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 . In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 22-27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sarnicki et al. (US 5,535,681).
Referring to Claim 22: Sarnicki discloses a method for a set of bridge plates, comprising:
attaching a first, left-aligned bridge plate (26, 28) to a right side of a gap between a first railcar (10) and a second railcar (10) by engaging a left-aligned pivot pin (88) protruding from a left edge of the first bridge plate with a second receiving port (22) of the first railcar and engaging a left-aligned locking pin (84) with a first receiving port (22) of the first railcar, the left-aligned pivot pin coupled within a left-aligned hollow guide tube (82) mounted on a first support bracket (Fig. 1); and
attaching a second, right-aligned bridge plate (26, 28) to a left side of the gap by engaging a right-aligned pivot pin (88) protruding from a right edge of the second bridge plate with a third receiving port (22) of the first railcar and engaging a right-aligned locking pin (84) with a fourth receiving port (22) of the first railcar, the right-aligned pivot pin coupled within a right-aligned hollow guide tube (82) mounted on a second support bracket (Fig. 1) (Col. 5, lines 25-32).
Referring to Claim 23: Sarnicki discloses the method of claim 22, further comprising centering the first support bracket relative to a central axis (24) of the first bridge plate (26, 28) and off-setting the left-aligned guide tube (82) to a left of the central axis of the first bridge plate (Col. 5, lines 33-50) (Figs. 1 and 2), and
centering the second support bracket relative to a central axis (24) of the second bridge plate (26, 28) and off-setting the right-aligned guide tube (82) to a right of the central axis of the second bridge plate (Col. 5, lines 33-50) (Figs. 1 and 2).
Referring to Claim 24: Sarnicki discloses the method of claim 22, further comprising attaching the first bridge plate (26, 28) by sliding the left-aligned locking pin (84) along the hollow left-aligned guide tube (82) into a cavity of the first receiving port (22) via a first handle (90) coupled to the left-aligned locking pin within the left-aligned guide tube (Col. 5, lines 25-39) (Figs. 1 and 2).
Referring to Claim 25: Sarnicki discloses the method of claim 24, further comprising attaching the second bridge plate (26, 28) by sliding the right-aligned locking pin (84) along the hollow right-aligned guide tube (82) into another cavity of the third receiving port (22) via a second handle (90) coupled to the right-aligned locking pin within the right-aligned guide tube (Col. 5, lines 25-39) (Figs. 1 and 2).
Referring to Claim 26: Sarnicki discloses the method of claim 22, further comprising sliding the left-aligned locking pin (84) along a length of the first guide tube (82) by a first handle (90) protruding out of an opening (92) on the first guide tube and
sliding the right-aligned locking pin (84) along a length of the second guide tube (82) by a second handle (90) protruding out of an opening (92) on the second guide tube (Col. 5, lines 25-39) (Figs. 1 and 2).
Referring to Claim 27: Sarnicki discloses the method of claim 22, wherein attaching the first bridge plate (26, 28) to the right side of the gap and attaching the second bridge plate (26, 28) to the left side of the gap comprises attaching the first plate parallel to the second bridge plate (Col. 4, lines 40-48) (Figs. 1 and 2).
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) 28 and 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sarnicki in view of Bullock et al. (US 5,515,792).
Referring to Claim 28: Sarnicki does not specifically teach a distance range between the bridge plates, including attaching the first bridge plate and attaching the second bridge plate creates a distance between an outer edge of the first bridge plate and an outer edge of the second bridge plate in a range of 86 inches to 92 inches. However, Bullock teaches that “[t]he problem with the present type of portable bridge plate is that its width is not sufficient to accommodate motor vehicles with narrow tracks now being used on some sub-compact and future motor vehicle designs. These motor vehicles' lateral wheel spacing is too narrow and cannot properly span the distance between the pair of portable bridge plates. Without extreme care, these motor vehicles may fall between the bridge plates spanning the gap between adjacent freight cars. Some motor vehicle manufacturers have advised that this track dimension will be reduced even further in the future.” (Col. 1, lines 47-57). Thus, Bullock teaches that it is known to vary the distance range between bridge plates. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for Sarnicki to create a distance between an outer edge of the first bridge plate and an outer edge of the second bridge plate in a range of 86 inches to 92 inches, since Bullock teaches that it is known to vary this distance, in order to accommodate vehicles with different wheelbase widths with a reasonable expectation of success. Further, it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). See MPEP § 2144.05 (II)(A).
Referring to Claim 29: Sarnicki does not teach a specific distance range between the bridge plates, including attaching the first bridge plate and attaching the second bridge plate creates a distance between an inner edge of the first bridge plate and an inner edge of the second bridge plate in a range of 41 inches to 47 inches. However, Bullock teaches that “[t]he problem with the present type of portable bridge plate is that its width is not sufficient to accommodate motor vehicles with narrow tracks now being used on some sub-compact and future motor vehicle designs. These motor vehicles' lateral wheel spacing is too narrow and cannot properly span the distance between the pair of portable bridge plates. Without extreme care, these motor vehicles may fall between the bridge plates spanning the gap between adjacent freight cars. Some motor vehicle manufacturers have advised that this track dimension will be reduced even further in the future.” (Col. 1, lines 47-57). Thus, Bullock teaches that it is known to vary the distance range between bridge plates. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for Sarnicki to create a distance between an inner edge of the first bridge plate and an inner edge of the second bridge plate in a range of 41 inches to 47 inches, since Bullock teaches that it is known to vary this distance, in order to accommodate vehicles with different wheelbase widths with a reasonable expectation of success. Further, it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). See MPEP § 2144.05 (II)(A).
Conclusion
The references made of record and not relied upon are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure because the references have common inventors/assignees as the instant application and represent the general state of the art: US-20250010892-A1, US-20210380146-A1, US-20200385030-A1, US-20200001901-A1, US-20210323584-A1, US-20170334463-A1, US-11077869-B2, US-12497084-B2, US-12037028-B2, US-11981359-B2, US-11273850-B2 and US-10442446-B2.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZACHARY L KUHFUSS whose telephone number is (571)270-7858. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10:00am to 6:00 pm CDT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Samuel (Joe) Morano can be reached on (571)272-6682. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ZACHARY L KUHFUSS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615A
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