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
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.
Claim(s) 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fargo (PGPUB 2009/0194370) in view of Robibero (PGPUB 2020/0270097).
With respect to claim 1, Fargo teaches an elevator braking device, for performing braking
operations on an elevator driving device comprising a brake disc having opposite first and second sides,
wherein the elevator braking device has a first state and a second state, and comprises:
a body (fig. 2, 18), with its interior accommodating at least a part of the brake disc (fig. 2, 22),
and a support member (fig. 2, 36) axially fixed relative to the brake disc;
a guide member (fig. 2, 46) connected to the support member, wherein the body is movable
relative to the brake disc along the guide member;
a first friction member (fig. 2, 24 right side) and a control portion (fig. 2, 50) which are arranged
inside the body and adjacent to the first side, wherein a part of the control portion is connected to the
body, and the first friction member moves along the guide member under control of the control portion
to be in contact with the first side to perform a braking operation in the first state, and to be out of
contact with the first side in the second state (paragraph 002-003; contacts while engage/first state,
disengage/releases contact/second state); and
a second friction member (fig. 2, 24 left side) arranged inside the body and adjacent to the
second side, wherein the second friction member is connected and is in contact with the
second side to perform a braking operation in the first state, and is out of contact with the second side
when the body is moved along the guide member as the first friction member is out of contact with the
first side (paragraph 003; contacts while engage/first state, disengage/releases contact/second state) in
the second state. Prior Art is structurally the same and therefore brake operating method/movements
are the same.
Fargo does not teach wherein the second friction member is connected to the body to move with body.
Robibero teaches wherein the second friction member is connected to the body to move with body (fig. 2b, brake body 15, has arm connecting both sides and brake has gaps when its open; paragraph 0029). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use the C-shaped brake body of Robibero in Fargo, since it was known in the art that two sided brakes have C-shaped body.
With respect to claim 2, Fargo teaches wherein the control portion comprises a first force supply
member (fig. 2, 42), an electromagnetic member (fig. 2, 38), a fixed member (fig. 2, 34) and a moving
member (fig. 2, 26), the first force supply member and the electromagnetic member are installed on the
fixed member, the fixed member is connected with the body and fixed relative thereto, the moving
member is connected with the first friction member and is movably arranged between the fixed
member and the brake disc along the guide member (fig. 2, spring push plate W pad against disc), and
the guide member is provided with a limiting portion (fig 2, 44) for restricting a moving distance
of the moving member, and wherein in the first state, the first force supply member provides an acting
force to the moving member to move it towards (paragraph 0022; rod and spring are both inherently
limiting) the first side, so that the first friction member is in contact with the first side and provides a
reaction force to move the body towards the second side, and then the second friction member is
brought to be in contact with the second side, and in the second state, the electromagnetic member
provides an electromagnetic force to overcome the acting force and move the moving member towards
the fixed member, so that the first friction member is out of contact with the first side, and then when
the moving member moves and is restricted from moving by the limiting portion, the body is pushed in
an opposite direction by the first force supply member and then the second friction member is brought
out of contact with the second side (paragraph 003; springs push pad against disc, braking on shaft disc
with one side compression).
With respect to claim 3, Fargo teaches wherein the fixed member is detachably connected to an
inner wall (fig. 2, 20) of the body, the electromagnetic member comprises one or more electromagnetic
coils (fig. 2, 40), and the first force supply member comprises one or more elastic members, the elastic
member including a spring (fig. 2, 42).
