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 5/12/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant argues that Wolfram does not teach all the limitations of claim 11, rendering the 102-rejection improper.
In particular, the Applicant argues that front carriage 96 does not correspond to the “fixedly receiving element” as it does not secure the front strut. The Examiner respectfully disagrees. The front carriage 96 of Wolfram can be described as a “fixedly receiving element” because of the latches 150 that are included in the front carriage. As further evidence, two of the claims of Wolfram show the following:
“Coating installation according to one of claims 27 to 30, characterized in that the driver (140) can be fixed on the driver element (56) by latching.
Coating installation according to claim 31, characterized in that the driver surface (144) is seated on a latch (150).”
Furthermore, Fig. 7 further shows that the latch 150 on the carriage is nearing touching cross beam 56.
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The Applicant further argues that the rear carriage does not correspond to the loosely receiving element as “it engages the skid frame 24 identically to the front carriage 96.”
The Examiner also disagrees. A comparison of Figs. 5 and 6 show this to not be the case. The rear carriage shown in Fig. 5 does not have the latches as Fig. 6 does. Therefore, the way they contact the skid frame is not identical.
Finally, the Applicant argues that cross members of Wolfram (56 and 58) cannot be described as “releasably connected to the motor vehicle”, as the workpieces 14 are mounted on unlabeled vertical uprights. The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Wolfram makes no attempt to identify, claim, or describe the unlabeled uprights, indicating there are embodiments/variations of Wolfram that could have them or not have them. If they are not, then it is within the scope of Wolfram that the vehicle body is releasably connected to the cross bars. Given that the motor vehicle body would be moved off the chain conveyor for further processing, it is unclear how the vehicle body could be nonreleasably connected and still work.
Using the above analysis, the rejection of claim 11 on the basis of 35 U.S.C. 102 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 11, 13, 14, 16, 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by EP-
0641984-A1 (hereinafter Wolfram).
Regarding claim 11, Wolfram discloses A conveying apparatus for conveying a motor vehicle
body along a conveying path (Fig 1), comprising: a chain conveyor that has a chain strand which
circulates along the conveying path (claim 24); and fixedly receiving elements and loosely receiving
elements, wherein the fixedly receiving elements and loosely receiving elements are alternately
disposed on the chain strand at a predefined interval from each other over an entire length of the chain
strand and are movable along the conveying path by the chain strand (Fig 4, Nos. 96 and 6); wherein a
respective fixedly receiving element is configured to receive and secure a first crossmember which is
releasably connected to the motor vehicle body (Fig. 6, No 56); wherein a respective loosely receiving
element has a deposition region on which a second crossmember which is releasably connected to the
motor vehicle body is supportable (Fig. 5, No. 58).
Regarding claim 13, Wolfram discloses the conveying apparatus according to claim 11,
additionally, wherein a transverse guide element is disposed on at least one of the fixedly receiving
elements and/or on at least one of the loosely receiving elements and/or on at least one chain link of
the chain strand and/or on at least one of the first crossmember and the second crossmember (Figs. 5 &
6, Nos. 64l, 86, 88 or Fig. 11, No. 210).
Regarding claim 14, Wolfram discloses the conveying apparatus according to claim 11,
additionally, wherein fixed bearing is disposed at a turning point of the chain strand (Figs. 2a-b Nos. 87
and 89).
Regarding claim 16, Wolfram discloses the conveying apparatus according to claim 11,
additionally, wherein the predefined crossmember interval is predetermined (pg. 13, third full
paragraph). Wolfram does not specify any length values for the defined distance. Therefore, the
predefined distance in the claimed invention is included in the distance indicated by Wolfram.
Regarding claim 18, Wolfram discloses a method for painting a motor vehicle body (Fig. 1, No. 16, pg. 7, 2nd full paragraph), comprising the steps of: applying paint to the motor vehicle body in a painting region (Fig. 1, No. 12) while the motor vehicle body is conveyed along a conveying path by the conveying apparatus according to claim 11 (Figs. 1 & 4), wherein a front one of two crossmembers connected to the motor vehicle body is received by one of the fixedly receiving elements (Fig. 4, No. 150).
Regarding claim 19, Wolfram discloses the method of claim 18, further wherein the motor vehicle body is introduced into the painting region by the conveying apparatus with predefined clocking (Claim 1, “feed rate”).
