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
The restriction mailed on 6/29/2026 is rescinded and is replaced here:
REQUIREMENT FOR UNITY OF INVENTION
As provided in 37 CFR 1.475(a), a national stage application shall relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept (“requirement of unity of invention”). Where a group of inventions is claimed in a national stage application, the requirement of unity of invention shall be fulfilled only when there is a technical relationship among those inventions involving one or more of the same or corresponding special technical features. The expression “special technical features” shall mean those technical features that define a contribution which each of the claimed inventions, considered as a whole, makes over the prior art.
The determination whether a group of inventions is so linked as to form a single general inventive concept shall be made without regard to whether the inventions are claimed in separate claims or as alternatives within a single claim. See 37 CFR 1.475(e).
When Claims Are Directed to Multiple Categories of Inventions:
As provided in 37 CFR 1.475 (b), a national stage application containing claims to different categories of invention will be considered to have unity of invention if the claims are drawn only to one of the following combinations of categories:
(1) A product and a process specially adapted for the manufacture of said product; or
(2) A product and a process of use of said product; or
(3) A product, a process specially adapted for the manufacture of the said product, and a use of the said product; or
(4) A process and an apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out the said process; or
(5) A product, a process specially adapted for the manufacture of the said product, and an apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out the said process.
Otherwise, unity of invention might not be present. See 37 CFR 1.475 (c).
Restriction is required under 35 U.S.C. 121 and 372.
This application contains the following inventions or groups of inventions which are not so linked as to form a single general inventive concept under PCT Rule 13.1.
In accordance with 37 CFR 1.499, applicant is required, in reply to this action, to elect a single invention to which the claims must be restricted.
Group I claims 28-31; 40-55, 61-75, are drawn to a cutting and transfer apparatus and related method having a linkage system mechanically coupling the anvil arms to the carriage units
Group II, claims 32-33, drawn to a cutting and transfer apparatus having an independently driven anvil wheel and knife roll and relatively movable upper and lower cutter box assemblies
Group III, claim 34, drawn to a cutting and transfer apparatus with having individual servo motors operatively connected to respective carriage units to control their circumferential positioning
The groups of inventions listed above do not relate to a single general inventive concept under PCT Rule 13.1 because, under PCT Rule 13.2, they lack the same or corresponding special technical features for the following reasons:
Claims 27 and 40 recite the technical features common to the identified inventions. However, those common technical features do not define a contribution over the prior art as evidenced by Noforini in view of Munn. Accordingly, the remaining claimed inventions must be evaluated based upon the additional technical features respectively recited therein.
Group I includes the special technical feature of a linkage system mechanically coupling the anvil arms to the carriage units to coordinate positioning of the anvils relative to the adjacent carriage units. Group II includes the special technical features independently driving the anvil wheel and knife roll and providing relatively movable upper and lower cutter box assemblies. Group III includes the special technical feature of individual of individual servo motors operatively connected to respective carriage units to control their circumferential positioning.
The respective special technical features perform different functions, solve different technical problems and are not the same or corresponding. Therefore, after consideration of the prior art applicable to the common subject matter no technical relationship involving the same or corresponding special technical features remains among Groups I-III. The claims consequently lack unity of invention under PCT Rule 13.2 and CFR 1.4175(a).
Applicant’s previous election of claims 61-68 is construed as an election of Group I, claims 28-31, 41-55, 66-75 contain the same or corresponding linkage system special technical feature and are therefore included in the elected invention for examination. Claims 27 and 40 are also examined with elected Group I.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it is not on a separate sheet. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claims 34, 41, 47, and 53 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 34, line 4, “with each of the plurality of servo motor operable” should be -- with each of the plurality of servo motors operable—
Claim 41, line 24, recites “deaccelerating a selected carriage”. Did the Applicant intend --decelerating a selected carriage--?
Claim 47, “wherein the second position of the selected carriage unit the along portion” should be -- wherein the second position of the selected carriage unit along portion--.
Claim 53, “selected carraiges unit” should be – selected carriage unit--.
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.
