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
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: reference number “10” has been used in association with both the lift frame and the frame body (as mentioned in paragraph [0069] of the specification). .
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 39-52 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Clarke (GB 1579126) in view of Noel (FR 2571318).
With respect to claim 39, Clarke discloses the claimed method except for the step of locking the cargo container to the frame body. Clarke discloses a method of loading a cargo container on a lift frame of a vehicle to create a vehicle cargo container and lift frame assembly attached to a vehicle, comprising:
(a) attaching a lift frame to a rear of a vehicle, wherein the lift frame comprises
a frame body 8/8 on a top portion of a frame, the frame body extending from a first end to a second end as shown below in the images taken from Figs. 2 and 1 of Clarke:
[AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (container first end)]
[AltContent: ][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (container second end)][AltContent: textbox (frame )]
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[AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (lift frame)]
[AltContent: ][AltContent: ][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (second end of frame body)][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (second end of lift body)][AltContent: textbox (first end of lift body)][AltContent: textbox (first end of frame body)]
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a lift mechanism 10/10/12 moveable (pivotable about 12) with respect to the first end of the frame body, the lift mechanism comprising:
a lift body 10/10 having a first end and a second end (indicated above), a lifting surface 14 on the first end of the lift body and the second end of the lift body being positioned so as to be movable with respect to the first end of the frame body (pivotable about 12), wherein the lifting surface 14 is positioned to engage an underside of the cargo container when placed on an upper side of the frame body (stillage 16 and “demountable body,” Clarke, pg. 2, lines 6-15); and
an inflatable air bag 18 having an upper side and a lower side and mounted on the lower side to a platform positioned on the frame beneath the lift body 10/10 as shown below in the image taken from Fig. 1 of Clarke:
[AltContent: textbox (lower side of air bag)][AltContent: textbox (upper side of air bag)][AltContent: ][AltContent: ]
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wherein the inflatable air bag 18 is connected on the upper side thereof to a mounting surface 26 attached to the lift body 10/10; and
a source of compressed air in fluid communication with the inflatable air bag 18 (not shown but inherent in the (introduction and removal of air through the middle of the top of the bellows,” Clarke, pg. 2, lines 27-28);
(b) backing the vehicle and the attached lift frame under the cargo container (“the vehicle is backed between the legs of a stillage bearing the body.” Clarke, pg. 1, lines 49-50), wherein the cargo container is supported on a plurality of support legs (as shown in Fig. 2 of Clarke), and the cargo container having a first end and a second end (indicated in the first above image);
(c) inflating the inflatable air bag using the source of compressed air to lift the first end of the cargo container such that an underside of the cargo container contacts the lifting surface (“the lifting mechanism elevates the stillage,” Clarke, pg. 1, lines 50-51; Fig. 2);
(d) removing the support legs (“the legs of the stillage are stowed,” Clarke, pg. 1, lines 52-53; Fig. 3); and
(e) deflating the inflatable air bag using the source of compressed air (the body is lowered into position,” Clarke, 53-54).
Noel teaches a similar method of unloading a cargo container including the step of locking the cargo container 2 from a frame body 1 of a lift mechanism 5a (using locks 24, see middle of page 4 of machine translation of Noel–Noel disclose locks for enabling the box 2 to be held when it is carried by the vehicle–one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the locks would be unlocked when the cargo container is to be removed from the vehicle).
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 Noel with the method disclosed by Clarke for the advantage of providing a more secure container/vehicle combination when driving the vehicle.
With respect to claim 40, Clarke discloses that the cargo container comprises a base having recesses therein (formed by L shaped channel sections in Fig. 3 of Clarke), and removing the support legs comprises lifting the support legs and stowing them in the recesses in the base of the cargo container (Clarke, pg. 1, lines 52-53–the legs are lifted by pivoting as can be seen in Fig. 3 of Clarke).
