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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
The request filed on February 7, 2026 for a Request for Continuing Examination (RCE) under 37 CFR 1.114 is acceptable and an RCE has been established. Any previous finality is hereby withdrawn and a new action on the merits follows. Any newly-submitted claims have been added. An action on the RCE follows.
Specification
The substitute specification of February 7, 2026 has been approved.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because “one end of the first arm section” on lines 1-2 brings the clarity of the claim into question because it is unclear if the applicant is referring to the one end of the first arm section set forth in claim 7 or is attempting to set forth another end of the first arm section in addition to the one set forth above.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 208136774 in view of CN 207452772 and KR 10-2008-0000137. CN 208136774 discloses an anti-collision barrier gate, comprising:
an arm 2;
a clamping member 1;
the clamping member 1 includes a first side plate (labeled below) and a second side plate (labeled below); and the first side plate and the second side plate are oppositely arranged as shown in figure 1;
the first side plate and the second side plate are respectively provided with a rotating axis positioning hole (labeled below);
a positioning hole (not shown, but comprising one of the holes receiving the pivot shaft 7) is provided at one end of the arm 2;
the clamping member 1 is rotatory connected to the arm 2 through the rotating axis positioning holes and the positioning hole;
wherein a bushing 4 is fixedly provided between the first side plate and the second side plate;
the bushing 4 is configured to be in interference fit with the arm 2, and the bushing is made of elastic material since the bushing is made of a plastic which is elastic (claim 1);
where in the arm 2 is a hollow rod as shown in figure 2 (claim 6).
CN 208136774 is silent concerning a drive mechanism and position adjustment holes.
However, CN 207452772 discloses an anti-collision barrier gate comprising a drive mechanism 1, a rotating shaft (labeled below) of the drive mechanism is fixedly connected to a clamping member 2, the clamping member 2 is rotatory connected to an arm (labeled below); a positioning hole (not shown, but comprising one of the holes receiving the pivot shaft 4) is provided at one end of the arm near the drive mechanism 1.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide CN 208136774 with a drive mechanism having a rotating shaft, as taught by CN 207452772 with a reasonable expectation of success to enable a user to automatically raise and lower the arm.
Additionally, KR 10-2008-0000137 discloses an anti-collision barrier gate comprising a first side plate (labeled below) provided with a position adjustment hole 610; the position adjustment hole 610 is an arc-shaped hole with a rotating axis positioning hole 211 as a center.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide CN 208136774 with a position adjustment hole, as taught by KR 10-2008-0000137, in both the first and second side plates with a reasonable expectation of success to guide the movement of the arm as the arm rotates relative to the clamping member while providing a means for detecting a position of the arm.
It should be noted that at least a portion the position adjustment holes 610 of CN 208136774, as modified above, would be located between the rotating axis positioning holes and the bushing 4.
Finally, one of ordinary skill in the art is expected to routinely experiment with parameters so as to ascertain the optimum or workable ranges for a particular use. Accordingly, it would have been no more than an obvious matter of engineering design choice, as determined through routine experimentation and optimization, for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the position adjustment holes with curvatures not less than 30 degrees with a reasonable expectation of success to ensure that the arm of the gate is able to sufficiently rotate upon being impacted by an object to prevent damage to the arm.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 208136774 in view of CN 207452772 and KR 10-2008-0000137 as applied to claims 1 and 6 above.
With respect to claim 5, CN 208136774, as modified above, discloses that the arm is provided with a pin shaft 630 and a distance between the pin shaft 630 and the positioning hole (see element 311 in KR 10-2008-0000137 for the equivalent placement of the positioning hole of CN 208136774) is the same as a distance between the position adjustment hole 610 and the rotating axis positioning holes (labeled below, but also see the rotating axis positioning holes 211 in figure 2 of KR 10-2008-0000137) the pin shaft 630 connects to the position adjustment holes 610.
CN 208136774, as modified above, is silent concerning the pin shaft extending into a connecting hole.
