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 .
This is the First Office action on the Merits from the examiner in charge of this application.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 3-9 and 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 3 is grammatically incomplete and does not form a coherent clause. The limitation “a rolling member, movably arranged on the bracket, and adapted to in response to the impact force, the positioning member being driven to rotate by the rolling member, and the positioning member is positioned on the server casing” does not express a complete, coherent relationship between the rolling member and the positioning member rendering the claim indefinite. It is unclear whether the phrase “adapted to” is referring to a rolling member that is movably arranged on the bracket and adapted to move relative the bracket in response to the impact force, or a rolling member that is movably arranged on the bracket and is adapted to drive the positioning member to rotate upon an impact force. Paragraph 0007 of the specification recites “In response to the impact force, the rolling member drives the positioning member to rotate so that the positioning member is positioned on the server casing” therefore, for purposes of examination, the claim will be read as “a rolling member movably arranged on the bracket and adapted to, in response to the impact force, drive the positioning member to rotate, and the positioning member is positioned on the server casing.”
Claims 4-9 are rejected for depending from claim 3.
Claim 11 recites the limitation "the electronic module" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 12 is grammatically incomplete and does not form a coherent clause. The limitation “a rolling member, movably arranged on the bracket, and adapted to , in response to the impact force, the positioning member being driven to rotate by the rolling member, and the positioning member is positioned on the main body” does not express a complete, coherent relationship between the rolling member and the positioning member rendering the claim indefinite. The claim is unclear for the same reasons as claim 3, explained above, and will be examined similarly.
Claims 13-18 are rejected for depending from claim 12.
Claim 19 recites the limitation “a rolling member, movably arranged on the body, and adapted to in response to an impact force applied to the body being greater than a predetermined value, be positioned through the rolling member” rendering the claim indefinite. It is unclear what is meant by “a rolling member… adapted to… be positioned through the rolling member” rendering the claim indefinite. Paragraph 0023 of the specification recites “The rolling member is movably arranged on the body, wherein in response to an impact force applied to the body being greater than a predetermined value, the positioning member is positioned through the rolling member.” Therefore, for purposes of examination, the claim will be interpreted to mean that the rolling member is adapted to drive the positioning member, similarly to claims 3 and 12 above.
Claim 20 is rejected for depending from claim 19.
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.
Claims 10-12, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bantle (U.S. Pub. No. 20120272478).
With respect to claim 10, Bantle discloses a damping mechanism, including: a main body (Fig. 4, fitting part 40); a bracket (extending arrangement 20), slidably disposed on the main body along a sliding direction (extending arrangement slides along fitting part 40 as shown in Figs. 4-9); and a stop assembly (Fig. 6, control element 35 with track roller 37 and locking roller 38), pivotally disposed on the bracket (Figs. 5-7 show control element 35 pivoting upward about a pivot point near the upper portion of control element 35), and adapted to, in response to an impact force applied to the bracket being greater than a predetermined value (the force applied in closing direction S, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7, to close the drawer is greater than a zero force applied on the drawer), be positioned on the main body (Fig. 4 shows extending arrangement 20 in an extended position with the control element 35 not yet positioned on the fitting part 40, Figs. 5-10 show extending arrangement 20 in an inserted position with the control element 35 positioned on the fitting part 40).
With respect to claim 11, Bantle further discloses a damping pad (Fig. 3, latch 33), disposed on the bracket (extending arrangement 20) and is adapted to be impacted and the impact force is transferred from a module to the bracket via the damping pad (Figs. 5-8 show extending arrangement 20, which is arranged on a drawer as described in paragraph 0083, moving in a closing direction S, the latch 33 transfers force of the closing drawer onto trigger 13.2 toward damper 12).
With respect to claim 12, Bantle further discloses wherein the stop assembly comprises: a positioning member (control element 35), pivotally connected to the bracket (Figs. 5-7 show control element 35 pivoting upward about a pivot point near the upper portion of control element 35); and a rolling member (track roller 37), movably arranged on the bracket (track roller 37 is arranged on extending arrangement 20 via control element 35, and Figs. 5-10 show track roller moves 37 upward toward extending arrangement 20 as well as downward away from extending arrangement 20), and adapted to, in response to the impact force, the positioning member being driven to rotate by the rolling member (Figs. 5-7 show a force applied in closing direction S, the track roller 37 rolls in the sliding direction along diagonally extending blocking element 44, which causes the control element 35 to pivot upward), and the positioning member is positioned on the main body (Figs. 6-10 show control element 35 is positioned on fitting part 40).
