DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of group II, claims 10-20 in the reply filed on May 13, 2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claims 10, 14, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Madsen et al. (DK 173562 machine translation provided). Madsen discloses a method for positioning a glass forming roll comprising receiving a shaft of the glass forming roll (roll 2 or 3) in an apparatus comprising a rotatable member (“roller holder 33 mounted pivotally…about the axis of rotation” in middle of page 8), and a radially moveable member (bushing 39) mounted on the rotatable member, the radially member comprising a bore (long hole 38) configured to receive the shaft of the glass forming roll 3 and movable between a first position (top of the hole 38) and a second position (bottom of the hole 38) farther from the axis of rotation of the rotatable member than the first position by adjustment of screw 35 (“roller 3 can be displaced in a long hole 38 in the roller holder 33” in middle of page 8, figures 7 and 8).
Regarding claim 14, Madsen further teaches the rotatable member comprises a slotted opening (long hole 38) configured to receive the shaft of the glass forming roll between the first position and second position (figures 7, 8).
Regarding claim 19, Madsen teaches moving the radially moveable member between the first position and the second position (“roll 3…can be displaced…by turning screw 35…shaft of roller 3 can be displaced in a long hole 38” on middle of p. 8).
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 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Madsen et al. (DK 173562 machine translation provided) as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Anderson et al. (2011/0100056). Madsen doesn’t specify a base member. Anderson teaches a method for positioning a glass forming roll comprising receiving a shaft of the glass forming roll in an apparatus comprising a rotatable member 66 ([0053]), and member 56 comprising a bore configured to receive the shaft of the glass forming roll ([0051], figures 4A, 4B, 6). Anderson further teaches mounting the rotatable member on a base member, such as shroud 22, the base member comprising an interior bore configured to receive the shaft of the glass forming roll between a first rotation position and a second rotation position that is rotationally offset from the first rotation position ([0051]). Anderson teaches the base member provides separation of the hot environment around the rollers from the cooler environment outside the shroud, thereby protecting the drive mechanisms external to the shroud from the hot internal environment ([0052]). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have mounted rotatable member of Madsen on a base member, such as a shroud, so as to protect the drive mechanism for the roller from heat, as taught by Anderson.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-13, 16-18, and 20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art fails to suggest the combination of a radially movable member mounted on an intermediate member, also having an elongated bore to receive the shaft of the glass forming roll between the first position and the second position, the radially movable member mounted on a rotatable member. As can be seen in figures 7-8, Madsen fails to suggest mounting the radially movable member on an intermediate member, nonetheless in a slidable manner via an adjustment member. The prior art also fails to disclose a base member, on which the rotatable member is mounted, having an interior bore configured to receive the shaft of the glass forming roll, wherein the bore comprises three regions with three paths at which the shaft of the forming roll are positioned at three locations rotationally offset from each other. Madsen teaches the long hole 38 can have different shapes (see figures 4A and 4B), but fails to suggests an interior bore having three regions with three paths providing for three rotational positions.
Conclusion
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/QUEENIE S DEHGHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1741
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