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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This is the first non-final office action on the merits. Claims 1-11 are currently pending.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP2022-020928, filed on 02/15/2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/14/2024 has been received and considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are accepted.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 6-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hogan et al. (US 20210032039 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Hogan teaches (Fig. 9A, 10A-10B and 17-19): A rail connecting structure (joint connector 900) that connects rails (track sections 106) to be mounted on rail mounting members (Fig. 10A and annotated Fig. 18 below), the rail connecting structure (900) comprising a base block (first bracket 928 and second bracket 930) that is placed at a connecting portion of one rail (106) and the other rail (106) and is separate from the rail mounting members (Fig. 10A-10B), wherein the base block (928, 930) is fastened to the one rail and the other rail (106) with fastening members (threaded shaft 410 and springed bolt 806; Fig. 17) that are passed through mounting holes of the one rail and the other rail (para. 0092, liens 9-14; Fig. 12), and the base block (928, 930) is not fixed to the rail mounting members (annotated Fig. 18 below) and is movable relative to the rail mounting members (the blocks 928, 930 are attached only to the rails 106, and are therefore movable relative to the rail mounting members once they are detached from the rails; annotated Fig. 18 below).
Regarding claim 2, Hogan further teaches (Fig. 18): there is a gap between the base block (928, 930) and the rail mounting members (annotated Fig. 18 below).
Regarding claim 3, Hogan further teaches (Fig. 9A-9C and 14): side surfaces of the rails (106) are pressed against a reference surface of the base block (930) by use of cap screws (806) that are threadedly engaged with the base block (para. 0105; Fig. 14 shows the base block 930 having a springed bolt 806 with a cap).
Regarding claim 6, Hogan further teaches (Fig. 10A-10B and 18): the one rail (106) is mounted on one rail mounting member (annotated Fig. 18 below), and the other rail (106) is mounted on the other rail mounting member (annotated Fig. 18 below).
Regarding claim 7, Hogan further teaches (Fig. 10A-10B and 18): side surfaces of the rails (106) are pressed against a reference surface of the base block (930) by use of cap screws (806) that are threadedly engaged with the base block (para. 0105; Fig. 14 shows the base block 930 having a springed bolt 806 with a cap).
Regarding claim 8, Hogan further teaches (Fig. 10A-10B and 18): the one rail (106) is mounted on one rail mounting member (annotated Fig. 18 below), and the other rail (106) is mounted on the other rail mounting member (annotated Fig. 18 below).
Regarding claim 9, Hogan further teaches (Fig. 10A-10B and 18): the one rail (106) is mounted on one rail mounting member (annotated Fig. 18 below), and the other rail (106) is mounted on the other rail mounting member (annotated Fig. 18 below).
PNG
media_image1.png
465
498
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-5 and 10-11 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 claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 4 and its depending claim(s) 5 and 10-11, the prior art fails to teach that the side surfaces of the rails are pressed against the reference surface of the base block by use of the cap screws and rail retainers placed on side surfaces of the rails opposite to the reference surface. While Hogan further teaches (Fig. 9A-9C and 14): the side surfaces of the rails (106) are pressed against the reference surface of the base block (930) by use of the cap screws (806)(Fig. 14), the examiner finds no obvious reason to modify Hogan to further include rail retainers placed on side surfaces of the rails opposite to the reference surface. Such a modification would require improper hindsight reasoning.
It is noted that while the first and second brackets (928, 930) of Hogan may be construed as the rail retainers placed on side surfaces of the rails for retaining the rails, the brackets (928, 930) were already construed as the base block to satisfy the limitation of “the side surfaces of the rails are pressed against the reference surface of the base block by use of the cap screws”. Further, it is improper to alternatively construe the lower ledge (932) of Hogan as the “base block”, since Hogan’s base block 932 is not pressed against the side surfaces of the rails by use of cap screws.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure of a rail connecting structure: US-20120085833-A1, JP-2003283160-A, JP-2012100512-A, JP-5567459-B2, DE-102016107139-B4, EP-3771665-A1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHENG XI LIN whose telephone number is (571)272-6102. The examiner can normally be reached Mon. through Fri. 9:00am to 6:00pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Samuel (Joe) Morano can be reached at 5712726684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CHENG LIN/Examiner, Art Unit 3615