With respect to claim 18, Bantle further discloses wherein the positioning member (control element 35) includes an accommodating recess, and the rolling member is accommodated by the accommodating recess (Paragraph 0042, “the control element 35 is fitted with a rotatable track roller 37” therefore, the control element 35 has a recess/hole that receives an axle or other attachment part that allows the track roller 37 to be fitted onto the control element 35).
With respect to claim 19, Bantle discloses a stop assembly, comprising: a body (Fig. 4, extending arrangement 20); a positioning member (control element 35), pivotally connected to the body (Figs. 5-7 show control element 35 pivoting upward about a pivot point near the upper portion of control element 35); and a rolling member (track roller 37), movably arranged on the body (track roller 37 is arranged on extending arrangement 20 via control element 35, and Figs. 5-10 show track roller moves 37 upward toward extending arrangement 20 as well as downward away from extending arrangement 20), and adapted to in response to an impact force applied to the body being greater than a predetermined value, be positioned through the rolling member (the force applied in closing direction S, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7, to close the drawer is greater than a zero force applied on the drawer, and this force results in the rolling motion of track roller 37 in a rolling motion as well as an upward motion along blocking element 44 as shown in Figs. 5-7).
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 1-3 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Genest (U.S. Pat. No. 10448535) in view of Bantle (U.S. Pub. No. 20120272478).
With respect to claim 1, Genest discloses a server, comprising: a server casing (Fig. 1, chassis 11); an electronic module (processor drawer 20, Col. 3, lines 42-45, “processor drawer 20… in which electrical and processing elements are provided”), detachably disposed in the server casing along a sliding direction (Fig. 1 shows processor drawer 20 is pulled out from chassis 11 via rails 12); and a damping mechanism, including: a bracket (rail 12), slidably disposed on the server casing along the sliding direction (Col. 3, lines 57-58, “the rails 12 are pulled outwardly from the interior space 110” of chassis 11).
Genest fails to disclose a stop assembly, pivotally disposed on the bracket, and adapted to, in response to an impact force of the electronic module to the bracket being greater than a predetermined value, be positioned on the server casing.
Bantle discloses a damping mechanism (Abstract, “sliding arrangement” comprised of extending arrangement 20, housing 10, and fitting part 40), including: a bracket (Fig. 4, extending arrangement 20), slidably disposed on an enclosure along the sliding direction (extending arrangement 20 slides along housing 10 and fitting part 40 “each of which is mountable on a housing enclosure” as described in Paragraph 0038); and a stop assembly (Fig. 6, control element 35 with track roller 37), pivotally disposed on the bracket (Figs. 5-7 show control element 35 pivoting upward about a pivot point near the upper portion of control element 35), and adapted to, in response to an impact force of the electronic module to the bracket being greater than a predetermined value (the force applied in closing direction S, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7, to close the drawer is greater than a zero force applied on the drawer), be positioned on a main body (Fig. 4 shows extending arrangement 20 in an extended position with the control element 35 not yet positioned on the fitting part 40, Figs. 5-10 show extending arrangement 20 in an inserted position with the control element 35 positioned on the fitting part 40).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention of Genest by replacing the rails with a sliding arrangement, such as taught by Bantle, in order to easily extract the processor drawer without the need of drawer handles (paragraph 0014,0030), and to further eliminate the need for users to exert a substantial grasping or pulling force on the drawer to extract the drawer from the chassis.
With respect to claim 2, Genest in view of Bantle discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination (Bantle) further discloses the damping mechanism (sliding arrangement comprised of extending arrangement 20, housing 10, and fitting part 40) further comprises a damping pad (Fig. 3, latch 33) disposed on the bracket (extending arrangement 20) and adapted to be impacted by the electronic module (Genest, processor drawer 20) and the impact force is transferred from the electronic module to the bracket via the damping pad (Figs. 5-8 show extending arrangement 20, which has been modified to carry the processor drawer of Genest, moving in a closing direction S, the latch 33 transfers force of the closing drawer onto trigger 13.2 toward damper 12).
