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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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, 5-12, 14-17, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by McKibben et al. (US 2023/0311597).
With respect to claim 1 McKibben et al. disclose a mounting system for mounting an energy storage device 196B to a trailer 104 having a movable rear axle (axle supported by axle bearing 104), the mounting system comprising:
at least one track 124A defining a path of movement, the at least one track being fixedly mounted to the trailer 104; and
at least one guide member 190A operably coupled to the energy storage device 196B, the at least one guide member 190A being movably associated with the at least one track 124A to move the energy storage device 196B along the path of movement between a first position and a second position (“The first slider rail 190A and the second slider rail 190B can be slideably coupled with the first body rail 124A and the second body rail 124B,” McKibben et al., paragraph [0075]),
wherein the energy storage device 196B is located remotely from the movable rear axle (“A second battery assembly 196B illustrated in FIG. 1 can be provided forward of the axle bearing 184 and also forward of the battery assembly 196A,” McKibben et al., paragraph [0038]; Figs. 1 and 6) and is movable between the first position and the second position to maintain a constant axial distance between the energy storage device and the movable rear axle (since battery 196B and the movable rear axle bearing 184 are both supported by slider rail 190A, they will always maintain a constant axial distance between the two).
With respect to claim 2, McKibben et al. disclose that the path of movement is oriented parallel to a length of the trailer 104 (as shown in Fig. 6 of McKibben et al.).
With respect to claim 3, McKibben et al. disclose that the at least one guide member 190A is configured to translate relative to the at least one track 124A along the path of movement (as shown in Fig. 6 of McKibben et al.).
With respect to claim 5, McKibben et al. disclose that the at least one guide member 190A including a groove as shown below in the image taken from Fig. 5 of McKibben et al.:
and the at least one track 124A being receivable in the groove (as shown in Fig. 5 of McKibben et al.
With respect to claim 6, McKibben et al. disclose that the at least one track 124A is integrally formed with the trailer 104 (as shown in Fig. 5 of McKibben et al.). With respect to claim 7, McKibben et al. disclose a frame 200 surrounding a portion of the energy storage device 196A (McKibben eta l., paragraph [0091]; Fig. 7), the at least one guide member 190A being connected to the frame 200 (as is evident from Fig. 6 of McKibben et al.
With respect to claim 8, McKibben et al. disclose that the frame 200 further includes a cross-member 204 arranged at an angle relative to the path of movement (90º angle as shown in Fig. 7 of McKibben eta l.)) and the at least one guide member 190A is connected to the cross-member 200 (at least by the frame 200 of the energy storage device 196A).
With respect to claim 9, McKibben et al. disclose the at least one guide member 190A includes at least one guide element arranged in contact with a surface of the at least one track 124A as shown below in the image taken from Fig. 5 of McKibben et al.:
With respect to claim 10, McKibben et al. disclose that a characteristic of the at least one guide element is configured to facilitate movement of the at least one guide member 190A relative to the at least one track 124A (as can be seen by the sliding arrangement above).
With respect to claim 11, McKibben et al. disclose a transport refrigeration system comprising:
a trailer 58 including a cargo compartment (as shown in Fig. 1 of McKibben et al.) and at least one axle (of axle assembly 182), the at least one axle being movable relative to the trailer 58 (McKibben et al., paragraph [0065];
a transport refrigeration unit mounted to the trailer 58 (“refrigeration unit,” McKibben et al., paragraph [0062], the transport refrigeration unit being operable to condition an interior of the cargo compartment (McKibben et al., paragraph [0062]), the transport refrigeration unit comprising:
an energy storage device 196B movably mounted to the trailer using a mounting system, the energy storage device being mounted to the trailer at a position remote from the at least one axle; (“A second battery assembly 196B illustrated in FIG. 1 can be provided forward of the axle bearing 184 and also forward of the battery assembly 196A,” McKibben et al., paragraph [0038]; Figs. 1 and 6); and
at least one component 350 powered by electrical power from the energy storage device 196A (McKibben et al., paragraph [0111]).
With respect to claim 12, McKibben et al. disclose that the energy storage device 196B is arranged at a bottom of the trailer 58 and a distance between the at least one axle (of axle assembly 182) and the energy storage device 196B is fixed (since battery 196B and the movable rear axle bearing 184 are both supported by slider rail 190A, they will always maintain a constant axial distance between the two).
With respect to claim 14, McKibben et al. disclose that the mounting system comprises:
at least one track 124A defining a path of movement, the at least one track being fixedly mounted to the trailer 58 (McKibben et al, paragraph [0073; Fig. 6); and
at least one guide member 190A operably coupled to the energy storage device 196B, the at least one guide member 190A being movably associated with the at least one track 124A (“The first slider rail 190A and the second slider rail 190B can be slideably coupled with the first body rail 124A and the second body rail 124B,” McKibben et al., paragraph [0075]) to move the energy storage device 196B along the path of movement between a first position and a second position (as defined by openings 126).
