The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim 23 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 5, the recitation “a first and a second paths” should be either --a first path and a second path-- or --first and second paths--. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 10 is 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 10, line recites “a first position of the second path”. However, this has previously been recited in claim 1, from which this claim depends. The examiner assumes applicant intended to recite “the first position ...”.
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 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Motoda (US 4,804,307).
Motoda shows a method for delivery of goods contained in a goods holder 6 originating from a storage and retrieval system 1 for storing the goods holder, said method comprising:
transferring said goods holder around a closed loop formed by a first path and a second path[s] and a pair of conveyors (in the Fig. 13 embodiment, each of the pair of “conveyors” 2 (as broadly claimed; see note below) can place a goods holder into or remove a goods holder from central rack 3; as such, a goods holder can be transferred around a closed loop formed by the pair of conveyors and a first path at a location along the rack wherein a first one of the travelling cranes 2 transfers a goods holder to the central rack and the other travelling crane retrieves the same goods holder from the central rack, and a second path at another location along the rack spaced from the first path wherein the goods holder is transferred in the opposite direction from the other traveling crane to the first travelling crane via the central rack),
strictly vertically moving the goods holder from a first position (any of the below-grade positions of the lift 4 shown in Fig. 1) of the second path to a second position 5 (i.e., the above-ground position) of the second path in a delivery point 12, emptying said goods holder in the second position of the second path, and in said delivery point, strictly vertically moving the emptied goods holder from the second position of the second path to the first position of the second path (col. 2:66 to col. 3:11).
Note: the travelling cranes 2 are considered to be “conveyors”, as broadly recited, insofar as applicant explicitly discloses in par. [0066] that the term is to be construed broadly as encompassing all devices and manners of conveying the goods holder between the first and second paths, and further insofar as the term conveyor simply means something that carries, transports or transfers.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 23 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Claims 1-7, 11, 13, 15-18 and 20-22 are allowed.
Claim 10 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Claims 24 and 25 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.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to James Keenan whose telephone number is (571)272-6925. The examiner can normally be reached Mon. - Thurs.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ernesto Suarez can be reached at 571-270-5565. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/James Keenan/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3652
9/23/26
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