CTNF 18/914,525 CTNF 94675 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/14/2024 has been considered by the examiner. Election/Restrictions 08-25-01 AIA Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 15-20 in the reply filed on 4/23/2026 is acknowledged. 08-06 AIA Claim s 1-14 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention , there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 4/23/2026 . 07-30-03-h AIA Claim Interpretation Claims 15-20 are apparatus claims; however, claim 20 recites “ a molded article is removed from the intermediate mold by an elevating and lowering apparatus… ”. The "[i]nclusion of the material or article worked upon by a structure being claimed does not impart patentability to the claims." In re Otto , 312 F.2d 937, 136 USPQ458, 459 (CCPA 1963); see also In re Young , 75 F.2d 996, 25 USPQ 69 (CCPA 1935). See MPEP 2115. Further, as written, the “ elevating and lowering apparatus” does not form a part of the manufacturing apparatus and is not interpreted as such. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim (s) 15-18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Kato (US 2010/0244314 A1) . Regarding claim 1, Kato teaches a manufacturing apparatus (10 in Figure 1; paragraph 0075), comprising: a first mold (4); a second mold (5); an intermediate mold provided between the first mold and the second mold (rotational die plate 9), the intermediate mold including a first plurality of surfaces capable of mold clamping with the first mold (rotational mold 6A) and a second plurality of surfaces capable of mold clamping with the second mold (rotational mold 6B), and a removal mechanism configured to remove a molded article from the intermediate mold (paragraph 0114, a molding may be released from the molds with a driving apparatus provided in the rotational die plate 9 and performing operations of movable members in the molds, such as molding ejection operation ). Regarding claim 16, Kato further discloses the second mold and the intermediate mold are each configured to perform mold clamping and mold opening with the first mold by moving in a mold moving direction (Figure 2), and the intermediate mold is configured to rotate about a rotation axis orthogonal to the mold moving direction (Figure 2; showing rotational die plate 9 rotating orthogonal to moving direction of first and second molds 4, 5 ). Regarding claim 17, Kato teaches all the elements of claim 16 and further discloses the second mold and the intermediate mold are supported by a support member extending in the mold moving direction (denotated as 15 in Figure 3). Regarding claim 18, Kato further discloses the intermediate mold is configured to rotate about an axis orthogonal to a surface supporting the intermediate mold (Figure 2, rotation die plate 9 rotates orthogonal to pedestal 7 ). Regarding claim 20, Kato teaches all the elements of claim 18, but does not disclose a molded article is removed from the intermediate mold by an elevating and lowering apparatus in an axial direction relative to the rotation axis. However, as noted in section 5 above, said elevating and lowering apparatus does not form a part of the manufacturing apparatus. Hence, Kato teaches all the structural elements of claim 20 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kato, in view of Armbruster (US 2016/0039136 A1) . Regarding claim 19, Kato teaches all the elements of claim 15, but does not disclose the intermediate mold is configured to rotate by 90° relative to the first mold and the second mold. Armbruster teaches a manufacturing apparatus (10 in Figure 1; paragraph 0075), comprising: a first mold (2); a second mold (3); and an intermediate mold provided between the first mold and the second mold (center block 17), the intermediate mold including a first plurality of surfaces capable of mold clamping with the first mold and a second plurality of surfaces capable of mold clamping with the second mold (paragraph 0026, This has side surfaces 18, which serve to receive pair wise opposing inner mold halves 34 (see FIGS. 3 and 4, schematically indicated with dashed lines). These interact with correspondingly formed first and second outer mold halves (not shown) ). Further, the intermediate mold comprises a third and forth plurality of surfaces capable of molding clamping with the first and second molds and is configured to rotate by 90° (Figures 1-2). Said configuration allows for additional molding arrangements. One or ordinary skill in the art could have applied this known improvement in the same manner to the invention of Kato and the results would have been predictable to one skilled in the art. One would have been motivated to provide the intermediate mold with additional surfaces, as disclosed by Armbruster, to increase the number or molding arrangements, increasing efficiency and/or reducing costs . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Shegokar (US 2023/0373140 A1 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Virak Nguon whose telephone number is (571)272-4196. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday (and alternate Fridays) 7:30-5:00. 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, Alison L 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. 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. /VIRAK NGUON/Examiner, Art Unit 1741 5/28/2026 Application/Control Number: 18/914,525 Page 2 Art Unit: 1741 Application/Control Number: 18/914,525 Page 3 Art Unit: 1741 Application/Control Number: 18/914,525 Page 4 Art Unit: 1741 Application/Control Number: 18/914,525 Page 5 Art Unit: 1741 Application/Control Number: 18/914,525 Page 6 Art Unit: 1741 Application/Control Number: 18/914,525 Page 7 Art Unit: 1741
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