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 Status
This Office action is in response to the filing of 6/27/2025. Claims 1-3 and 6-19 are currently pending. Claims 1 and 16 have been amended in a preliminary amendment. The cancelation of claims 4-5 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1-2, 6-9, 12, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sosalla (US 2002/0195764 A1) in view of Nakamura (US 5076424).
Regarding claim 1, Sosalla discloses a system for fan-folding material, comprising a folder (62 – Fig. 1) comprising a first plurality of folder plates (the left 62 – Fig. 1A) and a second plurality of folder plates (the right 62 – Fig. 1A), wherein the first plurality of folder plates are interdigitated with the second plurality of folder plates (see Fig. 1A) such that the folder is configured for fan folding a sheet of material disposed therebetween (para. 0057); and a spreader roll (50 – Fig. 1), wherein the spreader roll comprises a bowed spreader roll (para. 0049 describes 50 as arched and it is also depicted as arched or bowed in Fig. 1).
However, Sosalla does not disclose that the folder comprises a low-profile folder and a high profile folder.
Nakamura teaches another system for fan folding material, comprising: a low-profile folder (65 on 63a,b – Fig. 10b) comprising a first plurality of roller plates (65 on 63a – Fig. 10b) and a second plurality of roller plates (65 on 63b – Fig. 10b), the first plurality of roller plates of the low-profile folder interdigitated with the second plurality of roller plates of the low-profile folder such that the low-profile folder is configured for fan folding a sheet of material disposed between the first and second pluralities of roller plates of the low-profile folder (as can be seen in Fig. 10b where the 65 on 63a and the 65 on 63b are interdigitated and the material 33 disposed between them is being fan folded); and a high-profile folder (65 on 64a,b – Fig. 10c) spaced from the low-profile folder along a machine direction (see Fig. 9 where 64 is spaced downstream from 63), the high-profile folder comprising a first plurality of roller plates (65 on 64a – Fig. 10c) and a second plurality of roller plates (65 on 64b – Fig. 10c), the first plurality of roller plates of the high-profile folder interdigitated with the second plurality of roller plates of the high-profile folder such that the high-profile folder is configured for fan folding the sheet of material disposed between the first and second pluralities of roller plates of the high-profile folder (as can be seen in Fig. 10c where the 65 on 64a and the 65 on 64b are interdigitated and the material 33 disposed between them is being fan folded), wherein a spacing between each of the first plurality of roller plates of the low-profile folder along a cross-machine direction is greater than a spacing between each of the first plurality of roller plates of the high-profile folder (col. 10, lines 12-17 and see Figs. 10b and 10c). One of ordinary skill in the art, upon reading the teaching of Nakamura, would have recognized that the folder of Sosalla and the folder of Nakamura are analogous folders since the both fan fold a sheet of material as the material travels through the folders. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would have further recognized that the folder of Sosalla may be substituted with the folder of Nakamura with no loss of functionality or change in the principle of operation of Sosalla.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have substituted the folder of Sosalla with the folder of Nakamura since it is within the skill of one of ordinary skill of the art to make simple substitutions of analogous folders. Note that the combination of Sosalla and Nakamura would result in the low-profile folder being positioned between the spreader roll and the high-profile folder in the machine direction since, in Nakamura, the high-profile folder is downstream of the low-profile folder.
Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura, further teaches:
Claim 2, a drive system (the “capability for feeding” in col. 10, lines 32-38, Nakamura) coupled to the low-profile roller and the high-profile roller, the drive system operable to rotate the first and second pluralities of roller plated of the low-profile roller and the first and second pluralities of roller plates of the high-profile roller (col. 10, lines 32-38, discloses that 63 and 64 are provided with the capability for feeding, Nakamura).
Claim 6, the high-profile folder (65 on 64a,b – Fig. 10c, Nakamura) is positioned below the low-profile folder (65 on 63a,b – Fig. 10b, Nakamura) along a vertical direction (see Fig. 9 of Nakamura where 64 is downstream of 63; when combined with Sosalla which orients the folder vertically, the high-profile folder is positioned below the low-profile folder).
