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 .
Claims 1-15 are pending.
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 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. 2024/0017938 to Hall et al.
Regarding claims 1 and 11, the Hall publication teaches an automation system comprising a primary conveyor 176 and a plurality of items 32 configured to operate on the primary conveyor, the system comprising: an auxiliary conveyor 174 provided to an overlap portion of the automation system in which the auxiliary conveyor overlaps with the primary conveyor (see Fig. 13); wherein the auxiliary conveyor is configured to connect with at least one of the plurality of pallets in the overlap portion to control the at least one of the plurality of pallets to augment the functions of the primary conveyor. See Fig. 13.
However the Hall publication lacks a specific teaching that pallets are used. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the subject invention to modify the Hall publication to have the items moved that are pallets, as it would have been combining known prior art elements using known methods to provide the predictable result of having a conveyor that able to move various items for more efficient movement.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-10 and 12-15 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent No. 6,326,708 to Tsuboi et al. teaches a linear motor.
U.S. Patent No. 6,234,303 to Gales et al. teaches two conveyors.
French Patent No. FR2668758 to Serge teaches two conveyor systems.
Japanese Patent No. JP2018184294 to Mizukawa et al. teaches a two conveyor system.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN HOLMES whose telephone number is (571)272-3448. The examiner can normally be reached 10AM-6PM EST M-F.
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/JUSTIN HOLMES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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