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 .
Summary
This communication is a First Office Action Non-Final Rejection on the merits.
Claim(s) 25-47 is/are currently pending and considered below.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 25-45 in the reply filed on 5 February 2026 is acknowledged. Therefore, claims 46-47 are withdrawn.
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(s) 25-45 is/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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 25, introduction of “on a first side of the feed path of the corrugated board web” renders the claim indefinite because it is confusing whether the recited side is referring to a portion respect to the path (that is, upstream vs. downstream side of the path), or an area adjacent to the path (analogous to the shoulders of a street) For the purposes of examination, a first side is to be interpreted a portion respect to the path.
“A second side” first introduced in claim 34 renders the corresponding claim indefinite for the same reasons as claim 25 above.
Regarding claim 28, introduction of “a plurality of said at least one first engaging element” renders the claim indefinite because of lack of antecedent basis (at least one first engaging element is first introduced in claim 27, upon which claim 28 does not depend. For the purposes of examination, claim 28 is considered to be a dependent claim of claim 27.
All dependent claims of the above claims inherit all of the limitations and thus are likewise rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter.
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.
(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) 25-28, 34, and 43-45 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Capoia (WO 2017/154028 A).
Regarding claim 25, Capoia discloses a device (10) for longitudinal processing of a corrugated board web (F), comprising:
a feed path (L) for the corrugated board web;
on a first side of the feed path of the corrugated board web, a first series of rotary tools (36/37);
wherein each rotary tool of the first series of rotary tools is supported on a respective slide (33), slidably engaged by respective shoes (20) with parallel sliding tracks of a first adjustment guide (16), said respective slide being adjustable along said first adjustment guide;
wherein the first adjustment guide extends in a direction (T) transverse to a direction of feed of the corrugated board web along the feed path; and
a first manipulator (47/48) adapted to position each said respective slide (33) of the first series of rotary tools along the first adjustment guide;
wherein the first manipulator is slidably engaged by said respective shoes with said sliding tracks of the first adjustment guide and is movable therealong (Figs. 1, 2, and 7).
Regarding claim 26, Capoia discloses the device of claim 25, wherein the first manipulator comprises first engaging members (41/44 – “the two inflatable membranes 41 and 44 of each slider 33 inflate and act as a brake against the corresponding flat surfaces of the flanks of the transverse guide bars 16 and 17”) adapted to temporarily constrain each said respective slide of the first series of rotary tools.
Regarding claim 27, Capoia discloses the device of claim 26, wherein the first engaging members further comprise at least one first engaging element (41) adapted to engage at least one said respective slide of at least one tool of the first series of rotary tools with the first manipulator.
Regarding claim 28, Capoia discloses the device of claim 26, wherein the first engaging members further comprise a plurality of said at least one first engaging element (41 and 44; see 112b rejection above), each of said plurality adapted to engage a respective slide of one of the rotary tools of the first series of rotary tools (Figs. 6-7); and wherein each of said plurality of said at least one first engaging element is activatable and deactivatable independently from other of the plurality of said at least one first engaging element (“The two inflatable membranes 41 and 44 are made of rubber for example and, when they are selectively inflated with compressed air, act as a brake pressing with a determinate force against the corresponding flat vertical surfaces of the two transverse guide bars 16 and 17”).
Regarding claim 34, Capoia discloses the device of claim 25, wherein an opposing member coacting with each rotating tool arranged on the first side of the feed path of the corrugated board web, is arranged on a second side of the feed path of the corrugated board web (Fig. 7; see also 112b rejection above).
Regarding claim 43, Capoia discloses the device of claim 25, wherein the rotary tools are scoring tools (“a creasing tool 37”).
Regarding claim 44, Capoia discloses the device of claim 25, wherein the rotary tools are cutting tools (“a cutting tool 36”).
Regarding claim 45, Capoia discloses the device of claim 35, wherein the first adjustment guide, or the second adjustment guide, or both the first adjustment guide and the second adjustment guide comprise two parallel tracks (rails 18/30/31 consist of two parallel tracks, see annotations in Fig. 5), integral with a respective cross member and wherein blocking devices (41/44), adapted to block the slides of the rotary tools with respect to a respective adjustment guide of said first adjustment guide and said second adjustment guide are positioned between the two parallel tracks of the respective adjustment guide (Fig. 6).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 29-33 and 35-42 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The claims in this application have been allowed because the prior art of record fails to disclose or make obvious the claimed invention including the following features:
Claim 29, “on the first side of the path of the corrugated board web, a second series of rotary tools; wherein each tool of the second series of rotary tools is supported on a respective slide, slidably engaged by respective shoes with said tracks of the first adjustment guide and adjustable along said first adjustment guide; and
a second manipulator adapted to position each said respective slide of the second series of rotary tools along the first adjustment guide; wherein the second manipulator is slidably engaged by said respective shoes with said sliding tracks of the first adjustment guide and is movable therealong.”.
Claim 35, “on a second side of the feed path of the corrugated board web, a third series of rotary tools; wherein each tool of the third series of rotary tools is supported on a respective slide, slidably engaged by respective shoes with tracks of a second adjustment guide and adjustable along said second adjustment guide; wherein the second adjustment guide extends in a direction orthogonal to the direction of feed of the corrugated board web along the feed path; and
a third manipulator adapted to position slides of the third series of rotary tools along the second adjustment guide; wherein the third manipulator is slidably engaged by respective shoes with said tracks of the second adjustment guide and is movable therealong.”
Closest prior art of record, Capoia, fails to disclose above limitations. Other prior art of record (see PTO 892 mailed herewith), fails to remedy Capoia’s deficiency without impermissible hind sight reconstruction of the applicant's invention.
The combination of the claimed limitations are novel and found to be allowable over the prior art. The cited references taken singly or in combination do not anticipate or make obvious the Applicant's claimed invention.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure (See PTO-892 Notice of References Cited).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Himchan Song whose telephone number is (571)272-4142. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
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/HIMCHAN SONG/Examiner, Art Unit 3731