DETAILED ACTION
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) 8-9, 11, 19, 22, 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Scheugenpflug AG (DE 202009006902 U).
Claim 8, Scheugenpflug discloses at least one gluing device (FIG 2a) having at least one glue hose (1,1a, 1b),
multiple glue application format parts ([0003]) each having a corresponding further glue hose, each of the glue application format parts being designed for dispensing glue,
at least one coupling system (14) having a housing (2) and at least one coupling piece (14a), which at least one coupling piece is housed within the housing and is fluidically connected to the at least one glue hose (claim 9; FIG 1a-2a), wherein the multiple further glue hoses each comprise a mating coupling piece and wherein the at least one coupling piece can be selectively and detachably coupled to the mating coupling pieces so that a fluid connection is formed between the corresponding glue hose and the corresponding further glue hose via the coupling piece and the mating coupling piece coupled to the coupling piece.
Claim 9, Scheugenpflug discloses wherein the at least one coupling piece (14a) forms a coupling body and the mating coupling pieces are designed as plugs that can be inserted into the coupling body for the corresponding coupling with the coupling body (claim 9).
Claim 11, Scheugenpflug discloses wherein the coupling system further comprises at least one heating element (claim 17) that controls the temperature of the at least one coupling piece, wherein the at least one heating element is located in the housing (2) of the coupling system (14).
Claim 19, Scheugenpflug discloses a gluing machine with:
at least one gluing device (FIG 2a) having at least one glue hose (1, 1a, 1b),
multiple glue application format parts ([0003]) each having a corresponding further glue hose, each of the glue application format parts being designed for dispensing glue,
at least one coupling system (14) having a housing (2) and at least one coupling piece (14a), which at least one coupling piece is housed within the housing and is fluidically connected to the at least one glue hose, wherein the multiple further glue hoses each comprise a mating coupling piece (Claim 9) and wherein the at least one coupling piece can be selectively and detachably coupled to the mating coupling pieces so that a fluid connection is formed between the corresponding glue hose and the corresponding further glue hose via the coupling piece and the mating coupling piece coupled to the coupling piece.
Claim 22, Scheugenpflug discloses wherein the at least one coupling piece (14a) forms a coupling body and the mating coupling pieces (claim 9) are designed as plugs that can be inserted into the coupling body for the corresponding coupling with the coupling body.
Claim 24, Scheugenpflug discloses wherein the coupling system further comprises at least one heating element (claim 17) that controls the temperature of the at least one coupling piece, wherein the at least one heating element is located in the housing (2) of the coupling system.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 10, 12, 23, 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scheugenpflug as applied to claim 9 and 19 above, and further in view of Preiss (EP 2733403 A1).
Claims 10 and 23, Scheugenpflug substantially discloses the apparatus as claimed above but is silent on wherein the at least one coupling piece automatically locks the corresponding mating coupling piece upon insertion into the coupling body.
Preiss teaches wherein the at least one coupling piece automatically locks the corresponding mating coupling piece upon insertion into the coupling body ([0025] to [0026]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Scheugenpflug with lock as taught by Preiss in order to retain the respective assembly.
Claim 12 and 25, Scheugenpflug substantially discloses the apparatus as claimed above but is silent on a locking mechanism that locks the housing.
Preiss teaches a locking mechanism that locks the housing ([0025] to [0026]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Scheugenpflug with lock as taught by Preiss in order to retain the respective assembly.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13-14, 20-21, 26-27 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 8/13/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., the coupling system is entirely inside the housing) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
In figures 1a-2a, Scheugenpflug shows that the coupling piece (14a) which fluidly connects the coupling system (14) to the hose (1; claim 9), which meets the limitation of claim 8 which recites “at least one coupling system having a housing and at least one coupling piece, which at least one coupling piece is housed within the housing and is fluidically connected to the at least one glue hose…” Scheugenpflug is clear on the function of 14a and that it is apart of the larger coupling system 14, see claim 9 which recites “characterized in that each material hose ( 1 ) end one coupling sleeve ( 14 ) made of hard material, in particular plastic or metal, has with a connecting piece ( 14a ) for connection to the material hose ( 1 )” (from machine translation).
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 JEREMY W CARROLL whose telephone number is (571)272-4988. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 AM - 5 PM.
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, Paul Durand can be reached at (571) 272-4459. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JEREMY W. CARROLL
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3754
/Jeremy Carroll/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
