Patent Application 18867821 - CYLINDER FOR A SHEET-TREATING ANDOR - Rejection

Patent Application 18867821 - CYLINDER FOR A SHEET-TREATING ANDOR

Title: CYLINDER FOR A SHEET-TREATING AND/OR SHEET-PROCESSING MACHINE WITH SUCTION AIR OPENINGS AND MACHINE FOR TREATING AND/OR PROCESSING SHEET-FORMAT SUBSTRATE COMPRISING SUCH A CYLINDER

Application Information

• Invention Title: CYLINDER FOR A SHEET-TREATING AND/OR SHEET-PROCESSING MACHINE WITH SUCTION AIR OPENINGS AND MACHINE FOR TREATING AND/OR PROCESSING SHEET-FORMAT SUBSTRATE COMPRISING SUCH A CYLINDER
• Application Number: 18867821
• Submission Date: 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
• Effective Filing Date: 2024-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
• Filing Date: 2024-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
• Examiner Employee Number: 89702
• Art Unit: 2853
• Tech Center: 2800

Rejection Summary

• 102 Rejections: 0
• 103 Rejections: 1

Cited Patents

The following patents were cited in the rejection:

• US 0316545🔗

Office Action Text

    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 Objections
Claim 19 is objected to because of the following informalities: Lines 6 and 10 contain the term “it”, which appears to refer back to their respective feature of “substrate” and “stator”, respectively.  It is suggested that Applicant replace the generic term with the appropriate limitation.  Appropriate correction is required.

