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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/5/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-6 are objected to because of the following informalities:
-Claim 1, line 5, “a cutting blade” would be better recited as “at least one cutting blade”.
-Claims 2-5, 7, and 11 each recite “the cutting blade” that would be better recited as “the at least one cutting blade”.
-Claim 5, line 5, “two cutting blades of the four cutting blades” would be better recited as “a first set of two cutting blades of the four cutting blades”.
-Claim 5, line 6, “and a second cutting hole” should instead be recited as “and a second set of two cutting blades of the four cutting blades form a second cutting hole”.
-Claim 6, line 2 “in which two cutting blades” should be instead recited as “in which the two cutting blades of the first set of two cutting blades”.
-Claim 6, line 2 “in which remaining two cutting blades” should be instead recited as “in which the two cutting blades of the second set of two cutting blades”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 4 is 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 4, line 2 recites “gradually narrowed”, however, it is unclear as to what “gradually” is intending to encompass and therefore rendering the claim indefinite.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 4, 9, 12, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tomomatsu (JP 2021147057A-cited in IDS; see PDF provided with IDS for English translation of which Paragraph numbering is referenced to below).
Regarding Claim 1, Tomomatsu discloses a cutting device (10; Figure 1), comprising:
a cutting member (13, 17) configured to cut a powder storage bag (12) in which a powder is stored (note although powder is not disclosed, the member is clearly capable of use with a bag storing powder), wherein the cutting member (13, 17) comprises:
a placement plate (17) in which a through-hole (16) is defined (Para. 0028); and
a cutting blade (13) configured to extend upward on an edge of the through-hole (16; as shown in Figure 1) and configured to cut a point spaced apart from a vertical line passing through a central portion of the powder storage bag (12; as shown in the Figures such as Figure 4, blades 13 contact the bag 12 spaced from a centerline of the holes 14, 16 and therefore spaced from a vertical central line/axis; i.e. see Para. 0028, 0031, 0035).
Regarding Claim 4, Tomomatsu discloses an upper side of the cutting blade has a sharp front end (27a) of which a width is gradually narrowed toward a center thereof (see Figure 4).
Regarding Claim 9, Tomomatsu discloses the cutting device (10) further comprises a lower elevation member (electric cylinder 18) configured to move the cutting member (13, 17) upward toward the powder storage bag (12; Para. 0028, 0033).
Regarding Claim 12, Tomomatsu discloses powder input equipment (10; Figure 1), comprising:
a fixing device (base 15 and “overhead crane”; Para. 0028, 0034) to which a powder storage bag (12), in which a powder is stored (note although a powder is not disclosed, the device/equipment is clearly capable of use with a powder), is fixed (Para. 0028, 0034; note the support base 15 and crane fix the bag 12 into a position shown);
an input device (upper plate 30) provided below the fixing device (15, “crane”) and provided with an input port (31) into which the powder stored in the powder storage bag (12) is input (Para. 0033, 0035); and
a cutting device (13, 17) prepared according to claim 1 (see rejection of Claim 1 above) and configured to cut the powder storage bag (12) so that the powder stored in the powder storage bag (12) is input into the input port (31) of the input device (30; Para. 0033-0035).
Regarding Claim 13, Tomomatsu discloses the fixing device (base 15 and “overhead crane”; Para. 0028, 0034) further comprises an upper elevation member (“overhead crane”; Para. 0034) configured to move the powder storage bag (12) downward toward the input port (31; Para. 0034).
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 2-3, and 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tomomatsu (JP 2021147057A), in view of Thienst (USPGPUB 2019/0299481).
Regarding Claim 2, Tomomatsu discloses several features of the claimed invention and discloses the blade (13) comprising several portions but does not disclose the cutting blade (13) includes two or more cutting blades configured to cut two or more points spaced apart from the vertical line passing through the central portion of the powder storage bag.
Attention is brought to Thienst which includes a cutting device (1; Figure 1) comprising a cutting member (upper part 23) which comprises several separable cutting blades (2, 4; Para. 0030).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have embodied the cutting blade of Tomomatsu as several separable cutting blades as taught by Thienst. By modifying Tomomatsu in such a manner, if a section of the cutting member is faulty, it can be simply replaced without replacing the entire cutting member as taught by Thienst (Para. 0005, 0017). Further, it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art. Nerwin v. Erlichman, 168 USPQ 177, 179. Please note that in the instant application, applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitations.
Regarding Claim 3, Tomomatsu, as modified, discloses the cutting blade (13) is configured to vertically extend upward (as shown; Para. 0031).
