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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/18/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claim 84, Applicant argues that Boulay does not teach “an apparatus configured to correct an orientation of a product conveying within a plurality of products on a conveyor along a conveying direction”. Boulay teaches “When dealing with cartons of varying widths, it is not always possible to deliver the cartons to the machine in properly oriented relation. To this end, each belt assembly 14 is provided with a carton orienting mechanism 119 adjacent the receiving end thereof. The carton orienting mechanisms cooperate together, when an improperly oriented carton is fed to the machine, to move such a carton into proper oriented relation prior to its actual movement through the machine by the belt assemblies” 8 L33-45. Applicant does not provide structural claim limitation to overcome the cited prior art.
For the foregoing reasons, the claims stand rejected.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 103 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
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) 84, 91-92, 94-95, 98, and 100 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Boulay U.S. Patent No. 3,595,369.
Claim 84, Boulay teaches an apparatus 10 configured to correct an orientation of a product conveying within a plurality of products on a conveyor along a conveying direction C5 L50-75.
Claim 91, Boulay teaches an arm 121 with an edge notch between terminal ends of the arm 121 Fig. 8.
Claim 92, Boulay teaches a sensor S1 adapted to identify a condition of the product C17 L3-10.
Claim 94, Boulay teaches a first sensor and a second sensor S1,2 positioned at a distance from each other C17 L3-10.
Claim 95, Boulay teaches a device 119 adapted to at least temporarily restrict conveyance of the product along the conveying direction C21 L1-20.
Claim 98, Boulay teaches a first sensor S1 designed to sense a first condition of the product and output a first signal in a response to sensing the first condition; and a second sensor S2 designed to sense a second condition of the product and output a second signal in a response to sensing the second condition of the product C17 L3-40.
Claim 100, Boulay teaches a conveyor Fig. 2 adapted to convey the plurality of products Abstract.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 103 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Schroder U.S. Patent No. 11,685,608.
Claim 103, Schroder teaches an apparatus Fig. 1, comprising: a sensor 43 adapted to sense an orientation of an upper portion of a product 11 conveyable within a plurality of products 11 on a conveyor 13 along a conveyor direction R; a first device 39 configured to correct the orientation of the product 11 at least on a response to sensing the orientation of the upper portion C11 L49-55; and a second device 19 adapted to at least temporarily clamp the product 11, the second device 19 at least including a fixed component 89, a movable component 27 and a powered actuator 35 in connection with the movable component Abstract C13 L5-20.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 104 is allowed.
Claims 85-90, 93, 96-97, 99, 101-102 and 105 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
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAVEL SINGH whose telephone number is (571)272-2362. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8am-6pm.
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/KAVEL SINGH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3651
KS
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