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
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 15-18, 20-21, 31 and 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Owen.
Regarding claims 15 and 32, Owen teaches a braking resistance apparatus for a vehicle (elongated electrical resistor device 14 for railway locomotive; see at least the abstract, col. 2, line 50 to col. 3, line 12; col. 3, line 67 to col. 4, line 18; col. 5, lines 3-27 and figs. 1-4), the braking resistance apparatus comprising:
a plurality of braking resistance elements (dynamic brake resistors 12 and 12a) each having:
a tubular, thermally conductive cover (non-conductive straps 16);
a thermally conductive and electrically insulating material disposed in
said cover; and
an electrical conductor embedded in said thermally conductive and electrically insulating material and extending over a large portion of a longitudinal extent of said cover (Owen teaches the supporting and insulating arrangement formed of metallic coil engaging the elongated resistor and spaced and electrically isolated from similar supports by insulators composed of ceramic. Further, supporting and insulating arrangement protects the resistor from shock force, vibration and moisture. See col. 2, lines 7-31.);
said plurality of braking resistance elements (12, 12a) being arranged in a stack
arrangement with a plurality of layers (see at least fig. 2);
each of said plurality of layers being formed of a plurality of braking resistance elements that are arranged substantially parallel with one another; and said stack arrangement of said braking resistance elements being configured to be passively cooled (“circulation of cooling draft” see col. 5, lines 3-8).
Regarding claim 16, Owen teaches the braking resistance apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said braking resistance elements (12, 12a) of said stack arrangement are spaced apart from one another to allow an airstream due to a movement of the vehicle to flow through said stack arrangement, with the airstream flowing from an uppermost layer of said stack arrangement to a lowermost layer of said stack arrangement (the resistors are electrically connected in series-parallel and air flows from upper to lower resistors).
Regarding claim 17, Owen teaches he braking resistance apparatus according to claim 15, wherein:
each of said plurality of layers is formed with said braking resistance elements arranged substantially parallel with each other in a plane that extends substantially perpendicularly to a stacking direction; and
a clear spacing between directly adjacent said braking resistance elements (uresistance elements 12 to 12, shown by the horizontal line) of a first layer of said multiple layers is at least twice as large as a clear spacing between said braking resistance elements of said first layer and said braking resistance elements of another (second row of resistance elements), directly adjacent layer of said plurality of layers (the distance shown by the horizontal line is at least three times the distance shown by the vertical line; see the reproduced fig. 2 of Owen).
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Regarding claim 18, Owen teaches the braking resistance apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the clear spacing between the directly adjacent said braking resistance elements of
said first layer is at least three times greater than the other clear spacing between the braking resistance elements of said first layer and said braking resistance elements of the other layer of the plurality of layers which is arranged directly adjacent said first layer the distance shown by the horizontal line is at least three times the distance shown by the vertical line; see the reproduced fig. 2 of Owen).
Regarding claim 20, Owen teaches the braking resistance apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising floating bearings (zig-zag connections of the resistor elements, the shapes of the casing and/or the tubular cover, the spacing and the number of the tubular covers and/or the support) disposed to support and space said braking resistance elements of said stack arrangement apart from one another, said floating bearings having impact faces with a flowline shape.
Regarding claim 21, Owen teaches the braking resistance apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising at least one fluid-guiding element (zig-zag connections of the resistor elements, the shapes of the casing and/or the tubular cover, the spacing and the number of the tubular covers and/or the support) disposed to direct an airstream due to a movement of the vehicle into said stack arrangement in order to cool said braking resistance elements that are arranged in multiple layers.
Regarding claim 31, Owen teaches a vehicle (railway locomotive), comprising:
a vehicle shell formed with a recess (to allow for air cooling); and a braking resistance apparatus according to claim 15 recessed in said recess of said vehicle shell; said braking resistance apparatus having an uppermost layer of the plurality of layers of the stack arrangement arranged level with, or below, said vehicle shell that surrounds said recess (Owen teaches “directing a cooling draft for the dynamic braking systems used in the railway locomotive”. See col. 1, lines 13-42 col. 2, line 51 to col. 3, line 12.).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 19 and 22-30 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.
Regarding claim 19, the prior art does not teach or suggest he braking resistance apparatus, wherein the clear spacing between directly adjacent braking resistance elements of a layer of said plurality of layers has at least 1.5 times a value of a greatest extent of one of said braking resistance elements which are arranged directly adjacent, when measured in a plane substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal extent direction of said braking resistance element.
Regarding claim 22, the prior art does not teach or suggest the braking resistance apparatus, wherein: said at least one fluid-guiding element is, at least in part, formed as a ramp;
said ramp is, at least in part, formed as an oblique plane; and said oblique plane is inclined with respect to a longitudinal extent direction of said braking resistance elements of said stack arrangement by an angle having a value between 10° and 25°, inclusive.
Claims 23-30 depend on claim 22.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KYUNG S LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-1994. The examiner can normally be reached 7AM-3PM M-F.
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/KYUNG S LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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