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 § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Elliot et al. 2009/0308030 and in view of Kobayashi 2023/0140218.
In Re Claim 1, Elliot et al. teach a transport vehicle (Fig. 9) that transports a container (201a) comprising a pair of supported portions (129a) and a pressed portion (113a), the transport vehicle, comprising: a holding device (Fig. 19e) configured to hold the container, and wherein the holding device comprises: a pair of support portions (121a) configured to respectively support the pair of supported portions, a holding drive unit (301) configured to change a posture of the pair of support portions between a holding posture for holding the container and a holding release posture for releasing the holding of the container, (Paragraph 98) and a pressing portion (307) configured to press the pressed portion, the support portion has an inclined support surface (121aa) and supports a supported surface (129aa) of the supported portion by the inclined support surface
Elliot et al. do not teach the pressing portion has an inclined pressing surface and presses a pressed surface of the pressed portion on the inclined pressing surface, and the inclined pressing surface is provided to be parallel to the pressed surface in a state in which the supported surface is supported by the inclined support surface.
However, Kobayashi teaches the pressing portion (41) has an inclined pressing surface (41a) and presses a pressed surface (206) of the pressed portion (202) on the inclined pressing surface, and the inclined pressing surface is provided to be parallel to the pressed surface in a state in which the supported surface is supported by the inclined support surface. (See Fig. 2)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the application was filed to use a use a pressing portion having an inclined pressing surface in the vehicle of Elliott et al. as taught by Kobayashi with a reasonable expectation for success in order to better create a stronger hold on the container.
In Re Claim 5, Elliott et al. teach wherein when viewed in an up-down direction, the pressing portion is disposed between the pair of support portions. (See Fig. 19E)
In Re Claim 6, Elliott et al. teach wherein the holding device further comprises: a holding main body portion configured to support the pair of support portions and the holding drive unit, (See Fig. 19a) and a pressing support mechanism (305) configured to movably support the pressing portion with respect to the holding main body portion along an up-down direction, and wherein the pressing support mechanism supports the pressing portion to bias the pressing portion to a lower side in a state in which the inclined support surface abuts against the pressed surface in a state in which the pair of supported portions are supported by the pair of support portions. (See Fig. 19b) (Paragraph 98)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4, 7 and 8 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: Wada, Kinugawa et al., and Nakao et al. teach a holding device comprising supports portions and a pressing portion.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GLENN F MYERS whose telephone number is (571)270-1160. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4 PM.
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GLENN F. MYERS
Examiner
Art Unit 3652
/GLENN F MYERS/Examiner, Art Unit 3652
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