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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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(s) 1-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kuwano (2022/0024109). Kuwano discloses a heating system (50) for heating plastic material preforms (10) upstream of a blow molding or stretch-blow molding machine (54), the heating system comprising a heating module (62) adapted to be crossed by a plurality of preforms (10) advancing along a transport line (61), wherein the heating module is provided with a plurality of heating elements (65a-f) arranged along a first plane substantially parallel to a second plane containing axes of the preforms adapted to cross said heating module (SEE Figures 3 & 4), wherein the heating module comprises a first heating zone (interpreted as the area near the neck of the preform), proximal to a support area of a neck of the preforms, and comprising at least one first heating element (65f) of said plurality of heating elements, and at least one second heating zone (interpreted as the tubular middle body of the preform), arranged adjacent to the first heating zone and at a passage zone of a tubular body of the preforms, and comprising at least one second heating element (65c-e) of the plurality of heating elements, wherein the heating system further includes at least one first temperature sensor (53) arranged externally to the heating module (SEE Figure 3) and at the first heating zone, and at least one second temperature sensor (SEE [0010] & [0048], wherein element 53 is being interpreted as having several sensors contained in one housing) arranged externally to the heating module (62) (Figure 3) and at said at least one second heating zone (adjacent heating elements 65c-e), wherein an electronic control device (70) is provided, adapted to receive temperature data detected both by said at least one first temperature sensor and said at least one second temperature sensor (SEE [0051]), compare said temperature data with predefined target temperatures of said first heating zone and said at least one second heating zone (SEE [0065]), and act in feedback by regulating a power of said at least one first heating element and said at least one second heating element (SEE [0073]); and wherein both the at least one first temperature sensor and the at least one second temperature sensor (53) are arranged immediately downstream of the heating module (62) and are facing an outside of said heating module (SEE Figure 3). In re claim 2, Kuwano discloses that there are provided a first temperature sensor for each first heating element and a second temperature sensor for each second heating element (as per Figure 6). In re claim 3, Kuwano further discloses at least one third heating zone (interpreted as the closed end of the preform), arranged adjacent to the at least one second heating zone and at a passage zone of a bottom of the preforms, and comprising at least one third heating element (65a, 65b) of the plurality of heating elements; and at least one third temperature sensor (SEE [0049], P, P1 and P, P2) arranged externally to the heating module (62) and at the at least one third heating zone, and wherein said electronic control device (70) is capable of also receive the temperature data detected by said at least one third temperature sensor, compare them with at least one predefined target temperature of said at least one third heating zone, and act in feedback by regulating the power of said at least one third heating element (SEE [0051] & [0073]). In re claim 4, Kuwano discloses that there are provided a first temperature sensor for each first heating element, a second temperature sensor for each second heating element, and a third temperature sensor for each third heating element (as illustrated in Figures 8A & 8B). In re claim 5, Kuwano implicitly discloses that the plurality of heating elements comprises infrared lamps or NIR lamps or laser lamps, arranged along the first plane substantially parallel to said second plane containing the axes of the preforms adapted to cross said heating module (as evidenced by the teaching of infrared rays in [0051] & [0061]). In re claim 6, Kuwano discloses that at least one third temperature sensor (P, P1 and P, P2) is arranged immediately downstream of the heating module, and preferably facing the outside of said heating module (Figure 3). In re claim 7, Kuwano discloses a furnace (52) for heating plastic material preforms (10), adapted to be positioned upstream of a blow molding or stretch-blow molding machine (54), the furnace comprising a plurality of heating systems comprising a respective heating module (62), adapted to be crossed by said plurality of preforms (10), and arranged in at least one bench (interpreted in the same way in Figure 3 as the applicants disclosure), wherein each heating module is provided with a plurality of respective heating elements (65a-f) arranged along a first plane substantially parallel to a second plane containing axes of the preforms adapted to advance along the at least one bench (Figure 3), wherein it is provided for at least one heating system of said heating systems to be made according to wherein it is provided for at least one heating system of said heating systems to be made according to and wherein the electronic control device (70) of said at least one heating system is adapted to receive the temperature data detected by both the respective at least one first temperature sensor (53) and the respective at least one second temperature sensor (53), compare said temperature data with predefined target temperatures of said first heating zone and said at least one second heating zone of the respective heating module (SEE [0065]), and act in feedback by regulating the power of said at least one first heating element and said at least one second heating element of said respective heating module and/or act in feedback by regulating the power of the plurality of heating elements of one or more of further heating systems of the furnace arranged upstream of said at least one heating system made according to claim 1 (SEE [0073]). In re claim 8, Kuwano discloses that a respective heating module (62), is arranged in a bench; wherein there is provided a further bench (interpreted in the same way as the applicants disclosure, SEE Figure 3), arranged upstream of the bench and provided with a plurality of respective heating systems, comprising a respective heating module (62), and connected to said bench by means of a connection stretch (SEE the curved section adjacent transport rotary 56 & 57 in Figure 3); wherein each heating module of the heating systems of said further bench is provided with a plurality of respective heating elements (65a-f) arranged along a plane substantially parallel to the plane containing the axes of the preforms advancing along said further bench; wherein at least one further first temperature sensor (53), preferably a single further first temperature sensor, is arranged at the connection stretch (SEE Figure 3), preferably immediately downstream of the further bench; and wherein a further electronic control device (70) is adapted to receive the temperature data detected by said at least one further first temperature sensor (SEE [0051]), compare said temperature data with a predefined target temperature of the surface of the preform at the outlet of said further bench (SEE [0065]), and act in feedback by regulating the power of the heating elements of one or more of the heating modules of the heating systems of said further bench (SEE [0073]). In re claim 9, Kuwano further discloses that the electronic control device is adapted to cooperate with the electronic control device by sending to this latter the temperature data detected by said at least one further first temperature sensor, so that said electronic control device can optimize the power of said at least one first heating element and said at least one second heating element of said respective heating module and/or the power of the plurality of the heating elements of one or more of the further heating systems of said bench (SEE [0073]). In re claim 10, Kuwano discloses that there is provided at least one further second temperature sensor (53), preferably a single further second temperature sensor, arranged at the inlet of the further bench (shown in Figure 3);and wherein said further electronic control device is also adapted to receive the temperature data detected by said at least one further second temperature sensor, and compare them with a predefined target temperature of the surface of the preform at the inlet of the further bench to optimize the power of the heating elements of the heating modules in the heating systems of said further bench (SEE [0065] & [0073]). In re claim 11, Kuwano discloses a blow molding plant (54) for blow molding plastic material containers comprising in sequence a furnace (52) according to A blow molding plant for blow molding plastic material containers comprising in sequence a furnace (52) according to and a blow molding or stretch-blow molding machine.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY A WILSON whose telephone number is (571)272-4882. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 7:00am-4:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Helena Kosanovic can be reached at 571-272-9059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GREGORY A WILSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762 October 7, 2026
