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 .
Claims 19-36 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on January 12, 2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
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.
Claim(s) 19-21, 24-26 and 33-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Japanese Patent No. JPH115812 to Shibamoto (A machine translation is enclosed with this action and referred to herein).
Regarding claims 19, 35 and 36, the Shibamoto patent teaches a storage and retrieval unit (Fig. 3 upper part) for a high-bay warehouse, comprising: a frame (25, Fig. 4) with at least one drive for moving the storage and retrieval unit along a high-bay; a load accepting means (23) having at least three interconnected fastening points (84 twist lock pins) for releasably fastening a storage item to the load accepting means; a connecting element (85c Fig. 5) that connects the frame to the load accepting means for transmitting forces from the storage item via the load accepting means to the frame; and a vertical guide (28) for the load accepting means, the vertical guide (28) being connected to the frame and configured to guide the load accepting means in a lower half of the frame (11) and/or below the frame (11); and wherein the storage item is exchangeable with a storage location in the high bay by a substantially horizontal movement of the storage item by the storage and retrieval unit (Fig. 9), and the storage item is exchangeable with a vehicle by a substantially vertical movement (Figs. 19, 22, 23), and wherein the load accepting means is vertically movable in relation to the frame (25) within the guide (28), and wherein the load accepting means can be moved vertically in relation to the frame (25) outside the guide (28) and can be pivoted about axes (171, 172) in a horizontal plane (18).
Regarding claim 20, wherein the storage item is a container, and wherein the fastening points are suitable for connecting the load accepting means to the container. See Fig. 13 and translation.
Regarding claim 21, wherein a vertical travel distance of the load accepting means guided by the guide connected to the frame is smaller than a maximum vertical travel distance of the load accepting means when exchanging the storage item with the vehicle. See Fig. 4.
Regarding claim 24, the connecting element comprises a cable, and wherein a length of the cable, is variable by means of a drum driven by a motor. Figs. 14a-c.
Regarding claim 25, the connecting element comprises two or more cables connecting the load accepting means to the frame and wherein a length of one of the two or more cables is adjustable independently of a length of another one of the two or more cables. Figs. 14a-c.
Regarding claim 26 the frame has at least one drum for adjusting the length of the cable. Figs. 14a-c.
Regarding claim 33, the high-bay warehouse, wherein it is possible by means of the storage and retrieval unit to transfer storage items between a storage location in the high-bay warehouse and a vehicle or another storage location in the high-bay warehouse. See translation in entirety.
Regarding claim 34, wherein the storage item has complementary fastening points that are complementary to the at least three interconnected fastening points on the load accepting means, and wherein the storage item can be releasably connected to the load accepting means by means of the complementary fastening points. See translation in entirety.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 22, 23 and 27-32 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Publication No. 2021/0047114 to Heide et al. teaches a high bay warehouse.
Japanese Patent No. JP2011093709 to Ando et al. teaches a high bay warehouse.
European Patent No. WO2005/030618 to Park et al. teaches a container mover.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN HOLMES whose telephone number is (571)272-3448. The examiner can normally be reached 10AM-6PM EST M-F.
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/JUSTIN HOLMES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655