DETAILED ACTION
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on April 30, 2024 has been reviewed and considered by the Examiner.
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 .
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) 1-6 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shields (US 2,564,731).
Shields discloses a train coach layout adapted for wheelchair access to a cabin, as shown in the overall views of figures 1 and 2. The train coach is comprised of a plurality of cabins (B), on either side of a central aisle accessed by vestibule openings 12 at either end of the car. A location of the cabin is accessible by wheelchair by having a partition wall section 26, 28 of the train coach arranged with a triangular shape and extending from a corridor of the train coach. The triangular shape allowing more space for a doorway to the cabin accessible by wheelchair, as shown on the right and left sides of the aisle in the topo view of figures 1 and 2.
The triangular shape forming the accessible doors and cabins is an isosceles with the base being formed by two adjacent door panels 26 and one side being defined by the center aisle. The cabin is a sleeping cabin as shown in the figures.
The presented dimensions of the partition wall depend on a predetermined couple formed on the one hand by a corridor clearway width, as shown by the center aisle, and on the other hand by a door usable width, as shown in the figures by the triangular sides of the door panels.
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) 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shields (US 2,564,731) in view of Liu (CN 207164857 U).
Shields discloses the railway sleeper cabin as described above. However, Shields does not specifically show the cabin door to be an automatic door with an access system. Liu discloses a door with an electronic lock to access hotel room doors offices or similar points. It is further well known in the art that doors for various types of living accommodations can have electronic and automatic locks that are accessed by RFID cars, keys or even smart phone apps. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have utilized an automatic electronic access system, like that of Liu, for a cabin door, like that of Shields, with the expected result of providing ease of access to a sleeping cabin with the security of an advanced locking system.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Li (CN 106218651) and Marsh (US 4,161,914) both show types of railway sleeper cars.
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/Robert J McCarry Jr/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
RJM
June 4, 2026
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