramp is not affected by movement of the label applier (4A, 4B).
With respect to claim 2, Ford teaches a label applier is linearly movable for applying labels (4A, 4B) or the label applier is pivotably movable for applying labels.
With respect to claim 3, Ford teaches further comprising an air mover with a duct housing (Figs. 5A, 5B).
With respect to claim 4, Ford teaches that the label transition ramp includes a nose portion (142) that is forward of the forward label holding surface, when the label applier is in the label load position (Figs. 1, 4A).
With respect to claim 6, Ford teaches using an air mover (600, 602; Figures 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B) located such that operation of the air mover creates a· pressure condition (vacuum) at the forward label holding surface, when the label applier is in the label load position, to pull a leading end of the label onto the forward label loading surface after the leading end moves past the label transition ramp (Figures 6A and 6B
With respect to claim 7, Ford teaches further comprising an air mover (Figures 6A, 6B), located such that operation of the air mover creates a pressure condition (vacuum) at the forward label holding surface, when the label applier is in the label load position, to pull a leading end of the label onto the forward label loading surface after the leading end moves past the label transition ramp (Figures 4B and 6A).
With respect to claim 8, Ford teaches when the label applier is in the label load position a rear surface of the label applier (Figure 6A) is at least partly spaced away from an edge portion of the air inlet opening (Figure 6B) of the primary duct housing such that operation of the air mover draws at least some air along a path from within the secondary duct housing, along a gap (Figure 6A) between the rear surface and the edge portion and then into the air inlet opening of the primary duct housing (paragraph 0056).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SONYA M SENGUPTA whose telephone number is (571)272-6019. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:30am-5:00pm.
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/SONYA M SENGUPTA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1745
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