DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the AIA first to file provisions. 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 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.
Application Status
This office action is in response to Applicant’s response to election/restriction filed 6/23/2026.
Claims 1-19 are currently pending; Claims 13-19 have been withdrawn without traverse (see response to restriction filed 6/23/2026); Claims 1-12 are being examined.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS filed on 1/23/2025 has been considered. See the attached PTO 1449 forms.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 3 are objected to because of the following informalities: In claim 1, “magnetisable” should be changed to “magnetizable”. In claim 3, “seat of the units” should be changed to “seats of the units”. 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 2, 6-7, and 9-12 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.
Claim 2 recites “the first loading zone, the second collecting zone and the third pickup zone”, each of which lacks antecedent basis and imply multiple unclaimed zones. Claim 11 is indefinite for the same reason for reciting “the first pickup zone”.
Claims 6 and 7, which depend from claim 1, are indefinite for making reference to plural infeeds, which are only introduced in claim 5.
Claims 10 and 12 are indefinite for referencing “the unit”, which lacks sufficient antecedent basis.
Claim 9 is indefinite because “a fifth waiting zone” implies four additional waiting zones not in the claims.
Claim 11 is indefinite because “a sixth waiting zone” implies five additional waiting zones not in the claims.
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)(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 1-2 and 5-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mondini et al US 2024/0051695.
Regarding claim 1:
Mondini teaches an apparatus for inserting articles (1) inside containers (2) comprising:
a conveying surface (3) comprising a plurality of electrically magnetisable elements (coils, [0046]);
a plurality of units (4) for conveying articles, comprising magnetic elements and movable on said conveying surface ([0046]), each conveying unit comprising a seat (4) configured to receive at least one portion of a container (2);
a control unit ([0120]), connected to said electrically magnetisable elements of the conveying surface for activating them and deactivating them, so as to generate a predetermined magnetic field variable on said conveying surface and allow, consequently, the movement of said conveying units above said conveying surface, the control unit being configured for moving the conveying units according to a sequence of movement ([0120]) which affects:
a first zone (24) for loading containers, in which the conveying units receive the containers inside respective seats ([0118]);
a second zone (16) for collecting articles inside containers positioned in the respective seats of conveying units ([0120]);
a third zone (22) for picking up containers having inside them the respective articles ([0113]).
Regarding claim 2:
Mondini teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the control unit is configured to move the conveying units according to a sequence of movement which affects, in sequence, the first loading zone, the second collecting zone and the third pickup zone (see FIG. 5).
Regarding claim 5:
Mondini teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as discussed above, comprising a plurality of infeeds (14) for feeding articles, configured for feeding articles at the second zone for collecting the articles (see FIG. 5).
Regarding claim 6:
Mondini teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as discussed above, wherein said infeeds for feeding articles are configured for feeding groups of articles (see FIG. 5; the plurality of conveyed articles are considered groups of articles).
Regarding claim 7:
Mondini teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the control unit is configured for moving the conveying units in such a way as to position, in the second zone for collecting the articles, at each single feed infeed and for a predetermined collecting time, at most a single unit for conveying articles (shown in FIG. 5; cf. [0070], [0146]).
Regarding claim 8:
Mondini teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the control unit is configured for moving the conveying units according to a sequence of movement which also affects a fourth waiting zone, and to position at least one portion of the conveying units in the fourth waiting zone after it has moved them in the second zone for collecting the articles (FIG. 5 shows a central queue of units 4 waiting to reach third zone 22).
Regarding claim 9:
Mondini teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the control unit is configured for moving the conveying units according to a sequence of movement which also affects a fifth waiting zone, and to position at least one portion of the conveying units in the fifth waiting zone after it has moved them in the third pickup zone of the containers (see zone comprising empty units 4 in FIG. 5).
Regarding claim 10:
Mondini teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the unit comprises a first base portion (20), in which are positioned the magnetic elements and a removable seat (21), the removable seat being defined by a support (17), configured for removably coupling with the first base portion (see FIG. 15; [0108]-[0109]).
Regarding claim 11:
Mondini teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the control unit is configured for moving the conveying units according to a sequence of movement which also affects a sixth waiting zone, and to position at least one portion of the conveying units in the sixth waiting zone after it has moved them in the first pickup zone of the containers and before they engage the second zone (FIG. 5 shows at least two units 4 with containers 2 waiting to reach second zone 22).
Regarding claim 12:
Mondini teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the unit comprises a scraping element (sharp outer edges of 17 constitute a scraping element).
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 of this title, 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mondini, as applied above, and further in view of Lu et al. US 2022/0212883.
Regarding claims 3 and 4:
Mondini teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as discussed above, comprising a pickup device (23), operating at said third pickup zone (22) of the containers for picking up the containers containing the articles from the seat of the units ([0113]).
Mondini does not teach the pickup device comprising a plurality of pickup elements operating on the containers.
Lu discloses a related apparatus comprising a pickup device (gantry 210) comprising a plurality of pickup elements (211) capable of picking up multiple containers in a pickup zone ([0203]; see FIGS. 31-32).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, at the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the pickup device of Mondini, by providing the pickup device with a plurality of pickup elements operating on the containers, such as that taught by Lu, since this would allow for multiple containers to be picked up from the third zone, leading to an increased throughput of containers. The modified apparatus would thus provide the pickup device configured to move the pickup elements between a pickup position (at third zone 22), wherein the pickup elements act on the conveying units positioned at the third pickup zone of the containers for picking up said containers containing the articles from the seats of the units, and a release position (at 23), wherein the pickup elements release the containers picked up.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: for example, see Duperray et al. US 2022/0281697; Heise et al. US 2013/0034410; Voelkl US 2023/0034751; and Piccinini et al. US 2025/0313419; each disclosing magnetically controlled movers in related applications.
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/DARIUSH SEIF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
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