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 of Group I (claims 1-4) in the reply filed on 03/10/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Totani (U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0250908) in view of WO 2009/131226 (will be referred to as ‘226).
Totani discloses a cross cut device for use in bag making and for shearing a web twice during a pause phase of an intermittent feed cycle, the cross cut device comprising:
a cutter pair including an upper blade and a lower blade, see for example (Fig. 1; via blades 3 & 4);
a feed device for intermittently feeding a web in a longitudinal direction of the web (Fig. 1; via feeding rollers 6 & 7; and paragraph 0019; “The plastic film means is fed intermittently… cut progressively and widthwise thereof whenever being fed intermittently”);
a vertical movement device for vertically reciprocating the upper blade with respect to the lower blade to shear the web, see for example (Figs 3 & 8; vertical movement device for blades 3 & 4); and
a processor configured to control the feed device, the vertical movement device, see for example (Figs. 1, 3, 8, 9, & 10; via controlling means 14, 31, and 44),
wherein the processor is configured to control movements during the reciprocation of the upper blade for the second shearing, start to move the cutter pair from the second position to the first position subsequent to the upper blade reaching a lowermost height and prior to the upper blade exceeding a shear height (via “control device is connected to driving mechanism”, and
wherein the processor is configured to control the feed device to start to feed the web subsequent to the cutter pair starting to move from the second position to the first position, see for example (paragraph 0019; “The plastic film means is fed intermittently… cut progressively and widthwise thereof whenever being fed intermittently”).
Totani does not disclose a horizontal movement device for horizontally moving the cutter between two different positions. However, ‘226 discloses similar cross cut mechanism moving in both vertical and horizontal directions between two different cutting positions, see for example (Figs. 2, 4, and 5; via directions “X” & “Z” shows the horizontal and vertical movements of blade 14).
Therefore, 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 Totani’s cutting mechanism by a horizontal moving mechanism, as suggested by ‘226, in order to gain more flexibility and adjustability of the cutting mechanism.
Regarding claim 2: Totani discloses that the processor is configured to control the feed device to, during the reciprocation of the upper blade for the second shearing, start to feed the web prior to the upper blade exceeding the shear height and pass the web through a space between the upper blade and the lower blade subsequent to the upper blade exceeding the shear height, see for example (Figs. 1, 3, 8, 9, & 10; via controlling means 14, 31, and 44 and paragraph 0019; “The plastic film means is fed intermittently… cut progressively and widthwise thereof whenever being fed intermittently”).
Regarding claim 3: Totani discloses that the processor is configured to control the feed device to, during the reciprocation of the upper blade for the second shearing, start to feed the web subsequent to the upper blade exceeding the shear height and prior to the upper blade reaching an uppermost height, see for example (Figs. 1, 3, 8, 9, & 10; via means 14, 31, and 44 controlling the different movements and positions of shearing blades 3 & 4 while web 2 is being conveyed; and paragraph 0019; “The plastic film means is fed intermittently… cut progressively and widthwise thereof whenever being fed intermittently”).
Regarding claim 4: Totani discloses a bag making apparatus for successively making bags from at least one web, comprising the cross cut device, see for example (Fig. 1; via “apparatus for successively making plastic bags”).
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.
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, Shelle Self can be reached at 571-272-4524. 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.
/SAMEH TAWFIK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
Prosecution Insights