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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for priority based on foreign priority application filed in Republic of Austria on 03/18/2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/20/2023 and 11/01/2023 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 Buzzoni et al (U.S.2006/0251498) and further in view of Austrheim (2021/0162877)
1. As per claims 1, 9 and 11 Buzzoni disclosed a container terminal for handling containers the container terminal comprising: at least one high-rack store,
at least one container-depositing surface arranged outside the high-rack store [Motorized vehicles called shuttle trucks may be used as the primary system for moving containers between one or more quayside access points (i.e., locations near quay cranes) and one or more waterside access areas (locations near the waterside end of the container stacks). The terminal operating system may provide overall manipulation, monitoring, and control of one or more of the functions that occur in the terminal] (Paragraph. 0009).
a multiplicity of container transport vehicles for transporting the containers [The first access areas may be disposed near the waterside area to facilitate transfer and buffering of containers between marine vessels and the container stacks. The second access areas may be disposed adjacent the landside to facilitate transfer of containers between vehicles and the container stacks. Each container stack may have first and second mobile cranes mounted on a common track to move containers in and out of the container stack] (Paragraph. 0010),
the high-rack store has a plurality of storage levels arranged above one another and, in each said storage level, a plurality of rack compartments configured to receive at least one of the containers [An access point specific move is one where a particular container is specified, through various RFID and OCR information about the OTR that was previously captured and recorded, for picking and loading. The RMG picks the container from the OTR and moves the container to an available and/or pre-determined storage spot within the container stack 714. At the end of the move 731, the RMG signals the TOS that the move has been completed. This causes the TOS to update to reflect the inventory change. Thereafter, if scheduled, or in response to a button pushed (or a ticket scanned) by the OTR driver, the TOS may generate signals 732 that instruct the RMG to move back to the landside access area, with or without picking another container from the container stack 714 along the way] (Paragraph. 0116),
and
at least one entry and exit arrangement which connects the container-depositing surface to the travel ways in the storage levels and over which the container transport vehicles are adapted to travel [his information may include the mission type (drop off, pick up, etc.), a booking number, the trucking company, the date, the driver, and the time. Further, at step 506, a RFID or similar electronic tag on a container truck is identified. The terminal operating service associates the incoming container truck with known information, such as appointments, vessel schedules, etc. Based on this association, instructions are provided for routing the container truck. The container truck travels through a portal at step 508, where it is instructed to either proceed to a container exterior inspection at step 512 or proceed to a driver's assistance area at step 518. At step 510, the portal scans the container identification number, the weight, the license plate, and the dimension and surface images of the container] (Paragraph. 0095).
However, Buzzoni did not explicitly disclose each said storage level has, between the rack compartments, at least one travel way over which the container transport vehicles.
In the same field of endeavor Austrheim disclosed,” Each container-handling vehicle 200 comprises a storage compartment or space (not shown) for receiving and stowing a storage container 106 when transporting the storage container 106 across the top of the storage grid 104. The storage space may comprise a cavity arranged centrally within the vehicle body, e.g. as is described in WO2014/090684A1, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference” (Paragraph. 0013).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date was made to have incorporated Each container-handling vehicle 200 comprises a storage compartment or space (not shown) for receiving and stowing a storage container 106 when transporting the storage container 106 across the top of the storage grid 104. The storage space may comprise a cavity arranged centrally within the vehicle body, e.g. as is described in WO2014/090684A1, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference as taught by Austrheim in the method and system of Buzzoni to optimize the storage ans retrieval systems.
2. As per claim 2 Buzzoni-Austrheim disclosed wherein the entry and exit arrangement comprises at least one of a ramp over which the container transport vehicles
3. As per claim 3 Buzzoni-Austrheim disclosed wherein at least some of the rack compartments in the respective storage level are arranged behind one another in a row along the travelway of said storage level (Austrheim, Paragraph. 0013)
4. As per claim 4 Buzzoni-Austrheim disclosed wherein at least one of the storage levels has two of the travelways, and between said travelways and the entry and exit arrangement there is arranged a drive-over platform for the travel of the container transport vehicles at least one of from the entry and exit arrangement to the travelways of said storage level from the travelways of said storage level to the entry and exit arrangement (Austrheim, Paragraph. 0136).
5. As per claims 5,10 Buzzoni-Austrheim disclosed wherein the container transport vehicles each have a loading and unloading device for loading at least one of the containers onto the container transport vehicle and for unloading the at least one of the containers from the container transport vehicle (Buzzoni, Paragraph. 0007).
