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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on Nov. 12, 2025 has been entered.
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 12-15 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abildgaard et al. (US 6,712,194) in view of Horiuchi (US 6,962,088).
Cl. 12 – Abildgaard discloses and shows at Fig. 7, for example, a tilt tray sorter comprising
a tray (22) comprising at least three plates, including a middle plate and two side plates, wherein the two side plates are inclined relative to the middle plate to define a proximal portion between two upward-angled distal portions;
a tilt tray shaft assembly comprising a shaft (16), the shaft including a flange (6) and a gear (15), wherein the flange is coupled to the gear of a gear train transmission, and the gear includes an outer gear profile (gear is pinion that meshes with an inner gear profile of the path (14), see col. 5:7-10 and col. 14:41-48);
wherein the tilt tray shaft assembly is configured to rotate when the pinion rotates, and the gear is configured to rotate within a predefined monolithic path (14) to induce a pivoting motion of the tray at one or more predefined angles.
Abildgaard describes a gear driven transmission but does not specify the type or that there is a strain wave gear assembly as claimed. Horiuchi discloses and shows at Figs. 1A-1B a strain wave comprising a wave generator coupled to a motor, the wave generator configured to rotate upon actuation of the motor; a flexspline mounted around the wave generator; and a circular spline positioned around the flexspline, wherein the flexspline is configured to rotate within the circular spline in response to the rotation of the wave generator; and an output device coupled to the flexspline, the output device is configured to rotate when the flexspline rotates, strain waves have superior precision and efficiency.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to substitute a gear driven transmission for a strain wave for increased precision and efficiency.
Cls. 13-15 and 20 claim features typically found in strain wave/harmonic gearing and are shown in the reference to Horiuchi.
Cl. 18 – the one or more predefined angles correspond to 1 to 45 degrees (Abildgaard, Fig. 6 top; Horiuchi, Figs. 6, 17-20, col. 15:36-40).
Cl. 19 – the tilt tray sorter further comprises a tray (22) and the strain wave gear comprises the motor and the motor is communicatively coupled to one or more processors (Abildgaard, col. 12:33-43).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4 and 7-11 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art lacks a tilt tray sorter including a housing having an inner gear profile and top surface, whereas the prior art shows an inner gear profile within plate-like members pivotally attached to opposite ends of a housing.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed Nov. 12, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant states at page 10 of the Remarks that “Independent claim 12 was rejected on grounds similar to those applied to independent claim 1. Applicant has amended independent claim 12 in a manner consistent with the amendments made to claim 1. Accordingly, Applicant respectfully requests that the rejection of claim 12 be withdrawn for the same reasons supporting withdrawal of the rejection of claim 1.”
Examiner respectfully disagrees as claim 12 does not include all of the structural features amended into claim 1. Thus, claim 12 and it’s depending claims are similarly rejected in fashion to the previous rejection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BOBBY RUSHING, JR whose telephone number is (571)270-0501. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8AM-5PM EST.
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/BOBBY RUSHING, JR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618