Claim 7, a distal end portion of each of the first and second pluralities of roller plates (65 – Fig. 10b, Nakamura) of the low-profile folder (65 on 63a,b – Fig. 10b, Nakamura) and the first and second pluralities of roller plates (65 – Fig. 10c, Nakamura) of the high-profile folder (65 on 64a,b – Fig. 10c, Nakamura) is curved (the plates are in the form of wheels, hence they necessarily are curved).
However, Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura, does not expressly teach the radius of the curve.
In this case, it is noted that the radius is a result effective variable because it determines how big the wheel is and thereby how deep the fold is.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified the radius of the curve of Sosalla and Nakamura to be any workable radius including a radius no greater than ten millimeters, since it has been held that where the general conditions of the claim are taught in the prior art, discovering the workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105, USPQ.
Claim 8, essentially all of the elements of the claimed invention in claim 1.
However, Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura, does not expressly teach that the first plurality of roller plates of the low-profile folder and the first plurality of roller plates of the high-profile folder each comprise no less than eight roller plates.
In this case, it is noted that the number of roller plates on the both the high-profile folder and the low-profile folder is a result effective variable since the number of roller plates determines how many folds are made in the transverse direction for a material of a specific width. Furthermore, since on pg. 7 of applicant’s written description, applicant discloses that the number of roller plates can be less than eight, it is clear that the range of eight or more plates is not critical.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to have used any number of roller plates on the low-profile folder and the high-profile folder that is appropriate for fan-folding for a material of a specific width, including no less than eight rollers, since it has been held that where the prior art teaches the general conditions of a claim, discovering the workable range of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Claim 9, essentially all of the elements of the claimed invention in claim 9.
However, Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura, does not expressly disclosure the magnitude of the collective surface area of the first plurality of roller plates of the low-profile folder and the first plurality of roller plates of the high-profile roller.
In this case, based on Figs. 10b and 10c of Nakamura, it appears that the collective surface area of the first plurality of roller plates of the low-profile folder is about equal to a collective surface area of the first plurality of roller plates of the high-profile folder. As can be seen in Fig. 10b and 10c, the upper rollers 63a and 64a each have the same number of roller plates and they appear to be the same size.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have provided a first plurality of roller plates on the low-profile folder and the high-profile folder that have about the same collective surface area since that it what the teaching of Nakamura depicts and it would be obvious to implement what is depicted in the drawings.
Claim 12, the low-profile folder (65 on 63a,b – Fig. 10b, Nakamura) further comprises a pinch fold roller plate (either of the left or right end 65 on 63b – Fig. 10b, Nakamura) disposed at an end of the first plurality of roller plates (65 on 63b, Nakamura) of the low-profile folder (see Fig. 10b, Nakamura), a diameter of the pinch fold roller plate being less than a diameter of the first plurality of roller plates of the low-profile folder (as can be seen in Fig. 10b, Nakamura, the left and right end 65 on 63b have a diameter smaller than a middle 65). Note that this rejection relies upon an alternative interpretation of Nakamura in which the first plurality of roller plates are on 63b and the second plurality of roller plates are on 63a.
Claim 15, essentially all of the elements of the claimed invention in claim 1.
However, Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura, does not expressly disclose how fast the system is running.
In this case, it is noted that the speed of the machine is a result effective variable because it determines how many clips are produced. Furthermore, it is noted that Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura is structurally approximately the same as applicant’s system which means that the system of Sosalla and Nakamura would be expected to be capable of running at the same speed as applicant’s invention. Furthermore, on pg. 5, applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed speed.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have run the system of Sosalla and Nakamura at any speed in which the system is capable of being run including at no less than three hundred meters per minute, since it has been held that where the prior art discloses the general conditions of the claim, discovering the workable range of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sosalla (US 2002/0195764 A1) in view of Nakamura (US 5076424) and Dowling (US 5727724).
Regarding claim 3, Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura, discloses essentially all of the elements of the claimed invention in claim 2.
However, Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura does not disclose the structure of the drive system.
Dowling teaches a drive system comprising a motor (48 – Fig. 3) and a gearbox (the assembly of 54 and 56 – Fig. 3), the motor operable to rotate a first and second plurality of roller plates (col. 3, lines 29-38), the gearbox coupling the first and second pluralities of roller plates such that a fixed gear ratio is defined therebetween (see Fig. 3 where gear 56 is a driving gear and 54 is a driven gear).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have implemented the drive system of Dowling as the drive system in Sosalla and Nakamura since Sosalla and Nakamura are silent with respect to the implementation of the drive system and Dowling teaches a known solution.
