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 .
Detailed Action
Claims 1-18 are currently pending. Claims 1-8 are allowed. Claims 11-18 are objected to. Claims 9 and 10 remain rejected despite Applicant’s arguments filed 06/05/2026. Amendment necessitated new grounds of rejection presented within this Office action. Drawing objections remain after Applicant’s amendment. Claims contain outstanding 112(b) rejections. Response to Applicant arguments can be found at the end of this Office action. This Office action is final.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
The application has been amended as follows:
Claim Objections
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 11, line 11 should be: “position, in the protection[[,]] position, the shrouding at least partially covers the moving”
Claim 11, line 18 should be: “position different from the first position, the additional platform being different from the”
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Fig.13 shows the additional platform rotatably mounted within rail 4c (see Fig.4) which would be an obstacle to carrier vehicles. Examiner recommends moving the additional platform to a position such as the one shown in Figs. 7 and 8 directly above the rail 4c. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 9-10 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.
Claim 9 recites “the additional platform is mounted rotatable around a rotation shaft between the first position and the second position” after claiming within claim 1, “wherein in the second position,….the part of the at least one shrouding forms an addition platform” within lines 19-21. These limitations claim the additional platform as the part of the at least one shrouding being in the second position. Examiner recommends changing “the addition platform” to “the part of the at least one shrouding”. This rejection also applies to claim 10 regarding “moving the additional platform from the first position to the second position” within line 4 and “first position being a position where the additional platform…” within line 6.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-8 are allowed. Claims 11-18 are allowable but objected to, see objections indicated above.
Claims 9 and 10 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:
The prior art fails to teach the combination of limitations recited in independent claims 1, 4-7 and 11.
More specifically, the prior art fails to teach wherein in the second position, the part of the at least one shrouding is moved to allow access to the moving device from the platform and the part of the at least one shrouding forms an additional platform able to support the operator to enable him/her to perform an operation on the moving device as claimed within claim 1. Examiner agrees with Applicant arguments regarding claim 1 (see Remarks filed 06/05/2026; pg.15). Further, claims 4-7 were indicated as allowable if amended to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims within Non-Final rejection filed 01/05/2026 and have been rewritten as independent claims. The prior art further fails to teach - an additional platform movable between a first position and a second position different from the first position, the additional platform being different form the shrouding;
wherein the first position is a position where the additional platform does not form an obstacle to a progress of the at least one vehicle in the running path and wherein the second position is a position able to support the operator to enable intervention on the moving device,
wherein, in the second position, the additional platform is arranged on a second side of the running path opposite the platform to enable intervention on the moving device, the second side being opposite the first side with respect to the running path in a vertical observation; and
wherein the additional platform is only accessible when the shrouding is in the intervention position as claimed within claim 11 and it would require an improper level of hindsight to combine these features with the previously cited prior art.
Response to Arguments
In response to Applicant’s argument regarding the prior art failing to teach the combination of limitations within claims 1 and 11, see indication of allowable subject matter above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 HEAVEN BUFFINGTON whose telephone number is (703)756-1546. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Samuel (Joe) Morano can be reached at (571)272-8300. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HEAVEN R BUFFINGTON/ Examiner, Art Unit 3615
/S. Joseph Morano/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3615
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