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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to applicant amendment received on 11/25/2025:
Amendments of Claims 1 and 8 are acknowledged.
Cancelation of Claim 5 is acknowledged.
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.
Claims 1 to 4 and 7 to 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yokota (US 2019/0263545).
Regarding Claims 1 and 7:
Yokota discloses an article-transfer apparatus (Figure 2b, packing system 1), comprising:
a first conveyor that conveys articles in a first direction (Figure 2B, product feeding unit 21 will be considered the first conveyor, conveying articles G);
a second conveyor that lines up in a predetermined state a plurality of the articles fed thereto from the first conveyor to form an article group and that simultaneously conveys the articles fed thereto in a second direction (Figures 3 and 4A to 4G, first aligning conveyor 221, second aligning conveyor 222 and third aligning conveyor 223 will be considered the second conveyor conveying the articles on a second direction, that intersects and is orthogonal to the first direction, Figures 4A to 4C show the formation of an article group while the articles are being conveyed); and
a transport mechanism that transports the article group to a predetermined position (Figures 2B and 5B, product inserting unit 23, formed by stand-up conveyor 231, a push-toward plate 233, and an insertion plate 235 places the group of articles G into cardboard boxes B, considered the predetermined position).
wherein a plurality of the article groups are formed on the second conveyor (Figures 4E to 4G show a group formed and another upstream being formed),
wherein each time the second conveyor catches one of the articles fed thereto from the
first conveyor, it conveys that article a predetermined distance in the second direction to thereby
line up a plurality of the articles in the predetermined state (Figures 4A to 4G show that conveyor 221 conveys the articles received from the first conveyor a little distance to form the group shown on 4B and the one being formed on 4G. Figure 11, paragraph 0168 to 0172, the first aligning conveyor 221 performs an intermittent conveyance at pitch L each time one to four products G of a first group of products lands on the first aligning conveyor 221 and after the fifth product G lands on the first aligning conveyor 221, the first aligning conveyor 221 conveys at pitch La, which is greater than pitch L), and
wherein the plural articles line up in a state in which after a first article of the plural
articles lands flat on the second conveyor, a part of a trailing article contacts the upper surface of
the second conveyor and the remaining part inclines against a preceding article to form the
article group (Figures 4A to 4D show a first article G that landed flat on the second conveyor and subsequent articles, not numbered, inclined against a preceding article, with the trailing end contacting the upper surface of the second conveyor and remaining part inclines against a preceding article to form the article group in this case formed by a total of five articles).
Regarding Claim 2:
Yokota discloses that the transport mechanism collectively grips and transports to the predetermined position the plurality of articles comprising the article group (Figures 2B and 5B, the group of articles is gripped by insertion plate 235, stand-up conveyor 231 and push-toward plate 233 and pushed into cardboard boxes B).
Regarding Claim 3:
Yokota discloses that a first article group transported first by the transport mechanism and a second article group transported by the transport mechanism after the first article group has been transported are formed on the second conveyor as the article groups (Figures 4E to 4G show a first group of articles being moved to conveyor 223 to be transported to a box B while a second is being formed on conveyor 221 to be completed and moved to conveyor 223 and transported to a box B after the first group is transported).
Regarding Claim 4:
Yokota discloses that a gap along the second direction is formed between the first article group and the second article group (Figures 4E to 4G show a gap formed between the groups in the second direction).
Regarding Claim 8:
Yokota discloses the first conveyor and the second conveyor are arranged such that the first direction and the second direction are orthogonal to each other (Figure 3), and
a conveyance surface of the first conveyor is inclined relative to a horizontal plane (Figure 3) such that, when the articles switch from the first conveyor to the second conveyor, a plane including longitudinal and transverse directions of the articles is inclined about an axis of rotation along the first direction relative to a conveyance surface of the second conveyor, so that after a first of the articles of the article group lands flat on the second conveyor the orientation of subsequent ones of the articles of the article group, when switching from the first conveyor to the second conveyor are inclined such that a part of the article that lands on an article already placed on the second conveyor is up and a part of an article that lands directly on the second conveyor is down (Figures 3, 4A, 4B, 4E and 4F show that after the first article of a group, the articles land partially on an article already placed on the second conveyor, so the part of the article that lands on the article already placed on the second conveyor is up and a part of an article that lands directly on the second conveyor is down).
Regarding Claim 9:
Yokota discloses further comprising an orientation-changing unit which, by contacting the articles, changes to a predetermined orientation the orientation of the articles as they are being conveyed on the first conveyor (Figure 3, Paragraph 0071, support wall 213 will be considered an orientation-changing unit that prevents the products G from falling off and guides the products G in the conveyance direction, changing the orientation of the products G sliding due to the incline on conveyor 212).
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.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yokota (US 2019/0263545).
Regarding Claim 12:
As discussed for Claim 1 above, Yokota discloses the invention as claimed.
Yokota does not disclose a plurality of article-transfer apparatuses.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have a plurality of article-transfer apparatuses since it has been held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced.