Claim 34, 41-55, 61-68, 69-75 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 34 recites, “and with each of the plurality of servo motor operable, via camming thereof”. It is unclear if the servo motor is mechanically cammed, electronically cammmed through its control profile, or does it drive a cam?
Claim 41, line 11 recites “providing a human-machine interface (HMI) to perform the actions of:….” It is unclear whether the recited actions of modifying a rotational speed, accelerating a selected carriage unit, adjusting a rotational speed and angular position of the rotating blade, and decelerating the selected carriage unit constitute affirmative method steps that must be performed, or whether the claim merely requires providing an HMI capable of performing or causing such actions.
Claim 61 recites the limitation "the discrete article thereon" in lines 5-6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 69 recites the limitation "the discrete article thereon" in lines 9-10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 69 recites, “at opposite ends thereof”. The use of “thereof” is ambiguous. It could grammatically refer to the opposite ends of the links or the opposite ends of the anvil arms.
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 27 and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noferini et al. (U.S. Patent 11,890,172), herein referred to as Noferini in view of Munn et al. (U.S. Patent 3,758,102), herein referred to as Munn.
In regards to claim 27 and 40, Noferini discloses a cutting and transfer apparatus comprising: a cutting system (cutting unit 10) configured to cut an incoming web of material (e.g. substrate 28) into a plurality of discrete articles; and a transfer mechanism (device 1) operable with the cutting system to transfer and rotate the plurality of discrete articles from at least a web receiving location to an article placement location, the transfer mechanism comprising: a drive shaft (supporting shaft 13) rotatable about a transfer axis; a center plate (drum 17) mounted to the drive shaft (13) to rotate therewith about the transfer axis; a plurality of carriage units (pads 7) positioned about the center plate (17) to rotate therewith to travel along a transfer path about the transfer axis from at least the web receiving location to the article placement location, each of the plurality of carriage units (7)) including a puck (pad 7) that is selectively operable to carry a discrete article thereon and reorient the article as the puck travels between the web receiving location and the article placement location (fig. 7);
wherein the cutting system (10) comprises an anvil wheel (wheel 8) including: an anvil hub coupled to and driven by an anvil shaft to rotate about an anvil wheel axis; and a plurality of anvil arms (spokes 9) pivotably connected to and extending radially outward from the anvil hub, each of the plurality of anvil arms (9) having thereon an anvil (anvil 6) that cooperates with a knife roll (10) of the cutting system to cut the incoming web of material; wherein the plurality of anvil arms (9) is equal in number to the plurality of carriage units (col. 5, lines 22-26), with the plurality of anvil arms (9) interspersed with the plurality of carriage units (7; fig. 3) such that each anvil arm (9) is positioned between a pair of adjacent carriage units (7); and wherein each anvil arm (9) is mechanically coupled to the pair of adjacent carriage units (7) between which it is positioned to control positioning of the anvil (6) relative to the pair of adjacent carriage units (7).
Noferini does not set forth that the anvil arms are pivotally connected to the anvil hub. Munn discloses a signature cutting and trimming apparatus with a rotating cylinder 41 having a plurality of retractable anvils 50 that engage with blades 14. Each anvil 50 is carried by an L-shaped block 52 secured to a shaft 54 that is pivotably supported by the end plates 43 of the cylinder 41. Each shaft 54 is coupled to an operating arm 57 having a cam roller 58 that follows a stationary cam 59, thereby pivoting the shaft 54 and associated block 52 to move the anvil 50 between a retracted position and an operative cutting position in which the surface of the anvil is substantially coincident with the peripheral surface of cylinder 41. Munn explains that the anvils are retracted following the trimming operation to avoid interference with adjacent web handling components, including pins 31, stripper blades 61, and belt 72. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the anvil carrying arms of Noferini to be pivotally connected to the anvil hub as taught by Munn, to permit the anvils to move between an operative cutting position and a retracted position and thereby provide clearance from adjacent web handing components during rotation. as demonstrated by Munn to locate their surfaces beneath the periphery of the cylinder when not in use.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 41-55, 61-75 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 28-30 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAURA M LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-8339. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8a.m.- 5p.m..
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/LAURA M LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3724
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