SHEET MANUFACTURING APPARATUS AND SHEET MANUFACTURING METHOD

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 § 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. The factual inquiries 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. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claims 1-3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aruga et al, (hereinafter Aruga), US Patent Application Publication No. 20220098792 A1 in view of Higuchi et al., (hereinafter Higuchi). With regard to claims 1-3 and 5, Aruga teaches a sheet manufacturing apparatus including an accumulation unit that accumulates fibers to form a web; a transport unit that transports the web from the accumulation unit; a defect/abnormality detection unit, including a sensor, that detects anomalies and stop the machine and then cut the web/sheet where the anomaly is present, dividing the web/sheet onto two parts, downstream and upstream, the downstream part is processed, i.e., manufactured into sheet and the other part, i.e., the upstream part, is collected; see figure 7, ¶-[0103]-[0110]. While Aruga is silent with regard to a second transport unit, Higuchi teaches that adding a second transport unit (79) to transport the web to sheet forming stage is known and that it is not an essential component and can be omitted; see column 12, lines 40-67 and column 20, lines 50-61. Therefore, adding a second transport unit/belt in Aruga’s apparatus would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as means to separate the web from the mesh belt (19) and avoiding a draw showing on figure 1 of the main reference Aruga. Note that it is common in the art, when the process needs to be stopped for the breaking or a local defect is encountered in/on the web, the cut forms two portions, one which has no defects continues to the formation of the final product and the second part is sent to be defibrated or pulped1. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 4 is 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: the cited prior art does not teach nor fairly suggest the lifting mechanism as claimed in claim 4. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure in the art of “Sheet Manufacturing Apparatus and Sheet Manufacturing Method.” Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSE A FORTUNA whose telephone number is (571)272-1188. The examiner can normally be reached MONDAY- FRIDAY 11:30 PM- 9:00 PM. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. 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. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JOSE A FORTUNA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1748 JAF 1 United State Patent No. 6,524,443 B2 evidences this fact.