Claim 6 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yokota (US 2019/0263545) in view of Iwasa (US 2017/0073097).
Regarding Claim 6:
Yokota discloses a control unit that controls operations of the first conveyor and the second conveyor (Figure 1, Controller 40).
Yokota does not disclose wherein a leading end portion of the first conveyor in the first direction extends and retracts parallel to the first direction, and when the articles switch from a first position on the first conveyor to the second conveyor, the control unit changes the leading end portion of the first conveyor to a state in which it is retracted upstream of the first position in the first direction.
Iwasa teaches a similar article-transfer apparatus comprising a first conveyor 110 that transfer articles O to a second conveyor 20 to form groups of articles to be transported to a predetermined position on the accumulation surface of the shutter 41 (Figures 12 and 13), the first conveyor including a leading end capable of being extended and contracted to drop packages O from the first conveyor to the second to allow for packages O of different sizes to be received by the second conveyor 20 without having to employ a configuration that changes the height position of the second conveyor 20 (Paragraph 119).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate to Yokota the teachings of Iwasa and modify the first conveyor so the leading end is capable of being extended and contracted to drop packages from the first conveyor to the second to allow for packages of different sizes to be received by the second conveyor without having to employ a configuration that changes the height position of the second conveyor.
Regarding Claim 11:
As discussed for Claim 1 above, Yokota discloses the invention as claimed.
Yokota does not disclose that the transport mechanism includes a robot that sucks and holds the article group formed by the second conveyor.
Iwasa teaches a similar article-transfer apparatus comprising a first conveyor 110 that transfer articles O to a second conveyor 20 to form groups of articles to be transported to a predetermined position by a robot 30 that includes a movable suction unit 38 (Figure 3) to pick up the articles O of a group by sucking and holding and transfer them to the predetermined position on the accumulation surface of the shutter 41 (Figure 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate to Yokota the teachings of Iwasa and replace the product inserting unit 23 for a robot with a movable suction unit as a well-known alternative to transfer a group of articles to a predetermined position.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yokota (US 2019/0263545) in view of Gu (CN 106185183).
Regarding Claim 10:
As discussed for Claim 7 above, Yokota discloses the invention as claimed.
Yokota does not disclose a third conveyor, wherein the third conveyor is disposed in a substantially vertical orientation, so as to oppose a terminal end of the first conveyor, along a side surface of the second conveyor that is positioned farther downstream in the conveyance direction of the first conveyor among side surfaces of the second conveyor, and a conveyance surface of the third conveyor advances synchronously with the second conveyor in the same direction as the second direction.
Gu teaches a Synchronous Conveyor to transfer a product that needs to be retained in the container by sidewall baffles to avoid crumbs (small pieces of the product) of the product contaminating the conveyor or the rest of the equipment, the sidewalls comprise belt conveyors along both side surfaces of the main conveyor (Figure 2, conveying belt 1 and two transmitting belts 2) to avoid friction and formation of crumbs of the product when contacting the sidewall.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate to Yokota the teachings of Gu and add sidewalls which comprise belt conveyors, that will be considered third conveyors, the belt conveyors advancing synchronously with the second conveyor in the same direction as the second direction along both side surfaces of the second conveyor, one of them would be located downstream in the conveyance direction of the first conveyor; to transfer a product that needs to be retained in the container by sidewall baffles to avoid friction and formation of crumbs of the product when contacting the sidewall contaminating the conveyor or the rest of the equipment.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/25/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding the rejection of Claim 1 the Applicant argues that:
Applicant has amended the article-transfer apparatus of claim 1 to state that a transport mechanism transports the article group to a predetermined position, in a state in which after a first article of the plural articles lands flat on the second conveyor, a part of a trailing article contacts the upper surface of the second conveyor and the remaining part inclines against a preceding article.
The Examiner agrees that the transport mechanism of Yokota cannot transport the articles in such way, but the claim was not amended to read that, and cannot fail to note that on Figure 5A, just before the push-toward plate 233 collectively grips the articles, they are exactly in the claimed orientation.
The claim just reads: “a transport mechanism that transports the article group to a predetermined position”. Nowhere in the claim it is disclosed that the articles have to be in such position when transported by the transport mechanism. Of course, such amendment would overcome Yokota as used, but not necessarily make the claim allowable.
Also, the Examiner notes that according to the Specification and Figure 5 in particular, the claimed orientation of the articles only apply before they are picked by the suction pads 38a, during transport the orientation at least of the first article will surely change.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. In particular, rejections of the independent Claim and several depended could have been made using Jones (US 2003/0196871), Claim 9 could have been rejected using Cabell (US 2970360) Sjogren (US 2012/0228085) or Stanford (US 3598227) and Claim 10 could have been rejected with Battles (US 11584593) or Garbagnati (US 10994939) just to name some.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDUARDO R FERRERO whose telephone number is (571)272-9946. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-7:00.
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/EDUARDO R FERRERO/Examiner, Art Unit 3731
/ROBERT F LONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731