DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the following communications: Application filed on May 29, 2024.
Claims 1-20 are presented for Examination. Claims 1, 8 and 15 are independent.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgment is made of Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) form PTO-1449 filed on 05/29/2024. This IDS has been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2,7,9 14 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
In claims 2, and 9 recites the limitations of “wherein change the movement” renders the claim vague. Because these limitations fail to clearly pointed out how and what relates to the claim 1 limitation “change”. For the examination purpose these limitations will be treated as wherein “changing the movement ..” or “the change in movement..”.
In claim 7, 14 recites the limitations of “the harvested energy” renders the claim vague and indefinite. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Appropriate correction is requested.
Since the independent claims 2,7,9, 14,17 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) and hence the dependent claims of 2,7,9,14,17 and 20 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
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.
Claims 1, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kornbrekke et al. (US patent: 5,581,944 ).
Regarding independent claim 1, Kornbrekke et al disclose that a system (Fig. 18) comprising:
a movable barrier (Fig.19;door) configured to breakout from an operating mode; and
a barrier operating system (Fig.12) configured to move the movable barrier in the operating mode between open and closed positions, the barrier operating system comprising:
a breakout switch (Fig.19) coupled to the movable barrier; and
a controller (Fig.12:23) configured to:
receive a signal from the breakout switch indicating that the movable barrier has broken out from the operating mode(Fig.18; “operate doors sensors activated” step); and
change, in response to the signal, movement of the movable barrier between the open and closed positions (Fig.18: Doors closed and open doors steps).
Regarding independent claim 8, Kornbrekke et al disclose that a method comprising:
moving a movable barrier in an operating mode between open and closed positions using a barrier operating system(Fig.18: Doors closed and open doors steps), the movable barrier configured to breakout from the operating mode, the barrier operating system comprising a breakout switch and a controller, the breakout switch coupled to the movable barrier;
receiving a signal at the controller from the breakout switch coupled to the movable barrier indicating that the movable barrier has broken out from the operating mode(Fig.18; “operate doors sensors activated” step); and
changing, in response to the signal, movement of the movable barrier between the open and closed positions (Fig.18:”Doors Closed yes or no steps”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-20 allowed.
Claims 2,7,9, 14 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MUHAMMAD S ISLAM whose telephone number is (571)272-8439. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30am to 6:00pm.
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/MUHAMMAD S ISLAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2846
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