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 .
Status of Claims
This is the first action on the merits for application 18/411,889 filed on 01/12/2024. Claims 1-16 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/03/2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 6, line 2 recites “said breaking position” should read -- said braking position--
Appropriate correction is required.
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required: “the displacement device” as claimed in claim 1.
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 5-8, 13-16 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 5 and 13 recites “said braking member”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim and it is unclear what braking member is referring to (e.g. finger or first biasing member)
Claim 5 and 13 recites “a release mechanism that, when actuated, releases said second biasing member”. From paragraph [0065]-USPGPUB version discloses “Pushing kick plate 82 towards bottom frame 22 will translate link bar 80 towards housing 48 against the action of coil spring 88, which will in turn pivot intermediate pivot 76 from its first into its second position”. In other words, when release mechanism 72 is actuated, it pivots away from finger 70; and the spring (86,88) is not released, the spring continues to bias the link bar 80 outward. Thereof, it is unclear how release mechanism (72 includes 74,76) releases the spring 88 when actuated as claimed.
Claim 7 and 15 recites “said stop member further comprises a user-actionable trigger device”. It is unclear whether the stop member is limited to internal components within the housing or encompasses the broader assembly including the externally mounted kick plates since the specification does not clearly define the stop member as including such external components.
Dependent claims are also rejected due to their dependency from claim 5 and 13.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by TAJIMA (JP2018165202)
TAJIMA discloses:
Claim 1: A braking apparatus (Fig.1) for a mobile storage rack (1; Fig.1) that has a displacement device ( 26) that allows the displacement of the storage rack (1) (see ¶[0028]), said braking apparatus comprising:
a unitary braking shaft (16) made of a single shaft segment (as shown in Fig.5-7: 16 is continuous member);
a support structure (14) rotatably carrying said braking shaft (16) in cantilevered fashion (14 attached to side of the panel of shelf unit. The shaft 16 is rotatably carried by this support member via bearing 15; and the end of 16 connects to drive mechanism (18) which does not provide radial support. See¶[0025]-[0028]. Thus the structure for radial support to shaft 16 is bearing 15 in support of 14.), said support structure (14) for attachment to the storage rack (1) (14 is attached to 1 via 12 of 2-see ¶[0023]);
a braking shaft link (18) carried by said braking shaft (16) away from said support structure (14) along said braking shaft (16), for linking said braking shaft (16) to the displacement device (26) of the storage rack (¶[0028]-[0030]);
a triggerable brake actuator (62, 63, 71) that acts on said unitary braking shaft (16) to stop the rotation of said braking shaft (16) when triggered, for consequently also stopping the movement of the mobile storage rack (1) when said braking shaft (16) stops rotating (¶[0052]);
and a dampener (61) located between said braking actuator (62,63,71) and said unitary braking shaft (16) (¶[0049] and Fig.11).
Claim 9: A mobile storage rack (1; Fig.1) for use in a mobile storage system, comprising:
a storage rack frame (4) for moving on ground rails (81);
wheels (26) carried by said bottom frame, for engaging said ground rails (81) and allowing displacement of said storage rack along said rails (81) (see Fig.2);
shelves (9) carried by said frame for supporting articles (items) -¶[0018]); and
a braking apparatus (fig.1) comprising:
a unitary braking shaft (16) made of a single shaft segment (as shown in Fig.5-7: 16 is continuous member);
a support structure (14) rotatably carrying said braking shaft (16) in cantilevered fashion(14 attached to side of the panel of shelf unit. The shaft 16 is rotatably carried by this support member via bearing 15; and the distal end of 16 connects to drive mechanism (18) which does not provide radial support. See¶[0025]-[0028]. Thus the radial support structure to shaft 16 is bearing 15 in support of 14.), said support structure (14) being attached to said storage rack frame (1) (14 is attached to 1 via 12 of 2-see ¶[0023]);
a braking shaft link (18) carried by said braking shaft (16) away from said support structure (14) along said braking shaft (16), said braking shaft link (18) linking said braking shaft (16) to said storage rack wheels (26) (¶[0028]-[0030]);
a triggerable brake actuator (62,63,71) that acts on said unitary braking shaft (16) to stop the rotation of said braking shaft (16) when triggered and also causing movement of the mobile storage rack (1);
and a dampener (61) located between said braking actuator (62,63,71) and said unitary braking shaft (16) (¶[0049] and Fig.11).
