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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant further argues that “frame 3 is the ‘exterior frame’ - side walls 17 are not in the loop that the roller chain assembly forms around the load-bearing member, as also required by amended claim 1.” Figure 5 of 063 patent clearly show the chain 5 looping around the load bearing member (11). The cited art still reads on the amended claim, and therefore, the rejection is maintained.
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 1-10 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) based upon a public use or sale or other public
availability of the invention. US Patent US 8,672,063 B2 was published March 18, 2014, before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention.
With regard to claim 1, '063 discloses a chain roller comprising: an exterior frame (Fig. 1, No. 3);
a roller chain assembly including a plurality of rotatable and cylindrical rollers that are interconnected in
a continuous series to form a closed chain and configured to circulate in a loop in the exterior frame (Fig.
2, No. 5), each of the plurality of rotatable and cylindrical rollers has an axis of rotation that is parallel to
axes of rotation of all other of the plurality of rotatable and cylindrical rollers (claim 10, column 9, lines
34-35); and a load-bearing member the exterior frame affixed to the exterior frame and including a first rigid portion affixed to the frame (Fig. 7), and having a recess (Fig. 7, No. 28), and a
removable rigid insert (Fig. 7, No. 11), wherein: the first rigid portion and the removable rigid insert are
configured such that the removable rigid insert fits in the recess (Fig. 7), the removable rigid insert is
removably and directly attachable to the first rigid portion and a removable rigid insert surface of the
removable rigid insert abuts a surface of the recess when the removable rigid insert is attached to the
first rigid portion (Fig. 7); and the roller chain assembly and the load-bearing member are configured such that the plurality of rotatable and cylindrical rollers engages the removable rigid insert to cause
movement of the chain roller (claim 1, column 8, lines 63-67); and the roller chain assembly forms a loop around the load-bearing member (Fig. 5, Nos. 11 and 5).
With regard to claim 2, '063 discloses the chain roller according to claim 1, wherein the
removable rigid insert is a rigid plate (column 3, lines 40-46; column 4, lines 40-43); and the plurality of
rotatable and cylindrical rollers engage one surface of the rigid plate when the removable rigid insert is
attached to the first rigid portion (Fig. 5, claim 2, column 9, lines 1-3).
With regard to claim 3, '063 discloses the chain roller according to claim 2, wherein the plurality
of rotatable and cylindrical roller engages a first surface of the first rigid portion opposite to the one
surface of the rigid plate (Fig. 5).
With regard to claim 4, '063 discloses the chain roller according to claim 1, wherein three or
more of the plurality of rotatable and cylindrical rollers are in contact with the removable rigid insert
when the removable rigid insert is attached to the first rigid portion (claim 5, column 9, lines 13-15).
With regard to claim 5, '063 discloses the chain roller according to claim 2, wherein the exterior
frame has a load-bearing surface configured to bear a load (Fig. 1, No. 13); and the one surface is
opposite the load-bearing surface when the removable rigid insert is attached to the first rigid portion
(Fig. 7, Nos. 13 & 11).
With regard to claim 6, '063 discloses the chain roller according to claim 3, wherein the recess is
in a second surface of the first rigid portion that is opposite the first surface (Fig. 7).
With regard to claim 7, '063 discloses the chain roller according to claim 1, wherein the recess
has a bottom wall and side walls that define an opening (Fig. 7, No. 28); the removable rigid insert has
walls facing and adjacent to the side walls when the removable rigid insert is attached to the first rigid
portion; and the bottom wall is the surface of the recess that is abutted by the removable rigid insert
surface when the removable rigid insert is attached to the first rigid portion (Fig. 7).
With regard to claim 8, '063 discloses the chain roller according to claim 7, wherein each the
side walls of the recess are spaced inwardly from a corresponding sidewall of the first rigid portion (Fig. 7, No. 28).
With regard to claim 9, '063 discloses the chain roller according to claim 1, wherein the frame
includes a plate configured to bear an object to be supported or transported (Fig. 7, No. 13); the
removable rigid insert is attachable to the first rigid portion by screws (Fig. 7, No. 59a; column 4, lines
51-53); and the plate includes holes configured such that the screws pass through the holes to attach
the removable rigid insert to the first rigid portion and detach the removable rigid insert from the first
rigid portion (Fig. 7, No. 11).
With regard to claim 10, '063 discloses the chain roller according to claim 1, wherein the load-
bearing member is configured such that the removable rigid insert surface abuts a bottom surface of the
recess when the removable rigid insert is attached to the first rigid portion (Fig. 7, Nos. 28, 11 & 17).
With regard to claim 11, ‘063 discloses the chain roller according to claim 1, wherein he load-bearing member spans a maximum height of the roller chain assembly loop (Fig. 5, Nos. 11 and 5). The load-bearing member 11 can be seen to have a height less than the roller chain loop 5.
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 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over 063 in view of US 20050158159 A1 (hereinafter Hill). Patent 063 discloses the chain roller according to claim 1, but does not disclose wherein the cylindrical rollers of the roller chain assembly interface with top and bottom surfaces of the load-bearing member. Hill discloses a roller chain that contacts both sides of the load-bearing member (Fig. 3, Nos. 226 and 224).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the chain roller of 063 with the fully contacting roller chain of Hill. The motivation would be to preserve efficient force transfer from the rollers to the load-bearing member.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13 and 14 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
A chain roller wherein the removable rigid insert is embedded in the first rigid portion when the removable rigid insert is attached to the first rigid portion was not found in the prior art.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 AMARI JADAN MEDDLING whose telephone number is (571)272-8178. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5.
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/GENE O CRAWFORD/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3651
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