Detailed Office Action
The communication dated 7/6/2026 has been entered and fully considered. Claims 10-11 are withdrawn from examination. Claims 1-11 remain pending.
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 without traverse of Group I (claims 1-9) in the reply filed on 7/6/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 10-11 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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 1-9 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the stationary new web of material" in lines 12/13. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 2-9 are dependent on claim 1 and are rejected as well.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the stationary running-out web of material" in line 18. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 2-9 are dependent on claim 1 and are rejected as well.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "the pretensioning element" in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of Examination, the Examiner replaces this limitation with “the pretensioning unit” and changes the dependency of claim 9 from claim 1 to claim 8, where this limitation is recited.
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.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CHO (KR-20180069391-A; of record; English translation is provided by the Examiner), hereinafter CHO. Note that the italicized text below are the instant claims.
Regarding claim 1, CHO discloses A device for connecting finite webs of material for the energy cell producing industry {[0001]},
wherein a running-out web of material can be guided in a first guide section and a new web of material can be guided in a second guide section {[FIG. 2] 10 is the running-out web that is guided in its section out of its roller and 20 is the new web that is guided in its own section from its roller},
wherein the running-out web of material and the new web of material can be conveyed in a conveying direction {[FIG. 2] note the smaller rollers (not numbered) downstream of 110 and 210 that convey webs 10 and 20}, and the device comprises:
a holding device which is adapted to hold the new web of material in the second guide section by means of negative pressure {[0031] note the second material (new web) suction plate 230 is the holding device, suction is the negative pressure},
a backing element and a cutting element, downstream in the conveying direction of the holding device {[0031] the second material suction plate 250 is the backing element and the second material cutter 240 is the cutting element, [FIG. 2] note 240/250 are downstream of 230 in the conveying direction (direction from bottom to top)},
wherein the backing element and the cutting element are adapted to cut the stationary new web of material to produce a new leading end of the new web of material {[FIG. 6] note cutter 240 with the backing element 250 cuts the new web material 20 that is held by 220 (the stationary limitation) and thus creating a new leading end},
an applicator for applying an adhesive strip to the new leading end of the new web of material {[0039] the tape attachment portion is the applicator, note attaching tape to the tip of the second material 20 that is the new leading end of the new web material, tape is the adhesive strip since it attaches},
and a ram and a cutting device {[0036] cutter 320 is the cutting device, {[FIG. 2] 410 is the ram},
wherein the cutting device is adapted to cut the stationary running-out web of material to produce a new trailing end of the running-out web of material, and wherein the ram is adapted to press the trailing end of the running-out web of material onto the adhesive strip and against the applicator in order to connect the new leading end of the new web of material to the new trailing end of the running-out web of material {[0037] note stopper 500 creates the stationary running-out web, note cutting the first material or the running-out web to create an end or the new trailing end, [0041] note the tape 51 or the adhesive strip is attached to the new trailing end of the first material or the running-out web and the tip of the second material or the new leading end of the new web material, [FIG. 10] note pressing of the ram 410}.
Regarding claim 2, CHO discloses wherein the backing element is movable for bearing against the new web of material {[0034] note the backing element 250 can move}.
Regarding claim 3, CHO discloses wherein the backing element is arranged or can be arranged between the running-out web of material and the new web of material {[FIG. 6] note that in this arrangement the new web material 20 is horizontal and held by 220 and the running-out web 10 is rather vertical and the backing element 250 is arranged between 20 and 10}.
Regarding claim 4, CHO discloses wherein the backing element is provided as an abutment for the applicator to apply the adhesive strip to the new leading end of the new web of material {[FIG. 9]}.
Regarding claim 5, CHO discloses wherein the backing element and the cutting device are adapted to cut the running-out web of material {[FIGs. 8/9] note that immediately after cutting 10 by 320, 250 keeps the new trailing end of 10 in place}.
Regarding claim 6, CHO discloses wherein the running-out web of material is guided in the first guide section on two rollers and/or the new web of material is guided in the second guide section on two rollers {[FIG. 5] note the two small rollers contacting 20 and another two small rollers contacting 10}.
Regarding claim 7, CHO discloses wherein a buffer storage is provided for the running-out web of material {[FIG. 2] 2 is the buffer storage for web material 10}.
Regarding claim 8, CHO discloses wherein a pretensioning unit is provided for rolling up and tensioning the leading end of the new web of material {[FIG. 6] 220 is the pretensioning roller that holds on to the end of new web material 20 and thus tensioning it, [0032] note clamping by 220, thus pretensioning}.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHO as applied to claims 1 and 8 above, and further in view of YANG (CN-218274713-U and its English translation), hereinafter YANG.
Regarding claim 9, CHO discloses all the limitations of claims 1 and 8 as discussed above. Additionally, as discussed under claim 8 above, CHO discloses attaching a leading end of the new web to a pretensioning unit 220 {[FIG. 5]}. CHO, however, is silent on a bobbin opener that performs the pickup of this leading edge and transferring it through the second guiding section to the pretensioning unit.
In the same field of endeavor that is related to preparing energy device, YANG discloses wherein a bobbin opener is provided, which is adapted to pick up a leading end of the new web of material from a bobbin, to guide it through the second guide section and to transfer it to the pretensioning element {[0028] note the mechanism 41 is the bobbin opener that picks the tape and transfer it}.
At the effective filing date of the instant invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have incoprtated the mechanism of YANG in the device of CHO in order to pick up the leading end of new web material and transfer it to the pretensioning unit of CHO. One would have been motivated to have incorporated this mechanism since CHO is silent on how the leading end of new web is connected to its pretensioning unit 220 and that motivates one of ordinary skill in the art to look to analogous art and determine an appropriate mechanism for this task.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to S. BEHROOZ GHORISHI whose telephone number is (571)272-1373. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-(alt Fri) 7:30-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abbas Rashid can be reached at 571-270-7457. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/S. BEHROOZ GHORISHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1748
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