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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description:
[0092], line 4, “ball stud 15”.
[0099], line 2, “climbing rail 7” is not shown in Fig. 8.
[0102], last line, “second concreting portion 5B” – note that Fig. 2 shows “5D”.
[0110], line 4, “horizontal beam 57”.
The drawings are also objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “15” has been used to designate both “ball stud 15” and “anchor part 15” in [0092].
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
35 U.S.C. 112(a) requires the specification to be written in “full, clear, concise, and exact terms.” The specification is replete with terms which are not clear, concise and exact. The specification should be revised carefully in order to comply with 35 U.S.C. 112(a).
Specifically, the portions of the specification that describe a single suspension shoe render the specification unclear because the described second suspension shoe is essential for the enablement requirement to be met. Specifically, see Fig. 8 showing first suspension shoe 11 and second suspension shoe 30 – both shoes are necessary to support the fork elements of the carriage, specifically, see first fastener location 22 for one of the fork elements on the first suspension shoe 11 and the second fastener location 43 for the other fork element on the second suspension shoe 30, note that both fastener locations 22 and 43 – on separate suspension shoes 11 and 30 – are necessary to support the fork elements of the carriage, see e.g., [0097].
Examples of some unclear, inexact or verbose terms used in the specification are:
e.g., [0009], line 2, “suspension shoe” should be replaced with –suspension shoe assembly—,
e.g., [0010], line 1, “suspension shoe in which the suspension part has” should be –suspension shoe assembly in which each suspension shoe includes a suspension part having—,
e.g., [0011], line 1, “the” should be replaced with –each—, and,
e.g., [0091], lines 1 and 2, --assembly—should be inserted between “shoe” and “11”.
The disclosure is further objected to because of the following informalities:
[0009], line 3, “climbing” should be replaced with –climbing unit--.
[0014], line 4, “first” should be removed,
[0018], line 3, “both sides” should be replaced with –each side--,
[0020], line 9, “is not supported on” should be replaced with --is not compressed against--,
[0025], last line, “ends” should be replaced with --opposite wall sections--,
[0033], line 2, “the side” should be replaced with –respective sides—,
[0033], line 2, “, relative to” should be replaced with –and proximally of--
[0033], line 3, “the anchor” should be replaced with –each anchor--.
[0033], line 4, “, again relative to” should be replaced with –distally of--,
[0033], line 4, “the anchor” should be replaced with –each anchor--, and,
[0033], lines 4-5, “, on the side facing away from the climbing rail” should be removed.
[0034], line 2, “both” should be replaced with –respective—
[0034], line 8, “the holding fork between the two fork elements” should be replaced with –each fork element—
[0034], line 9, “anchor” should be replaced with –corresponding bolt--
[0036], lines 1 and 2, “a horizontal central axis of the guide shoe extends substantially along a vertical central plane” is unclear.
]0079], line 2, “own” should be removed.
[0087], last line, a period should be added to the end of the paragraph.
[0095], line 4, “23” should be replaced with –26—
[0099], line 6, “or” should be replaced with –and—
[0099], line 6, “arranging” should be removed,
[0103], line 7, “5b” should be replaced with –5B--
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claims 1-10, 14, 16-19 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) as based on a disclosure which is not enabling. The disclosure does not enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention without a second suspension shoe, which is critical or essential to the practice of the invention but not included in the claims. See In re Mayhew, 527 F.2d 1229, 188 USPQ 356 (CCPA 1976). Specifically, in Fig. 8, see first fastener location 22 on the first suspension shoe 11 and the second fastener location 43 on the second suspension shoe 30, note that both fastener locations 22 and 43 – on separate suspension shoes 11 and 30 – are necessary to support respective fork elements 31 of the carriage, see e.g., [0097].
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.
Claim 7 is 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. Specifically, claim 7 recites the limitations “receiving groove" and “ball socket”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
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.
Claims 1-3, 8, 9, 14, and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hobmeier (US20090173574).
1: A suspension shoe (Fig. 1, 20.1) for use in a climbing unit having a first climbing component, and a second climbing component movable along a climbing rail, the suspension shoe (20.1) comprising: an anchor (Fig. 6, 76) for anchoring in a concreting portion of a building and a suspension part (Fig. 6, 20) connected to the anchor, wherein the suspension part has a first mount (see middle protruding part of flange 20 in Fig. 6, also see Fig. 2) for releasably holding the first climbing component (26) of the climbing unit, and a second mount (see top part of flange 20 in Fig. 6, also see Fig. 1) for releasably holding the second climbing component (18) of the climbing unit.
2: The suspension shoe according to claim 1, wherein the first mount has a first holding opening (see hole in middle protruding part of flange 20 in Fig. 6, also see Fig. 2) for the passage of a first holding bolt and/or the second mount has a second holding opening (see hole in top part of flange 20 in Fig. 6, also see Fig. 1) for the passage of a second holding bolt, and wherein the first climbing component is a climbing rail (26), and wherein the second climbing component of the climbing unit is the climbing carriage (18).
3: The suspension shoe according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second mounts are provided substantially at the same height on both sides of the anchor (see Fig. 1, note that that first and second mounts are at substantially the same height, defined by the space between the ends of the call out lines to 16.1 and 20.1).
