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 § 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 55 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tratch (US Patent 9,637,322).
Regarding claim 55, Tratch discloses a belt conveyor comprising:
an intake end (3A);
a discharge end (3B);
a body (3) extending between the intake end and the discharge end;
a frame (5) having ground wheels (7), the frame positioning the body in an inclined orientation;
a hopper (13) provided at an intake end, the hopper having an upper end and a lower end;
a transition section (51) having a first side wall (51R) and a second side wall (51L), the transition section positioned between the hopper and the body;
a belt (15) having a first edge and a second edge, the belt traveling along a travel path in the belt conveyor, the belt traveling through an upper run in the hopper, over a top s-roller (19A), under a bottom s-roller (19B), through the transition section, up an upper run in the body to the discharge end and down a return run, through a lower run in the hopper and back to the upper run in the hopper.
Claims 56, 57, 61 and 63 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Robins (US Patent 810,510).
Regarding claim 56, Robins discloses a belt (fig 5 or 6) for a belt conveyor, the belt comprising:
edges;
a top surface having pairs of adjacent ridges (g or i) provided on the top surface, each ridge having a pair of arms extending from a point, in a travel direction of the belt,
wherein each pair of adjacent ridges define a v-channel on the top surface of the belt (fig 5 or 6); and
a bottom surface (fig 1); and
a pair of side ridges (a) enclosing the v-channels.
Regarding claim 57, Robins also discloses the point is positioned in substantially a center of the top surface of the belt (fig 5 or 6).
Regarding claim 61, Robins also discloses the pair of side ridges are oriented substantially parallel to the travel direction of the belt (fig 5 or 6).
Regarding claim 63, Robins also discloses the bottom surface of the belt is flat (fig 1).
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.
Claims 58-60 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Robins as applied to claim 56 above, and further in view of Adey (US Patent 3,756,382).
Robins discloses all of the limitations of claim 56 above, but do not explicitly disclose (claim 58) the pair of arms of one of the plurality of the ridges, on the top surface of the belt, extend at an angle of substantially 35 degrees from an axis perpendicular to the travel direction of the belt and (claim 59) the pair of arms of one of the plurality of the ridges, on the top surface of the belt, extend at an angle between 25 degrees and 45 degrees from an axis perpendicular to the travel direction of the belt
and (claim 60) the pair of arms of one of the plurality of the ridges, on the top surface of the belt, extend at an angle between 15 degrees and 55 degrees from an axis perpendicular to the travel direction of the belt.
Regarding claim 59, Adey teaches the pair of arms of one of the plurality of the ridges, on the top surface of the belt, extend at an angle between 25 degrees and 45 degrees from an axis perpendicular to the travel direction of the belt (45 degrees; col 2, lines 4-8).
Regarding claim 60, Adey also teaches the pair of arms of one of the plurality of the ridges, on the top surface of the belt, extend at an angle between 15 degrees and 55 degrees from an axis perpendicular to the travel direction of the belt (45 degrees; col 2, lines 4-8).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the belt of the belt conveyor as taught by Robins to include the pair of arms of one of the plurality of the ridges, on the top surface of the belt, extend at an angle between 25 degrees and 45 degrees from an axis perpendicular to the travel direction of the belt and the pair of arms of one of the plurality of the ridges, on the top surface of the belt, extend at an angle between 15 degrees and 55 degrees from an axis perpendicular to the travel direction of the belt as taught by Adey in order to prevent conveyed materials from sliding down the belt (col 1, lines 7-17).
Regarding claim 58, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to design the pair of arms of the plurality of adjacent ridges to extend at an angle of substantially 35 degrees for an axis perpendicularly to the travel direction of the belt to optimize conveying based on the desired application, since a prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges or amounts do not overlap with the prior art but are merely close (In re Scherl, 156 F.2d 72, 74-75, 70 USPQ 204, 205-206 (CCPA 1946) (prior art showed an angle in a groove of up to 90° and an applicant claimed an angle of no less than 120°; MPEP 2114.05).
Claim 62 is are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Robins as applied to claim 56 above and further in view of Marler (US Patent 5,456,067).
Robins as discloses all of the limitations of claim 56 above, but does not explicitly disclose (claim 62) the belt is formed of an oil resistant material.
Regarding claim 62, Marler teaches a belt formed of an oil resistant material (col 2, lines 38-43).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the belt of the belt conveyor of Robins to be formed of an oil resistant material as taught by Marler in order to resist cracking and belt failure due to oil impregnation (col 2, lines 38-43).
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 Keith R Campbell whose telephone number is (571)270-1015. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:00pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gene Crawford can be reached at (571) 272-6911. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/KRC/Examiner, Art Unit 3651 1/20/2026
/GENE O CRAWFORD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3651