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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of group I (claims 1-6 and 15-18) in the reply filed on 05/08/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)). The non-elected group II, claims 7-14 have been cancel from the application by Applicant in the filed response.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 2 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, lines 1, it is suggested to replace “Method for the maintaining of a slide gate (10) of a vessel containing a metal melt” with -- Method for the maintaining a slide gate (10) of a vessel containing a metal melt--.
Claim 1, line 3, recites the limitation “a linear drive which can be inserted into”; however, the phrase “can be” is a passive recitation and therefore it is suggested to replace the limitation with -- a linear drive which insertable into--.
Claim 1, lines 9-11, recites the limitation “at least one connection line (16, 17, 18) takes place automatically with the movement of the linear drive (12) into the holding element (15), and/or the detachment of the at least one connection line (16, 17, 18) takes place automatically when removed the linear drive (12) from the holding element (15)”, it is suggested to replace with -- at least one connection line (16, 17, 18) takes place automatically with the movement of the linear drive (12) into the holding element (15), and/or the detachment of the at least one connection line (16, 17, 18) takes place automatically when the linear drive (12) is removed from the holding element (15)--.
Claim 2, recites the limitation “characterized in that the linear drive (12) can be inserted into the holding element (15) and/or removed from the holding element transverse to its adjustment direction”, it is suggested to replace with -- wherein the linear drive (12) is inserted into the holding element (15) and/or removed from the holding element transversely to its adjustment direction--. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-6 and 15-18 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.
In claim 1, the recitation of multiple instances of “and/or” appears to make the claim confusing because it is unclear which portion (s) or each limitation before, between, and after the multiple “and/or” are required or optional, and which limitations are linked together by the “and/or. The claim is therefore rendered indefinite since the metes and bounds are unascertainable.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "a linear drive (12) which can be inserted into this for the adjustment of the slide unit" in line 3. It is unclear what the word “this” in the limitation refers back to, and therefore rendering the scope of the claim indefinite.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the adjustment" in lines 3-4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim
Regarding claims 1 and 6, the phrase "such as" in line 5 and line 2 respectively renders the claims indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Regarding claim 1, the phrase "preferably" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claim 1, recites the limitation “wherein the linear drive (12) can preferably be moved in and/or taken out by a robot” in line 5-6, without reciting where or what structure the linear drive is moved into and/or is taken out from by the robot. The limitation appears incomplete for omitting essential structural cooperative relationships of elements; therefore, rendering the scope of the claim indefinite.
Claim 1 recites the limitation " the at least one connection line (16, 17, 18)" in line 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim in that the preceding lines only recite “a connection line (16, 17, 18)” or “the connection line (16,
17, 18)”.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the detachment" in line 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1, lines 6-12, recites the limitation “and the connection of the at least one electrical line and/or the connection line (16, 17, 18) for the medium takes place by a plugging action, characterized in that this plugging action of the at least one connection line (16, 17, 18) takes place automatically with the movement of the linear drive (12) into the holding element (15), and/or the detachment of the at least one connection line (16, 17, 18) takes place automatically when removed the linear drive (12) from the holding element (15)” . It is unclear from the manner in which this limitation is set forth as to which one of the linear drive (12) and the holding element (15) is originally connected to at least one connection line prior to the plugging action. In other words, there appears to be no clear structural connection between any one of the linear drive (12) and the holding element (15), and at least one connection line prior to the plugging action. Also, it is unclear which one of the linear drive (12) and the holding element (15), the at least one connecting line is detached from when the linear drive (12) is removed from the holding element (15). The claim is therefore rendered indefinite since the metes and bounds are unascertainable.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "its adjustment direction" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim in that the base claim 1 from
which claim 2 depends does not define or recite any adjustment direction.
