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 .
Acknowledgment is made of the amendment filed 10/28/25. Accordingly the application has been amended.
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) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Donnay (9404281) in view of Mensching et al (5970578).
Claim 1. Donnay discloses a system for moving a retractable roof, where the roof has a number of aligned retractable trusses (36), having side posts and cross-sections, which move along two parallel guide rails (32/44) by means of runners (40) attached to the side posts of the said trusses (as seen in the figures and noted in the disclosure), wherein:
the trusses are joined together by a tarpaulin (34);
the guide rails are mounted on support pillars (22);
wherein the post of the truss is fastened to the runner (as seen in the figures and noted in the disclosure), and upper wheels, and lower wheels (figure 6 as noted in the disclosure) fixed at two heights, wherein the wheels are fixed by means of a shaft (as noted in the disclosure);
each guide rail includes an upper surface on its upper side and a lower surface on its lower side (figure 6); and
the runner runs along and is attached to a guide rail by the wheels of the upper row being in contact with the upper surface of the guide rail, and by the wheels of the lower row being in contact with the lower surface of the guide rail (figure 6).
Donnay does not expressly disclose each runner comprises an inner wall and an outer wall forming two side walls facing each other, wherein the post of the truss is fastened to the inner wall, and between these walls there is an upper row with grooved wheels, and a lower row with grooved wheels fixed at two heights, wherein the wheels are fixed between the side walls by means of a shaft; and each guide rail includes an upper curved surface on its upper side and a lower curved surface on its lower side; and the runner runs along and is attached to a guide rail by the wheels of the upper row being in contact with the upper curved surface of the guide rail, and by the wheels of the lower row being in contact with the lower curved surface of the guide rail.
Mensching discloses a system including guide rails (130) and a runner (200) each runner comprises an inner wall and an outer wall forming two side walls facing each other (as noted in the annotated figure below), and between these walls there is an upper row with grooved wheels (at 220), and a lower row with grooved wheels (at 230) fixed at two heights, wherein the wheels are fixed between the side walls by means of a shaft (222,232);
each guide rail includes an upper curved surface (132) on its upper side and a lower curved surface (134) on its lower side (as seen in figures 2,4); and
the runner runs along and is attached to a guide rail (130) by the wheels of the upper row being in contact with the upper curved surface of the guide rail, and by the wheels of the lower row being in contact with the lower curved surface of the guide rail (as noted in the figures) 2-4).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to pursue known design options and modify the runner, wheels and rails arrangement of Donnay to have the structure of the runner, wheels and rails of Mensching where each runner comprises an inner wall and an outer wall forming two side walls facing each other and the a guide rail having upper and lower curved surfaces where the runner runs along and is attached to the guide rail by the wheels of the upper row being in contact with the upper surfaced surface and the wheels of the lower row being in contact with lower curved surface, as noted above, where upon such the modification the post of the truss is fastened to the inner wall of the runner, to achieve the predictable result of a system that reduces or eliminates rock and sway when supporting and moving the retractable roof.
Claim 2. The system for moving a retractable roof according to claim 1,wherein the shaft that fixes the wheels between the side walls has the form of a bolt bearing (as seen in the figure 2).
Claim 3. The system for moving a retractable roof according to claim 1,wherein the outer wall of the runner comprises a central opening (as noted in the annotated figure and as seen in figure 2).
Claim 4. The system for moving a retractable roof according to claim 1,wherein the upper row comprises at least two grooved wheels (as seen in Donnay and Mensching).
Claim 5. The system for moving a retractable roof according to claim 1,wherein the lower row comprises at least two grooved wheels (as seen in Donnay and Mensching).
PNG
media_image1.png
1043
738
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/28/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s argument that the combination as presented above would provide an open channel track design where wheels engage rails on a single plane is note persuasive as these are not claimed features. Further it is noted that at least two grooved wheels are attached between the walls at two heights where one wheel is above the other wheel as seen in the annotated figure above. The guide rail of Mensching clearly shows an upper and lower curved surface with an upper wheel disposed and in contact with the upper surface and a lower wheel disposed below and in contact with the lower curved surface (see figure 4). Accordingly applicants arguments are not persuasive.
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 JESSICA LAUX whose telephone number is (571)272-8228. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-3:30.
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, Brian Mattei can be reached at 571.270.3238. 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.
JESSICA L. LAUX
Examiner
Art Unit 3635
/JESSICA L LAUX/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3635