With respect to claim 41, Clarke discloses a second lift mechanism 10/10/12 moveable with respect to the second end of the frame body, the second lift mechanism comprising:
a second lift body 10/10 (the two lift bodies are identical to that shown in Fig. 1, “Figure 2 shows . . . a freight vehicle having two mechanism as in Figure 1,” Clarke, pg. 1, lines 84-85) having a first end and a second end as shown below in the image taken from Fig. 2 of Clarke:
[AltContent: textbox (first end of lift body)][AltContent: textbox (second end of lift body)][AltContent: ][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (second lift body)][AltContent: ][AltContent: oval]
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a second lifting surface 14 on the second end of the second lift body and the first end of the second lift body being positioned so as to be movable with respect to the second end of the frame body (struts 10 are pivotable with respect to members 8), wherein the second lifting surface 14 is positioned to engage the underside of the cargo container when placed on the upper side of the frame body (as shown in Fig. 2 of Clarke); and
a second inflatable air bag 18 having an upper side and a lower side and mounted on the lower side to a second platform 22 positioned on the frame beneath the second lift body (as shown in Fig. 1 of Clarke), wherein the second inflatable air bag 18 is connected on the upper side thereof to a second mounting surface 26 attached to the second lift body 10/10; and
wherein the source of compressed air is also in fluid communication with the second inflatable air bag 18 (Clarke, pg. 2, lines 21-31)and the method further comprises after step (b) and before step (f),
(g) inflating the second inflatable air bag 18 using the source of compressed air to lift the second end of the cargo container such that the underside of the cargo container contacts the second lifting surface (Clarke, pg. 2, lines 21-31); and
(h) deflating the second inflatable air bag 18 using the source of compressed air (the body is lowered into position,” Clarke, 53-54)–in the combination, the locking of the cargo container to the frame body, as taught by Noel, would necessarily happen after deflating the inflatable air bags so that the cargo container is appropriately lowered onto the vehicle.
With respect to claim 42, W Clarke discloses the claimed method except that Clarke does not specify that the first and the second inflatable air bags are simultaneously inflated during steps (c) and (g).
However, while Clarke does not specify an order, it would have been obvious to try inflating the first and second inflatable air bags 18 and 18 simultaneously because there are only three combinations of order of how one can inflate the air bags. 1) first inflating the first air bag 18, 2) first inflating the second air bag 18, and 3) inflating the first and second inflatable air bags 18 and 18 simultaneously during steps (c) and (g)–as claimed. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that any of these finite number of options (i.e., order of inflating the first and second air bags) would result in the predictable outcome of the container being lifted at both ends so that the legs can be deployed.
With respect to claims 43-44, Clarke discloses the claimed method except that Clarke does not specify that the first and the second inflatable air bags are simultaneously deflated during steps (e) and (h).
However, while Clarke does not specify an order, it would have been obvious to try deflating the first and second inflatable air bags 18 and 18 simultaneously because there are only three combinations of order of how one can inflate the air bags. 1) first deflating the first air bag 18, 2) first deflating the second air bag 18, and 3) deflating the first and second inflatable air bags 18 and 18 simultaneously during steps (e) and (h)–as claimed. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that any of these finite number or options (i.e., order of deflating the first and second air bags) would result in the predictable outcome of the container being lowered onto the vehicle.
With respect to claim 45, Clarke discloses that the cargo container comprises a base having a plurality of recesses (formed by L-shaped sections in Fig. 3 of Clarke) therein for receiving the plurality of support legs (as shown in Fig. 3 of Clarke), and wherein removing the support legs comprises lifting the support legs (pivoting along pivot shown in Fig. 3 of Clarke) located on the first end of the cargo container and stowing them in the recesses located in the base at the first end of the cargo container when the first inflatable bag 18 is inflated (the legs cannot be moved until the bag is inflated), and lifting the support legs located on the second end of the cargo container and stowing them in the recesses (as shown in Fig. 3 of Clarke) located in the base at the second end of the cargo container when the second inflatable bag 18 is inflated (the legs cannot be moved until the bag is inflated).