8: A climbing unit for arrangement on a building (10, Figs. 1 and 2), comprising: a first suspension shoe (20.1) for anchoring to a concreting portion of the building; a climbing rail (26); and a climbing carriage (50) which is movable along the climbing rail, wherein the first suspension shoe comprises: an anchor (Fig. 6, 76) for anchoring to the concreting portion of the building, and a suspension part (Fig. 6, 20) connected to the anchor, wherein the suspension part has a first mount (see middle protruding part of flange 20 in Fig. 6, also see Fig. 2) for releasably holding the first climbing component (26) of the climbing unit, and a second mount (see top part of flange 20 in Fig. 6, also see Fig. 1) for releasably holding the second climbing component (18) of the climbing unit wherein, in a first climbing position of the climbing unit, a holding device (see the pin in the top part of the flange 20 in Fig. 5) on the climbing carriage is connected to the second mount of the first suspension shoe, and a fastening device (Fig. 5, 70) on the climbing rail is released from the first mount of the first suspension shoe, so that the climbing rail is movable along the first suspension shoe, wherein in a second climbing position, the fastening device on the climbing rail is connected to the first mount of the first suspension shoe, and the holding device on the climbing carriage is released from the second mount of the first suspension shoe, so that the climbing carriage is movable along the climbing rail (abstract: “at least one lifting drive which can be releasably fitted directly on discrete mounts (20) on the structure and which can be switched between a first operating mode in which the scaffold unit can be raised and a second operating mode in which the lifting drive can be raised”).
9: The climbing unit according to claim 8, wherein the first mount has a first holding opening (see hole in middle protruding part of flange 20 in Fig. 6, also see Fig. 2) for the passage of a first holding bolt and/or the second mount has a second holding opening (see hole in top part of flange 20 in Fig. 6, also see Fig. 1) for the passage of a second holding bolt, and wherein the fastening device on the climbing rail has a fastening opening for arranging the first holding bolt and/or the holding device on the climbing carriage has a suspension opening for arranging the second holding bolt (see 70 in Fig. 7).
14: The climbing unit according to claim 8, wherein the climbing carriage has a guide shoe (16) for guiding along the climbing rail (26), for engaging around a climbing profile of the climbing rail (86), wherein a horizontal central axis of the guide shoe lies substantially in a vertical central plane of the climbing rail (Fig. 7).
16: The climbing unit according to claim 8, wherein a support part is provided for support on the outside of the building, including on the lower end of the climbing rail (see 28 in Fig. 1 and [0040]: “the support unit 28 presses the scaffold unit away from the structure in direction of the arrow A”).
17: The climbing unit according to claim 8, comprising a self-climbing drive, in particular with a cylinder-piston drive, for moving the climbing carriage relative to the climbing rail and vice versa ([0039]: “In the condition shown in FIG. 1, if the drive is anchored to the structure 14 and the scaffold unit 12 is to be raised, the lifting cylinder 52, which is supported by the lower wall shoe 20.1 on the structure, is extended, in order to raise the scaffold unit 12 by means of the engagement between the climbing shoe 50 and the scaffold unit 12”, also see [0041]: “The lower guide shoe 16.1 is then supported on the upper side of a climbing cam and, by the extension of the lifting cylinder 52, pushes the climbing shoe 50 further upward so that the climbing shoe 50 can be supported in an upper region in order to pull the lower guide shoe 16.1 after it again”).
18: The climbing unit according to claim 17, wherein a boom (see 44 in Fig. 1), at the lower end of the climbing rail, is provided, to which the self-climbing drive is connected.
19: The climbing unit according to claim 17, wherein a climbing scaffold having the climbing carriage also has a vertical column element (see 52 and 54 in Fig. 1), to which the self-climbing drive is connected.
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.
Claims 4, 5, 7, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hobmeier (US20090173574) in view of Hsu (US20140056669).
Hobmeier fails to disclose the suspension shoe according to claim 1, wherein the suspension part is tiltably connected to the anchor, including about a horizontal axis. Hsu teaches, in the context of concrete anchors, wherein a suspension part (4) is tiltably connected to the anchor (33), including about a horizontal axis. It 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 to have included wherein the suspension part is tiltably connected to the anchor, including about a horizontal axis in the suspension shoe of Hobmeier according to the teachings of Hsu in order to achieve firm contact between the anchor and the suspension part regardless of engaging angle, see [0017] of Hsu.
5: Hobmeier in view of Hsu disclose the suspension shoe according to claim 4, wherein the anchor comprises a ball element (33) and the suspension part comprises a ball socket (31), wherein the ball element of the anchor is tiltably arranged in the ball socket of the suspension part (Fig. 4 of Hsu).
7: Hobmeier in view of Hsu disclose the suspension shoe according to claim 1, wherein the suspension part has a base plate, in which the receiving groove and/or the ball socket are integrated (see base plate 31 in Fig. 4 of Hsu).
30: Hobmeier fails to disclose the suspension shoe according to claim 1, wherein the suspension part is tiltably connected to the anchor about a horizontal axis. Hsu teaches, in the context of concrete anchors, wherein a suspension part (4) is tiltably connected to the anchor (33) about a horizontal axis. It 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 to have included wherein the suspension part is tiltably connected to the anchor about a horizontal axis in the suspension shoe of Hobmeier according to the teachings of Hsu in order to achieve firm contact between the anchor and the suspension part regardless of engaging angle, see [0017] of Hsu.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejections and in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 11-13 and 15 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ben Pezzlo whose telephone number is (571)272-9656. The examiner can normally be reached M to Th 7 to 5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel Cahn can be reached at (571) 270-5616. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BAP/ Examiner, Art Unit 3634
/COLLEEN M CHAVCHAVADZE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634