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 .
Status of Claims
Receipt is acknowledged of claims, filed on 07/01/2024, which has been placed of record and entered in the file.
Status of the claims:
Claims 1-10 are pending for examination.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the following features must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s).
Longitudinal ends of bottom wall (claim 10)
Upper ends of sidewall (claim 10)
No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
The following element(s) is/are interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
Claim 1, “drive means,” referring to “motor-driven” as described in ([0070]) and/or roller ([0072] and [0077])
Claim 3, “withdrawal means,” referring to motor-driven and/or roller
Claim 3, “return means,” referring to motor-driven and/or roller
Claims 1 and 10, “connecting means,” referring to cables, bands etc
Claim 5 “means for actuating the drive means” referring to toothed wheel (16) and slider (19)
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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 10 is 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 10, the claim recites in part “…connecting each of longitudinal ends of the bottom wall, a bar connecting upper ends of the side walls” in lines 3-4 which renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the drive means is recited as comprising three distinct elements (the connecting means, the bae, and the slider), or whether the bar and slider are merely part of the structure of a single connecting means. Additionally, it is unclear whether “a connecting means connecting each of longitudinal ends of the bottom wall” refers to a single connecting means that links both ends or to multiple connecting means (one per end). The claim is written in such a way that fails to clearly delineate the elements and their structural and functional relationships. This renders the metes and bounds of the claim unclear to one of ordinary skill in the art. Correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Quezel et al. (FR2490197A1).
Regarding claim 1, Quezel discloses a transfer box (1) for transferring articles (Fig. 1) into a carton (10), the transfer box (1) being adapted to be inserted into the carton (10) for depositing articles simultaneously, without dropping, at the bottom of the carton (10; Figs. 1-6 and Abstract), said transfer box (1) comprising: a bottom wall (5) able to slide between a deployed position closing the bottom of the transfer box (1) and a withdrawn position (when the bottom 5 is retracted), a drive means (6, 33) for the bottom wall (5), two opposite side walls (vertical walls 4), the bottom wall (5) being able to slide along one of the side walls (4) by actuating the drive means (6, 33) to move from the deployed position to the withdrawn position (Figs. 6-13, and Pg 18-20).
Quezel further teaches:
Regarding claim 2, wherein the one of the side walls (4) comprises a reservation space delimited by an inner plate and an outer plate (Figs. 1 and/or 9-10).
Regarding claim 3, wherein the drive means (6, 33) comprises a withdrawal means (33) and a return means (6) each secured to a longitudinal end of the bottom wall (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 4, wherein the drive means (6, 33) comprises a connecting means (3) attached to a longitudinal end of the bottom wall (Fig. 6 and 8).
Regarding claim 5, further comprising means for actuating the drive means (via toothed wheel @ 6, Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 6, wherein the bottom wall (5) is flexible or articulated (Fig. 1 shows the bottom wall being flexible).
Regarding claim 7, further comprising a front wall and/or a rear wall (9 and/or 99) adjacent to the one of the side walls (4), and able to adopt a closed position and an open position for the lateral loading of articles (Figs. 1-3, 6-7).
Regarding claim 8, wherein the drive means (6, 33) is a rotary drive means or a linear drive means of the bottom wall (part of the drive means is a motor).
Regarding claim 9, wherein the drive means (6, 33) comprises a drive roller (24) connected to a connecting means (3) secured to a longitudinal end of the bottom wall (Fig. 8).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The art cited is generally related to the field of device for collating and loading articles into a box/carton. See for example, Peterlini (US 20210380292 A1) teaches a device (1) for collating and loading and discharging articles, according to the present disclosure, includes a container (2) having a movable wall and equipped with a means for collating articles.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS E IGBOKWE whose telephone number is (571)272-1124. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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, Anna Kinsaul can be reached on (571) 270-1926. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NICHOLAS E IGBOKWE/Examiner, Art Unit 3731
/ANDREW M TECCO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
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