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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on April 27, 2026 has been entered.
Claims 3, 4, 13 and 14 have been canceled without prejudice. Claims 1, 5-11 and 15-20 are pending with claims 7-10 and 17-20 being previously withdrawn. An action on the merits is as follows.
Objections to claims 1 and 11 have been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments with respect to claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities: These claims include the limitation “wherein data considered by the supervisory controller includes a position a plurality of cars”. This limitation should be changed to state “wherein data considered by the supervisory controller includes a position a plurality of cars”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 5, 6, 11, 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Claims 1 and 11 include the limitation “a first level of vehicle control, including adjusting the motion control parameters of the car mover”. However the claims previously describe the motion control parameters to include vibrations and impulses experienced by the car mover. Applicants’ specification does not describe how vibrations and impulses are intended to be adjusted. Vibrations and impulses experienced by a car are a result of other parts of the car during its motion through a hoistway. It is unclear how applicants intend to specifically adjust vibrations or impulses, e.g. adjusting tension/compression of a suspension means interacting with wheels/rail, selectively engaging additional wheels against a rail, actuating a separate dampening device, etc. Therefore this limitation does not meet the enablement requirement.
Claims 5, 6, 15 and 16 depend from claims 1 or 11 and therefore inherit all claimed limitations. These claims then also contain the limitation which does not meet the enablement requirement.
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, 5, 6, 11, 15 and 16 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.
Claims 1 and 11 include the limitation “a first level of vehicle control, including adjusting the motion control parameters of the car mover”. However the claims previously describe the motion control parameters to include vibrations and impulses experienced by the car mover. It is unclear how applicant intends to adjust vibrations and impulses on the car since these characteristics are a result of other parts of the car during its motion through a hoistway. Any adjustment would be to said other parts or a motion of the car itself, resulting in a change in the vibrations or impulses. For examining purposes, this limitation is interpreted as stating “a first level of vehicle control, including adjusting at least one of the motion control parameters of the car mover”.
These claims further include the limitation “a second level of vehicle control includes, depending on a remaining percentage of SOC” and describes the vehicle control with respect to “when the remaining percentage of SOC is at a first percentage; and” “when the remaining percentage of SOC is at a second percentage that is lower than the first percentage; and” “when the remaining percentage of SOC is at a third percentage that is lower than the second percentage; and”. However it is unclear whether the claims require such vehicle control in situations where the remaining percentage of SOC is not equal to the first, second or third percentage. For examining purposes, the vehicle control is interpreted to be with respect to “when the remaining percentage of SOC is within a first percentage range; and” “when the remaining percentage of SOC is within a second percentage range that is lower than the first percentage range; and” “when the remaining percentage of SOC is within a third percentage range that is lower than the second percentage range; and”.
Claims 5, 6, 15 and 16 depend from claims 1 or 11 and therefore inherit all claimed limitations. These claims do not correct the deficiencies of claims 1 or 11.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 5, 6, 11, 15 and 16 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph and 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claims 1 and 11: Although the prior art (US 7,896,137 B2) teaches a car mover and a method of operating a car mover configured to move an elevator car (3) in lane of a hoistway (1), comprising a power supply (second electric storage apparatus 22) configured to power one or more motors (15) (column 3 lines 42-47) to drive a respective one or more wheels (column 3 lines 10-18), a car mover controller (operation control apparatus 19) operationally connected to the power supply to control movement of the elevator car (column 3 lines 35-37) onboard the elevator car (column 3 lines 20-21), as shown in FIG. 1, the car mover controller configured to execute health monitor protocols to thereby: monitor a state of charge (SOC) (electric power amount stored) of the power supply (column 4 lines 35-34), the car mover controller controls the car mover in response to power in the power supply (column 7 lines 11-21), charging stations (hoistway-side connecting units 27) for charging the elevator car power supply when the elevator car is stopped at a hall (column 4 lines 1-14), as shown in FIG. 1, additional prior art (US 8,794,388 B2) teaches a device and method, where a supervisory controller (group control apparatus 3) is shown in FIG. 1 to be operationally connected to an individual car controller (single control device 2A), as a hub removed from an elevator car (1A), to communicate with a plurality of single control devices (2A, 2B) including the single control device over a network (column 3 lines 10-14), the supervisory controller includes power consumption calculation unit (8) to execute health monitor protocols for each car (column 3 lines 24-28, 51-54), data considered by the supervisory controller includes a position of a plurality of cars in a hoistway and requested floors to serve (column 3 lines 16-23), and additional prior art (US 2020/0283264 A1) teaches a device and method, where a car is controlled in response to determining that the power supply is in a low SOC, and when executing the vehicle control module, the car mover controller to monitor the SOC of the power supply, and motion control parameters including: a velocity of the car mover (page 4 paragraph [0071]), and the car mover controller to execute a plurality of levels of vehicle control in response to determining that the power supply is in a low SOC including; a level of vehicle control to include, depending on a remaining percentage of SOC: travel in either direction to a floor to drop off passengers and then travel in either direction to a charging station that is located at a different floor, when the remaining percentage of SOC is within a first range; and notify maintenance and travel to a nearest charging station and remain there to undergo a maintenance, when the remaining percentage of SOC is at a different percentage range that is lower than the first percentage range, and when executing the health monitor protocols, the supervisory controller to determine that the power supply is in a low SOC and direct the car mover to the charging station (page 3 paragraph [0044], page 4 paragraph [0072]); the prior art does not teach nor suggest the car mover controller to monitor motion control parameters to include an acceleration of the car mover, vibrations and impulses experienced by the car mover, the level of vehicle control to include a first level of vehicle control to adjust at least one of the motion control parameters of the car mover; and a second level of vehicle control to include, depending on a remaining percentage of SOC: travel in either direction to a nearest floor to drop off passengers and then travel in either direction to a charging station that is located at a different floor, when the remaining percentage of SOC is within a first range, and travel in either direction to a nearest floor to drop off passengers and then travel in either direction to a charging station that is located at a different floor, when the remaining percentage of SOC is within a first range the second level of vehicle control to include travel, downwardly, to a nearest floor to drop off passengers and then travel, downwardly, to a nearest charging station that is located at a different floor, when the remaining percentage of SOC is within a second percentage range that is lower than the first percentage range. The combinations of the claimed limitations are novel and found to be allowable over prior art. The cited references taken singly or in combination do not anticipate nor make obvious applicant's claimed invention.
Claims 5, 6, 15 and 16 depend from claims 1 or 11 and therefore inherit all allowed claim limitations.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER UHLIR whose telephone number is (571)270-3091. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-4.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anita Coupe can be reached at 571-270-3614. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Christopher Uhlir/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3619 August 8, 2026
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