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 § 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.
Claims 1-3, 8-10, and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato et al., US 2017/0137247 A1, in view of Eder et al., U.S. Patent No. 9051072 B2.
The method described in these claims would inherently result from the use of invention of the prior art as advanced below. Regarding claims 1 and 9, Sato ‘247 discloses an apparatus 2 which is controlled by a controller (70, see figure 14, claims 14-15) connecting sheets W, the apparatus comprising a feed through region (i.e., no reference number, W direction, see figure 1) through which the sheets can be guided along a transport direction (i.e., no reference number, same direction as the web as it travels in a vertical direction first, see figure 1), an adhesive application device (9A, 9B) for applying adhesive material T to an adhesive region of a first sheet end (i.e., no reference number, T and W, see figures 12, and 23-26) of a first sheet W, wherein the adhesive application device (9A, 9B) comprises an application element 46 for applying the adhesive material T in the adhesive region (as explained above) and a supply element 46b for feeding a transfer tape with a adhesive material T to the application element 46 and for discharging the transfer tape from the application element 46, wherein the apparatus 2 comprises a first drive element 66 for moving the application element 46 along an application direction (i.e., no reference number, a horizontal direction of application movement, see figure 12, claim 3) and a second drive element (using 46d-46f, see figure 9) for driving the application element 46 and/or the supply element 46b for feeding and discharging the transfer tape; the first drive element 66 and the second drive element (46d-46f) can be operated independently of one another and/or asynchronously (claims 2 and 8); an adhesive layer detachable form the transfer tape (i.e., a tape T detachable from 46a, claim 10), see figures 1-32.
As stated above, Sato ‘247 shows connecting the sheet materials and does not explicitly show the type of material.
Eder ‘072 shows the concept of using a labeling device using label strips (14a, 14) and joining the label strips, see figure 1.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify the apparatus of Sato ‘247 to include any label strips as suggested by Eder ‘072, to show that any web material can be spliced and/or joined. Furthermore, since all of the claimed elements were known in the prior art (i.e., applicant did not invent label tapes) and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Claims 1-4, 8-11, and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki, US 2002/0092621 A1, in view of Eder et al., U.S. Patent No. 9051072 B2.
The method described in these claims would inherently result from the use of invention of the prior art as advanced below. Regarding claims 1 and 9, Suzuki ‘621 discloses an apparatus 1 which is controlled by a controller (90a-c, see figure 7, claims 14-15) connecting paper p, the apparatus comprising a feed through region (i.e., no reference number, paper direction, see figure 1) through which the papers can be guided along a transport direction (i.e., no reference number, same direction as the paper as it travels in a horizontal direction at the end near reservior, see figure 1), an adhesive application device 14 for applying adhesive material A to an adhesive region of a first paper end (i.e., no reference number, A and P, see figures 2-3) of a first paper p, wherein the adhesive application device 14 comprises an application element 20 for applying the adhesive material A in the adhesive region (as explained above) and a supply element 58 for feeding a transfer tape T with an adhesive material A to the application element 20 and for discharging the transfer tape from the application element 20, wherein the apparatus 2 comprises a first drive element (using 94 to move 20, see figure 7) for moving the application element 20 along an application direction (i.e., no reference number, a vertical direction of application movement, see figures 2-6, claim 3) and a second drive element 52 for driving the application element 20 and/or the supply element 58 for feeding and discharging the transfer tape T; the first drive element 94 and the second drive element 52 can be operated independently of one another and/or asynchronously (claims 2 and 8); an adhesive layer A detachable form the transfer tape (see figure 6, claim 10); and a dispensing roll 60 on which the transfer tape T with adhesive material A can be held, and a pick up roll 32 for picking up the transfer tape T after discharge (claims 4 and 11), see figures 1-9.
As stated above, Suzuki ‘621 shows connecting the paper materials and does not explicitly show the other type of material.
Eder ‘072 shows the concept of using a labeling device using label strips (14a, 14) and joining the label strips, see figure 1.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify the apparatus of Suzuki ‘621 to include any label strips as suggested by Eder ‘072, to show that any web material can be spliced and/or joined. Furthermore, since all of the claimed elements were known in the prior art (i.e., applicant did not invent label tapes) and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7 and 12-13 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 claims 5-7 and 12-13 are patentable over the prior art of record because the teachings of the references taken as a whole do not show or render obvious the combination set forth in claims 5-7 and 12-13, including every structural element recited in the claim.
None of the references of the prior art teach or suggest the elements of the device as advanced above and such do not provide the necessary motivation, absent applicant's specification, for modifying the device in the manner required by the claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SANG K KIM whose telephone number is 571-272-6947. The examiner can normally be reached Tuesday through Thursday from 10:30 A.M. to 9 P.M or Tuesday through Thursday from 10:30 A.M. to 7 P.M.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Victoria Augustine, can be reached on (313) 446-4858. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
SK
1/14/26
/SANG K KIM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3654