With respect to claim 46, Clarke discloses the claimed method except for the step of unlocking the cargo container from a frame body. Clarke discloses a method of unloading a cargo container from a lift frame 10/26 of a vehicle cargo container and lift frame assembly so as to detach the vehicle cargo container from the lift frame, comprising:
a frame body 8/8 positioned on a top portion of a frame as shown below in the image taken from Figs. 2 and 1 of Clarke:
[AltContent: textbox (container first end)][AltContent: ]
[AltContent: textbox (container second end)][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (frame )][AltContent: ]
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[AltContent: textbox (second end of frame body)][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (second end of lift body)][AltContent: textbox (first end of lift body)][AltContent: ][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (first end of frame body)][AltContent: ]
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wherein the frame body extends from a first end to a second end (as indicated above in Fig. 1), and the cargo container has a first end and a second end (as indicated above in Fig. 2);
(b) inflating an inflatable air bag 18 using a source of compressed air in fluid communication with the inflatable air bag to lift the first end of the cargo container off the frame (Clarke, pg. 2, lines 21-31; Fig. 1);
wherein the lift frame comprises
the frame and the frame body (as indicated above);
a lift mechanism 10/10/12 moveable with respect to the first end of the frame body (pivotable about 12), the lift mechanism comprising:
a lift body 10/10 having a first end and a second end (as indicated above), a lifting surface 14 on the first end of the lift body and the second end of the lift body 10/10 being positioned so as to be movable with respect to the first end of the frame body (struts 10 are pivotable within members 8), wherein the lifting surface is positioned to engage an underside of the cargo container (stillage 16 and “demountable body,” Clarke, pg. 2, lines 6-15) positioned on an upper side of the frame body (as shown in Fig. 2 of Clarke) and wherein when the first end of the cargo container is lifted it contacts the lifting surface 14 (Clarke, pg. 2, lines 12-15); and
the inflatable air bag 18 having an upper side and a lower side and mounted on the lower side to a platform 22 positioned on the frame beneath the lift body 10/10 as shown below in the image taken from Fig. 1 of Clarke:
[AltContent: textbox (lower side of air bag)][AltContent: textbox (upper side of air bag)][AltContent: ][AltContent: ]
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wherein the inflatable air bag is connected on the upper side thereof to a mounting surface 26 attached to the lift body 10/10;
(c) positioning a plurality of support legs of the cargo container in a support position as shown below in the image taken from Fig. 2 of Clarke:
[AltContent: textbox (support legs)][AltContent: ][AltContent: ]
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(d) deflating the inflatable air bag using the source of compressed air (inherent in the step, “the stillage is lowered so that the legs rest on the ground,” Clarke, pg. 1, lines 59-60); and
(e) driving the vehicle attached to the frame away from the cargo container in the support position (“the transporter vehicle is driven away,” Clarke, pg. 1, lines 60-61).
Noel teaches a similar method of unloading a cargo container including the step of unlocking the cargo container 2 from a frame body 1 of a lift mechanism 5a (using locks 24, see middle of page 4 of machine translation of Noel–Noel disclose locks for enabling the box 2 to be held when it is carried by the vehicle–one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the locks would be unlocked when the cargo container is to be removed from the vehicle).
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 Noel with the method disclosed by Clarke for the advantage of providing a more secure container/vehicle combination when driving the vehicle.
With respect to claim 47, Clarke discloses that the plurality of support legs are positioned in the support position by removing the support legs from recesses (formed by L shaped channel sections in Fig. 3 of Clarke) in a base of the cargo container (as shown in Fig. 3 of Clarke) and adjustably moving them into the support position (as shown in Fig. 2 of Clarke). The examiner is interpreting the stillage 16 and the container (shown in Fig. 2) as a single container.
