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 .
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) 1-2, and 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Repenning (U.S. Patent 3,893,882). Regarding Claim 1, Repenning shows a method for loading a fiber-based container with a preform (Abstract) comprising the steps of providing a container on a rotary plate (Figures 1, 9, element 10), rotating the rotary plate together with the container into a predetermined position (Figure 8), and inserting a preform into the container (Figures 3-4).
Regarding Claim 2, Repenning shows the method of claim 1 above, including one wherein the preform is heated to a higher temperature before being inserted into the container (station 78).
Regarding Claim 9, Repenning shows the method of claim 1 above, including one wherein the preform is placed in a transfer position before being inserted into the container (Figure 1, element 50).
Regarding Claim 10, Repenning shows the method of claim 1 above, including one wherein, after the preform has been inserted into the container, the container is held, together with the preform, by a gripper (Figures 3-4, elements 38, 42, 52).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-8, and 11-12 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.
Claims 13-21 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The prior art of record does not clearly show or suggest the claimed device for loading a fiber-based container together with a preform, especially one that requires a rotary plate which receives a container such that each individual container can be individually rotated.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 24 December 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant contends that Repenning does not show the claimed method because he does not show a preform which is a premolded bottle. This is not persuasive because this is not commensurate in scope with the claimed invention. The examiner maintains that Repenning’s sheet is formed prior to inserting it into a container, and could therefore be considered a preform.
Conclusion
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).
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 MONICA HUSON whose telephone number is (571)272-1198. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8a-4p.
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, Christina Johnson can be reached at 571-272-1176. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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MONICA ANNE HUSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1742
/MONICA A HUSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1742