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 .
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tian (CN 105421738 B).
Regarding claim 1, Tian discloses (see figures 1-3) a manually-moved scaffolding (see figure 1), comprising: - at least one basic frame (see figure 2); - at least one transfer assembly (see figures 1 and 2: transfer assembly 7) associated with said basic frame and adapted to move said scaffolding on the ground along at least one direction of transfer; - at least one supporting surface (see figures 1 and 3: supporting surface 40) associated with said basic frame (see figure 1) and adapted to support at least one operator; wherein it comprises movement means (see figure 3: movement means 39) adapted to move said supporting surface (40) with respect to said basic frame (see figure 2), along at least one substantially vertical direction of movement so as to arrange said supporting surface (40) at different heights.
Regarding claim 2, Tian discloses wherein said basic frame comprises: at least one guiding framework of said movement means extending parallel to said at least one substantially vertical direction of movement (guiding framework 1, fig.2); and at least one supporting structure of said at least one transfer assembly (supporting structure 29, fig.2).
Regarding claim 3, Tian discloses wherein said movement means comprise at least one first worm gear drive shaft (worm gear 36, fig.3) extending parallel to said at least one substantially vertical direction of movement and at least a first threaded wheel (first threaded wheel 35, fig.3) associated with said supporting surface and meshing on said at least one first worm gear drive shaft, the rotation of said at least one first worm gear drive shaft causing the shift of said first threaded wheel along said at least one substantially vertical direction of movement (fig.3).
Regarding claim 4, Tian discloses wherein said movement means comprise at least one second worm gear driven shaft (10) and at least a second threaded wheel (there are four worm gear shafts 36 with corresponding threaded wheels 35, fig.3) meshing on said at least one second worm gear driven shaft, the rotation of said at least one second worm gear driven shaft, based on the rotation of said at least one first worm gear drive shaft, causing the shift of said second threaded wheel along said at least one substantially vertical direction of movement (fig.3).
Regarding claim 5, Tian discloses wherein said movement means comprise motion transmission members (motion transmission members 37, fig.3) from said at least one first worm gear drive shaft to said at least one second worm gear driven shaft.
Regarding claim 13, Tian discloses wherein said at least one transfer assembly comprises manually-operated propelling means (manually operated propelling means 9, fig.2), adapted to move said manually-moved scaffolding along said at least one direction of transfer.
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) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tian (CN 105421738 B) in view of In re Dulberg.
Regarding claim 15, Tian discloses wherein said guiding framework (1, fig.1) is associated with said supporting structure (29, figs.1-2), but fails to disclose that it is in a removable manner. However, In re Dulberg disclose if it were considered desirable for any reason to make separable the guiding framework from the supporting structure, it would be obvious to make the guiding frame separable. Making the guiding frame separable from the supporting structure allows for easy replacement of parts and maintenance.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-12 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.
Claim 6 depends upon claim 5 which is rejected, claim 6 has the limitation of “wherein said motion transmission members comprise at least two crown gears associated with a lower end of said at least one first worm gear drive shaft and with a lower end of said at least one second worm gear driven shaft respectively, and at least one chain element wrapped at least partly on said at least two crown gears and meshing thereon.” Tian fails to disclose all of the limitations in claim 6. None of the other prior art cited in the 892 disclose all of the limitations of claim 6. The prior art alone or in combination does not teach or fairly suggest all of the limitations of claim 6.
Claims 7-12 depend upon claim 6 giving them the same allowable subject matter as discussed above.
Claim 14 depends upon claim 13 which is rejected, but claim 14 has the limitation of “wherein said propelling means (23) comprise: - at least one propulsion command member (24), associated with said supporting structure (3) and movable by oscillation with respect to said supporting structure (3); - at least one conversion assembly (25), driven by said command member (24) and adapted to convert the alternating motion imparted by said command member (24) into a circular motion; and- at least one motion transmission assembly (26) from a driving axle (27), associated with said conversion assembly (25), to a driven axle (28), associated with at least one movement member (6), said transmission assembly (26) comprising at least one transmission shaft (33) perpendicular to said driving axle (27) and to said driven axle (28) and kinematically connected to said driving axle (27) and to said driven axle (28) by means of respective gears (34);, wherein said command member (24) is movable by oscillation thanks to a thrust action exerted by said operator so that said manually- moved scaffolding (1) is manually propelled, wherein said conversion assembly (25) comprises at least a second rod mechanism (37) and at least a second crank (38) adapted to convert the alternating motion of said command member (24) into a rotation of said driving axle (27).” The prior art alone or in combination does not teach or fairly suggest at this time all of the limitations of claim 14. For the reasons above claim 14 has allowable subject matter.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The prior art not relied upon but considered pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure is included in the 892 form. The art included has features related to claim limitations, the general structural of the invention, teachings, and other analogous art to the invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IAN BRYCE SHELTON whose telephone number is (571)272-6501. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Allen Shriver can be reached at (303)-297-4337. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/IAN BRYCE SHELTON/Examiner, Art Unit 3613
/JAMES A SHRIVER II/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3613