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) 1-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2010/0141275 (Keller).
Regarding claim 1, Keller disclose a method for measuring, during production by blow extrusion process of a multi-layer film formed by one or more layers of a first material and one or more layers of a second material, the total thickness (Li) of the first material and/or the total thickness (L2) of the second material, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) acquiring by means of an electromagnetic radiation sensor a first measurement signal (Sx) representative of the total thickness of the film (Fig. 1, via 16);
(b) acquiring by means of a capacitive sensor a second measuring signal (Scap) which is the sum of the signals given by the first and the second material of the film, wherein the signal given by each material of the film is a function of the thickness (Li, L2) of that material (Fig. 1, via 17); and
(c) calculating, from said first and second measurement signals (Sx, Scap), the total thickness (Li) of the first material and/or the total thickness (L2) of the second material [0035].
Regarding claim 2, Keller disclose the method according to claim 1, wherein said electromagnetic radiation sensor is an X-ray retro-reflection sensor (Fig. 1, 16, [0033]).
Regarding claim 3, Hausmann disclose the method according to claim 1, wherein said steps a) and b) of acquiring a first measurement signal (Sx) by means of an electromagnetic radiation sensor and acquiring a second measurement signal (Scap) by means of a capacitive sensor, respectively, are performed with said sensors arranged facing an outer surface of the bubble (B) (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 4, Keller disclose the method according to claim 3, wherein said steps a) and b) of acquiring a first measurement signal (Sx) by means of an electromagnetic radiation sensor and acquiring a second measurement signal (Scap) by means of a capacitive sensor, respectively, are performed with said sensors arranged above each other and at a certain distance from each other, in a same plane oriented tangentially with respect to an outer surface of the bubble (B) (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 6, Keller disclose the method according to claim 2, wherein said steps a) and b) of acquiring a first measurement signal (Sx) by means of an electromagnetic radiation sensor and acquiring a second measurement signal (Scap) by means of a capacitive sensor, respectively, are performed by moving said sensors along a circular path around the bubble (B) (Fig. 1, via track 17’).
Regarding claim 7, Keller disclose the method according to claim 1, wherein said step c) of calculating the total thickness (Li) of the first material and/or the total thickness (L2) of the second material is based on solving the following system of equations:
Sx = kx (Li + L2)
Scap = ki Li + k2 L2,
wherein the parameter kx is continuously derived from data supplied by dosing means of the film production plant, which measure the quantities of the first material and the second material fed into the plant, wherein the parameter ki is determined, during the start-up phase of the film production plant, based on the value of said second measurement signal (Scap) when the film (F) is formed by the first material only, and wherein the parameter k2 is determined during the film production cycle, based on the average value of said second measurement signal (Scap) and the average values of the total thickness (Li) of the first material and the total thickness (L2) of the second material provided by said dosing means, from the following equation:
k2 = (Scap – k1L1)/L2 (see table 2 and 3) .
Regarding claim 8, Keller disclose an apparatus for measuring, in a multi-layer film obtained by blow extrusion process and formed of one or more layers of a first material and one or more layers of a second material, the total thickness (Li) of the first material and/or the total thickness (L2) of the second material, said apparatus (10) comprising:
- an electromagnetic radiation sensor arranged to provide a first measurement signal (Sx) representative of the total thickness of the film (Fig. 1, 16);
- a capacitive sensor arranged to provide a second measurement signal (Scap) which is the sum of the signals given by the first and second materials of the film, wherein the signal given by each material of the film is a function of the thickness (Li, L2) of said material (Fig. 1, 17); and
- processing means for calculating, from said first and second measurement signals (Sx, Scap), the total thickness (Li) of the first material and/or the total thickness (L2) of the second material [0035].
Regarding claim 9, Keller disclose the apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said electromagnetic radiation sensor is an X-ray retro-reflection sensor [0033].
Regarding claim 10, Keller disclose a blown film extrusion plant for producing a multi-layer film, comprising an apparatus according to claim 8 (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 11, Keller disclose the plant according to claim 10, wherein said apparatus further comprises a measuring head on which said electromagnetic radiation sensor and said capacitive sensor are mounted so as to lie in a same plane oriented tangentially with respect to the outer surface of the bubble (B) (Fig. 1), guide means arranged around said bubble (B), coaxially to said bubble (B), and on which said measuring head is movably mounted along a circular path (Fig. 1), and driving means for controlling the movement of said measuring head on said guide means (Fig. 1, required to move sensors 16 and 17 around track 17’).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 12 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 5, Keller disclose the method according to claim 4, but fails to teach the details of comprising the step of measuring the distance of said plane from the outer surface of the bubble (B) by means of an ultrasonic sensor.
Regarding claim 12, Keller disclose the plant according to claim 11, but fails to teach the details of wherein said apparatus further comprises an ultrasonic sensor arranged to measure the distance between the plane on which said electromagnetic radiation sensor and said capacitive sensor lie and the outer surface of the bubble (B).
Conclusion
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/DANI FOX/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2884