STORAGE TABLE OF A PACKAGING PLANT AND DEVICE FOR IN- OR OUT-FEEDING PACKAGES INTO OR OUT OF A STORAGE LINE OF A STORAGE TABLE

Application No. 18/860,077

• Filed: Oct 25, 2024
• Priority: May 20, 2022 — EU 22174576.3
  • May 19, 2023 — nonprovisional of PCTUS2023067248
• Examiner: SINGH, KAVEL
• Art Unit: 3651
• Tech Center: 3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
• Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
• OA Round: 2 (Non-Final)

Office 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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.

The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.

Claim 1 recites the limitation "the conveyor channel" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim 9not to be confused with the removal means conveyor channel of claim 7).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Claims 2-14 and 16-18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAVEL SINGH whose telephone number is [phone]. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8am-6pm.
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, Gene Crawford can be reached at [phone]. 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.
/KAVEL SINGH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3651
KS

Prosecution Timeline

• Oct 25, 2024: Application Filed
• Apr 23, 2026: Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
• May 19, 2026: Interview Requested
• May 27, 2026: Examiner Interview Summary
• May 27, 2026: Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
• Jul 21, 2026: Response Filed
• Aug 25, 2026: Request for Continued Examination
• Aug 25, 2026: Response after Non-Final Action
• Aug 28, 2026: Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)