Regarding claim 2, it is unclear what “adjustment direction” since it is neither
defined in the claim not provided with any clear definition in the specification what it
means; thereby rendering the scope of the claim indefinite.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the connection lines" at the beginning of line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the same direction" in lines 2 and 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 4 recites the limitation "the opposite direction" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the end position" at the end of line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 5, recite the limitation “wherein during the plugging action of the at least one electrical line and/or the connection line for the medium, first a centering action takes place, and then the plugging action as far as into the end position”. It is noted that while the plugging or plugging action is defined in the base claim 1 as being resulted from the movement of the linear drive into the holding element, the centering action is not clearly defined in either the base claim 1 or the instant claim and as such said centering action is vague, in that what entails in and/or what constitutes the centering action is not defined in the claim. The claim is therefore indefinite since the metes and bound are unascertainable.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the power supply" in line 2. There is insufficient
antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the at least one connection line for the medium serves as a gas seal or for cooling or a similar purpose" in lines 3-4. It is unclear as to what function(s) “a similar purpose” encompasses and/or what additional function besides the gas seal and the cooling is covered by the phrase “similar purpose”, and therefore the scope of the claim is indefinite.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the respective connection line" at the beginning of
line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Regarding claims 15-18, it is unclear as to what “in each case” mean since the base claim 1 from which all these claims depend does not appear to recite any particular linear drive and holding element pairing scenario with respect to an electrical plug or connection line. The claims are therefore rendered indefinite since their metes and bounds are unascertainable.
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 1-4, 6 and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schacher (US Patent No. 11,192,180) in view of Truttmann (US Patent No. 8,498,740).
Regarding claim 1, Schacher teaches a method for the maintaining of a slide gate or slide closure (see abstract, column 1, lines 40-45 and lines 62-65 and column 2, and column 2, line 66-column 3, line 7) of a vessel (see column 2, line 66-column 3, line 7) containing a metal melt, which comprises a housing (1, see figure 1 and column 2, lines 55-60), a slide unit guided longitudinally in the housing (see abstract, column 2, lines 55-60 and figure 4d), a holding element (i.e. holder 5, see figures 1-3 and column 2, line 55 – column 3, line 13), a linear drive (i.e. linear actuator 6, see figures 11-3, 4c ,
4d and column 2, line 55 – column 3, line 13) which insertable into the holder (5) for the
adjustment of the slide unit.
Schacher also teaches a robot configured for automatically moving the linear drive (i.e. linear actuator 6) and inserting into or removing from the holding element (i.e. holder 5) (see column 2, line 66- column 3, line 13, column 4, lines 31-37 also see figures 1-3)
Schacher fails to teach at least one electrical line and/or at least one connection line for at least gas or air, and the connection of the at least one electrical line and/or the at least one connection line or the at least gas or air takes place by a plugging action which occurs automatically by movement of the linear drive into the holding element, and/or an automatic detachment of the at least one connection line when the linear drive is removed from the holding element.
Truttmann teaches a method for the maintaining of a slide closure or slide gate (see Truttmann, abstract), the slide closure arrangement comprising a piston/cylinder unit (30, which reads on the claimed linear drive, see Truttmann , column 2, line 56-column 3, line 10 and column 4, lines 4-15 and figures 1 and 2) and a retainer (28, which reads on the claimed holding element, see Truttmann, column 2, line 56-column 3, line 10 and column 4, lines 4-15 and figures 1 and 2), and a robot (60, see Truttmann, column 4, lines 4-15 and figures 1 and 3) configured for automatically inserting the piston/cylinder unit (30) into the retainer (28) or removing piston/cylinder unit (30) from the retainer (see Truttmann, column 2, line 56-column 3, line 10 and column 4, lines 4-15); and at least one electrical or current line and/or at least one connection line for at least compressed gas, air, oxygen or hydraulic oil connected to the piston/cylinder unit (30, which reads on the claimed linear drive, see Truttmann column 3, lines 40-42 and column 4, lines 4-15); thereby allowing an automatic connection to be made between said at least one electrical or current line and/or at least one connection line for at least compressed gas, air, oxygen or hydraulic oil and the retainer (28, which reads on the claimed holding element) when the piston/cylinder unit (30) is inserted into the retainer (28) or disconnection of said at least one electrical or current line and/or at least one connection line for at least compressed gas, air, oxygen or hydraulic oil from the retainer (28), when the piston/cylinder unit (30) is removed
from the retainer (28).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the
invention was made to modify the sliding gate assembly of Schacher to provide at least one electrical or current line and/or at least one connection line for at least compressed gas, air, oxygen or hydraulic oil connected to the piston/cylinder unit (i.e., linear drive) as exemplified by Truttmann, wherein by doing so would provide the function and advantage of automatically establishing a connection between at least one electrical or current line and/or at least one connection line for at least compressed gas, air, oxygen or hydraulic oil and the retainer (i.e., holding element) when the piston/cylinder unit (i.e., linear drive) is inserted into the retainer (i.e., holding element) or disconnecting at least one electrical or current line and/or at least one connection line for at least compressed gas, air, oxygen or hydraulic oil from the retainer (i.e., holding element) when the piston/cylinder unit (i.e., linear drive) is removed from the retainer (i.e., holding element).