Claim 2 and 10: The braking apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said brake actuator (62,63,71) comprises a gear wheel (62) mounted to said braking shaft (16) away from said support structure (14) and away from said braking shaft link (18) along said braking shaft (16); and
a stop member (63) triggerable to engage said gear wheel (62) to stop the rotation thereof, with said dampener (61) being installed between said gear wheel (62) and said braking shaft (16).
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) 3-8, 11-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAJIMA (JP2018165202) in view of Rainville (US 20070252491)
Claims 3 and 11: TAJIMA discloses the braking apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said dampener is located exteriorly of said braking shaft (16) and interiorly of said gear wheel (62; -see fig.11).
TAJIMA does not disclose wherein said dampener is a resilient ring
Rainville teaches a braking apparatus (21; Fig.3) having a dampener (15a) is a resilient ring (rubber disc, see ¶[0041])
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace damping (61) of TAJIMA with damping (15 includes 15a and 15b) as taught by Rainville as obvious design choice. Since both are dampers used in the storage braking and substitution involves replacing one known damping element with another damping element is simple design choice with predict results. The advantage of having damper is resilient ring is easier to manufacture, less expensive and provide consistent torsional resistance, more effective for emergency braking.
Claims 4 and 12: TAJIMA as modified by Rainville discloses the braking apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said resilient ring (15a as taught by Rainville) is encased within interior and exterior rigid rings (62a,62b) of said gear wheel (62-TAJIMA).
Claims 5 and 13: TAJIMA as modified by Rainville discloses the braking apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said stop member (63) comprises at least one braking finger carried by said support structure (14) and movable between a braking position (engaging position) in which it engages said gear wheel (62) to stop the rotation of said gear wheel (62) (¶0052]), and a released position (Fig.11; ¶[0051]) in which it does not engage said gear wheel (62) and said gear wheel (62) is allowed to rotate,
a first biasing member (long arm 63a, gravity biased, see ¶[0052]) continuously biasing said at least one braking finger towards said braking position (engaging position).
TAJIMA does not disclose a second biasing member continuously biasing said at least one braking finger towards said released position against the action of said first biasing member, and a release mechanism that, when actuated, releases said second biasing member thereby allowing said braking member to move towards said braking position under the action of said first biasing member.
Rainville teaches a second biasing member (44) continuously biasing said at least one braking finger (53) towards said released position against the action of said first biasing member (gravity/weight force W of 52) (¶[0054]), and a release mechanism (34b, 42, 38b) that, when actuated, releases said second biasing member (44) thereby allowing said braking member (gravity/weight force W of 52) to move towards said braking position (e.g. engaging position) under the action of said first biasing member (gravity/weight force W of 52) (¶[0054]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include second biasing member and a release mechanism as taught by Rainville in the braking system of TAJIMA for the purpose of improving safety when brake is not engage accidentally.
Claims 6 and 14: TAJIMA as modified by Rainville discloses the braking apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein said first biasing member (gravity-TAJIMA/ gravity/weight force W of 52-Rainville) comprises said braking finger's own weight forcing said braking finger (63-TAJIMA/53-Rainville) towards said breaking position under gravity and said second biasing member (44-Rainville) includes a spring forcing said braking finger (63-TAJIMA//53-Rainville) towards said released position (¶[0058]-TAJIMA/rest position-¶[0054] of Rainville).
Claims 7 and 15: TAJIMA as modified by Rainville discloses the braking apparatus as defined in claim 5. Rainville teaches wherein said stop member (52) further comprises a user-actionable trigger device (30) for mounting to the storage rack (12), said trigger device (30) linked to said release mechanism (34b, 42, 38b) to actuate said release mechanism (34b, 42, 38b) when triggered (¶[0063]-Rainville).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include trigger device as taught by Rainville in the brake system of TAJIMA for the purpose of providing dual mode braking system where a person can manually activated it for emergency situation.
Claims 8 and 16: TAJIMA as modified by Rainville discloses the braking apparatus as defined in claim 7,wherein said trigger device (30-Rainville) comprises a kick plate for mounting along a bottom edge of the storage rack (12-Rainville).
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Joosten (EP4417086) discloses braking apparatus with slip clutch 14.
Krause (US 7992949 B2) discloses brake for storage rack system.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Lillian T Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)270-5404. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm.
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, Ernesto Suarez can be reached at (571)270-5565. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ERNESTO A SUAREZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3655
/LILLIAN T NGUYEN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3655A
Prosecution Insights