With respect to claim 15, McKibben et al. disclose that the path of movement is oriented parallel to a length of the trailer 58 (as shown in Fig. 6 of McKibben et al.).
With respect to claim 16, McKibben et al. disclose that the at least one track 124A is arranged at a bottom of the trailer 58 (as shown in Fig. 6 of McKibben et al.).
With respect to claim 17, McKibben et al. disclose the at least one guide member 190A is configured to translate relative to the at least one track 124A along the path of movement (McKibben et al., paragraph [0075; Fig. 6).
[AltContent: textbox (groove)][AltContent: ]With respect to claim 19, McKibben et al. disclose that the at least one guide member 19A including a groove as shown below in the image taken from Fig. 5 of McKibben et al.:
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and the at least one track 124A being receivable in the groove (as shown in Fig. 5 of McKibben et al.
With respect to claim 20, McKibben et al. disclose that the mounting system further comprises at least one locking mechanism 450,126 connectable to at least one of the at least one track 124A (as shown in Figs. 5 and 8 of McKibben et al.), the at least one locking mechanism 450,126 being operable to restrict movement of the at least one guide member 190A at a position along the path of movement (McKibben eta l., paragraph [0076]).
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.
Claims 4 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McKibben et al. (US 2023/0311597).
[AltContent: textbox (groove)][AltContent: ]With respect to claim 4, McKibben et al. disclose that the at least one guide member 19A including a groove as shown below in the image taken from Fig. 5 of McKibben et al.:
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and the at least one track 124A being receivable in the groove (as shown in Fig. 5 of McKibben et al. This is a simple reversal of parts of what is recited in claim 4. It has been held that reversal of parts is an obvious variation of known structure (In re Gazda, 219 F.2d 449, 104 USPQ 400 (CCPA 1955).
With respect to claim 18, McKibben et al. disclose that the at least one guide member 19A including a groove as shown above, and the at least one track 124A being receivable in the groove (as shown in Fig. 5 of McKibben et al.). This is a simple reversal of parts of what is recited in claim 18. It has been held that reversal of parts is an obvious variation of known structure (In re Gazda, 219 F.2d 449, 104 USPQ 400 (CCPA 1955).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McKibben et al. (US 2023/0311597), as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Zarrabi (US 2022/0136758).
With respect to claim 13, McKibben et al. disclose the claimed transport refrigeration system except that they are silent on whether the generator mounted at the at least one axle is operably connected to the energy storage device via a cable. McKibben eta l. disclose a generator (“on-board power generation component,” McKibben et al., paragraph [0060].
Zarrabi teach a similar transport refrigeration system including a generator 340 mounted at the at least one axle (“axle generator,” Zarrabi, paragraph [0035]) and operably connected to an energy storage device 334 via a cable (or equivalent thereof as shown in Fig. 2 of Zarrabi).
It 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, with a reasonable expectation of success, to combine the teaching of Zarrabi with the transport refrigeration system of McKibben et al. for the advantage of recovering rotational energy from the system, for example, when the trailer is braking.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/14/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive of any error in the above rejection.
With respect to Applicant’s arguments regarding the “energy storage device located remotely from the movable rear axle,” it is noted that the term “remotely” can simply be interpreted as not being in the same location. In McKibben et al., the energy storage device 196B is located a distance (at the left-most two brackets 180 in Fig. 6) from the axle located at bearing 184 as shown in Fig. 6 of McKibben et al. There is a clear amount of distance between the two and therefore can properly be interpreted as remote from one another. Applicant appears to be interpreting the axle as the rear axle assembly 182. However, this does not appear accurate since the axle assembly 182 includes a variety of structures in addition to an axle. The axle is correctly interpreted as the axle supported at one of the two bearings 184 (as shown in Fig. 6 of McKibben et al.). Paragraph [0049] of McKibben et al. disclose that “The first portion 192 comprises a portion of the first slider rail 190A along which the axle bearings 184 (and axles and wheels supported thereby) are disposed and supported.”
With respect to Applicant’s arguments that McKibben et al. does not disclose that the moveable rear axle and the energy storage device is moveable to maintain a constant distance between the energy storage device and the rear axle. As outlined in the above rejection, it is noted that both the rear axle (supported at bearing 184) and the energy storage device 196B are fixed to rail 190A and thus such a constant distance is maintained between the two structures.
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 DANIEL J COLILLA whose telephone number is (571)272-2157. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 - 4:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amy Weisberg can be reached at 571-270-5500. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Daniel J Colilla/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612
Prosecution Insights