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 10/21/2025. Claims 1-7 are currently pending. Claims 3 and 5-6 have been amended in a preliminary amendment.
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 1-7 are 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.
Regarding claim 1, the preamble “that allows formation of a plurality of packaging film pieces sequentially using a strip-shaped film including a plurality of regions to become the packaging film pieces and to be connected continuously to each other across a perforated line, in such a manner as to form each of the packaging film pieces from a head region at a head of the strip-shaped film among the regions” is vague and indefinite because it is not clear what is being claimed due to the poor grammar. In order to further prosecution, the preamble has been interpreted as reciting that a plurality of film pieces are formed from a web of film that has a plurality of perforated lines in respective regions and a head region, wherein each film piece is formed by the material of the web at the head region. Claims 2-7 are rejected for including the subject matter of claim 1.
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 1-3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yount (US 2010/0200473 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Yount discloses a forming mechanism (100 – Fig. 1) that allows formation of a plurality of pieces (106 – Fig. 1) sequentially using a web (104 – Fig. 1) having a plurality of perforated lines (208 – Fig. 2) and a head region (106A – Fig. 8A), the forming mechanism comprising: a chuck unit (the assembly of 326 and 328 – Fig. 8A) that includes chuck parts (326, 328 – Fig. 8A) in a pair that chuck corresponding opposite ends of the head region in a width direction (para. 0052 and see Fig. 8A), and allows the chuck parts in a pair to move back and forth between a start position (the position of 326, 328 in Fig. 8A) at which chucking of the head region is started (para. 0048) and a release position (the position of 326, 328 in Fig. 8C) separated from the start position toward a direction (downstream or from top to bottom in Fig. 8A) in which the web is drawable and at which the head region is released from chucking (para. 0054); and a stopper unit (the assembly of 340 and 342 – Fig. 8A) that allows drawing of the web to be stopped by clamping the web (para. 0054 and see Fig. 8C).
Yount further discloses:
Claim 2, the stopper unit (the assembly of 310 and 312 – Fig. 6A) is configured in such a manner that, when the stopper unit clamps the web, the opposite ends of the head region in the width direction protrude from the stopper unit to become ready to be chucked by the chuck parts (326, 328 – Fig. 6A) in a pair (see Fig. 6A, the head region protrudes in the downstream direction and the opposite ends of the head region are clamped by 326, 328 – Fig. 6A). Note that this rejection relies on an alternative interpretation of Yount in which the forming mechanism is the embodiment of Fig. 6a and the stopper unit is interpreted to be the assembly of 310 and 312.
Claim 3, a packaging apparatus comprising: the forming mechanism of claim 1 (see the rejection of claim 1 above); and a controller (500 – Fig. 5; para. 0045 discloses that the controller controls the chuck parts and stopper unit), wherein the controller causes the chuck parts (326, 328 – Fig. 8A) in a pair to chuck the head region of the web at the start position (para. 0052), the controller causes the chuck parts in a pair to continue chucking of the head region and moves the chuck parts in a pair from the start position toward the release position (paras. 0052-0054), and on the way of moving the chuck parts in a pair toward the release position, the controller causes the stopper unit (the assembly of 340 and 342 – Fig. 8A) to clamp a next region connected to the head region across the perforated line (para. 0054, note that para. 0054 discloses that “By the time shown in Fig. 8C, grippers 340, 342 engage” indicating that the stopper unit clamps the next region while the chuck parts are on the way toward the release position; as can be seen in Fig. 8A 340, 342 upstream end of 106B).
Claim 5, after causing the stopper unit (the assembly of 340 and 342 – Fig. 8A) to clamp the next region continuous with the head region chucked by the chuck parts (326, 328 – Fig. 8A) in a pair on the way of moving the chuck parts in a pair toward the release position, the controller (500 – Fig. 5; para 0045 discloses that the controller controls the chuck parts and the stopper unit) causes the stopper unit to continue a state of the clamping until chucking of the next region by the chuck parts in a pair is started (para. 0054 disclose that 340, 342 clamp the web while 326, 328 go back to their start position, their start position is clamping the web).
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.
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yount (US 2010/0200473 A1) in view of Shibao (WO 2021/130854). Note that for convenience, citations to the written description of Shibao refer to the identical U.S disclosure (US 2023/0118777 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Yount discloses essentially all of the elements of the claimed invention in claim 3.
However, Yount does not disclose a transport mechanism and an affixing mechanism.
Shibao teaches a packaging apparatus comprising a transport mechanism (the assembly of 3 and 8 – Fig. 1A) that transports a packaging target (50 – Fig. 1A; para. 0039); and an affixing mechanism (the assembly of 21a, 21b, and 23 – Fig. 2C) that affixes a packaging film piece to the packaging target being transported by the transport mechanism (paras. 0045 and 0048). Shibao is silent with respect to how the packaging film piece is formed. One of ordinary skill in the art, upon reading the teaching of Shibao would have recognized that the packaging film piece of Shibao is analogous to the released head region of Yount since they are both in the form of a rectangular film. Furthermore, the holding mechanism (20 – Fig. 2B) of Shibao is analogous to the chuck unit of Yount since they both hold a rectangular film piece by clamping the film piece.
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 formed the packaging film piece of Shibao using the forming mechanism of Yount since the forming mechanism could be easily added to the upstream end of the packaging apparatus of Shibao as the chucks could deliver to above the packaging target. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because Shibao is silent with respect to how the packaging film pieces are formed and Yount discloses an easily applied solution.
Regarding claim 7, Yount and Shibao further teach the transport mechanism (the assembly of 3 and 8 – Fig. 1A, Shibao) includes a loader (3 – Fig. 1A, Shibao) and an unloader (8 – Fig. 1A, Shibao) movable closer to and farther from each other in a transport direction (para. 0042, Shibao), and allows formation of space at a position under the release position at which the packaging target is allowed to lie astride the space by moving the loader and the unloader farther from each other (para. 0042, Shibao), and the affixing mechanism (the assembly of 21A, 21b, and 23 – Fig. 2C, Shibao) includes: a first press unit (21a – Fig. 2C) that allows the packaging film piece to be pressed against an upper surface of the packaging target to put the packaging film piece into a state where opposite ends thereof are suspended downward after the packaging film piece is released from chucking by the chuck parts in a pair at the release position (para. 0046 and see Fig. 2C, Shibao); and a second press unit (23 – Fig. 2C) that allows the opposite ends of the packaging film piece suspended downward to be pressed against a bottom surface of the packaging target (para. 0048, Shibao).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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 claim 4, Yount discloses that the chuck parts (326, 328 – Fig. 8A) don’t stop before the stopper unit (the assembly of 340 and 342 – Fig. 8A) clamps the web (para. 0054). Hence, Yount does not disclose that the controller stops the chuck parts in a pair temporarily and then cause the stopper unit to clamp the web.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Hironaka (US 2021/0009361 A1) discloses a similar affixing mechanism (the assembly of 11a and 12a – Fig. 5A) comprising a first press unit (11a – Fig. 5A) and a second press unit (12a – Fig. 5A).
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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/THOMAS M WITTENSCHLAEGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
9/22/2026
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