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 § 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.
Claims 1-3 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hamaguchi et al (US Pub App 2021/0284443).
Regarding claim 1, Hamaguchi discloses a transport vehicle for traveling along a travel path to transport an article (Fig.1), the transport vehicle (1) comprising:
a compartment (C) configured to accommodate the article;
a holder (101p) configured to hold at least one handle included in the article (Fig.4);
a lifter (12) configured to lift and lower the holder between the compartment and a transfer area below the travel path;
a controller (2) configured to control the holder and the lifter; and
a first sensor (3) configured to detect a relative distance in a vertical direction between the holder and the at least one handle contactlessly,
wherein the controller determines, based on a detection result from the first sensor, whether the relative distance is at a first set value as a reference for the holder to hold or release the at least one handle (stacking container on the existing container group is equivalent to release of the holder, Para.64) and whether the relative distance is at a second set value corresponding to a descending limit for the holder with respect to the at least one handle (limit based on number of tiers, Para.72).
Regarding claim 2, Hamaguchi further discloses a third set value being the relative distance as a reference for the holder to hold or release the at least one handle is set between the first set value and the second set value (an additional tier height such as shown in Fig.1).
Regarding claim 3 Hamaguchi further discloses the at least one handle is a pair of handles protruding upward from an upper surface of a body of the article, and the first sensor detects the relative distance for at least one handle in the pair of handles (Fig.4, Para.45, 61).
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 of this title, 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 6 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamaguchi et al (US Pub App 2021/0284443) in view of Kobayashi (US Pub App 2023/0140218).
Regarding claim 6 Hamaguchi does not further specifically disclose the first sensor is enabled when at least the holder holds the at least one handle or the holder is outside the compartment, and is disabled when the holder does not hold the at least one handle and is in the compartment.
Kobayashi teaches gripper device includes a holding portion that is attached to an elevating section capable of lifting and lowering above a transfer section to hold an article with a seating sensor and a presence sensor. The seating sensor 46 is a sensor that detects seating of the holding portion (Para.46).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to have modified Hamaguchi in view of Kobayashi to have the first sensor be enabled when at least the holder holds the at least one handle and is disabled when the holder does not hold the at least one handle and is in the compartment in order to gain further information regarding position for the purpose of increasing safety of the system.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-5 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 an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The prior art of record fails to disclose or render obvious the claimed invention as set forth in claim 4 and subsequent dependent claims. The prior art of record does not disclose or render obvious a second sensor in addition to the first sensor, wherein the pair of handles include a first handle and a second handle, the first sensor detects the relative distance for the first handle, the second sensor detects the relative distance for the second handle, the second sensor includes a contactor and a state detector, the contactor changes a state when coming in contact with the second handle, and the state detector detects a change in the state of the contactor, and the controller determines, based on a detection result from the second sensor, whether the relative distance for the second handle is at the first set value and whether the relative distance for the second handle is at the second set value.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Wada, Abe, Christen, Pajevic, Jeanty, Hoshino, Heggebo and Bell further disclose elements of a transport vehicle for traveling along a travel path to transport an article.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ASHLEY K ROMANO whose telephone number is (571)272-9318. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Saul Rodriguez can be reached on 571-272-7097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SAUL RODRIGUEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3652
/ASHLEY K ROMANO/Examiner, Art Unit 3652