6. As per claim 6 Buzzoni-Austrheim disclosed wherein the container transport vehicles each have a direction of rectilinear travel and, with respect to the direction of rectilinear travel (Buzzoni, Paragraph. 0136), the loading and unloading device of the respective container transport vehicle is configured for loading the at least one of the containers situated laterally next to the container transport vehicle onto the container transport vehicle and for unloading the at least one of the containers from the container transport vehicle onto one side next to the container transport vehicle (Buzzoni, Paragraph. 0137). Examiner interpreted “rectilinear travel” as the movement of the transport vehicle in a longitudinal direction.
7. As per claim 7 Buzzoni-Austrheim disclosed wherein the container transport vehicles each have a dedicated steering system (Austrheim, Paragraph. 0015-0016).
8. As per claim 8 Buzzoni-Austrheim disclosed wherein the container transport vehicles self-driving (Buzzoni, Paragraph. 0022). Examiner interpreted the “RMG stack cranes” as container transport vehicles self-driving.
9. As per claim 12 Buzzoni-Austrheim disclosed wherein, in the respective storage level, the rack compartments are arranged laterally next to the travelway of said storage level (Austrheim, Paragraph. 0013).
10. As per claim 13 Buzzoni-Austrheim disclosed wherein the two travelways are arranged spaced apart from one another and extend parallel to one another on said storage level (Buzzoni, Paragraph. 0106).
11. As per claim 14 Buzzoni-Austrheim disclosed further comprising a vehicle control center from which the container transport vehicles are wirelessly remote-controlled (Buzzoni, Paragraph 0013).
15. As per claim 15 Buzzoni-Austrheim disclosed wherein the containers are ISO containers (Buzzoni, Paragraph. 0005). Examiner interpreted the ISO containers as “metal containers”.
16. As per claim 16 Buzzoni-Austrheim disclosed wherein the container transport vehicles have wheels and steering for driving straight ahead and turning on the container- depositing surface, such that said container transport vehicles are drivable to any location on the container-depositing surface in order to pick up or unload or park one of the containers (Buzzoni, Paragraph. 0015).
17. As per claim 17 Buzzoni-Austrheim disclosed wherein the container transport vehicles each include a loading and unloading device such that the container transport vehicles are capable of loading and unloading containers both on the container-depositing surface and in the high-rack store without external aids (Buzzoni, Paragraph. 0019).
Response to Arguments
18. Applicant's arguments filed 02/11/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Response to applicant’s argument are as follows.
A. Applicant argued that prior art did not disclose, “the high-rack store has a plurality of storage level, a plurality of rack compartments configured to receive at least one of the containers”.
As to applicant’s argument Buzzoni disclosed “An access point specific move is one where a particular container is specified, through various RFID and OCR information about the OTR that was previously captured and recorded, for picking and loading. The RMG picks the container from the OTR and moves the container to an available and/or pre-determined storage spot within the container stack 714. At the end of the move 731, the RMG signals the TOS that the move has been completed. This causes the TOS to update to reflect the inventory change. Thereafter, if scheduled, or in response to a button pushed (or a ticket scanned) by the OTR driver, the TOS may generate signals 732 that instruct the RMG to move back to the landside access area, with or without picking another container from the container stack 714 along the way” (Paragraph. 0116). Examiner is interpreted the, “plurality of rack of compartments” as design choice.
B. Applicant argued that prior art did not disclose, “at least one entry and exit arrangement which connects the container-depositing surface to the travelways in the storage levels and over which the container transport vehicles are adapted to travel”.
As to applicant’s argument Buzzoni disclosed, “this information may include the mission type (drop off, pick up, etc.), a booking number, the trucking company, the date, the driver, and the time. Further, at step 506, a RFID or similar electronic tag on a container truck is identified. The terminal operating service associates the incoming container truck with known information, such as appointments, vessel schedules, etc. Based on this association, instructions are provided for routing the container truck. The container truck travels through a portal at step 508, where it is instructed to either proceed to a container exterior inspection at step 512 or proceed to a driver's assistance area at step 518. At step 510, the portal scans the container identification number, the weight, the license plate, and the dimension and surface images of the container” (Paragraph. 0095).
C. Applicant argued that prior art did not disclose, “each said storage level has, between the rack compartments, at least one travel way over which the container transport vehicles”.
As to applicant’s argument Austrheim disclosed,” Each container-handling vehicle 200 comprises a storage compartment or space (not shown) for receiving and stowing a storage container 106 when transporting the storage container 106 across the top of the storage grid 104. The storage space may comprise a cavity arranged centrally within the vehicle body, e.g. as is described in WO2014/090684A1, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference” (Paragraph. 0013).
Conclusion
19. 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.
20. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communication from the
examiner should be directed to Adnan Mirza whose telephone number is (571)-272-3885.
21. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday during normal
business hours. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the
examiner’s supervisor, Faris Almatrahi can be reached on (313)-446-4821.
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/ADNAN M MIRZA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3667