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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 03-27-2026 has been entered.
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) 16, 18-19, 21, and 26-27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gholson (3,247,780).
Regarding claim 16, Gholson discloses a binding needle (figs 1-3) for a needle yoke of a bale press, the binding needle comprising: a mounting element (member 15) which is configured to mount to a rocker support of the needle yoke; a guide element (member 13) which is configured to at least indirectly guide a strand-shaped binder; and a needle body (member 10) which is made of a metal, the needle body at least partially being formed entirely by a pipe profile which defines a profile interior (fig 3, col 1, lines 57-58), the needle body being arranged to extend from the mounting element to the guide element and to run at least in sections in a manner of an arc along a plane of curvature so as to define an inside of the arc of the binding needle and an outside of the arc of the binding needle (fig 1).
Regarding claim 18, Gholson discloses the pipe profile comprises, at least in sections on the outside of the arc, a receiving section which has a concave cross-section and which defines an outside receiving trough for the strand-shaped binder (fig 1).
Regarding claim 19, Gholson discloses the pipe profile comprises, at least in sections on the inside of the arc, a back section which has a convex cross-section (fig 1).
Regarding claim 21, Gholson discloses at least one of the guide element and the mounting element are manufactured separately from the needle body and are mounted thereto (fig 1).
It is noted that the lack of physical description in a product-by-process claim makes determination of the patentability of the claim more difficult, since in spite of the fact that the claim may recite only process limitations, it is the patentability of the product claimed and not of the recited process steps which must be established. We are therefore of the opinion that when the prior art discloses a product which reasonably appears to be either identical with or only slightly different than a product claimed in a product-by-process claim, a rejection based alternatively on either section 102 or section 103 of the statute is eminently fair and acceptable. As a practical matter, the Patent Office is not equipped to manufacture products by the myriad of processes put before it and then obtain prior art products and make physical comparisons therewith.” In re Brown, 459 F.2d 531, 535, 173 USPQ 685, 688 (CCPA 1972). Office personnel should note that reliance on the alternative grounds of 35 U.S.C. 102 or 35 U.S.C. 103 does not eliminate the need to explain both the anticipation and obviousness aspects of the rejections. MPEP 2113.
Regarding claim 26, Gholson discloses a method for producing a binding needle for a needle yoke of a bale press, wherein the binding needle (figs 1-3) comprises: a mounting element (member 15) which is configured to mount to a rocker support of the needle yoke; a guide element (member 13) which is configured to at least indirectly guide a strand-shaped binder; and a needle body (member 10) which is made of a metal (fig 3, col 1, lines 57-58), the needle body being arranged to extend from the mounting element to the guide element and to run at least in sections in a manner of an arc along a plane of curvature so as to define an inside of the arc of the binding needle and an outside of the arc of the binding needle, and
the method comprises: using a pipe profile which defines a profile interior to at least partially form the needle body, wherein the needle body is formed entirely by the pipe profile (fig 3).
Regarding claim 27, Gholson discloses the using of the pipe profile to at least partially form the needle body is performed via a forming of the pipe profile (col 1, lines 57-58).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gholson (3,247,780).
Regarding claim 20, Demulder teaches all claim limitations except the pipe profile comprises two side sections which are arranged to lie opposite to one another transversely to the plane of curvature, each of the two side sections being arranged to run at an angle of at most 15° to the plane of curvature. However, as seen in fig 4 that the two sides (members 66 and 72) seem to be parallel to each other (i.e. an angle is about 0°); therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to understand that the two sides angle can be at most 15° in order to provide sufficient strength for accommodating the initial torque requirement.
Claim(s) 22-25 and 32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gholson (3,247,780) as applied to claims 16 and 26 above, and further in view of Demulder et al. (2016/0128280).
Regarding claim 22, Gholson teaches all limitations of the claim except at least one reinforcing element which is mounted to the needle body and which is arranged at least partially on the inside of the arc.
Demulder teaches a needle having at least one reinforcing element (member 70) which is mounted to the needle body and which is arranged at least partially on the inside of the arc (fig 6).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify the needle of Gholson by adding a reinforcing element of Demulder in order to have the needle stronger.
Regarding claim 23, the modified needle Gholson-Demulder discloses at least one of the at least one reinforcing element (Demulder, member 70) is designed as a profile part and/or is attached to the mounting element (Demulder, fig 6).
Regarding claim 24, the modified needle Gholson-Demulder discloses at least one of the at least one reinforcing element (Demulder, member 70), the guide element (Gholson, member 13), and the mounting element is/are firmly bonded to the needle body.
Regarding claim 25, Gholson teaches all limitations of the claim except a bale press which is configured to form a crop bale in a bale chamber and to wrap the crop bale with a strand-shaped binder, the bale press comprising: a needle yoke comprising a rocker support; and the at least one binding needle as recited in claim 16 wherein the at least one binding needle as recited in wherein, the at least one binding needle is attached to the rocker support.
Demulder teaches a bale press which is configured to form a crop bale in a bale chamber and to wrap the crop bale with a strand-shaped binder, the bale press (fig 1) comprising: a needle yoke (member 32) comprising a rocker support (member 34); and the at least one binding needle as recited in claim 16 wherein the at least one binding needle as recited in wherein, the at least one binding needle is attached to the rocker support (para 0017).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify the needle of Gholson by using it with Demulder machine as the needle is intended for the machine.
Regarding claim 32, Gholson teaches attaching at least one of the guide element (member 13), the mounting element (member 15).
Demulder teaches a method of making a needle having attaching at least one reinforcing element to the needle body, wherein, if the at least one reinforcing element is attached to the needle body, the at least one reinforcing element is arranged at least partially on the inside of the arc (fig 5, member 65, para 0022).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify the needle of Gholson by adding a reinforcing element of Demulder in order to have the needle stronger.
Claim(s) 28-31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gholson (3,247,780) as applied to claim 26 above, and further in view of Kokubo et al. (2018/0036830).
Regarding claims 28-31, Gholson teaches all claim limitations except the forming of the pipe profile is a cold forming, performing a rolling of the pipe profile to adjust a cross-section of the pipe profile, performing a bending of the pipe profile to adjust a course of the pipe profile along the plane of curvature, wherein the bending of the pipe profile is a roll bending (fig 3, claim 2).
It would have been obvious one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify the method of Gholson by using the cold rolling cold method of Kokubo in order to easily recognize and identify the seam portion at a processing site.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 03-27-2026, with respect to claim(s) 16-32 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BAO-THIEU L NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-0476. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7am-3pm.
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BAO-THIEU L. NGUYEN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3732
/BAO-THIEU L NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732
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