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 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.
Claim(s) 1-9 and 11-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Doyle et al (U.S. Patent No. 7,770,369), hereinafter “Doyle”.
With respect to Claim 1, Doyle, Figures 1-29, teaches a strap dispenser 100 for dispensing strap from a strap coil, the strap dispenser comprising:
a frame 145;
a strap-coil carriage 200 rotatably mounted to the frame 145 and configured to support the strap coil 214;
a dispenser actuator 300 operable to dispense strap from the strap coil and cause the strap- coil carriage to rotate relative to the frame; and
a communication interface 802 operable to establish communication with an external strapping tool (See Column 13, lines 20-35) and, thereafter, to receive an instruction from the external strapping tool for controlling operation of the dispenser actuator.
With respect to Claim 2, Doyle further teaches wherein the dispenser actuator 300 is configured to, in response to the instruction, dispense a designated length of strap from the strap coil.
With respect to Claim 3, Doyle further teaches wherein the designated length is substantially the same as the length of strap the external strapping tool used in the immediately preceding strapping cycle.
With respect to Claim 4, Doyle further teaches the dispenser actuator is configured to, in response to the instruction, continuously dispense strap from the strap coil until receiving a second instruction to stop dispensing strap. (See Column 15, lines 12-23).
With respect to Claim 5, Doyle further teaches further comprising a strap-dispensing assembly mounted to the frame, the strap-dispensing assembly comprising the dispenser actuator, a drive roller 312, and a pinch roller 314, wherein the drive roller and the pinch roller are positioned to form a nip (See Figure 4) therebetween through which the strap extends, wherein the dispenser actuator is operably connected to the drive roller to drive the drive roller to dispense the strap from the strap coil, thereby causing the strap-coil carriage to rotate relative to the frame in a dispensing rotational direction.
With respect to Claim 6, Doyle further teaches a biasing element (See Column 10, lines 49-53) operably connected to the strap-coil carriage and configured to apply a torque to the strap-coil carriage in a direction opposite the dispensing rotational direction.
With respect to Claim 7, Doyle further teaches a biasing element (See Column 10, lines 49-53) operably connected to the pinch roller and configured to bias the pinch roller into contact with the drive roller.
With respect to Claim 8, Doyle further teaches a controller 800 operably connected to the dispenser actuator and configured to control the dispenser actuator.
With respect to Claim 9, Doyle further teaches a sensor 388,389 configured to sense when an amount of strap on the strap coil has fallen below a low-strap threshold, wherein the controller is configured to, in response to the sensor sensing that the amount of strap on the strap coil has fallen below the low-strap threshold, send a low-strap notification to the external strapping tool via the wireless communication interface.
With respect to Claims 11-15, the method described in these claims would inherently result from the use of the strap dispenser of Doyle as advanced above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Doyle as applied to Claims 1-9 and 11-15 above, and further in view of Coe et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0308843), hereinafter “Coe”.
With respect to Claim 10, Doyle is advanced above.
Doyle teaches all the elements of the strap dispenser except for the communication device comprises a wireless communication device.
However, Coe, Figure 14, teaches that it is known to use wireless modules for communication.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide Doyle with a wireless communication device, as taught by Coe, for the purpose of providing the ability to connect the device without physical constraints.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM ARAUZ RIVERA whose telephone number is (571)272-6953. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM MDT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Victoria P. Augustine can be reached at 313-446-4858. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM A. RIVERA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3654
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