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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I, Species I (claims 1-3, 9-12, and 16-20) in the reply filed on 09/10/2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that each of the mentioned species is directed to a production method that differs only by inclusion of an ancillary unit, while those units do not alter the fundamental inventive concept. Further Applicant argued that any prior art search performed for one species would necessarily cover the other alleged species, nor the Office explained how the alleged species are patentable distinct. This is not found persuasive because as explained in the previous Office Action, each species indeed is referring to different fundamental inventive concept related to the core of the invention of controlling of the moisture profile and level on the manufactured materials. Further, the Office believes that search required for specific one concept or species would not necessarily need for the others. The Office believes that searching for the entire mentioned species would definitely burden the examination and would require more search and considerations
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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:
The filed specification should not point out to claims by number. Therefore, on page 2, line 7 the disclosed “claim 1”; needs to be eliminated.
Appropriate correction is required.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the filed abstract should not point out to element numbers. Therefore, the disclosed element numbers need to be eliminated.
A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Inaba et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 11,384,482).
Inaba discloses a production method for fiber based cellulose material products by means of intermittently converting a blank or a portion of a web, wherein there is provided a production space including a converting production unit intermittently producing a shaped product, a supply station and a supply path, comprising the steps of:
providing a supply of unconverted blanks or a web at said supply station (Figs. 1-2; via M5-M8) having a density below 0,5 kg/dm3 (via “TABLE-US-00001…weight Density g/cm.sup…AAABBB”) and a wet content below 20% weight (via “total moisture content added by the humidifier 231 to humidifier 236 is, for example, preferably from 0.5 parts by mass to 20 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of material prior to humidification”),
feeding an unconverted portion of said unconverted blanks or said web along said supply path, see for example (Figs. 1-2; via feeding of webs M5-M8),
converting said unconverted portion by means of said intermittently converting production unit to a converted shaped product (via converting the webs into S; “sheet S of the desired shape and size is obtained by this cutting by the first cutters 211”),
providing humidity sensor/s measuring the humidity within said production space, feeding measurements regarding humidity to a control unit, (claim 3; “a first humidity sensor configured to detect humidity in a space in which the web is transported” and claim 4; “the controller is configured to cause the web …when the humidity detected by the first humidity sensor is a predetermined value or below”),
controllably feeding said unconverted portion along said supply path to provide a time span during feeding from said supply station to said converting production unit, wherein said time span provides for sufficient time of exposure of said unconverted portion to the environment in said production space to obtain a moisture profile within a preset moisture content of said unconverted portion, see for example (“The feedstock supply section 11 is the second where the feedstock supply process is performed, in which a feedstock M1 is supplied into the” and/or Figs. 3-4; via control 28 of the transport section 29 and “Stop Transportation Of Web”) .
Regarding claim 2: wherein there is provided a fluid supply unit within said supply path (Fig. 5; via humidifier 236).
Regarding claim 3: wherein said fluid supply unit includes a plurality of fluid supply members (Fig. 1; via humidifiers 231-236) that are longitudinally distributed fluid supply to said unconverted portion (via 231-236 positioned alongside the conveying path).
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) 9-12, and 16-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inaba et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 11,384,482).
Regarding claim 9: Inaba may not specifically suggest that the timespan is at least 10s, preferably 20s < T < 10 min. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Inaba’s timespan to be at least 10s, preferably 20s < T < 10 min, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 10: Inaba may not specifically suggest that the density is between 0.1 to 0,4 kg/dm3. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Inaba’s density to be between 0.1 to 0,4 kg/dm3, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 11: Inaba may not suggest that the moisture profile of said unconverted portion is such that it deviates within a range of maximum +- 1 %. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Inaba’s moisture profile to be deviated within a range of maximum +- 1 %, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 12: Inaba does not suggest that the humidity is such that the moisture content of said unconverted portion is larger than 4% and is less than 20%, wherein said humidity is controlled to be within the range of 25% < RHi < 75%.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Inaba’s humidity to be larger than 4% and is less than 20% and controlled to be within the range of 25% < RHi < 75%, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 16: Inaba does not suggest that the moisture profile of said unconverted portion is such that it deviates within a range of maximum +- 0,5 %. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Inaba’s moisture profile to be deviated withing a range of maximum +- 0,5 %, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 17: Inaba does not disclose that the moisture profile of said unconverted portion is such that a maximum deviation is maintained for at least 30 minutes. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Inaba’s profile to have a maximum deviation to be maintained for at least 30 minutes, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 18: Inaba does not disclose the maximum deviation to be maintained for at least one hour. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Inaba’s maximum deviation to be maintained of at least one hour, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 19: Inaba does not suggest that the humidity is such that the moisture content of said unconverted portion is larger than 4% and is between 7-15 %, wherein said humidity is controlled to be within the range of 25% < RHi < 75%. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Inaba’s moisture content to be larger than 4% and between 7-15%, wherein the humidity is controlled to be withing the range of 25% < RHi < 75%, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 20: Inaba does not suggest that the humidity is such that the moisture content of said unconverted portion is larger than 4% and is less than 20%, wherein said humidity is controlled to be within the range of 30% < RHi < 70%. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Inaba’s moisture content to be larger than 4% and less than 20%, wherein the humidity is controlled to be withing the range of 30% < RHi < 70%, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMEH TAWFIK whose telephone number is (571)272-4470. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
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/SAMEH TAWFIK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731