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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This is the first non-final office action on the merits. Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
Priority
The Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for priority under provisional Application No. 63/404,741, filed on 09/08/2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 08/03/2023 and 02/19/2024 have been received and considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are accepted.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the framing walls" in line 5, lines 5-6, line 6, line 8, line 9, and line 11. It is unclear whether “the framing walls” is referring to “the external framing walls” recited in line 4 or the “framing supporting walls” recited in line 7. For examination purposes, all recitations of “the framing walls” have been construed as “the external framing walls”.
Claims 2-10 are rejected for their dependency on independent claim 1.
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.
(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) 11-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bounds (US 8181577 B2).
Regarding claim 11, Bounds teaches (Fig. 26-31): A thread box assembly (Fig. 26), comprising: a framing body (threader guide box 206) configured to be coupled with a moveable arm (lift arm 207) of a thread box system that positions rails or rail ribbons (rail 3) for installation or replacement of a track (Fig. 27-28 and 30; col. 1, lines 9-18; col. 16, lines 1-7), the framing body (206) including external framing walls (upstanding walls 226) extending from a plate (platform 224) coupled with the moveable arm (207)(Fig. 26 and 28), the external framing walls (226) extending from the plate (224) to outer ends (Fig. 28); and a closing body comprising opposing elongated bars (pair of jaws 230), the closing body (230) configured to be removably coupled to the framing body (206) to define and surround a central opening (passage 245) of the thread box assembly through which the rails or rail ribbons (3) extend during installation or replacement of the track without the closing body (230) moving relative to the framing body during installation or replacement of the track (Fig. 30-31; col. 16, lines 8-22).
It is noted that the closing body (pair of jaws 230) of Bounds can be broadly construed as “removably coupled” to the framing body 206, since the pair of jaws 230 are connected to the platform 224 of the framing body through a horizontal shaft 234 and actuators 238.
Regarding claim 12, Bounds further teaches (Fig. 28 and 30): a roller (rollers 242) coupled with the framing body (206) and configured to rotate relative to the framing body during passage of the rails or rail ribbons (3) through the central opening defined by the framing body and the closing body (230)(Fig. 28 and 30; col. 16, lines 42-51).
Regarding claim 13, Bounds further teaches (Fig. 30): a roller (242) coupled with the closing body (230) and configured to rotate relative to the closing body during passage of the rails or rail ribbons (3) through the central opening (245) defined by the framing body and the closing body (Fig. 30; col. 16, lines 42-51).
Regarding claim 14, Bounds further teaches (Fig. 26-31): a first roller (242) coupled with the framing body (206)(Fig. 30); and a second roller (242) coupled with the closing body (230)(Fig. 30), the first and second rollers (242) configured to rotate relative to the framing body (206) and the closing body (230) during passage of the rails or rail ribbons (3) through the central opening (245) defined by the framing body and the closing body (Fig. 30; col. 16, lines 42-51).
Regarding claim 15, Bounds further teaches (Fig. 30): the first roller (242) and the second roller (242) rotate around parallel axes (Fig. 30).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-10 are rejected in view of 35 USC § 112 second paragraph, and will be allowable if the rejections are overcome.
Claims 16-18 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 claims.
Claims 19-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 1 and its depending claim(s) 2-10, Bounds teaches (Fig. 26-31): A thread box assembly (Fig. 26), comprising: a framing body (threader guide box 206) configured to be coupled with a moveable arm (lift arm 207) of a thread box system that positions rails or rail ribbons (rail 3) for installation or replacement of a track (Fig. 27-28 and 30; col. 1, lines 9-18; col. 16, lines 1-7), the framing body (206) including external framing walls (upstanding walls 226) arranged in a general U-shape with an upward facing open side (Fig. 28) and two of the framing walls (226) opposing each other (Fig. 28) and the framing walls (226) extending from a plate (platform 224) coupled with the moveable arm (207)(Fig. 26 and 28), the framing walls (226) extending from the plate (224) to outer ends (Fig. 28), the framing walls (226) being oriented generally parallel to each other and generally perpendicular to the plate (224)(Fig. 28); and a closing body (pair of jaws 230) comprising opposing elongated bars (230), the closing body (230) configured to be removably coupled to the framing body (206) to define and surround a central opening (passage 245) of the thread box assembly through which the rails or rail ribbons (3) extend during installation or replacement of the track without the closing body (230) moving relative to the framing body during installation or replacement of the track (Fig. 30-31; col. 16, lines 8-22).
Bounds fails to teach the following limitations of claim 1:
the framing body including framing supporting walls disposed between the external framing walls, the supporting walls coupling the framing walls with each other; the supporting walls being oriented generally parallel to each other and generally perpendicular to both the plate and to the framing walls;
a closing body comprising opposing elongated bars and opposing internal coupling walls, the internal coupling walls connecting the bars with each other, the elongated bars oriented perpendicular to the coupling walls.
While Bounds teaches (Fig. 28-29): the framing body (206) including external framing walls (upstanding walls 226) arranged in a general U-shape with an upward facing open side (Fig. 28) and two of the framing walls (226) opposing each other (Fig. 28), the examiner finds no obvious reason to modify Bounds such that the external framing walls have framing supporting walls coupling the framing walls with each other, the supporting walls being oriented generally parallel to each other and generally perpendicular to both the plate and to the framing walls. Such a modification would require improper hindsight reasoning. The examiner also finds no obvious reason to modify the opposing elongated bars of the closing body with opposing internal coupling walls that are oriented perpendicular to the opposing elongated bars.
Regarding claim 16 and its depending claim(s) 17-18, the prior art fails to teach that each of the external framing walls includes two of the outer ends with only one of the two outer ends of each of the external framing walls including a first fastener opening shaped to receive a fastener. While Bounds teaches (Fig. 28): the external framing walls (226) extending from the plate (224) to outer ends with two outer ends (Fig. 28), the examiner finds no obvious reason to modify Bounds such that only one of the two outer ends of each of the external framing walls include a first fastener opening shaped to receive a fastener. Such a modification would require improper hindsight reasoning.
Regarding claim 19 and its depending claim(s) 20, Bounds fail to teach:
the framing body including supporting walls between the external framing walls, the supporting walls coupling the external framing walls with each other, the external framing walls oriented parallel to each other and perpendicular to the plate, the supporting walls oriented parallel to each other and perpendicular to the plate and to the external framing walls, one of the outer ends of each of the external framing walls includes a first fastener opening shaped to receive a fastener; and
a closing body comprising opposing elongated bars and opposing internal coupling walls, the internal coupling walls connecting the bars with each other, the elongated bars oriented perpendicular to the coupling walls, one end of each of the elongated bars of the closing body includes a second fastener opening shaped to receive the fastener
Therefore, claims 19-20 are allowable for the same reasons as claim 1 above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure of a lifting/threading assembly for rails: US-3120819-A, US-5297482-A, US-20030205162-A1, US-6981452-B2, US-7350467-B2, US-20080141893-A1, US-9382670-B2, US-20170108094-A1, US-9909262-B1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHENG XI LIN whose telephone number is (571)272-6102. The examiner can normally be reached Mon. through Fri. 9:00am to 6:00pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Samuel (Joe) Morano can be reached at 5712726684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHENG LIN/Examiner, Art Unit 3615