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.
Claim 24 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Redman (US 2017/0267468).
Claim 24, Redman discloses a method for dispensing nestable pallets, comprising: clamping by a pallet clamp (40) in a closed clamp position (para.0150; closed position is herein construed as when movable frame 510 is in a raised position, 40 secures the pallet stack 12) a penultimate bottom pallet (as pallets are removed by 56 from the pallet dispenser, the penultimate bottom pallet will inherently be clamped and secured so that the pallet beneath that be removed), wherein a bottom pallet is not clamped, the penultimate bottom pallet and the bottom pallet in a stack of nestable pallets (12); and supporting the bottom pallet on a bottom support plate (horizontal flat plate portion of 56) in an extended support position (fig.2d) and a movable support frame (510) in a pallet support position (fig.2d).
Although Redman does not disclose a pair of pallet clamps (40) and a pair of bottom support plates (horizontal flat plate portion of 56), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to implement a pair of pallet clamps and a pair of bottom support plates or any other plurality of support elements since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Claims 25,33 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Redman (US 2017/0267468) in view of Redman (US 2020/0207556).
Claim 25, Redman discloses lowering the movable support frame (510) to a dispense support position (para.0151) for lowering the bottom support plate (horizontal flat plate portion of 56; para.0144) for reducing stack pressure between the bottom pallet and the penultimate pallet;
Redman does not disclose detecting with a dispensed sensor that there is no pallet on a working surface.
Redman discloses detecting with a dispensed sensor (para.0077; photoeye sensor) that the pallet has been removed from the dispenser (pallet has been removed from apparatus). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide the device of Redman with a dispensed sensor that there is no pallet on a working surface because it provides an efficient and effective means of monitoring the pallet dispensing process.
Claim 33, Redman does not disclose wherein the dispensed sensor is a photo-eye.
Redman discloses wherein the dispensed sensor is a photo-eye (para.0077; photoeye sensor). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide the device of Redman with wherein the dispensed sensor is a photo-eye because it provides an efficient and effective means of monitoring the pallet dispensing process.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-23 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: A nestable pallet dispenser for a stack of nestable pallets including the features “a pair of retractable bottom support plates mounted to the movable frame on opposing sides and below the pair of pallets clamps, operable in an extended support position and a retracted support position, and for supporting a nestable pallet from the stack of nestable pallets in the extended support position.“ in combination with the remaining claim language is not taught by the prior art.
Claims 26-32 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.
Claims 34-44 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: A gravity conveyor for pallets including the features “a guide rail for receiving a subset of the legs and guiding the pallet along a length of the first end of the gravity conveyor towards a second end; a support frame for connecting the first end to the second end; the second end for dispensing the pallet from a dispensing end, the dispensing end opposite the first end, comprising: a pair of upper guide rails for slidably supporting bottom edges of the deck and guiding the pallet along the length of the gravity conveyor toward the dispensing end; and a stop at the dispensing end for stopping the pallet from sliding by blocking one of the legs.“ in combination with the remaining claim language is not taught by the prior art.
Conclusion
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/AYODEJI H OJOFEITIMI/Examiner, Art Unit 3651
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