DETAILED ACTION
This non-final Office action is in response to Applicant’s patent application filed on 12/12/2024. An action on the merits follows.
Claims 1-15 are pending in the application.
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.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, the limitation “a container having the opening part and an edge part forming an outer circumferential edge of the opening part” in combination with “an edge part formed on a periphery of the opening part” is vague and unclear because it is unclear if the two edge parts are the same element or different elements. In order to prosecute the application, Examiner assumes the two edge parts are the same element.
Regarding claim 1, the limitation “a lid formed in advance into a sheet” in combination with “the lid formed in advance into a sheet” is vague and unclear because it is unclear if the sheets are the same element or different elements. In order to prosecute the application, Examiner assumes the sheets are the same element.
Regarding claim 2, the limitation “a moving part that displaces at least one of the joining force applying part and the holding part such that a state in approaching where the joining body and the holding body are in contact with each other via the container held by the holding part and the lid located on the container and a state in separating where the joining body and the holding body are separated from each other than the state in approaching can be formed, wherein the joining part joins the lid to the container in response to the moving part forming the state in approaching as a trigger.” is vague and unclear because it is unclear what is meant by a state in approaching, a state in separating, the moving part forming the state in approaching as trigger. In order to prosecute the application, Examiner is interpreting this limitation as “a moving part that displaces at least one of the joining force applying part and the holding part between an approaching state where the joining body and the holding body are in contact with each other via the container held by the holding part and the lid is located on the container and a separating state where the joining body and the holding body are separated from each other, wherein the joining part joins the lid to the container in response to the moving part moving to the approaching state”.
Claim 2 recites the limitation “the joining part”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Examiner assumes the Applicant is referring to the “joining force applying part”.
Claim 4 recites the limitation “the space”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In order to prosecute the application, Examiner assumes the space refers to the “predetermined space” in claim 3.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “the space”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Please note claim 7 currently depends on claim 1. In order to prosecute the application, Examiner assumes the space refers to the “predetermined space” in claim 3.
Regarding claim 8, the limitation “a position in an inner height direction of a contact part between the support part and the bottom part varies with a transition between the state in approaching and separating” is vague and unclear because it is unclear what is meant by a position in an inner height direction of a contact part. Specifically, it is unclear what the inner height direction of a contact part is. Examiner could not properly ascertain what this element is and therefore is interpreting it as a position of the support part varies between the approaching state and separating state.
The term “softness” in claim 10 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “softness” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
The term “heat resistance” in claim 11 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “heat resistance” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Any remaining claims are rejected for depending on a rejected claim.
All claims are as best understood since all of the claims have been rejected under 112 (b) or second para.
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.
(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.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by JP 2018065592 of Liu et al. (henceforth Liu).
Regarding claim 1, Liu teaches
A sealing machine (1) for sealing, with a lid (80a), an opening part of a container (top part of H) having the opening part and an edge part forming an outer circumferential edge of the opening part (¶0013), the sealing machine comprises:
a holding part (20) including a holding body (23) that holds the container in a state where the edge part of the container is exposed (fig. 7); and
a joining force applying part (40) including a joining body (41) for joining the lid to an edge part formed on a periphery of the opening part (¶0044), wherein the holding part is formed so that a lid (80a) formed in advance into a sheet (80a is a sheet like material) can be disposed so as to face the opening part of the holding body, and
the joining force applying part joins the lid formed in advance into a sheet to the container (¶0044).
Regarding claim 2, as shown in claim 1, Liu teaches
a moving part (25) that displaces at least one of (20) such that a state in approaching (folding position as shown in fig. 4) where the joining body and the holding body are in contact with each other via the container held by the holding part and the lid located on the container and a state in separating (extended position as shown in fig. 7) where the joining body and the holding body are separated from each other than the state in approaching can be formed, wherein the joining part joins the lid to the container in response to the moving part forming the state in approaching as a trigger (¶ 0055-0057).
Regarding claim 3, as shown in claim 1, Liu teaches
a positioning part (30) that includes a guide body (34, 35) that guides a position of the lid to a predetermined space (area of joining force apply part, ¶0040, figs. 1-2).
Regarding claim 4, as shown in claim 3, Liu teaches
wherein a plurality of the guide bodies (34, 35) hang down from a predetermined position of the joining force applying part (hang down below 41 as shown in fig. 2) toward the holding body, and an arrangement of the plurality of guide bodies is determined such that the lid is gripped by the plurality of the guide bodies to be located in the space (¶ 0039-0040).
Regarding claim 5, as shown in claim 1, Liu teaches
wherein the joining body is provided with an energy application part (heater of 41, ¶ 0042) that applies energy to a contact part between the lid and the container (¶ 0056).
Regarding claim 6, as shown in claim 5, Liu teaches
wherein the energy application part applies at least one type of energy selected from a group consisting of electric energy, vibration energy, and thermal energy (“heater” in ¶0042).
Regarding claim 7, as shown in claim 1, Liu teaches
an insertion part (31) into which the lid is insertable (¶ 0036); and a transport part (34, 35) that transports the lid inserted from the insertion part toward the space (¶ 0039-0041).
Regarding claim 8, as shown in claim 2, Liu teaches
wherein the holding part includes an insertion part (23b) that has a through hole (23a) penetrating between a front surface (left surface of hole 23a in fig. 4) and a rear surface (right surface of hole 23a in fig. 4) and is formed in the through hole such that the container is insertable (see fig. 4), and a support part (26) that is located below the insertion part, is in contact with a bottom part of the container (see fig. 4), and supports the bottom part, and a position in an inner height direction of a contact part between the support part and the bottom part varies with a transition between the state in approaching and separating (see fig. 4 and fig. 7, the height difference between 23a and 26).
