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 .
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, 4, 6, and 8 – 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cheon (KR 10-2429937 B1).
As for claim 1, Cheon discloses a transportation cart (Fig. 6) for providing power to one or more cooled totes (200), comprising: wheels for allowing the transportation cart for moving (Fig. 6); one or more tote placement locations; a battery (301) for storing power; and a power subsystem for providing power to at least one of the one or more tote placement locations (see page 9 of the attached translation).
As for claims 2 and 4, Cheon discloses the one or more tote placement locations including an electrical contact to provide power to a cooled tote (see the “wireless charging module” to provide power to each cooled tote, Fig. 6 and page 9).
As for claim 6, Cheon discloses a communication interface (300) to provide at least a temperature of one or more totes on the one or more tote placement locations.
As for claims 8 – 10, Cheon discloses at least six tote placement locations (see Fig. 6).
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, 5, and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheon (KR 10-2429937 B1) alone.
As for claim 3, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to simply substitute one well-known type of electrical contact for another as a matter of obvious design choice.
As for claims 5 and 7, the apparatus of Cheon is capable of being used in the manner claimed. The system is capable of supplying no or lower power to a location which is empty or which is occupied by a tote which is not in need of charging. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to manage power supply as claimed to avoid overcharging and waste.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Katy M Ebner whose telephone number is (571)272-5830. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
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, J. Allen Shriver can be reached at (303)297-4337. 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.
/Katy M Ebner/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3613