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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the embodiment of claim 4 in which the displaceable wall portion comprises at least two guided portions and in which the guide has an open cross-section as required by claim 2 from which claim 4 depends, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) 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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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 Objections
Claims 3 objected to because of the following informalities: claims 3 and 19 both use the word “specially” but it appears that the word “specifically” was intended to be used. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-20 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1 and 15 both state that the guided portion and the guide are “configured to be sanitized according to GMP standards”. This language renders the scope of the claims impossible to ascertain because it is unclear what is required in order for these part to be considered to be sanitized according to these standards. While the specification makes reference to GMP as “Good Manufacturing Practices” that may be found in “for example, EU GMP part 1 and annex 15 or 21CFR part 211, subpart D, in force in March 2022” this reference does not establish clear bounds for the above quoted claim language for several reasons. First, “GMP standards” could change over time as they are eliminated or revised, leaving the scope of the claims uncertain. Second, the specification does not explicitly attempt to define the term GMP as would be required if the applicant is attempting to clearly define a claim term. Third, the use of the phrase "for example" in the above quoted portion of the specification would renders the claim indefinite even if it was providing an explicit definition for the claim term because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d). Fourth, the definition of the GMP standards appears to be essential subject matter, and as such, it may not be incorporated by reference from a document that is not a US Patent. Fifth, while one of ordinary skill in the art may have access to the EU GMP part 1 made reference to, it should be noted that the language of this document may itself be unclear or subjective so that even if the relevant language from this document were included in the specification, it could be ambiguous as to whether or not a given structures was configured to be sanitized according to the standards of the document.
In regard to claims 3 and 19, it should be noted that a broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c). In the present instance, claims 3 and 19 recite the broad recitation a ratio of a length of the open line to a shortest distance between the first and second ends of the open line is “smaller than 2.2”, and the claim also recites “specially smaller than 2”, which is a narrower statement of the range/limitation and further also recites “more specifically smaller than 1.75” which is an even narrower statement of the range/limitation. The claim(s) are considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
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 1, 5-12, 15-17, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Rinne.
In regard to claims 1 and 15, Rinne shows a system that could be used for conveying articles in an aseptic environment. The system includes comprising a conveyor belt 60, a first sidewall portion 40, and a second sidewall portion 42. The conveyor belt 60, and the first and second sidewall portions 40/42 define a conveyor path portion. Both of the first and second sidewall portions 40/42 is a displaceable wall portion configured to adjust a width of the conveyor path portion to a width of the conveyed article. The system further includes an actuator 26 configured to move the displaceable wall portion such that the displaceable wall portion is maintained parallel to a wall portion that it faces. The displaceable wall portion comprises a guided portion 32/34 configured to be displaced along a guide 68/11. It appears that the guided portion 32/34 and the guide 68/11 are configured to be sanitized according to GMP standards as they are similar to the guide and guided portion shown in figure 5 of the present invention.
If the applicant wishes to argue that the guide and guided portions of Rinne are not configured to be sanitized according to GMP standards, it should be noted that these standards were available to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present application in 2022 as noted by the applicant. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present application to utilize these standards I selecting at least the materials of the guided portion and guide so that they could be sanitized according to GMP standards. If this were done, the resulting structure would have all the structure required by claims 1 and would operate with all the steps required by claim 15.
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In regard to claim 5, the guide 68/11 includes a through hole defining a depth and a perimeter, through which the guided portion 32/34 is configured to be inserted.
In regard to claim 6, a length of a path of the guided portion 32/34 is larger than the depth of the through hole. More specifically the length of the guided portion is 10 times or more larger than the depth of the through hole through the portion of the guide 11.
In regard to claims 7 and 16, it should be noted that Rinne is capable of conveying articles that have a neck. The actuator 26 is arranged below the conveyor belt 60 and as such it would be at a lower vertical level than the neck of the articles.
In regard to claims 8 and 17, the system further includes a drive 70 which is arranged at a lower vertical level than the actuator 26 and which is mechanically coupled with the actuator.
In regard to claim 9, the actuator 26 is configured to move the displaceable wall portion in a straight path.
In regard to claims 10 and 20, it should be noted that an actuator shown in figure 2 may be replaced with the actuator shown in figures 5A-5C. This actuator includes one or more rotatable linkages 80/82/84 configured to connect the actuator with a bar 44 on which the guided portion is mounted.
In regard to claim 11, the system defines a straight conveyor section and a curved conveyor section (see figures 4or 9). The straight conveyor section comprises the first displaceable wall portion 42 and the curved conveyor section comprises a second displaceable wall portion 42/42a/42b.
In regard to claim 12 , the curved conveyor section comprises a curved wall portion, 42a which is arranged in a staggered configuration with respect to a neighboring wall portion 42b.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4, 13-14, and 18-19 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARK A DEUBLE whose telephone number is (571)272-6912. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday flex schedule.
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, Gene Crawford can be reached at 571-272-6911. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARK A DEUBLE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3651