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 Interpretation
The Examiner wishes to point out to applicant that claims 1-15 are directed towards an apparatus and as such will be examined under such conditions. The material worked upon or the process of using the apparatus is viewed as recitation of intended use and is given patentable weight only to the extent that structure is added to the claimed apparatus (Please see MPEP 2112.01 I and 2114-2115 for further details).
Drawings
The corrected drawings were received on 7/16/2026. These drawings are accepted, and the previous objections are withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The previous rejection under this heading is withdrawn due to the amendments.
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 1-6 and 8-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipate by Vanacker (EP 3117982 B1). Regarding claim 1, Vanacker teaches:
Vanacker teaches a positioning system to control deposition of a nozzle in paragraphs 0012 and 0016. The nozzle of Vanacker is seen as the tube 92 and component 88 as seen in Figures 5A-6A, there in an inlet at the top and an outlet at the bottom, with a bore therein.
Vanacker then teaches an alignment duct as shown in Figures 4A-4B which is at the bottom of the assembly of Figures 5A-6B, made from the guards 85. The slit formed by the guards 85 has a different cross sectional shape to that of the circular nozzle bore of Vanacker. As seen in Figure 5B the guards 85 are downstream of the nozzle made which is component 88. Due to the slit shape formed by guards 85 they would passively align fibers.
Regarding claims 2-4:
As seen in alignment duct of Figure 4A is seen as the claimed aligner chip and is perpendicular to the nozzle bore, as seen in Figures 5A-6B. As seen in Figure 4A the slit extends through the chip and it tapered due to the shape of the guards 85. Regarding the material worked upon by the apparatus; since Vanacker anticipates the claimed structure, Vanacker is capable of using such material in the claimed use.
Regarding claims 5 and 6:
The guards 85 create a pair of angled inner walls as claimed. Regarding the material worked upon by the apparatus; since Vanacker anticipates the claimed structure, Vanacker is capable of using such material in the claimed use.
Regarding claims 8-15:
Figures 5B and 6A show two embodiments of the apparatus of Vanacker, everything that is not the guards 85, the component 88, or tube 92 is seen as the alignment duct housing. From there all the required structure in claims 9-14 is shown by the other components in Figures 5B and 6A. As seen in Figures 5B or 6A there is a chamber created as claimed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 is allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art does not anticipate or make obvious the multiple tapering slots.
The closest prior art is Vanacker which teaches a single slot.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/16/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant argues that Vanacker does not teach an alignment duct downstream of the nozzle body outlet end.
The Examiner disagrees. The alignment duct of Vanacker is as shown in Figures 4A and 4B, and is clearly shown to be downstream of component 88 in Figure 5B. This component 5B is the nozzle body outlet end.
The Applicant argues that Vanacker does not teach passive alignment of fibers through via the alignment duct.
The Examiner disagrees. The guards 85 of Vanacker create the required slit structure, and would passively align fibers passing therethrough. The claim does not state what size the fibers are, and since the claims are directed to an apparatus and since Vanacker anticipates the claimed structure, Vanacker would be capable of passive fiber alignment.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 TIMOTHY J KENNEDY whose telephone number is (571)270-7068. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8am-5pm.
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, Galen Hauth can be reached at 571-270-5516. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TIMOTHY KENNEDY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1743
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