Regarding claim 20, Wolfram discloses A painting apparatus for painting a motor vehicle body (Fig. 1, No. 16, pg. 7, 2nd full paragraph), comprising: a conveying apparatus for conveying a motor vehicle body along a conveying path (Fig 1), comprising: a chain conveyor that has a chain strand which circulates along the conveying path (claim 24); and fixedly receiving elements and loosely receiving elements, wherein the fixedly receiving elements and loosely receiving elements are alternately disposed on the chain strand at a predefined interval from each other over an entire length of the chain strand and are movable along the conveying path by the chain strand (Fig 4, Nos. 96 and 6); wherein a respective fixedly receiving element is configured to receive and secure a first crossmember which is releasably connected to the motor vehicle body (Fig. 6, No 56); wherein a respective loosely receiving element has a deposition region on which a second crossmember which is releasably connected to the motor vehicle body is supportable (Fig. 5, No. 58).
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 12 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wolfram in view
of US 8,617,014 B2 (Hereinafter Grobbel).
Regarding claim 12, Wolfram discloses the conveying apparatus of claim 11. However, Wolfram
does not disclose that the drive gear which is disposed at a first end of the conveying path and an output
gear which is disposed at a second end of the conveying path. Grobbel discloses an example
embodiment wherein the driving sprocket is disposed at a first end of the path and the output sprocket
is at the second end. Figs. 2 & 3 of Grobbel show the driving mechanism operating in a particular
orientation. Based on this particular orientation, the drive sprocket it shown to be rotating
counterclockwise. In Fig. 6 of Grobbel, the driving mechanism is shown operating on a complete chain,
meaning the top side of the chain must be moving to the left. This matches the location of the driving gear indicated by No. 2 in Fig. 4 of the claimed invention, and the direction indicated by arrow 3 in Fig. 4
of the claimed invention.
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 apparatus of Wolfram with the drive placement of Grobbel. The
motivation would be to reduce the need for a tensioner, as placing the drive on the first end would keep
more tension on the top length of the chain than placing the drive on the second end. Additionally,
driving the entire apparatus with one motor is more efficient than driving it with one drive on each end.
Regarding claim 15, Wolfram discloses the conveying apparatus of claim 11. However, Wolfram
does not disclose a polygon compensation drive and/or a cycloidal transmission. Grobbel discloses a
chain driving mechanism configured as a polygon compensation drive (Figs. 2 & 6).
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 apparatus of Wolfram with the compensation drive of Grobbel.
The motivation would be to mitigate the polygonal effect and maintain constant chain speed.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wolfram in view of US
Patent 5,671,838 (Hereinafter Bowman). Wolfram discloses the conveying apparatus of claim 11.
However, Wolfram does not disclose a cleaning apparatus. Bowman discloses a chain cleaning apparatus
using brushes to clear debris, including paint, of chain conveyors (column 1, lines 4-8, 15-18; column 2,
lines 30-32, Fig. 11).
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 conveying apparatus of Wolfram with the cleaning apparatus of
Bowman. The motivation would be to passively remove excess paint from the chain links, thereby
maintaining functionality and increasing the working life of the chain.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wolfram in view of US-
20210031362 (hereinafter Zhang). Wolfram discloses the conveying apparatus of claim 11. However,
Wolfram does not disclose a cycloidal transmission. Zhang discloses a cycloidal transmission (Fig. 1).
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 conveying apparatus of Wolfram with the cycloidal transmission
of Zhang. The motivation would be to generate high torque on the chain, as cycloidal transmissions are
known to do. This would be advantageous for pulling the heavy vehicle parts along the chain.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 18 and 19, previously withdrawn from consideration as a result of a restriction requirement, are hereby rejoined. The restriction requirement between inventions of the method and he apparatus, as set forth in the Office action mailed on 8/25/2025, is hereby withdrawn and claims 18 and 19 are hereby rejoined and fully examined for patentability under 37 CFR 1.104. In view of the withdrawal of the restriction requirement, applicant(s) are advised that if any claim presented in a divisional application is anticipated by, or includes all the limitations of, a claim that is allowable in the present application, such claim may be subject to provisional statutory and/or nonstatutory double patenting rejections over the claims of the instant application.
Conclusion
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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/SAUL RODRIGUEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3652
/AMARI J MEDDLING/Examiner, Art Unit 3651
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