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 .
Status of Claims
This office action is in response to the amendments/remarks filed on 06/2/2026. Claims 1, 5-9, 13-16 are pending; claims 1, 5-7, 9, 13, 15 have been amended; claims 2-4, 10-12 are canceled.
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, 5-8 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 “said resilient ring”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The dependent claims are also rejected due to their dependency from claim 1.
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, 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAJIMA (JP2018165202) in view of Moody (US 5927149)
Claim 1: TAJIMA discloses 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]);
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) (See Fig.7), and a stop member (63) triggerable to engage said gear wheel (62) to stop the rotation thereof; and
a dampener (61) encased within radially interior and exterior rigid rings (62a, 62b) of said gear wheel (62), the dampener (61) being located radially exteriorly of said unitary braking shaft (18) and radially interiorly of gear teeth of said gear wheel (62) wherein torque is transmitted between said gear wheel (62) and said unitary braking shaft (16) through said damper (61).
TAJIMA does not disclose dampener is resilient ring and said resilient ring being configured to deform resiliently when said stop member engages said gear wheel to absorb braking forces transmitted between said gear wheel and said braking shaft.
Moody teaches a resilient ring (16) being located radially exteriorly of a shaft (12) and radially interiorly of gear teeth (28) of said gear wheel (10) and said resilient ring (16) being configured to deform resiliently to absorb shocks and vibration (col.3 lines 46-48)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace dampener (61) of TAJIMA with the damper (16) and modify the gearwheel (62 of TAJIMA) as taught by Moody in order absorbs and reduces vibration (see col.3 lines 46-48 of Moody).
In the result of combination of TAJIMA in view of Moody would disclose said resilient ring (16-Moody) being configured to deform resiliently when said stop member (63-TAJIMA) engages said gear wheel (62-TAJIMA) to absorb braking forces transmitted between said gear wheel (62-TAJIMA) and said braking shaft (16-TAJIMA).
Claim 9: TAJIMA discloses 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]);
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) (See Fig.7), and a stop member (63) triggerable to engage said gear wheel (62) to stop the rotation thereof; and
a dampener (61) encased within radially interior and exterior rigid rings (62a, 62b) of said gear wheel (62), the dampener (61) being located radially exteriorly of said unitary braking shaft (18) and radially interiorly of gear teeth of said gear wheel (62) wherein torque is transmitted between said gear wheel (62) and said unitary braking shaft (16) through said damper (61).
TAJIMA does not disclose dampener comprises a resilient ring and said resilient ring being configured to deform resiliently when said stop member engages said gear wheel to absorb braking forces transmitted between said gear wheel and said braking shaft.
Moody teaches a resilient ring (16) being located radially exteriorly of a shaft (12) and radially interiorly of gear teeth (28) of said gear wheel (10) and said resilient ring (16) being configured to deform resiliently to absorb shocks and vibration (col.3 lines 46-48)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace dampener (61) of TAJIMA with the damper (16) and modify the gearwheel (62 of TAJIMA) as taught by Moody in order absorbs and reduces vibration (see col.3 lines 46-48 of Moody).
In the result of combination of TAJIMA in view of Moody would disclose said resilient ring (16-Moody) being configured to deform resiliently when said stop member (63-TAJIMA) engages said gear wheel (62-TAJIMA) to absorb braking forces transmitted between said gear wheel (62-TAJIMA) and said braking shaft (16-TAJIMA).
Claim(s) 5-8, 13-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAJIMA (JP2018165202) in view of Moody (US 5927149) and further in view of Rainville (US 20070252491)
Claims 5 and 13: TAJIMA as modified by Moody 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 and Moody 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, counters the actions of said second biasing member thereby allowing said braking finger 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, counters the action of said second biasing member (44) thereby allowing said braking finger (53) 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 modified braking system of TAJIMA for the purpose of improving safety when brake is not engage accidentally.
Claims 6 and 14: TAJIMA as modified by Moody and 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 braking 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 Moody and Rainville discloses the braking apparatus as defined in claim 5. Rainville teaches 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 Moody and 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).
Response to Amendment/Arguments
The previous objection to the specification has been withdrawn in view of the amendment to the specification submitted on 6/29/2026.
The previous claim objection has been withdrawn in view of the amendment to claim 6.
The previous rejections under 35 USC 112(b) have been withdrawn in view of the amendment to claim 5, 7, 13, and 15.
Applicant’s arguments, with respect to the rejection(s) under 35 USC § 102/103 have been fully considered and are persuasive in view of applicant’s amendment. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Moody (see rejections above).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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.
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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.
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/LILLIAN T NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3655A
/ERNESTO A SUAREZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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