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 19-23 and 29-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Berthon et al. (US Publication 2021/0316545; hereinafter Berthon) in view of , and further in view of Kauppila et al. (US Patent 6,539,829; hereinafter Kauppila).
With regards to claim 19, Berthon teaches a cylinder (41) for a sheet-treating and/or sheet-processing machine (01; FIG. 1), which comprises 
holding means (49; FIG. 10) around the circumference, by which a substrate sheet to be conveyed over the cylinder (41) can be picked up at the leading end thereof and can be or is held during a rotation of the cylinder over a rotation angle range between when the substrate sheet is received and it is transferred downstream ([0054-0055]; FIG. 1 and 7), and comprising a rotary union (48; [0054]; FIG. 10).
However, Berthon is silent regarding the rotary union comprises a rotor rotating along with the cylinder  which, at the end face, is non-rotatably arranged at a shaft end of a shaft driving the cylinder  or at an end-face cylinder journal, as well as a stator that does not rotate during regular operation, it being possible to apply vacuum pressure via the rotary union to suction openings or groups of suction openings provided around the circumference of the cylinder while an active rotation angle phase of the cylinder about the axis of rotation thereof is being run through, characterized in that the rotary union can be set in terms of a size of a passage angle sector(A5) determining the size of the active rotation angle phase and/or in terms of a position of the passage angle sector (Ap) determining the position of the active rotation angle phase.
Kauppila teaches a rotary union (including 10, 20, 28, 30; FIG. 2) comprises a rotor (30) rotating along with the cylinder (i.e. 12) which, at the end face, is non-rotatably arranged at a shaft end (col. 9, lines 22-37; FIG. 1-2) of a shaft (shaft portion of 12) driving the cylinder (12) or at an end-face cylinder journal, as well as a stator (10) that does not rotate during regular operation (col. 6, lines 30-47; the user rotates feature 10 and feature 10 remained in place, col. 8, lines 9-34), it [the stator] (see claim objection above) being possible to apply vacuum pressure via the rotary union (via 20; FIG. 1-2) to suction openings (fluid lines 24 leading to different openings) or groups of suction openings provided around the circumference of the cylinder (col. 10, lines 13-44) while an active rotation angle phase of the cylinder (12) about the axis of rotation thereof is being run through (col. 10, lines 13-44), characterized in that the rotary union (including 10, 20, 28, 30; FIG. 2) can be set in terms of a size of a passage angle sector(A5) determining the size of the active rotation angle phase and/or in terms of a position of the passage angle sector (Ap) determining the position of the active rotation angle phase (col. 6, line 48 to col. 7, line 44; FIG. 5-6).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the rotary union and adapter as taught by Kauppila to the rotary union and shaft as taught by Berthon to provide quick and easy adjustable distribution of vacuum (col. 1, line 57 to col. 2, line 2; Kauppila) to the cylinder of Berthon.
With regards to claim 20, Berthon, as combined with Kauppila, teaches the cylinder according to claim 19, characterized in that the rotary union has a multi-channel design on the side of the rotor (30; Kauppila; FIG. 2), the line connections which originate on the cylinder side from channel openings of this multi- channel rotor leading to different suction openings (col. 2, lines 27-43; Kauppila) or groups of suction openings located one behind the other in the circumferential direction ([0054]; FIG. 10; Berthon).
With regards to claim 21, Berthon, as combined with Kauppila, teaches (citations to Kauppila) the cylinder according to claim 20, characterized in that the stator (10) comprises a recess or a group of recesses (26; FIG. 6A-D) used for the passage of suction air, which, depending on the rotational position of the rotor rotating along with the cylinder, is in alignment with a changing part of the channel openings of this rotor (30; col. 6, line 48 to col. 7, line 44; FIG. 5-6).
With regards to claim 22, Berthon, as combined with Kauppila, teaches (citations to Kauppila unless specified otherwise) the cylinder according to claim 20, characterized in that the stator (10), for conducting through suction air, is designed with a recess or a group of recesses (26; FIG. 6A-D) in such a way that, during a rotation of the cylinder (41; Berthon) and of the rotor (30; FIG. 2) of the rotary union which rotates along with the cylinder, always only that part of the channel openings has a line connection to a free cross-section of the recess (129) or groups of recesses of the stator (10) which is connected via corresponding line paths to suction openings (47 of Berthon and col. 2, lines 27-43 of Kauppila) or groups of suction openings which are located within the rotation angle phase of the cylinder (41; Berthon) about the axis of rotation (R) thereof of less than 360° (col. 7, lines 20-44).
With regards to claim 23, Berthon, as combined with Kauppila, teaches (citations to Kauppila unless specified otherwise) the cylinder according to claim 21, characterized in that the stator (10) comprising the recess (26) or group of recesses, for varying the position of the passage angle sector (selected passage of 26; FIG. 6) and thus the position of the defined rotation angle phase and/or for varying the position of the channel openings which at the same time are in alignment with this recess (26) or group of recesses, and the suction openings (47; Berthon) or groups of suction openings having a line connection thereto, can be pivoted about the axis of rotation of the cylinder or an axis coinciding therewith (col. 6, line 48 to col. 7, line 44; FIG. 5-6).
With regards to claim 29, Berthon, as combined with Kauppila, teaches (citations to Berthon unless specified otherwise) the cylinder according to claim 19, characterized by the design thereof as a magnetic cylinder (41; FIG. 10) comprising a number of n x m (where n, m 0 1) magnetic elements (a part of 43), arranged in a matrix-like manner, in the region of the outer circumference thereof, which are arranged in axially parallel extending rows and in columns extending in the circumferential direction (FIG. 10; [0054]).
With regards to claim 30, Berthon, as combined with Kauppila, teaches (citations to Kauppila unless specified otherwise) the cylinder according to claim 29, characterized in that a plurality or all of the magnetic elements (a part of 43) of columns extending in the circumferential direction are arranged at or on a respective carrier element (a part of 43), which is open or closed in a ring-like manner and accommodated on a cylinder shaft (FIG. 10), the ring-like carrier element (44), viewed in the circumferential direction, comprising a plurality of chambers (each of suction channels; [0054]) one behind the other, which each, independently of one another, have a line connection to the rotor of the rotary union and to at least one group of suction openings (47) joining at the circumference via corresponding line paths ([0054] of Berthon and FIG. 2 of Kauppila showing multiple line paths 24).
With regards to claim 31, Berthon, as combined with Kauppila, teaches (citations to Kauppila unless specified otherwise) the cylinder according to claim 19 characterized in that a plurality of channels (24; FIG. 3) leading into the cylinder interior are provided in the shaft carrying the cylinder (41; Berthon) or in the end-face cylinder journal, which have a line connection to end-face channel openings of the rotor (FIG. 2 of Kauppila).
With regards to claim 32, Berthon, as combined with Kauppila, teaches (citations to Berthon unless specified otherwise) a machine (01; FIG. 1) for treating and/or processing sheet-format substrate (02), comprising a substrate infeed (26; [0043]), at least one printing mechanism (06, 07), by which substrate (02) guided on a transport path through the machine (01) is and/or can be printed at least on a first side in a matrix-like manner with multiple-ups (09) having a number m of columns and a number n of rows (see substrate 02 being printed in a matrix like manner in FIG. 3-6), a product receiving system (27), by which processed substrate (02) can be combined into bundles (see 02 at 27; FIG. 1), as well as at least one transport cylinder (41) provided in the substrate path between the substrate infeed (26) and the product receiving system (27; FIG. 1 and 7), characterized by a design of the transport cylinder (41) is according to a cylinder (41; FIG. 10) according to claim 19.
With regards to claim 33, Berthon, as combined with Kauppila, teaches (citations to Berthon unless specified otherwise) a machine according to claim 32, characterized in that the transport cylinder (41) according to the cylinder according to claim 19 is provided in the substrate path, which is designed as a magnetic cylinder (41) of an alignment device (08; [0037; FIG. 7) provided between the printing mechanism (06) and the product receiving system (27; FIG. 1 and 7) for aligning magnetic or magnetizable particles ([0050]), which in the region of the outer circumference thereof comprises a number of n x m (where n, m 0 1) magnetic elements (a part of 43) arranged in a matrix-like manner, which are arranged in axially parallel extending rows and in columns extending in the circumferential direction (FIG. 10), and/or that the transport cylinder according to the cylinder according to claim 19 is provided in the substrate path, which, as an impression cylinder of the printing mechanism, serves as a counterbearing for a printing mechanism cylinder and, together with the counterbearing, forms a printing nip and/or that the transport cylinder according to the cylinder according to claim 19 is provided in the substrate path, which, as an inspection cylinder, provides support to the conveyed substrate and, as an integral part of an inspection device, cooperates with a sensor device directed at the substrate path.


Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 24-28 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:  
The prior arts on record fail to anticipate and/or suggest the combination of the claimed invention.  Specifically, the prior arts fail to teach, inter alia, the limitations of claims 24-28, which is directed to a detailed structure of the stator is designed as a multi-piece stator having a first and second stator, which can both be adjusted, in terms of rotational position thereof.  The closest prior art on record with a structure equivalent to the stator (the function in which is to allow the flow of vacuum to selected ports on the shaft) is Kauppila.  However, Kaupilla teaches only a single piece stator (10; FIG. 1-3).  It is not obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teaching of Kaupilla to be a multi-piece stator as multiple piece can be detrimental to the function of Kaupilla (i.e. one stator can block the intended path of flow of the other stator if the one were to make multiple of the single piece stator of Kauppila).  Thus, the limitation of claims 24-28 are allowable subject matter.

Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUANG X.L NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1585. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, STEPHEN D. MEIER can be reached on (571) 272-2149. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/QXN/            Examiner, Art Unit 2853  

/STEPHEN D MEIER/            Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2853