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 1-7, in the reply filed on 04-27-2026 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)).
Claims 8-9 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 04-27-2026.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 702. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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(s) 1-7 are is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Coby ‘681 (US 2,469,681) in view of Witzmann ‘565 (US 2019/0322565 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Coby ‘681 teaches:
providing a glass tube with open ends comprising a first open end and a second open end (glass tube 51, Fig. 5; column 1, lines 1-6)
closing the first open end of the glass tube (upper end of tube 51, Figs. 5-7) while introducing a gas into the glass tube through the second open end (air jet nozzles 59 with work container 28 and opening 36 into lower end of tube 51, Figs. 1, 4, 7; column 3, line 68-column 4, line 8).
Coby ‘681 is silent regarding opening a ventilation hole in a wall of the glass tube near one of the open ends and closing the second open end. In analogous art of closing ends of glass tubes, Witzmann ‘565 suggests opening a ventilation hole in a wall of a glass tube near an open end of a glass tube and closing a second open end (¶ [0015]-[0018], [0082], [0086]-[0087]) for the benefit of forming a closed tube for applications such vials, ampoules, cartridges, or syringes, in which pressure is equalized in the tube during the closing, and which maintains a clean interior during transport and storage (¶ [0019], [0033]-[0034]). 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 method of Coby ‘681 by opening a ventilation hole in a wall of the glass tube near one of the open ends and closing the second open end for the benefit of forming a closed tube for applications such vials, ampoules, cartridges, or syringes, in which pressure is equalized in the tube during the closing, and which maintains a clean interior during transport and storage, as suggested by Witzmann ‘565.
Regarding claim 2, Coby ‘681 is silent regarding a relative humidity of the introduced gas. However, the gas would have some relative humidity, and it would have been within the ordinary skill in the art to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation. See MPEP 2144.05.
Regarding claim 3, Coby ‘681 further teaches the gas is introduced by a distribution chamber located near the second open end (air jet nozzles 59 with work container 28 and opening 36, Figs. 4, 7).
Regarding claim 4, Coby ‘681 further teaches the distribution chamber is located axially with respect to the glass tube (Figs. 1, 4, 7).
Regarding claim 5, Coby ‘681 further teaches the distribution chamber is formed by a gas exit (opening 36) and a three-sided open chamber enclosing at least part of the second open end (work container 28, Figs. 4, 7).
Regarding claim 6, Coby ‘681 further teaches the gas is introduced by a nozzle located near the second open end (air jet nozzles 59 and opening 36, Figs. 1, 4, 7).
Regarding claim 7, Coby ‘681 further teaches the gas is air (column 2, lines 43-44; column 3, line 68-column 4, line 8).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Erin Snelting whose telephone number is (571)272-7169. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alison Hindenlang can be reached at (571) 270-7001. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERIN SNELTING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1741
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