With respect to claim 4, Fargo does not teach wherein the fixed member is connected to the
inner wall of the body through a threaded connection, and/or the electromagnetic coil is wound on an
outer wall of the fixed member.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was
made to have a threaded body for easy part replacement, since it has been held to be within the general
skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as
a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
With respect to claim 5, Fargo does not teach wherein the guide member is provided with a
connecting portion located at one end of the guide member for correspondingly matching and
connecting with a matching portion on the support member, the limiting portion is located between two
ends of the guide member, and the moving member is restricted to move between the limiting portion
and the connecting portion.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was
made to where guide contains connection portion, since it has been held to be within the general skill of
a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a
matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
With respect to claim 6, Fargo does not teach wherein the connecting portion and the matching
portion adopt a threaded connection, and the limiting portion comprises a step provided on the guide
member.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was
made to have a threaded body for easy part replacement, since it has been held to be within the general
skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as
a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
With respect to claim 7, Fargo does not teach wherein the guide member is detachably
connected to the support member, and/or a bushing is provided between the guide member and the
body, and/or a bushing is provided between the guide member and the moving member.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was
made to guide member being detachable/having bushing, since it has been held that constructing a
formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art. Nerwin V. Erlicnrnan,
168 USPQ 177, 179.
With respect to claim 8, Fargo teaches wherein the elevator braking device further comprises a
second force supply member (paragraph 0033; 42) arranged between the guide member and the body,
for providing an acting force such that the body is capable of moving relative to the brake disc along the
guide member.
With respect to claim 9, Fargo teaches wherein the second force supply member comprises one
or more elastic members that abut against the guide member and the body respectively, the elastic
member including a spring (paragraph 0033; 42).
With respect to claim 10, Fargo teaches wherein the body is provided with a through hole (fig. 2,
48), the guide member is arranged inside the body by passing through the through hole, and a part of
the guide member and the elastic member are arranged in the through hole, and wherein an outer side
(fig. 2, 32) of the body is provided with a closure member (paragraph 0033; 38) for closing the through
hole and detachably connected with the body, and the elastic member abuts against the guide member,
and abuts against the body via the closure member.
With respect to claim 11, Fargo teaches wherein at least two guide members (fig. 2, 46, two
above shaft and two below) are provided, which are evenly arranged along the circumferential direction
of the first friction member.
With respect to claim 12, Fargo teaches wherein a friction portion of the first friction member in
contact with the first side, and a friction portion of the second friction member in contact with the
second side are symmetrically arranged (fig. 2) with respect to the brake disc.
With respect to claim 13, Fargo teaches wherein the second friction member is detachably
connected to an inner wall (fig. 2, 20) of the body.
With respect to claim 14, Fargo does not teach wherein the second friction member is
connected to the inner wall of the body through a threaded connection.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was
made to have a threaded body for easy part replacement, since it has been held to be within the general
skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as
a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
With respect to claim 15, Fargo teaches wherein the body is integrally formed (fig. 4. 34/61
integral), and/or the support member is a support portion on the elevator driving device.
With respect to claim 16, Fargo teaches elevator system, comprising: an elevator driving device
(fig. 2, 16) for supplying power to drive the elevator system to operate, wherein the elevator driving
device comprises a brake disc (fig. 2, 22); and
an elevator braking device according to claim 1, provided to operate by being in contact or out
of contact with the brake disc, so that (paragraph 003; contacts while engage-first/disengage-second)
the elevator driving device is prevented from supplying power to the elevator system in the first state,
and is allowed to supply power to the elevator system in the second state.
With respect to claim 17, Fargo teaches wherein the elevator system includes an elevator
(paragraph 002), and the elevator driving device includes a traction machine (fig. 2, 16).
Fargo does not teach an escalator, moving walkway or hoisting machine.
It has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is
intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus
satisfying the claimed structural limitations. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (1987).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/2/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that the second friction member of the body does moved with the body, and that Fargo does not teach the brake disengaged and not in contact with disk.
Robibero teaches a C-shaped brake body with two connected sides and shown gap between brake and rotor. Fargo does not explicitly show an air gap in figure but teach an disengaged position, which is understand as brake being disengaged, not in contact.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERICK DAVID GLASS whose telephone number is (571)272-8395. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri_8-5pm.
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/ERICK D GLASS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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