Regarding Claims 5 and 6, Tomomatsu discloses several features of the claimed invention including the through-hole (16) has four edges (Para. 0031; “a square-shaped communication hole 16”) and two cutting blade portions (13; i.e. see Figure 5b) connected to each other which form a first cutting hole corresponding to a shape of the blade (13). However, Tomomatsu does not disclose the cutting blade (13) includes four cutting blades, each cutting blade being on the four edges of the through-hole, respectively, and two cutting blades of the four cutting blades that are in contact with each other are connected to each other to form a first cutting hole and a second cutting hole corresponding to the first cutting hole in the powder storage bag.
Attention is brought to Thienst which includes a cutting device (1; Figure 1) comprising a cutting member (upper part 23) which comprises several separable cutting blades (2, 4; Para. 0030).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have embodied the cutting blade (i.e. of Figure 5b) of Tomomatsu as several separable cutting blades as taught by Thienst. By modifying Tomomatsu in such a manner, if a section of the cutting member is faulty, it can be simply replaced without replacing the entire cutting member as taught by Thienst (Para. 0005, 0017). Further, it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art. Nerwin v. Erlichman, 168 USPQ 177, 179. Please note that in the instant application, applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitations.
Further, although as modified, the cutting member of Tomomatsu does not readily disclose four blades comprising two sets of two blades for forming two separate cutting holes. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to incorporate another set of two blades (Figure 5b of Tomomatsu as modified) to form a second opposing cutting hole, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8. Please note that in the instant application, applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitations. See MPEP 2144.04 (VI)(B).
Regarding Claim 7, Tomomatsu discloses the through-hole (16) has four edges (Para. 0031; “a square-shaped communication hole 16”) and the blade comprises three cutting sections (Figure 3; Para. 0031) extending along edges of the through-hole (16) but does not disclose the cutting blade includes three cutting blades.
Attention is brought to Thienst which includes a cutting device (1; Figure 1) comprising a cutting member (upper part 23) which comprises several separable cutting blades (2, 4; Para. 0030).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have embodied the cutting blade of Tomomatsu as several separable cutting blades as taught by Thienst such that the three sections are formed of separate blades. By modifying Tomomatsu in such a manner, if a section of the cutting member is faulty, it can be simply replaced without replacing the entire cutting member as taught by Thienst (Para. 0005, 0017). Further, it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art. Nerwin v. Erlichman, 168 USPQ 177, 179. Please note that in the instant application, applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitations.
Regarding Claim 8, Tomomatsu, as modified, discloses the third cutting hole has a shape corresponding to a shape in which the three cutting blades (13 as modified) are connected to each other (Para. 0031-0032; as modified the shape of the hole formed will correspond to the shape formed by the blades).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tomomatsu (JP 2021147057A), in view of Shin (KR101989268 B1-cited in IDS).
Regarding Claim 10, Tomomatsu discloses several features of the claimed invention but does not readily disclose the placement plate (17) has one or more open holes in an edge thereof.
Attention is brought to the teachings of Shin which includes another cutting device (1; Figure 1) comprising a cutting member (200) and a placement plate (210; Figures 3-4), wherein the placement plate (210) comprises open holes (211) arranged therethrough.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have incorporated further open holes in the plate of Tomomatsu as taught by Shin. By modifying the plate of Tomomatsu, the material being emptied from the bag that does not flow through the through-hole can be removed from the plate at other locations and therefore reducing the chances of material left on the plate causing interference in operation of the device.
Further it is noted that it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have arranged such openings along edges of the plate, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. Please note that in the instant application, applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitations. See MPEP 2144.04 (VI)(C).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tomomatsu (JP 2021147057A), in view of Liu (CN 109205201 A-see attached PDF for English translation and paragraph numbering).
Regarding Claim 11, Tomomatsu discloses several features of the claimed invention but does not readily disclose the cutting blade has a height ranging from 140 mm to 1,800 mm as Tomomatsu discloses the blade (13) having a height of 60mm (Par. 0032).
Attention is brought to the teachings of Liu which includes another cutting member (6; Figure 4-5) which comprises a blade (6) having a height of 200mm-400mm (Para. 0064)
At the time the invention was effectively filed, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the blade height of Tomomatsu to be 200-400mm as taught by Liu. By modifying Tomomatsu in this manner, the bag can be effectively broken and allow for proper discharge flow as taught by Liu (Para. 0064).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See “Notice of References Cited”.
Carlsson (USP 4,307,990), Walters (USP 4,040,389), Zublin (USP 5,405,053), Josefson (USP 5,743,313), Ness (US PGPUB 2014/0029872), Page (USP 8,864,006), Haas (USP 4,527,716), Schmidt (USP 6,293,318) and Iwata (JP 2016055876A) all disclose bag cutting devices.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSHUA G KOTIS whose telephone number is (571)270-0165. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 6am-430pm.
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/JOSHUA G KOTIS/Examiner, Art Unit 3731 9/23/2026
