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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: on page 3, lines 2-5, it is improper to refer to specific claims in the specification. Claims can be amended, thus changing the scope of the specification. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Namely, it is unclear how the material mixture is inserted into the channel. No gravity feeder, for example, is discussed. It is also unclear how the compaction of the blocks occur, since only the extruder body/thrust member motion is discussed. It is being assumed that the blocks are compressed between the thrust member or an adjacent block and an opposing adjacent block.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 &35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Kreibaum (2,960,423). Kreibaum teaches a process for the manufacture of blocks (Fig. 2) made from wood fibers, comprising at least the following phases of: supply of at least one mixture of material based on wood fibers, in the form of flakes and having a substantially elongated conformation, and resin (column 3, lines 2-11); supply of at least one extrusion channel provided with at least one outlet port substantially shaped like a parallelogram and having a pair of first sides with a first length and a pair of second sides with a second length (column 5, lines 6-24; chamber is opened at both ends with inlet and outlet, chamber has side walls forming block structure shown in Fig. 2); supply of at least one extruder body (column 5, lines 6-24; plunger) shaped substantially complementary to said extrusion channel, wherein said extruder body is movable linearly by shifting within said extrusion channel along a direction of compaction (block compresses against adjacent blocks; column 4, lines 72-75), defines at least one thrust plane transverse to said direction of compaction and is adapted to contact the material mixture; compaction of said mixture within said extrusion channel though the movement of said extruder body along said direction of compaction so as to obtain a compacted body, the fibers of said material arranging in a substantially coplanar manner to said thrust plane (Fig. 2) and on lying planes which are transverse to said direction of compaction; extrusion of said compacted body through said outlet port, said compacted body having at least one free end exiting from said outlet port; cutting of said compacted body along a cutting plane (column 7, lines 4-7) which is transverse to said direction of compaction at a predefined distance from said free end along said direction of compaction so as to obtain a block made from wood fibers, the sides of which have a first dimension corresponding to said first length (L1; see annotated figure below), a second dimension corresponding to said second length (L2) and a third dimension corresponding to said predefined distance (L3); and characterized by the fact that said predefined distance is greater than or equal to the lesser of either said first length or said second length so that said small block has four main faces arranged orthogonally to said cutting plane, having a main side defined by said predefined distance and at which said lying planes are arranged transverse to said main side, and at least two cutting faces opposite each other, obtained by means of said cut and bounded by the side having a smaller dimension than the others.
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Although Kreibaum states that the blocks can be cut to a desired size (column 7, lines 4-7), a small block formation is not specifically specified. However, it would have been an obvious consideration to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to dimension the blocks accordingly, including small in nature, depending on the intended use of the blocks. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ237 (CCPA 1955) and MPEP2144.04
Kreibaum further teaches that said predefined distance (L3) is greater than the lesser of either said first length (L1) or said second length (L2). That said cut comprises simultaneously performing a plurality of said cuts, where each of them is placed at said predefined distance (L3) from the cut preceding it along said direction of compaction (5). The process comprises at least one phase of sectioning said small block along a sectional plane which is orthogonal to said cutting faces. Wherein the cutting plane is arranged orthogonally to said direction of compaction. The small block is substantially shaped like a parallelepiped (Fig. 2).
Claims 7-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shelor (3,661,099) in view of Kreibaum (2,960,423). Shelor teaches a wood pallet having a platform element (1) with a load bearing face and a mating face and having wood block supports (2) attached to the mating face by fasteners (column 2, lines 46-47). Shelor fails to teach that the blocks have the claimed construction found in claim 1. As stated above, Kreibaum teaches a wood block with the desired construction. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the pallet of Shelor, by using blocks with the construction of Kreibaum, to provide stronger, non-warping pallet support members. Because Shelor in view of Kreibaum teaches the structural limitations of claim 7, the manufacturing process would inherently be provided for. This includes arranging the blocks so that the relevant said cutting faces are arranged transverse to said load-bearing face and wherein the remaining main faces arranged transversely to said load-bearing face are accessible from the outside and with the relevant fiber lying planes arranged, in use, vertically. The attaching can be carried out by arranging said mating face resting on a main face of each of said small blocks. Wherein the small blocks are arranged spaced apart from each other to define a plurality of through cavities (Fig. 1 of Shelor) between them. Wherein said cutting faces of said small blocks are arranged perpendicularly to said load-bearing face.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JANET M WILKENS whose telephone number is 571-272-6869. The examiner can normally be reached Mon thru Thurs 7am-5:30pm EST.
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Wilkens
December 31, 2025
/JANET M WILKENS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637