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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless reference CN 212760331U have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: rolling axis 19.
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 three bearing holes must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). 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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: it is suggested to amend the limitation “having six side surfaces, when viewed along the rolling axis, form edges” to read as “having six side surfaces, when viewed along the rolling axis, that form edges”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: it is suggested to amend the limitation “a first opening” to read as “a first of the two parallel openings” and amend the limitation “a second opening” to read as “a second of the two parallel openings” to clarify that the limitations are directed to the previously recited water openings.
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.
Claims 2 and 4-9 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
With regards to claim 2, the claim states “two parallel water feed openings” it is unclear if this is in addition to the at least one water feed opening set forth in claim 1 or if this is intending to further define the at least one water feed opening to now be two. Clarification and/or correction is required. The limitation is being interpreted as further defining the at least one recitation of claim 1.
The claim states “two parallel water feed openings are arranged on the three side surfaces” this renders the claim indefinite since it is unclear how two feed openings are to be on three surfaces. For examination purposes the limitation is being interpreted as: two parallel water feed openings are arranged on each of the three side surfaces.
There appears to be missing language in the limitation “that are not adjacent, on each of the respective three side surface”.
With regards to claim 4, the claim states “air connection is arranged on each of three of the side surfaces” it is unclear if this is intending to refer to the same three side surfaces having the water feed openings set forth in claim 1, or if it is intending to refer to the remaining three side surfaces not having the water feed openings. Clarification and/or correction is required.
With regard to claim 8, the claim states “the bearing holes are in one of the side surfaces such that the bearing holes are offset in a rotationally symmetrical manner” it is unclear how the three bearing holes are all to be in a single side surface and still be offset in rotationally symmetrical manner about the rolling axis.
With regards to claim 9, the claim states “the stand housing is closed and undivided”, it is unclear what is encompassed within the term “closed” and “undivided”. Specifically, the housing is open on both sides to allow for the workpiece being rolled to pass through therefore it is unclear how it is to be closed. Clarification and/or correction is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance.
It is the opinion of the examiner that the art of record (considered as a whole) neither anticipates nor renders obvious “at least one water feed opening arranged on three of the side surfaces that are not adjacent to one another, the at least one water feed opening configured to conduct water through the interior of the stand housing to a water outlet opening in the outlet side or in the inlet side” in combination with the rest of the claimed limitations set forth in claim 1.
US 2022/0111428 to Pacher et al discloses a stand housing (4) for a stand for rolling rods, wires or pipes, wherein the stand housing has six sides surfaces that form edges of a regular hexagon when viewed along the rolling axis, an inlet side and an outlet side [see figure 11]. While Pacher et al shows connections and connection openings on four of the six sides surfaces with the two of the sides surfaces being adjacent to one another.
The prior art neither alone nor in combination, anticipates nor renders obvious the claimed invention and no motivation is found to modify the prior art to obtain the claimed invention. To modify the prior art to obtain the claimed invention would require hindsight since Pacher et al is silent with regards to if these connections allow for fluid and the side surfaces with the connections openings are adjacent to one another. Claims 1, 3, 10 and 11 are allowed.
Claims 2 and 4-9 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.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Debra Sullivan whose telephone number is (571)272-1904. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm EST.
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, Chris Templeton can be reached on (571) 270-1477. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Debra M Sullivan/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3725
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