However, one of ordinary skill in the art is expected to routinely experiment with parameters so as to ascertain the optimum or workable ranges for a particular use. Accordingly, it would have been no more than an obvious matter of engineering design choice, as determined through routine experimentation and optimization, for one of ordinary skill to mount the pin shafts 630 of CN 208136774, as modified above, in connecting holes with a reasonable expectation of success to reduce the cost of manufacturing the anti-collision barrier gate and to provide an easy means for replacing the pin shafts should they become damaged or worn.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 208136774 in view of CN 207452772 and KR 10-2008-0000137 as applied to claims 1 and 6 above, and further in view of Zhao (US 11643784). Zhao discloses an arm 2 comprising a first arm section 21, a second arm section 22, and a third arm section 23 that are connected in sequence and one end of the first arm section 21 is connected to a clamping member 6.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide CN 208136774, as modified above, with at least three arm sections, as taught by Zhao, with a reasonable expectation of success to more easily construct gate arms having different lengths.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 208136774 in view of CN 207452772, KR 10-2008-0000137 and Zhao as applied to claim 7 above. CN 208136774, as modified above, discloses that one end of the first arm section 21 connected to the clamping member 6 is embedded with a first inner lining plate (labeled below), and the first arm section 21 and the clamping member 6 are respectively fixed with the first inner lining plate;
a connection between the first arm section 21 and the second arm section 22 is embedded with a second inner lining plate (labeled below), and the first arm section 21 and the second arm section 22 are respectively fixed with the second inner lining plate;
a connection between the second arm section 22 and the third arm section 23 is embedded with an third inner lining plate (labeled below) and the second arm section 22 and the third arm section 23 are respectively fixed with the third inner lining plate. Zhao discloses the use of bolts (see lines 55-60 of column 3) to connect the sections of the arm 2, but is silent concerning using bolts to connect the first arm section 21 and the clamping member 6, to connect the first arm section 21 and the second arm section 22, and to connect the second arm section 22 and the third arm section 23.
However, one of ordinary skill in the art is expected to routinely experiment with parameters so as to ascertain the optimum or workable ranges for a particular use. Accordingly, it would have been no more than an obvious matter of engineering design choice, as determined through routine experimentation and optimization, for one of ordinary skill to use bolts to connect the first arm section 21 and the clamping member 6, to connect the first arm section 21 and the second arm section 22, and to connect the second arm section 22 and the third arm section 23 with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a secure means for connecting the arm sections of the arm to one another while providing an expedient means for disconnecting the arm sections due to damage to one or more of the arm sections and to facilitate the transportation of the arm.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 208136774 in view of CN 207452772, KR 10-2008-0000137 and Zhao, as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Brown et al. (US 2002/0076277). Brown et al. discloses an anti-collision barrier gate comprising an arm 7, wherein the arm 7 includes a reflective film (not shown, but set forth in paragraph 45).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide CN 208136774, as modified above, with a reflective film, as taught by Brown et al., with a reasonable expectation of success to enable drivers to more readily see the position of the arm.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 208136774 in view of CN 207452772 and KR 10-2008-0000137 as applied to claims 1 and 6 above, and further in view of Benumof et al. (US 2014/0041268) and Palmquist (US 2383884). Benumof et al. discloses a light sign 14 (see lines 15-18 of paragraph 21); an edge of the light sign is wrapped with a silicone rubber material 30 (see lines 1-2 of paragraph 15 and lines 1-3 of paragraph 26); the light sign is circular or regular octagonal as set forth on lines 15-18 of paragraph 21.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the arm of CN 208136774, as modified above, with a light sign, as taught by Benumof et al., with a reasonable expectation of success to inform drivers to stop before impacting the arm.
Additionally, Palmquist discloses a light sign 30 wherein a reflective film is pasted on the light sign as set forth on lines 55-59 of the right hand column of page 5.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the arm of CN 208136774, as modified above, with a light sign having a reflective film thereon, as taught by Palmquist, with a reasonable expectation of success to enable a user to more easily see the stop sign while informing drivers to stop before impacting the beam.
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Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed February 7, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually (Fang, Ye, Zhao, Brown, Benumof and Palmquist), one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
The applicant argues that KR 10-2008-0000137 the guide hole 610 has the same axis as that of the coupling shaft 330 rather than the positioning hole 211. This is not found to be persuasive because, as set forth in the rejection above, the position adjustment hole 610 of KR 10-2008-0000137 has a center defined by the rotating axis positioning hole 211. Merely because the rotating axis positioning hole 211 includes a shaft 330 disposed therein does not negate the fact that the rotating axis positioning hole 211 defines a center of the adjustment hole 610.
It is suggested the applicant focus on the spatial relationship between the position adjustment hole 4-3 and the rotating shaft positioning hole 4-2 along the line as shown in figure 5 below to better define the invention and possibly define the invention over the prior art.
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Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS NOT MADE FINAL.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY J STRIMBU whose telephone number is (571)272-6836. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-4:30 Monday-Friday.
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/GREGORY J STRIMBU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634