Regarding claim 2, Schacher in figure 1 shows substantially the same assembly
between the linear drive (i.e. linear actuator 6) and the holding element (i.e. holder 5); and in addition, Schacher in figures 2 and 3 shows that when the linear drive (i.e. linear actuator 6) is inserted into the holding element (i.e. holder 5) the direction of said insertion is transverse the slide unit. Therefore, Schacher in view of Truttmann meets the claim.
Regarding claims 3 and 4, Truttmann teaches at least one electrical or current line and/or at least one connection line for at least compressed gas, air, oxygen or hydraulic oil connected to the piston/cylinder unit or linear drive (30, see Truttmann column 3, lines 40-42 and column 4, lines 4-15); while Schacher teaches a linear drive (i.e. linear actuator 6) that is insertable in a forward direction and/or removable in a reverse direction from the holding element (holder 5); and because Truttmann teaches the at least one electrical or current line and/or at least one connection line for at least compressed gas, air, oxygen or hydraulic oil as being connected to the piston/cylinder unit or linear drive, it would necessarily flow that in the combined assembly of Schacher in view of Truttmann, the plugging or connection of the at least one electrical or current line and/or at least one connection line for at least compressed gas, air, oxygen or hydraulic oil would take place in the same direction as the movement of the linear drive into the holding element and/or the disconnection of the same would take place in the same direction as a detachment of the linear drive from the holding element; wherein the plugging or connection and that of the disconnection would be in opposing
directions in the same manner as claimed
Regarding claim 6, Truttmann teaches at least one electrical or current line
connected to a controller (75, which reads on the claimed measuring or evaluation
device, see Truttmann, column 3, lines 40-44) and at least one connection line being
connected to oxygen or compressed air source (see Truttmann, column 3, lines 40-44). Therefore, Schacher in view of Truttmann meets the claim.
Regarding claims 15-18, a Schacher teaches a method for the maintaining a slide gate or slide closure that comprises a holding element (i.e. holder 5, see figures 1-3 and column 2, line 55 – column 3, line 13), a linear drive (i.e. linear actuator 6, see figures 11-3, 4c, 4d and column 2, line 55 – column 3, line 13) which insertable into the holder (5) to form a structural pair, and a holding element (i.e. holder 5, see figures 1-3 and column 2, line 55 – column 3, line 13), a linear drive (i.e. linear actuator 6, see figures 11-3, 4c , 4d and column 2, line 55 – column 3, line 13) which insertable into the holder (5), while Truttmann teaches a piston/cylinder unit (30, which reads on the claimed linear drive, see Truttmann , column 2, line 56-column 3, line 10 and column 4, lines 4-15 and figures 1 and 2) and a retainer (28, which reads on the claimed holding element, see Truttmann, column 2, line 56-column 3, line 10 and column 4, lines 4-15 and figures 1 and 2), and a robot (60, see Truttmann, column 4, lines 4-15 and figures 1 and 3); and at least one electrical or current line and/or at least one connection line for at least compressed gas, air, oxygen or hydraulic oil connected to the piston/cylinder unit (30, which reads on the claimed linear drive, see Truttmann column 3, lines 40-42 and column 4, lines 4-15); thereby allowing an automatic connection to be made between said at least one electrical or current line and/or at least one connection line for at least compressed gas, air, oxygen or hydraulic oil and the retainer (28, which reads on the claimed holding element) when the piston/cylinder unit (30) is inserted into the retainer (28) or disconnection of said at least one electrical or current line and/or at least one connection line for at least compressed gas, air, oxygen or hydraulic oil from the retainer (28), when the piston/cylinder unit (30) is removed from the retainer (28). Therefore, Schacher in view of Truttmann meets the claims because their teachings as combined covers all the features and/or the limitations recited in the claims and/or encompasses the scope of the claims 15-18.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Waltenspuhl et al. (US 6,045,015), Nehrlich et al. (US 4,042,207), Shapland et al. (US 4,415,103) and Beckers (US 4,596,345) are also cited in PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL ABOAGYE whose telephone number is (571)272-8165. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30AM-5:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s
supervisor, Keith Hendricks can be reached at 571-272-1401. The fax phone number
for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M.A/Examiner, Art Unit 1733
/JESSEE R ROE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759
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