DETAILED ACTION
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on September 13, 2024 has been reviewed and considered by the Examiner.
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 § 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.
Claim(s) 31-36, 49, 50, 55-57 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Erharter (WO 2019198008).
Ehrharter discloses a modular railway vehicle comprised of a carriage 6, supported on bogies 7, 8 and corresponding coupling mechanisms, shown in figures 6 and 7 interconnecting the bogies to the carriage. The coupling mechanism comprising a bogie coupling interface 14, 16 fixed to the bogie and a carriage coupling interface 11, 12 fixed to the carriage. The bogie coupling interface being lockable and detachable to the carriage coupling interface allowing different bogies to be exchangeably attached to the carriage so that the modular railway vehicle may be adapted for circulation on railway guide systems 5, 19 of different types including at least a magnetic levitation railway track, as described on page 6, lines 4-8. The carriage is further comprised of one carriage coupling interface 12 on a floor 10 of the carriage and at least one carriage coupling interface on a roof 9 of the carriage.
The bogies are further comprised of wheel track engaging members, as shown in figure 8, and magnetic levitation track engaging members, as described on page 6, lines 4-8.
The track engaging members are connected to a base of the bogie via a suspension arm 15.
The coupling mechanism includes a guide pin on one of the bogie or the carriage and a complementary guide cavity on the other of the bogie or carriage, the guide pin and cavity having a tapered or conical shape portion, as shown in figures 6 and 7.
Claim(s) 40, 41 and 44 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jager (DE 10 2018 220633).
Jager discloses a railway system 1 comprised of at least two railway guide systems 10, 20 interfacing at a system conversion station 6, 8 and the railway guide system comprising a magnetic levitation railway track and the other railway guide system comprising one of a wheel railway track and a magnetic levitation railway track, as described in paragraph 0029. The system conversion station is further comprised of a bogie storage zone 18 for storing one or more bogies 100e, 200c adapted for locomotion on the first railway guide system and for storing bogies adapted for locomotion on the second railway guide system. The magnetic levitation railway track is a floor-mounted or an overhead magnetic levitation railway track, also described in paragraph 0029.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 37-39, 42, 43, 51-54, 58-60 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 45-48 are allowed.
Conclusion
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/Robert J McCarry Jr/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
RJM
August 18, 2026
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