Regarding claim 9, as shown in claim 3, Liu teaches
wherein in the holding part, an insertion part (23b) into which the container is insertable is formed to penetrate between (left surface of hole 23a in fig. 4) and a rear surface (right surface of hole 23a in fig. 4) of the holding part, and the positioning part is formed around the insertion part (see fig. 2, positioning part 30 (especially 34, 35) are around the insertion part 23b).
Claims 12 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(2) as being anticipated USPGP# 20220267135 of Degnan et al. (henceforth Degnan).
Regarding claim 12, Degnan teaches
A sealing machine (100) for sealing, with a lid (60), an opening part of a container (top part of 50) having the opening part and an edge part forming an outer circumferential edge of the opening part (¶0102), the sealing machine comprises:
a holding part (122) including a holding body (125) that holds the container in a state where the edge part of the container is exposed (fig. 2); and
a joining force applying part (237) including a joining body (236) for joining the lid to an edge part formed on a periphery of the opening part (¶0102), wherein the holding part is formed so that a lid (60) formed in advance into a sheet (60 is a sheet like material) can be disposed so as to face the opening part of the holding body (fig. 15), and
the joining force applying part joins the lid formed in advance into a sheet to the container (¶0101);
a storage part (202) that accommodates a lid assembly (fig. 14) in which the lids are stacked;
a disperser (214) that individually disperses the lid from the storage part (¶ 0098); and
a transfer part (234) that transfers the lid dispersed by the disperser toward the holding part (¶0100), wherein the lid is disposed on the container from the storage part via the transfer part in response to the container disposed in the holding part as a trigger (¶ 0094).
Regarding claim 14, as shown in claim 12, Degnan teaches
wherein the transfer part includes an atmosphere part (gap between 234) that temporarily retains the lid sent from the storage part, and in response to the container disposed in the holding part as a trigger, the lid disposed in the atmosphere part is disposed on the container, and the lid is fed from the storage part to the atmosphere part of the transfer part (¶ 0100).
Regarding claim 15, as shown in claim 12, Degnan teaches
wherein the storage part has an opening at a lower end (see figs. 14-15), and the disperser is configured to take out the lid from the opening at the lower end of the storage part (see figs. 14-15 and ¶ 0098).
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.
Claims 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu.
Regarding claim 10, as shown in claim 3, Liu does not teach
wherein the positioning part is formed of a material having softness.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to make the positioning part out of a soft material, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Regarding claim 11, as shown in claim 3, Liu does not teach
wherein the positioning part is formed of a material having heat resistance.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to make the positioning part out of a heat resistant material, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Degnan in view of USPGP# 20140041748 of Angus et al. (henceforth Angus).
Regarding claim 13, as shown in claim 12, Degnan teaches
wherein a plurality of the storage parts (¶ 0094) are provide and the lid is disposed on the container from the selected storage part via the transfer part (¶ 0094).
Degnan also teaches the cups can be of different size (¶ 0068). However, Degnan does not specifically teach that a dimension of a lid accommodated in at least one of the storage parts is different from a dimension of a lid accommodated in another one of the storage parts, and the storage part storing a lid disposed on the container is selected from the transfer part according to a size of the container disposed in the holding part, and the lid is disposed on the container from the selected storage part via the transfer part.
Angus teaches
A similar sealing machine (100) for sealing, with a lid (155), an opening part of a container (top part of 125) having the opening part and an edge part forming an outer circumferential edge of the opening part (¶0061), the sealing machine comprises:
a holding part (420) including a holding body (430) that holds the container in a state where the edge part of the container is exposed (fig. 15); and
a joining force applying part (480) including a joining body (490) for joining the lid to an edge part formed on a periphery of the opening part (¶0061), wherein the holding part is formed so that a lid (155) formed in advance into a sheet (155 is a sheet like material) can be disposed so as to face the opening part of the holding body (fig. 15), and
the joining force applying part joins the lid formed in advance into a sheet to the container (¶0061).
a storage part (450) that accommodates a lid assembly (fig. 10) in which the lids are stacked;
a disperser (470) that individually disperses the lid from the storage part (¶ 0057); and
a transfer part (480) that transfers the lid dispersed by the disperser toward the holding part (¶ 0061), wherein the lid is disposed on the container from the storage part via the transfer part in response to the container disposed in the holding part as a trigger (¶ 0060-0061),
wherein a plurality of the storage parts (¶ 0057) are provided,
a dimension of a lid accommodated in at least one of the storage parts is different from a dimension of a lid accommodated in another one of the storage parts (¶ 0057), and the storage part storing a lid disposed on the container is selected from the transfer part according to a size of the container disposed in the holding part (¶0060).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the sealing machine of Degnan such that the plurality of storage parts accommodate different sized lids and disperse those lids based on the cup size, as taught by Angus, in order to provide the predictable result of allowing the machine to seal cups that require different lid sizes. This makes the machine more versatile.
Examiner Notes
Claims 1-11 can also be rejected with Degnan alone or in combination with Liu.
Claims 12-15 can also be rejected with Liu in combination with Degnan/Angus.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOBEEN AHMED whose telephone number is (571) 272-0356. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F (8:30 am to 5 pm).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anna Kinsaul can be reached on 571-270-1926. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M. A./
Examiner, Art Unit 3731
/VERONICA MARTIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
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