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 . 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.
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) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Otsuka (US 2022/0081219 A1) in view of Mitschke (US 2022/0395418 A1).
Referring to Claim 1: Otsuka teaches an overhead hoist transfer, comprising:
a rail assembly (41) including a straight rail (40a) having an empty section, and a curved rail (40b) having a curved empty section (Para. [0020]) (Figs. 3-5);
an engine (M1) including a first travel unit (10) having a first wheel (11) and a second wheel (11) at two sides respectively; and a second travel unit (10) having a third wheel (11) and a fourth wheel (11) at two sides respectively (Fig. 1);
a moving carriage (1) driven by the engine and suspended from the rail assembly (Para. [0019]);
first and second guide wheels (12) disposed on the first travel unit;
third and fourth guide wheels (12) disposed on the second travel unit; and
two guide boards (42) disposed above a joining point of the straight rail and the curved rail, an elevation of the guide boards being equal to that of the guide wheels, and each of the guide boards including a straight edge and a curved edge (Para. [0020]) (Figs. 4 and 5).
Otsuka does not specifically teach an “LSD” or limited slip differential. However, Mitschke teaches an overhead transport system, wherein “FIG. 15 shows a differential drive mechanism 140 that powers shuttle 100 moving along track 120, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. A person skilled in the art understands that the components of differential drive mechanism 140 may present an open, locked differential, limited slip differential, or any type that provides safe movement along the support track.” (Para. [0088]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for Otsuka to provide the travel unit with a limited slip differential drive mechanism, as taught by Mitschke, in order to provide safe movement along the track with a reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
The references made of record and not relied upon are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure because the references teach overhead transport guides:
US-20210316968-A1, US-20210316967-A1, US-20220041189-A1, US-20230234813-A1, US-11970373-B2, US-12084093-B2, and US-11964851-B2.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZACHARY L KUHFUSS whose telephone number is (571)270-7858. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10:00am to 6:00 pm CDT.
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, Samuel (Joe) Morano can be reached on (571)272-6682. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ZACHARY L KUHFUSS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615A
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