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 .
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)(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(s) 1, 2, 7-9, 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Koesters et al. (US 2022/0048678).
Regarding claim 1, Koester discloses a side gusseted bag having a bag body (1) that has a first front wall (2), a second front wall (opposite 2), and two side gussets (3), wherein the side gussets are arranged on longitudinal edges of the bag body, between the front walls, and connected to the front walls by means of longitudinal sealing seams (5), wherein the first front wall is formed by an inner film (7 and/or 7’) and an outer film (at 2), which are not connected to one another in certain regions, and wherein the second front wall and the side gussets are each formed by an inner film (7 and/or 7’) and an outer film (at other 2), which are not connected to one another in certain regions. See Figs. 1-2C.
Regarding claim 2, wherein on each of the front walls and the side gussets, the inner film and the outer film, in each instance, are arranged over the full area. See Figs. 1-2C.
Regarding claim 7, on the front walls, the inner film and the outer film are glued to one another between the longitudinal sealing seams, in certain regions. See Figs. 1-2C.
Regarding claim 8, the bag body is free of adhesive, and wherein the inner film and the outer film are exclusively connected to one another by means of heat-sealing. See [0024].
Regarding claim 9, on the front walls, the inner film and the outer film are glued and/or sealed to one another at least along a region that runs in strip shape along a transverse direction, and wherein the bag body has a functional structure in the region that runs in strip shape. See Figs. 1-2C.
Regarding claim 14, in a flattened state, the side gussets are folded along a center line and laid between the front walls, and wherein the bag body is open at a top edge. See Figs. 1-2C.
Regarding claim 15, the bag body is filled with a filling material and closed. See [0022].
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) 3-5, 11 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koesters as applied above in further view of Koesters (DE102019117119) hereafter known as (‘119).
Regarding claim 3, Koesters does not disclose an imprint as claimed. ‘119, which is drawn to a bag, discloses front walls and/or side gussets, with only an outer film provided with an imprint. See [0013], [0029], [0030] and [0060]. Thus, it 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 to have only the outer film of Koester be imprinted, as disclosed by ‘119, in order to add in recyclability.
Regarding claim 4, as modified above, the front walls and/or the side gussets, an edge section of the outer film is not imprinted in the region of the longitudinal sealing seams, and wherein the imprint is capable of extending all the way to the longitudinal sealing seams. See ‘119, [0013], [0029], [0030] and [0060].
Regarding claim 5, Koesters does not disclose the walls as claimed. ‘119 discloses front walls and side gussets, with an inner film and an outer film, in each instance, are not connected over 80 % of the covered surface area. See [0041]. Thus, it 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 to have the walls of Koester be as disclosed by ‘119 in order to aid in stabilizing the bag.
Regarding claim 11, Koesters does not disclose the thicknesses as claimed. ‘119 discloses front walls and/or the side gussets, the inner film has a thickness between 80 pm and 200 pm, and the outer film has a thickness between 15 pm and 50 pm. See [0061].
Regarding claim 18, Koesters does not disclose the walls as claimed. ‘741 discloses front walls and the side walls that are formed from separate cutouts, which are connected to one another by means of the longitudinal sealing seams. See Fig. 3 and [0052]. Thus, it 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 to have the walls of Koester be as disclosed by ‘119 in order to facilitate manufacture of the bag.
Claim(s) 6, 10, 12, 13, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koesters as applied above in further view of Koesters (EP2186741) hereafter known as (‘741).
Regarding claim 6, Koester does not disclose the bag as claimed. ‘741 discloses a bag body having a bottom that is connected, by way of bottom sealing seams, to the front walls and the side gussets, and wherein the bottom is formed by an inner film and an outer film, which are not connected to one another in certain regions. See Figs. 1A-2, and [0034]. Thus, it 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 to have bag of Koester be as disclosed by ‘741 in order to provide the desired rigidity as well as flexibility to the bag.
Regarding claim 10, Koesters does not disclose the gussets as claimed. ‘741, which is drawn to a bag, discloses side gussets that end below a top edge of the bag body. See Figs. 1A-2, and [0034]. Thus, it 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 to have bag of Koester be as disclosed by ‘741 in order to aid in closing the bag.
Regarding claims 12 and 13, Koesters does not disclose the material as claimed. ‘741 discloses a bag body is formed, by at least 80 %, from polymer of one substance class, in particular from polyethylene or polypropylene, and wherein the inner film and the outer film are formed essentially from a single type of polymer of one substance class, in particular from polyethylene or polypropylene. See [0018], [0019]. Thus, it 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 to have the bag of Koester be as disclosed by ‘741 in order to have strong yet flexible bag.
Regarding claim 16, Koesters does not disclose the film as claimed. ‘741 discloses an inner film that is structured as a multi-layer film. See [0016]. Thus, it 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 to have the film of Koesters be multi-layered in order to aid in the uniform distribution of certain substances.
Regarding claim 17, Koesters does not disclose the film as claimed. ‘741 discloses an outer film oriented, in particular monoaxially oriented. See [0017] and [0019]. Thus, it 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 to have the film of Koester be as disclosed by ‘741 in order to have strong yet flexible bag.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached Notice of References Cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEREK J BATTISTI whose telephone number is (571)270-5709. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm M-F.
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/DEREK J BATTISTI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734
