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
The applicant’s claim to priority of DE10 2020 133 495.8 on 12/15/2020 is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The applicant filed an IDS on 6/15/2023. It has been annotated and considered.
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.
(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.
Claims 1 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Schuler et al. (EP 3689705 hereinafter Schuler).
The applied reference has a common assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
Regarding claim 1 (and similarly 18), Schuler teaches an automatic train coupling (See at least: Fig. 1-6), comprising:
a coupling head (See at least: Fig. 1 item 1) which includes a coupling head housing (See at least: Fig. 1 item 2) and a coupling fastener (See at least: Fig. 1 item 3), the coupling fastener including a locking mechanism and being formed as a rotary fastener including a coupling eyelet (See at least: Fig. 1 item 5) and a core (See at least: Fig. 1 item 6), the core being configured for rotating about a primary axis (See at least: Fig. 1 item 7) between a coupled position and a decoupled position, the coupling eyelet including a first end and a second end which is free, the coupling eyelet by way of the first end being connected to the core such that the coupling eyelet is configured for rotating about a coupling eyelet axis (See at least: Fig. 1 item 8), the core including a throat (See at least: Fig. 1 item 9) which is disposed and thereby configured for receiving another second end of another coupling eyelet of a mating coupling head; and
a decoupling installation which is configured for being electrically, hydraulically, or pneumatically activated and which includes a motor — which is an electric motor, a hydraulic motor, or a pneumatic motor — that, by way of a drive connection of the automatic train coupling, is at least indirectly connected to the core so as to rotate the core from the coupled position to the decoupled position, the decoupling installation being disposed either completely within the coupling head housing or completely within the coupling head housing and a coupling bar — of the automatic train coupling — adjoining the coupling head housing (See at least: Fig. 5; “An automatic train coupling according to the invention, in particular for a freight car of a rail vehicle, has a coupling head which comprises a coupling head housing and a coupling lock with a locking device. The coupling lock is designed as a twist lock with a coupling eyelet and a frog, the frog being rotatable about a main axis between a position ready for coupling, a coupled position and a decoupled position. In principle, the decoupled position can coincide with the position ready for coupling, or, viewed from the coupled position, the decoupled position is provided beyond the position ready for coupling, based on the rotary movement of the frog.; On the other hand, an actuator 20 of a valve of a compressed air line (not shown in detail here), in particular brake air line HL, can be controlled via the main bolt 19, so that when the coupling lock 3 is rotated into the coupled position, the valve is opened and when Turning the coupling lock 3 into the uncoupled position or position ready for coupling, the valve is closed.”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-17 are 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Harry Oh whose telephone number is (571)270-5912. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday, 9:00-3:00.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abby Lin can be reached on (571) 270-3976. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/HARRY Y OH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3657