With respect to claim 48, Clarke discloses that the lift frame further comprises a second lift mechanism moveable with respect to the second end of the frame body, the second lift mechanism comprising:
a second lift body 10/10 (the two lift bodies are identical to that shown in Fig. 1, “Figure 2 shows . . . a freight vehicle having two mechanism as in Figure 1,” Clarke, pg. 1, lines 84-85) as shown below in the image taken from Fig. 2 of Clarke:
[AltContent: textbox (first end of lift body)][AltContent: textbox (second end of lift body)][AltContent: ][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (second lift body)][AltContent: ][AltContent: oval]
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having a first end and a second end (as indicated above), a second lifting surface 14 on the second end of the second lift body and the first end of the second lift body being positioned so as to be movable with respect to the second end of the frame body (struts 10 are pivotable within members 8), wherein the second lifting surface 14 is positioned to engage the underside of the cargo container positioned on the upper side of the frame body (as shown in Fig. 2 of Clarke); and
a second inflatable air bag 18 having an upper side and a lower side and mounted on the lower side to a second platform 22 positioned on the frame beneath the second lift body (as shown in Fig. 1 of Clarke), wherein the second inflatable air bag 18 is connected on the upper side thereof to a second mounting surface 26 attached to the second lift body 10/10; and
the source of compressed air is also in fluid communication with the second inflatable air bag 18 (Clarke, pg. 2, lines 21-31), and the method further comprises
after step (a) and before step (e),
(f) inflating the second inflatable air bag 18 using the source of compressed air (Clarke, pg. 2, lines 21-31) to lift the second end of the cargo container such that the underside of the cargo container contacts the second lifting surface 14; and
(g) deflating the second inflatable air bag using the source of compressed air (Clarke, pg. 2, lines 21-31).
With respect to claim 49, Clarke discloses the claimed method except that Clarke does not specify an order of moving the legs from the first and second recesses. Clarke discloses that the plurality of support legs are positioned in the support position by removing the support legs from first recesses (formed by L shaped channel sections in Fig. 3 of Clarke) in a base of the cargo container (as shown in Fig. 3 of Clarke) located at a first end of the cargo container (legs shown at the first end in Fig. 2 of Clarke) and adjustably moving the legs from the first recesses into the support position (as shown in Fig. 2 of Clarke) while the first inflatable air bag 18 is inflated and also moving the support legs from second recesses in the base of the cargo container located at the second end of the cargo container and adjustably moving the support legs from the second recesses into the support position (as shown in Fig. 2 of Clarke) while the second inflatable air bag is inflated 18.
While Clarke does not specify an order, It would have been obvious to try moving the support legs from the second recesses after the support legs are moved from the first recesses because there are only three combinations of order of how one can move the support legs. 1) first moving the legs from the first recesses (as claimed), 2) first moving the legs from the second recesses, and 3) moving the legs from the first and second recesses at the same time. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that any of these finite number or options (i.e., order of opening legs) would result in the predictable outcome of the container being supported by the legs.
With respect to claim 50, Clarke discloses the claimed method except that Clarke does not specify that the first and the second inflatable air bags are simultaneously inflated during steps (b) and (f).
However, while Clarke does not specify an order, it would have been obvious to try inflating the first and second inflatable air bags 18 and 18 simultaneously because there are only three combinations of order of how one can inflate the air bags. 1) first inflating the first air bag 18, 2) first inflating the second air bag 18, and 3) inflating the first and second inflatable air bags 18 and 18 simultaneously during steps (b) and (f) –as claimed. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that any of these finite number or options (i.e., order of inflating the first and second air bags) would result in the predictable outcome of the container being lifted at both ends so that the legs can be deployed.
With respect to claims 51-52, Clarke discloses the claimed method except that Clarke does not specify that the first and the second inflatable air bags are simultaneously deflated during steps (d) and (g).
However, while Clarke does not specify an order, it would have been obvious to try deflating the first and second inflatable air bags 18 and 18 simultaneously because there are only three combinations of order of how one can inflate the air bags. 1) first deflating the first air bag 18, 2) first deflating the second air bag 18, and 3) deflating the first and second inflatable air bags 18 and 18 simultaneously during steps (d) and (g)–as claimed. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that any of these finite number or options (i.e., order of deflating the first and second air bags) would result in the predictable outcome of the container being lowered onto the vehicle.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Oehler, Berends (US 3,730,366), Martin, and FR 1577274 are cited to show other examples of methods of loading a cargo container on a lift frame of a vehicle by using the inflation of first and second inflatable bags.
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.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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