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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 2 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim 2 does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claim is directed to positioning persons at the specific locations which it does not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter recited in 35 U.S.C. 101 (process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter).
Claim 9 is also rejected because claim 9 is depended on rejected claim 2.
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 (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.
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, 3-8, are 10-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Spitzer (WO 2020/249192, cited by the applicant and the corresponding U.S. Patent Publication No. 2022/0207944 is used for this action).
Re claim 1: Spitzer teaches a security inspection system, comprising a luggage drop-off region (5) with at least one drop-off station for dropping off a person's luggage into at least one load carrier (21), a luggage inspection station (7) for imaging examination of the luggage (19), a luggage pick-up region (17) for luggage not objected to at the luggage inspection station, a baggage reclaim area (8) serves as a follow-up inspection region with at least one follow-up inspection station (25) accessible from two sides for manual follow-up inspection of luggage objected to at the luggage inspection station by security personnel in the presence of the person to whom the luggage belongs, a transport system (20) for transporting the load carriers laden with luggage from the luggage drop-off region via the luggage inspection station to the luggage pick-up region or to the follow-up inspection region and for returning empty load carriers to the luggage drop-off region (paragraph 0104), characterized in that the follow-up inspection region (8) has at least one removal station associated with the follow-up inspection station (25) for emptying of the load carrier by the person to whom the luggage belongs (i.e., a people reclaim a baggage after the baggage checked manually, paragraph 0102)), the follow-up inspection region (8) has at least one transfer system (20) for transferring the load carrier (21) laden with luggage to the follow-up inspection station (25) and from the follow-up inspection station (25) to the associated removal station, wherein the transfer system (20) is designed to transfer a load carrier (21) to the follow-up inspection station (25) irrespective of whether the associated removal station is occupied by a load carrier (21) (see figs. 1-3; paragraphs 0078-0104).
Re claim 3: The security inspection system according to claim 1, characterized in that the follow-up inspection region (25) has at least one buffer system for the temporary storage of load carriers (21) laden with luggage and the transfer system (21) is designed to transfer the load carriers (21) laden with luggage temporarily stored in the buffer system (to the follow-up inspection station (i.e., a buffer zone is provided to avoid a congestion of baggage carrier, paragraph 0054).
Re claim 4: The security inspection system according to claim 3, characterized in that the buffer system has at least two buffer stations for the temporary storage of load carriers (21) laden with luggage and the buffer system is designed for re-sorting the load carriers (21) laden with luggage (i.e., a switch arrangement can change the destination of the baggage carriers which serves as re-sorting the carriers, paragraph 0085).
Re claim 5: The security inspection system according to claim 3, characterized in that the buffer system is designed for re-sorting the load carriers (21) by displacement in at least two different, in particular orthogonal, axial directions (fig. 1).
Re claim 6: The security inspection system according to claim 1, characterized in that in the luggage drop-off region (5) at each drop-off station a first identification device (9) is provided for detecting a personal identifier of the person, which interacts with a data processing device (22) for linking the personal identifier of the person with the load carrier (21) in which the person's luggage is located (paragraphs 0083-0084).
Re claim 7: The security inspection system according to claim 6, characterized in that the at least one follow-up inspection station (25) is equipped with a third identification device for detecting the personal identifier of the person standing at the follow-up inspection station, wherein the third identification device is linked to the transfer system in order to transfer the load carrier linked to the personal identifier of the person to this follow-up inspection station (i.e., the device is needed to detecting the personal identifier (not particularly shown) in order to provide the correlation table information of manual follow-up control (paragraph 0029) when the Babbage is checked manually in present of a person (paragraph 0102)).
Re claim 8: The security inspection system according to claim 3, characterized in that the follow-up inspection region (8) has at least two follow-up inspection stations, each with at least one associated removal station, and the transfer system (21) is designed to transfer load carriers (21) laden with luggage from the buffer system to the at least two follow-up inspection stations (i.e., the baggage reclaim area (8) optionally comprises multiple separated baggage reclaim stations wherein the each baggage reclaim area (8) comprising follow-up examination area (25), paragraph 0044).
Re claim 10: The security inspection system according to claim 1, characterized in that the follow-up inspection region (8) has at least one waiting area for persons whose luggage was objected to in the luggage inspection station (i.e., the baggage reclaim area (8) outside of the follow-up examination area (25) serves as a waiting area)
Re claim 11: The security inspection system according to claim 1, characterized in that at each removal station at least one monitoring device is provided for detecting a load carrier (21) that is not completely emptied and/or is soiled (paragraph 0104).
