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
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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(s) 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Edvardsson (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0001426 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Edvardsson (see the entire document, in particular, paragraphs [0001], [0026], [0028], [0029] and [0031]; Figures 1 and 2) teaches an apparatus (see Figure 2, paragraphs [0001] (apparatus for forming air-laid absorbent cores), [0002] (the fibers in the layers are preferably cellulosic), [0028] (core elements 15, 16) and [0031] (pulp fibers 22, 23) of Edvardsson), including (a) a disintegrating unit for providing a quantity of separated cellulose fibers from a cellulose raw material (see paragraph [0026] (the apparatus includes a mill (e.g., a hammer mill) for defibrating pulp) of Edvardsson); (b) a multi-stage cellulose blank forming unit including a dispenser for guiding a cellulose fiber carrying air flow from the disintegrating unit, and wherein the multi-stage cellulose blank forming unit is configured for forming a continuous or discontinuous cellulose blank having different grammage at different locations from the quantity of separated cellulose fibers transported by air flow via the dispenser (see Figures 1 and 2, paragraphs [0026] (pipes used for fiber or fiber/SAP transport, and a fan for transporting fiber or fiber/SAP to hoods 5-8) and [0028] (core elements 15, 16 (i.e., portions of core contain only core elements 15, other portions of the core contain core elements 15 and 16, resulting in different grammage (i.e., basis weight) in different portions of the core)) of Edvardsson); (c) a product forming unit for producing rigid cellulose products having essentially non-flat general shape from the cellulose blank by pressing (see Figure 1, paragraph [0028] (compression device 17) of Edvardsson); (d) a first forming drum having an outer surface configured for receiving cellulose fibers originating from the dispenser and for forming part of the cellulose blank, by means of a first air removing device arranged inside the first forming drum (see Figures 1 and 2, paragraphs [0026] (mat forming wheel 2, suction box 14) and [0028] (core element 16 is formed on mat forming wheel 2) of Edvardsson); (e) a second forming drum having an outer surface configured for receiving cellulose fibers originating from the dispenser and from the outer surface of the first forming drum and for forming the continuous or discontinuous cellulose blank, by means of a second air removing device arranged inside the second forming drum (see Figures 1 and 2, paragraphs [0026] (mat forming wheel 1, suction box 13) and [0028] (core element 15 is formed on mat forming wheel 1; core element 16 is transferred onto portions of core element 15 on mat forming wheel 1) of Edvardsson); and (f) a support structure for receiving the continuous or discontinuous cellulose blank formed on the second forming drum (see Figure 1, paragraph [0029] (accelerator device 22) of Edvardsson).
Regarding claim 3, see Figure 1, paragraph [0026] (fan transports fibers to hoods 5, 6 of mat forming wheel 1; fan transports fibers to hoods 7, 8 of mat forming wheel 2) of Edvardsson.
Regarding claim 4, see Figure 1, paragraph [0026] (fibers are transported from a mill to hoods 5, 6 of mat forming wheel 1; fibers are transported from a mill to hoods 7, 8 of mat forming wheel 2) of Edvardsson.
Regarding claim 6, see Figure 1, paragraph [0028] (compression device 17 includes rollers 18, 19) of Edvardsson.
Regarding claim 7, see Figure 1, paragraph [0029] (accelerator device 22 receives mat from rollers 18, 19) of Edvardsson.
Claim(s) 8 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Edvardsson (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0001426 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Edvardsson (see the entire document, in particular, paragraphs [0002], [0016], [0026], [0028], [0029] and [0031]; Figures 1 and 2) teaches a process (see Figure 2, paragraphs [0016] (method of forming air-laid absorbent cores), [0002] (the fibers in the layers are preferably cellulose), [0028] (core elements 15, 16) and [0031] (pulp fibers 22, 23) of Edvardsson), including (a) providing a quantity of separated cellulose fibers by disintegrating a cellulose raw material (see paragraph [0026] (a mill (e.g., a hammer mill) for defibrating pulp) of Edvardsson); (b) transporting the separated cellulose fibers by an air flow to a multi-stage cellulose blank forming unit having a first forming drum and a second forming drum (see Figures 1 and 2, paragraph [0026] (pipes used for fiber or fiber/SAP transport, and a fan for transporting fiber or fiber/SAP to hoods 5-8; mat forming wheel 1, mat forming wheel 2) of Edvardsson); (c) transferring the cellulose fibers from the first forming drum to the second forming drum (see Figures 1 and 2, paragraph [0028] (core element 15 is formed on mat forming wheel 1; core element 16 (formed on mat forming wheel 2) is transferred onto portions of core element 15 on mat forming wheel 1) of Edvardsson); (d) forming a continuous or discontinuous cellulose blank having different grammage at different locations at the outer surface of the second forming drum (see Figure 2, paragraph [0028] (core elements 15, 16 (i.e., portions of core contain only core elements 15, other portions of the core contain core elements 15 and 16, resulting in different grammage (i.e., basis weight) in different portions of the core)) of Edvardsson); (e) transferring the continuous or discontinuous cellulose blank from the second forming drum to a support structure (see Figure 1, paragraph [0029] (accelerator device 22 receives core) of Edvardsson); and (f) producing rigid cellulose products having essentially non-flat general shape by pressing the continuous or discontinuous cellulose blank having different grammage at different locations in a product forming unit (see Figure 1, paragraph [0028] (compression device 17) of Edvardsson).
Regarding claim 9, see Figure 1, paragraph [0028] (compression device 17) of Edvardsson.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Edvardsson (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0001426 A1) as applied to claims 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 above, and further in view of Larsson et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2019/0070819 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Edvardsson does not teach (1) a molding unit. Larsson et al (see the entire document, in particular, paragraphs [0001], [0017] and [0053]; Figure 1) teaches an apparatus (see paragraph [0001] (apparatus for forming a cellulose product) of Larsson et al), including a molding unit (see Figure 1, paragraph [0053] (forming mold 3) of Larsson et al), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a molding unit in the apparatus of Edvardsson in view of Larsson et al in order to provide objects having a desired non-flat shape (see paragraph [0017] of Larsson et al).
Allowable Subject Matter
The indicated allowability of claims 1 and 3-9 is withdrawn in view of the newly discovered reference(s) to Edvardsson (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0001426 A1). Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) are set forth above.
Claim 2 is 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LEO B. TENTONI whose telephone number is (571)272-1209. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30-4:00 ET M-F.
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LEO B. TENTONI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1742
/LEO B TENTONI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1742