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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 15-16, and 27-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Heit U.S. Patent No. 5,613,591.
Claim 1, Heit teaches a method of engaging a plurality of products (packages I-V), the method comprising: positioning the plurality of products (packages I-V) on a conveyor assembly 40; driving via 46 the conveyor assembly 40 to move the plurality of products (packages I-V) in a machine direction via 70,72,74; driving a plurality of flight assemblies 50 in a closed path about a product engaging assembly 130 positioned above the conveyor assembly 40 Fig. 6; engaging a respective product (packages I-V) with a respective flight assembly 50; and engaging the respective flight assembly 50 with a respective cam track 56 of a plurality of cam tracks 56,390,400 along a cam plate 412 of the product engaging assembly 130 to one of maintain a rotational arrangement of a portion of the respective flight assembly 50 or cause the portion of the respective flight assembly 520 to rotate C11 L15-65.
Claims 2, 16 and 28, Heit teaches the respective flight assembly 50 comprises a top plate and a plurality of product engaging plates 130 rotatably coupled to the top plate 132, the portion of the respective flight assembly 50 is the plurality of product engaging plates 130, and the plurality of product engaging plates 130 arranged for at least partially receiving a respective product (packages I-V) therebetween C6 L66-67; C7 L1-32.
Claims 15 and 27, Heit teaches a system Fig. 1 for engaging a plurality of products (packages I-V), the system comprising: a conveyor assembly 40 configured to move the plurality of products (packages I-V) in a machine direction via 70,72,74; and a product engaging assembly 130 positioned above the conveyor assembly 40, the product engaging assembly 130 comprising a plurality of flight assemblies 50 for engaging a respective product of the plurality of products (packages I-V), the product engaging assembly 130 comprising a cam plate 412 and a plurality of cam tracks 56,390,400 extending at least partially therealong, the plurality of flight assemblies 50 movably supported along a closed path for engaging a respective cam track 56,390,400 of a plurality of cam tracks 56,390,400 for one of maintaining a rotational arrangement of a portion of the respective flight assembly 50 or causing the portion of the respective flight assembly 50 to rotate C6 L66-67; C7 L1-32.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-14, 17-26, and 29-37 are 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 prior art does not fairly teach “the plurality of product engaging plates are rotatably coupled to the top plate through a pinion, the flight assembly further comprising a cam follower extending from a rack operably coupled to the pinion for causing rotation of the plurality of product engaging plates relative to the top plate” in combination with 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 KAVEL SINGH whose telephone number is (571)272-2362. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8am-6pm.
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/KAVEL SINGH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3651
KS