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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In paragraph 0004, line 9, “form a second standby position” should read “from a second standby position”.
In paragraph 0028, line 3, “becomes smaller duration rotation” should read “becomes smaller during rotation”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, line 11, "form a second standby position" should read "from a second standby position".
Claim 11 objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 11, line 3, "becomes smaller duration rotation" should read "becomes smaller during rotation".
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 3 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claim 3 is dependent on itself and does not reference any of the preceding claims. As such, Claim 3 fails to include any limitations found in the preceding claims. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kazerooni et al (U.S. Patent No. 6554337).
Regarding claim 1, Kazerooni et al teaches a gripping device (10) (Abstract; Fig. 1, element 10), comprising:
a first grip roller (11) mounted for rotation about a first axis (13), the first grip roller (11) including a first grip surface region (16) facing outwardly from the first axis (13) (Column 4, lines 51-54, 66-67; Fig. 1A, elements 11, 13, 16);
a second grip roller (12) mounted for rotation about a second axis (14) that runs substantially parallel to the first axis (13) and is spaced away from the first axis (13), the second grip roller (12) including a second grip surface (16) region facing outwardly from the second axis (14) (Column 4, lines 51-54, 66-67; Fig. 1A, elements 12, 13, 14, 16);
an actuating system configured for carrying out a grip operation that involves (i) rotating the first grip roller (11) in a first rotational direction, in an end view along the first axis (13) and the second axis (14), from a first standby position to a first film pinch position, and (ii) rotating the second grip roller (12) in a second rotational direction, in the end view along the first axis (13) and the second axis (14), form a second standby position to a second film pinch position, the second rotational direction being opposite the first rotational direction (Column 5, lines 45-51; Column 6, lines 10-22; Fig. 1, elements 11, 12, 13, 14; Fig. 2A, elements 40, 41, 43, 44).
Regarding claim 2, Kazerooni et al teaches when the first grip roller (11) and the second grip roller (12) are engaged on a surface of a film (17) while respectively in the first standby position and the second standby position, and the actuating system then carries out the grip operation, the first grip surface region (16) and second grip surface region (16) interact with the surface of the film (17) to pull the film (17) into a zone between the first grip roller (11) and the second grip roller (12) (Column 5, lines 4-11; Fig. 1A, elements 11, 12, 17; Fig. 1B, elements 11, 12, 17; Fig. 2A, elements 40, 41, 43, 44; annotated figure).
PNG
media_image1.png
447
328
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 3, Kazerooni et al teaches as the actuating system carries out the grip operation, the first grip surface region (16) pulls a first film portion into the zone and the second grip surface portion (16) pulls a second a second film portion into the zone, such that the first film portion and the second film portion come together at abutting face portions with the first film portion and the second film portion joined by a crease or fold in the film (Fig. 1A, elements 16, 17; Fig. 2A, elements 40, 41, 43, 44; annotated figure).
PNG
media_image2.png
452
332
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 4, Kazerooni et al teaches the actuating system comprises at least one linear actuator (43, 44) that moves a first link (29, 30) that is pivotably connected to the first grip roller (27) and a second link (31, 32) that is pivotably connected to the second grip roller (28) (Column 6, lines 10-14; Fig. 2A, elements 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 43, 44).
Regarding claim 5, Kazerooni et al teaches the at least one linear actuator (43, 44) comprises a pneumatic actuator (Column 5, lines 40-44).
Regarding claim 6, Kazerooni et al teaches the first grip roller (11) and second grip roller (12) are mounted such that a spacing between the first axis (13) and the second axis (14) is fixed (Column 5, lines 22-27).
Regarding claim 7, Kazerooni et al teaches at least the first grip roller (11) is mounted such that a spacing between the first axis (13) and the second axis (14) is variable during the gripping operation (Column 5, lines 22-27; Column 6, lines 10-14).
Regarding claim 8, Kazerooni et al teaches the first grip roller (11) is biased toward the second grip roller (12) (Column 5, lines 66-67; Column 6, lines 3-5, 8-12).
Regarding claim 9, Kazerooni et al teaches the first grip roller (11) comprises a first roller body with at least one first elastomeric grip band portion thereon for defining the first grip surface region (16);
the second grip roller (12) comprises a second roller body with at least one second elastomeric grip band portion thereon for defining the second grip surface region (16) (Column 4, line 67; Column 5, lines 1-4).
Regarding claim 10, Kazerooni et al teaches the first grip roller (27) and the second grip roller (28) are mounted to a frame structure (33, 34, 35) (Column 5, lines 55-60, 63-65; Fig. 2A, elements 27, 28, 33, 34, 35).
Regarding claim 11, Kazerooni et al teaches the first grip roller (11) and the second grip roller (12) are cooperatively configured such that a spacing between the first grip surface region (16) and the second grip surface region (16) becomes smaller duration rotation of the first grip roller (11) and the second grip roller (12) to the first film pinch position and the second film pinch position (Column 5, lines 22-27; Column 6, lines 10-14).
Regarding claim 12, Kazerooni et al teaches a gripping system (76), comprising a movable arm unit (144) and the gripping device (10) of claim 1 mounted to the arm unit (144) for movement therewith (Column 13, lines 20-22; Fig. 14, elements 76, 144).
Regarding claim 13, Kazerooni et al teaches a controller configured for moving the movable arm (144) and for activating the actuating system, wherein the controller is configured to move the arm (144) such that the first grip roller (11) and the second grip roller (12), when respectively in the first standby position and the second standby position, are engaged onto a film wrapped product (17) with at least a predetermined force before the actuating system is activated to carry out the grip operation that moves the first grip roller (11) to the first film pinch position and the second grip roller (12) to the second film pinch position (Column 9, lines 36-38, 56-65; Column 10, lines 15-18; Column 11, lines 21-25; Column 13, lines 23-25; Fig. 5; Fig. 6A; Fig. 6B).
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by McGill et al (U.S. Patent No. 5303910).
Regarding claim 14, McGill et al teaches a method of gripping a film-wrapped package unit, comprising:
utilizing a gripping device (20) with first and second grip rollers (92, 94) extending alongside each other (Column 4, lines 29-32; Fig. 8, elements 92, 94);
pressing the gripping device (20) onto the film-wrapped package unit (25) such that the first and second grip rollers (92, 94) engage first and second film regions of the film-wrapped package unit (25) (Column 5, lines 37-43; Fig. 4, elements 25, 30; Fig. 5, elements 25, 30; Fig. 8, elements 92, 94, 25);
rotating the grip rollers (92, 94) in opposite directions to pull the first and second film regions into a zone between the grip rollers (92, 94) such that the first and second film regions are pinched together between the grip rollers (92, 94) (Column 5, lines 43-53; Fig. 9, elements 92, 94, 123).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SYDNEY JEANINE SIMMONS whose telephone number is (571)272-7472. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 7:00am to 4:30pm.
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, ROBERT HODGE can be reached at 571-272-2097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SYDNEY JEANINE SIMMONS/Examiner, Art Unit 3654
/ROBERT W HODGE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3654
Prosecution Insights