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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 8/14/24 and 4/125 were filed and the submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. The references in IDS, filed April 2, 2025, has been crossed out and it appears that the provided IDS is a duplicate of the IDS, filed April 1, 2024.
Claim Objections
Claims 5 and 6 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 5, line 4, the word “a” before “closed position” should be changed to – said --,
Claim 5, line 5, the word “a” before “open position” should be changed to – said --,
Claim 6, line 3, the word “a” before “closed position” should be changed to – said --. Note that claim 5 or claim 6 depends on an independent claim 1 which recites “a closed position” and “an open position.” Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
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 1-6, 8, 11, 13, 14, 18, 19, 21, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2018/033740 (see IDS).
RE claims 1-3, WO 2018/033740 discloses a container system (see Figs. 1-8) comprising: a container body (300) for holding material, the container body comprising at least one opening; at least one door moveable between a closed position (See Fig. 5) in which the at least one door occludes the at least one opening, and an open position (see Fig. 6); a door release mechanism (see Figs. 1-8) for a container having at least one door moveable between a closed position and an open position, the door release mechanism comprising at least one door connecting member (312, 312) (see Exhibit A); and at least one sliding member (304, 306) moveable between a first position and a second position; wherein the at least one sliding member is retainable in the second position; wherein the at least one door connecting member is configured to connect the at least one sliding member to at least one door of a container, wherein, in the first position of the at least one sliding member, the at least one door connecting member is configured to be substantially taut (see Fig. 5) (RE claim 3) so that the at least one door of a container is retained in a closed position (Fig. 5), and wherein, upon retention of the at least one sliding member in the second position, the at least one door connecting member is configured to be substantially slack (see Fig. 6) so that the at least one door of a container is moveable to an open position (see Fig. 6) upon lifting of the container.
RE claims 2, 4, and 13, Figs. 1 and 3 of WO 2018/033740, as presented above, also shows a lifting assembly (180, 190) for engagement with a lifting apparatus, the lifting assembly being coupled to the at least one sliding member and the door release mechanism comprises at least one retaining mechanism for retaining a corresponding at least one sliding member in its second position. Note that WO 2018/033740 shows a casing or housing (316) where an actuator (304) is provided as being slidable to release the doors or close the doors by vertically movable along the vertical axis.
RE claims 5, 8, 14, and 18, Figs. 1 and 3 of WO 2018/033740 employ the at least one retaining mechanism comprises an actuator, which is a hydraulic cylinder (304) and a piston rod (306), which could be considered as a sliding member (RE claim 18), for adjusting a corresponding retaining member between its locked configuration and its unlocked configuration.
RE claim 11, Figs. 1 and 3 of WO 2018/033740 shows a retaining pin where a piston rod (306) is attached to (see Fig. 3) and another pin (302) where the actuator (312) is attached to at an upper end.
RE claims 21 and 22, Figs. 1 and 3 of WO 2018/033740 shows at least two doors, the at least two doors being rotatable about respective first and second hinges between a closed position, in which the at least two doors collectively occlude the at least one opening of the container body, and an open position wherein the at least one door connecting member comprises a chain (312) or a rope (Figs. 1 & 3). Exhibit A
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7, 10, 12, and 15-17 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL T CHIN whose telephone number is (571) 272-6922. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:00-4:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert Hodge, can be reached on (571) 272-2097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PAUL T CHIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3654
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