Claims 13-14, 16-17, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sosalla (US 2002/0195764 A1) in view of Nakamura (US 5076424) and Shibanuma (JP H09315673 A).
Regarding claim 13, Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura, discloses essentially all of the elements of the claimed invention in claim 1 and further discloses a liquid applicator assembly (70 – Fig. 1, Sosalla) configured for applying liquid to the sheet material (para. 0085, Sosalla).
However, Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura, does not disclose that the liquid applicator is disposed upstream of the low-profile folder.
Shibanuma teaches a similar folding system comprising a liquid applicator (4 – Fig. 1) assembly configured for applying liquid to sheet material (abstract), wherein the liquid applicator assembly is upstream of the folding of the sheet along the machine direction (see Fig. 2). One of ordinary skill in the art, upon reading the teaching of Shibanuma, would have recognized that placing the liquid applicator upstream of folding is a known alternative placement of the liquid applicator with respect to Sosalla, wherein the liquid applicator of Sosalla may also be placed upstream with no loss of functionality or change in the principle of operation.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have moved the liquid applicator of Sosalla upstream of the low-profile folder as suggested by Shibanuma since it is within the skill if one of ordinary skill in the art to implement known alternatives.
Regarding claim 14, Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura and Shibanuma, further discloses that the liquid applicator assembly (70 – Fig. 1, Sosalla) comprises a bar (72 – Fig. 1, Sosalla) with a plurality of ports (64 – Fig. 1, Sosalla), the plurality of ports distributed along the cross-machine direction on the bar (see Fig. 1, Sosalla), a length of the bar along the cross-machine direction being greater than a width of the sheet material along the cross-machine direction (see Fig. 1, Sosalla).
Regarding claim 16, Sosalla discloses a system for fan-folding material, comprising: a liquid applicator assembly (70 – Fig. 1) configured for applying liquid to a sheet of material (para. 0085); a folder (62 – Fig. 1) comprising a first plurality of folder plates (the left 62 – Fig. 1A) and a second plurality of folder plates (the right 62 – Fig. 1A), wherein the first plurality of folder plates are interdigitated with the second plurality of folder plates (see Fig. 1A) such that the folder is configured for fan folding the sheet of material disposed therebetween (para. 0057); and a spreader roll (50 – Fig. 1), wherein the spreader roll comprises a bowed spreader roll (para. 0049 describes 50 as arched and it is also depicted as arched or bowed in Fig. 1).
However, Sosalla does not disclose that the folder comprises a low-profile folder and a high profile folder.
Nakamura teaches another system for fan folding material, comprising: a low-profile folder (65 on 63a,b – Fig. 10b) comprising a first plurality of roller plates (65 on 63a – Fig. 10b) and a second plurality of roller plates (65 on 63b – Fig. 10b), the first plurality of roller plates of the low-profile folder interdigitated with the second plurality of roller plates of the low-profile folder such that the low-profile folder is configured for fan folding a sheet of material disposed between the first and second pluralities of roller plates of the low-profile folder (as can be seen in Fig. 10b where the 65 on 63a and the 65 on 63b are interdigitated and the material 33 disposed between them is being fan folded); and a high-profile folder (65 on 64a,b – Fig. 10c) spaced from the low-profile folder along a machine direction (see Fig. 9 where 64 is spaced downstream from 63), the high-profile folder comprising a first plurality of roller plates (65 on 64a – Fig. 10c) and a second plurality of roller plates (65 on 64b – Fig. 10c), the first plurality of roller plates of the high-profile folder interdigitated with the second plurality of roller plates of the high-profile folder such that the high-profile folder is configured for fan folding the sheet of material disposed between the first and second pluralities of roller plates of the high-profile folder (as can be seen in Fig. 10c where the 65 on 64a and the 65 on 64b are interdigitated and the material 33 disposed between them is being fan folded), wherein a spacing between each of the first plurality of roller plates of the low-profile folder along a cross-machine direction is greater than a spacing between each of the first plurality of roller plates of the high-profile folder (col. 10, lines 12-17 and see Figs. 10b and 10c). One of ordinary skill in the art, upon reading the teaching of Nakamura, would have recognized that the folder of Sosalla and the folder of Nakamura are analogous folders since the both fan fold a sheet of material as the material travels through the folders. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would have further recognized that the folder of Sosalla may be substituted with the folder of Nakamura with no loss of functionality or change in the principle of operation of Sosalla.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have substituted the folder of Sosalla with the folder of Nakamura since it is within the skill of one of ordinary skill of the art to make simple substitutions of analogous folders. Note that the combination of Sosalla and Nakamura would result in the low-profile folder being positioned between the spreader roll and the high-profile folder in the machine direction since, in Nakamura, the high-profile folder is downstream of the low-profile folder.
However, Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura, does not disclose that the low-profile folder is disposed between the liquid applicator assembly and the high profile folder.
Shibanuma teaches a similar folding system comprising a liquid applicator (4 – Fig. 1) assembly configured for applying liquid to sheet material (abstract), wherein the liquid applicator assembly is upstream of the folding of the sheet along the machine direction (see Fig. 2). One of ordinary skill in the art, upon reading the teaching of Shibanuma, would have recognized that placing the liquid applicator upstream of folding is a known alternative placement of the liquid applicator with respect to Sosalla, wherein the liquid applicator of Sosalla may also be placed upstream with no loss of functionality or change in the principle of operation.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have moved the liquid applicator of Sosalla upstream of the low-profile folder as suggested by Shibanuma since it is within the skill if one of ordinary skill in the art to implement known alternatives. This results in the low-profile folder being disposed between the liquid applicator assembly and the high-profile folder along the machine direction.
Regarding claim 17, Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura and Shibanuma, further teaches a drive system (the “capability for feeding” in col. 10, lines 32-38, Nakamura) coupled to the low-profile folder and the high-profile folder, the drive system operable to rotate the first and second pluralities of roller plates of the low-profile folder and the first and second pluralities of roller plates of the high profile folder (col. 10, lines 32-38, discloses that 63 and 64 are provided with the capability for feeding, Nakamura).
Regarding claim 19, Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura and Shibanuma, discloses essentially all of the elements of the claimed invention in claim 16.
However, Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura and Shibanuma, does not expressly disclose how fast the system is running.
In this case, it is noted that the speed of the machine is a result effective variable because it determines how many clips are produced. Furthermore, it is noted that Sosalla, as modified by Nakamura and Shibanuma, is structurally approximately the same as applicant’s system which means that the system of Sosalla, Nakamura, and Shibanuma would be expected to be capable of running at the same speed as applicant’s invention. Furthermore, on pg. 5, applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed speed.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have run the system of Sosalla, Nakamura, and Shibanuma at any speed in which the system is capable of being run including at no less than three hundred meters per minute, since it has been held that where the prior art discloses the general conditions of the claim, discovering the workable range of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-11 and 18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claims 10 and 18, the primary reason for allowance is the inclusion of “a length of the contact surface of the first plurality of roller plates of the low-profile folder along the cross-machine direction is about equal to a width of the sheet of material along the cross-machine direction.” Applicant achieves this by having roller plates that taper to almost a point and placing the first and second plurality of rollers close together so the material can bend along the radius of the roller plates (see Fig. 4 of applicant’s drawings). In Nakamura, the roller plates do not taper and the material does not bend along the radius of the roller plates. Furthermore, although the first and second plurality of roller plates are interdigitated, they are not so close that the material is forced to bend along the radius of the roller plates (see Fig. 10b, Nakamura). Although references may be known that teach closely spaced and tapered roller plates, it is not clear how such a teaching could be used to modify Nakamura without engaging in impermissible hindsight.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Cunnigham (US 2009/0286437 A1) discloses a similar system for fan folding material comprising a folder (60 – Fig. 1), a spreader roll (50 – Fig. 1), and a liquid applicator assembly (70 – Fig. 1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS M WITTENSCHLAEGER whose telephone number is (571)272-7012. The examiner can normally be reached MON-FRI: 9:00-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shelley Self can be reached at 571-272-4524. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THOMAS M WITTENSCHLAEGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
9/23/2026