With respect to claim 3, Genest in view of Bantle discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination (Bantle) further discloses wherein the stop assembly (control element 35 with track roller 37) comprises: a positioning member (control element 35), pivotally connected to the bracket (Figs. 5-7 show control element 35 pivoting upward about a pivot point near the upper portion of control element 35); and a rolling member (track roller 37), movably arranged on the bracket (track roller 37 is arranged on extending arrangement 20 via control element 35, and Figs. 5-10 show track roller moves 37 upward toward extending arrangement 20 as well as downward away from extending arrangement 20), and adapted to in response to the impact force, the positioning member being driven to rotate by the rolling member (Figs. 5-7 show a force applied in closing direction S, the track roller 37 rolls in the sliding direction along diagonally extending blocking element 44, which causes the control element 35 to pivot upward), and the positioning member is positioned on the server casing (Figs. 6-10 show control element 35 is positioned on fitting part 40 which has been modified in claim 1 to be mounted onto the chassis of Genest).
With respect to claim 9, Genest in view of Bantle discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination (Bantle) further discloses wherein the positioning member (control element 35) has an accommodating recess, and the rolling member is accommodated by the accommodating recess (Paragraph 0042, “the control element 35 is fitted with a rotatable track roller 37” therefore, the control element 35 has a recess/hole that receives an axle or other attachment part that allows the track roller 37 to be fitted onto the control element 35).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-8, 13-17, and 20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 4 would be allowable for disclosing the bracket has a leaning portion, leaned against by the rolling member, and the impact force is transferred to the rolling member via the leaning portion, and the rolling member is moved toward the positioning member by the impact force.
Genest in view of Bantle fails to discloses a leaning portion of the bracket (extending arrangement 20) that is leaned against by the rolling member (track roller 37). The track roller of Genest in view of Bantle leans against various portions of the fitting part 40, but fails to lean against or contact any portion of the extending arrangement 20. The combination further fails to disclose the rolling member (track roller 37) is moved toward the positioning member (control element 35).
Claim 5 would be allowable for disclosing the stop assembly further comprises a guide member, disposed on the bracket and having a guide groove, and the rolling member is disposed in the guide groove and is moved towards the positioning member through guidance of the guide groove.
Genest in view of Bantle fails to disclose a guide member disposed on the bracket (extending portion 35) and having a guide groove. The combination further fails to disclose the rolling member (track roller 37) is moved towards the positioning member (control element 35) though the guidance of the guide groove. The track roller of Bantle is fixed to an end of the control element and is therefore not capable of being moved towards the control element.
Claim 6 would be allowable for depending from claim 5.
Claim 7 would be allowable for disclosing the server casing includes a slot having a first section and a second section connected with each other, the first section is extended along the sliding direction, and the second section is extended in a direction not parallel to the sliding direction, the positioning member has a column portion slidably installed in the slot and moved along the first section as the bracket is moved along the sliding direction, and the positioning member is rotated by the rolling member being driven, and the column portion is moved into the second section, the positioning member is prevented from being moved in the sliding direction.
Genest in view of Bantle fails to disclose a slot on the server casing (chassis 11) having first and second sections, the positioning member (control element 35) having a column portion slidably installed in the slot, and the column portion being movable along the first and second sections. It would be improper hindsight to modify Genest in view of Bantle to include a slot on the server casing and further rearrange the positioning member to be installed in the slot.
Claim 8 would be allowable for disclosing the damping mechanism further comprises an elastic member connected between the bracket and the server casing, and an elastic force of the elastic member is resisted by the bracket moved in the sliding direction, and the bracket is restored by the elastic force of the elastic member.
Genest in view of Bantle discloses an elastic member (Bantle, spring 14) connected between the bracket and the server casing (one end of the spring 14 connects to extending portion 20 via latch 33, trigger 13.2, and follower 13.4, the other end of the spring 14 connects to housing 10 which has been modified to be mounted on the server chassis 11 of Genest) however the elastic force of the elastic member (spring 14) is not disclosed to be resisted by the bracket (extending portion 20) moving in a sliding direction (closing direction S), instead the spring is disclosed to be in tension when the extending portion is pulled in the opening direction O and is driven by the force of the spring to move in the retracted/closing direction S (Paragraph 0054, “spring 14 can pull coupling piece 13 back into the retracted position”).
Claim 13 would be allowable for the same reason as claim 4.
Claim 14 would be allowable for the same reason as claim 5.
Claim 15 would be allowable for depending from claim 14.
Claim 16 would be allowable for the same reason as claim 7.
Claim 17 would be allowable for the same reason as claim 8.
Claim 20 would be allowable for the same reason as claims 5 and 14.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH IRENE ARTALEJO whose telephone number is (571)272-4292. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-6.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel Troy can be reached at (571) 270-3742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/E.I.A./Examiner, Art Unit 3637 /JANET M WILKENS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637