Re claim 12: The security inspection system according to claim 1, characterized in that input and/or output units are provided at each removal station, which are designed to provide information to the person and/or to terminate the emptying process of the load carrier by the person (paragraph 0103-0104).
Re claim 13: The security inspection system according to claim 1, characterized in that a sensor unit, which is formed for example by the fourth identification device, is provided at each removal station, which unit is designed to determine the presence of a person located at the removal station and which is linked to the monitoring device and the transfer system in such a way that the emptying process is completed by removing the emptied load carrier (21) if the sensor unit does not detect a person in front of the removal station and the load carrier is empty (paragraphs 0090-0093).
Re claim 14: The security inspection system according to claim 1, characterized in that the follow-up inspection region (8) is arranged adjacent to the luggage pick-up region (6) and at least one removal station —depending on the number of persons in the follow-up inspection region (7) and in the luggage pick-up region (6)—functions as a removal point or as a removal station (i.e., a person (A) can reclaim the baggage (B) at the follow-up examination area (25), fig. 3).
Re claim 15: Spitzer teaches a security inspection method, characterized in that a person in a luggage drop-off region (5) with one or more drop-off stations drops off his or her luggage in a load carrier (21) provided at a drop-off station, the luggage is subjected to an imaging examination (19) at a luggage inspection station (7), the person collects his/her luggage in a luggage pick-up region (17), provided that the luggage was not objected to at the luggage inspection station, the person goes to a follow-up inspection region (8) with at least one follow-up inspection station (25) accessible from two sides for manual follow-up inspection, if the luggage was objected to at the luggage inspection station (25), wherein the follow-up inspection station (25) is accessible on one side by an employee of the security inspection system and on the other side by the person to whom the luggage objected to belongs, the load carriers (21) laden with luggage are transported from the luggage drop-off region (5) via the luggage inspection station (7) to the luggage pick-up region (8) or to the follow-up inspection region (8) and empty load carriers (21) are transported back to the luggage drop-off region (5) (paragraph 0104), characterized in that after the manual inspection of the luggage, the person goes from the follow-up inspection station (25) to an assigned removal station to empty the load carrier (21) belongs (i.e., a people reclaim a baggage after the baggage checked manually, paragraph 0102)), the person's load carrier (21) laden with luggage is transferred from the follow-up inspection station (25) to the assigned removal station, wherein the transfer of a new load carrier (21) laden with luggage to the follow-up inspection station (25) takes place irrespective of whether the assigned removal station is occupied with a load carrier (21) (see figs. 1-3; paragraphs 0078-0104).
Re claim 16: The security inspection method according to claim 15, characterized in that at each drop-off station (5) a personal identifier of the person is detected by means of a first identification device (9) and the personal identifier of the person is linked by means of a data processing device (22) to the load carrier (21) in which the person's luggage is located (paragraphs 0083-0084).
Re claim 17: The security inspection method according to claim 16, characterized in that at each follow-up inspection station (25) the personal identifier of the person is detected by means of a third identification device and then the load carrier (21) linked to the person is made available at the follow-up inspection station (i.e., the device is needed to detecting the personal identifier (not particularly shown) in order to provide the correlation table information of manual follow-up control (paragraph 0029) when the baggage is checked manually in present of a person (paragraph 0102)).
Re claim 18: The security inspection method according to claim 17, characterized in that at each removal station the personal identifier of the person is detected by means of a fourth identification device and the load carrier linked to the person is transferred from the follow-up inspection station to the removal station (i.e., the presence of person (A) is verified before checking the baggage manually at the follow-up station, paragraph 0102).
Re claim 19: The security inspection method according to claim 18, characterized in that the emptying process of the load carrier (21) at the removal station is automatically terminated and the load carrier (21) is transported away, in that a monitoring unit (26) detects an empty load carrier (21) and a sensor unit is formed, determines that no person is present at the removal station (paragraphs 0090-0093).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kleber (US 2013/0302118) and Bruett et al. (US 2012/0066158) teach system for handling lug gages at the airport.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEUNG H LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-2401. The examiner can normally be reached 7-4:00PM.
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/SEUNG H LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
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