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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the three sensors provided along the movement path of the shutter (as recited in claim 13) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 10, 11, 14, and 15 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 10 recites “while supporting both end portions of the shutter” in lines 3-4 and later recites “to support an end of the shutter” in line 7. In the context of the disclosure, it is clear that the shutter has two end portions, and the “end of the shutter” in line 7 references one of said end portions. To ensure appropriate consistency, lines 3-4 should be amended to clearly introduce the end portions by reciting --while supporting opposite end portions of the shutter-- and line 7 should be amended to reference --one of said end portions of the shutter--, or similar.
Claim 11 recites “the drive assembly is operable to rotate one of the four rotating structures of the pair of drivers” but claim 10 previously introduces two sets of four rotating structures (one for each driver). In the context of the disclosure, it is clear that this limitation requires that only one of the rotating structures is required to be rotated by the drive assembly, but it is recommended that the limitation be amended to instead recite --the drive assembly is operable to rotate one of the four rotating structures of one of the pair of drivers-- or a similar recitation.
Claim 14 recites “the shutter has a length corresponding to a sum of heights of the frontages and a length of the shelf”. In the context of the disclosure (particularly paragraphs 0041 and 0092 of the specification and Figures 2 and 5A-6C), it is clear that this limitation requires that the shutter have a length equal to a sum of the length of the shelf and one height of the frontages, and not both heights. The limitation should be amended to recite --the shutter has a length corresponding to a sum of a height of one of the frontages and a length of the shelf-- or a similar recitation. It is further noted that if the claim is intended to require a length equal to the shelf length and both heights of the frontages, the drawings must show such an arrangement. Claim 15 also recites this limitation and should be similarly amended.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Long (CN 108557357). Note: A copy of the Long patent document and a machine translation have been provided with this Office action. References to the disclosure of Long are directed to the machine translation.
Regarding claim 9, Long discloses an article shelf [FIG. 1] comprising:
a shelf (61) to hold at an article at a position spaced from a floor surface (as shown in Figure 1, the shelf 61 is spaced above a floor surface on which the assembly would stand);
two frontages facing each other in a direction perpendicular to a width direction of the shelf to provide access to the shelf (frontages are defined as openings on the front and back of the assembly that are covered or opened by the shutter 3; Figure 3 illustrates a position of the shutter 3 in which a rear frontage is accessible, and the front frontage is accessible when the shutter 3 is moved to the rear portion of the rails 1 as described in at least paragraph 0076); and
a shutter (3) to open one of the two frontages and to close the other [FIGS. 1, 3] (paragraph 0076); wherein
when moving to switch the frontage to be closed, the shutter passes through a space between the floor surface and the shelf (the position of the shelf 61 is shown in Figure 1 to be at an upper portion of the compartment; the rails 1 are shown in Figure 2 as extending below this location; and Figure 3 illustrates position of the shutter 3 in a space below the shelf location and above the floor).
Regarding claim 10, Long discloses a drive assembly (drive assembly formed by pulleys 52, belts 53, and drive motor 51) including a pair of drivers (the drivers are defined by the pulleys 52 and belts 53; it is noted that this is consistent with the term “drivers” as it is used in the specification of the instant application--see paragraphs 0044-0045 of the specification dated 7/31/24) positioned with an interval therebetween [FIGS. 2-3], the interval being larger than a width of the shelf (the shelf is positioned within the space defined by the rails 1, thereby positioning the drivers at an interval larger than a width of the shelf), to move the shutter while supporting both end portions of the shutter (the shutter 3 is supported at both end portions within the rails 1); wherein each of the drivers includes four rotating structures (52) at four corners along a movement path of the shutter [FIG. 3], and an endless structure (belt 53 forms an endless structure in combination with the shutter 3 itself) wrapped around the four rotating structures, to support an end of the shutter [FIG. 3] (it is also noted that at least paragraphs 0081-0082 disclose two sets of belt and pulley arrangements on each side of the assembly).
Regarding claim 11, Long discloses that the drive assembly is operable to rotate one of the four rotating structures of the pair of drivers, to move the shutter (paragraph 0082).
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 12-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Long (CN 108557357) in view of Zanolari (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0264487).
Regarding claims 12, 14, and 16, Long discloses the shutter, wherein the shutter has a length corresponding to a sum of heights of the frontages and a length of the shelf in the direction perpendicular to the width direction (as shown in Figure 1, the height of the frontage is defined as the measurement from the shelf 61 to the top of the interior compartment; Figure 3 illustrates the length of the shutter 3 being at least as long as the full width of the shelf and the height defined between the shelf and the top of the compartment), and wherein the shutter is circularly moved [FIG. 3], but does not disclose two sensors along the movement path of the shutter.
Nonetheless, Zanolari discloses a shutter assembly comprising two sensors (37, 38, 39) side by side along a movement path of a respective shutter (12; paragraph 0026) to detect the shutter, wherein the shutter continues to move if both the two sensor detect the shutter, and the shutter stops if one of the two sensors does not detect the shutter (paragraphs 0026-0028; when the sensors detect the shutter during normal operation, the shutter continues to move; when one sensor detects an obstruction the shutter is stopped); wherein the sensors are in a vicinity of a respective frontage [FIG. 1]; and it is determined whether or not to stop the shutter if one of the two sensors does not detect the shutter, based on the movement direction of the shutter (paragraphs 0032, 0035; the shutter is stopped if an obstruction is detected instead of the shutter during a closing movement); and wherein if a state of the shutter cannot be recognized using the sensors, the state of the shutter is recognized by moving the shutter to cause the sensors to detect the shutter (when detection of the transmitters 32 is not interrupted, the state of the shutter is not recognized by the respective sensors 38; movement of the shutter 12 to interrupt the transmitters results in detection of the shutter).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the shutter of Long to include the sensors taught by Zanolari, in order to provide additional safety detection in the event of obstructions or abnormal operations, so as to prevent damage to the assembly or injury to a person in the area.
Regarding claims 13 and 15, Long discloses the movement path of the shutter, and that the shutter has a length corresponding to a sum of heights of the frontages and a length of the shelf in the direction perpendicular to the width direction (as shown in Figure 1, the height of the frontage is defined as the measurement from the shelf 61 to the top of the interior compartment; Figure 3 illustrates the length of the shutter 3 being at least as long as the full width of the shelf and the height defined between the shelf and the top of the compartment), but does not disclose three sensor side by side in the movement path of the shutter.
Nonetheless, Zanolari discloses a shutter assembly having three sensors (37, 38, 39) side by side along a movement path of a respective shutter (12) [FIG. 1] to detect the shutter (paragraph 0026); wherein the sensors are in a vicinity of a respective frontage [FIG. 1]; and it is determined whether or not to decrease the moving speed of the shutter or to stop the shutter if the shutter becomes undetected by one of the three sensors, based on the movement direction of the shutter (paragraphs 0038-0041; movement speed of the shutter is controlled based on detection of the shutter or detection of an object in the path of the shutter).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the shutter of Long to include the sensors taught by Zanolari, in order to provide additional safety detection in the event of obstructions or abnormal operations, so as to prevent damage to the assembly or injury to a person in the area.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABE L MASSAD whose telephone number is (571)272-6292. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:00.
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/ABE MASSAD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634