DETAILED ACTION
The Information Disclosure Statements filed on November 9, 2024, and November 13, 2024, have both 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) 1-6 and 8-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Schreck (DE 3420712).
Schreck discloses a bonded insulated rail joint comprised of a first switch rail and a second switch rail, as shown in figure 1 and 3, with the rail sections shown at the right and left of the figure and joined at the center. The first and said second switch rails have a first portion and a second portion, that are thinner than the overall rail width and extend from the ends of the rails, as shown in figure 1, and meet at a conjugate coupling surface and having, on an opposite side, a corresponding portion of the switch blade structure. The rail is further comprised of a foot, a web and a head as shown in the cross section in figure 3. The rail sections are bonded by an electrically insulating layer 15 between the two rail sections as shown in figures 1-3. The two rails and the rials are further connected together by bolts 17 that extend through the rails and the insulating layer. A second set of anchors 5 hold the rail to a tie plate as shown in figure 3.
Schreck further discloses the method steps of constructing the rail joint by providing a first rail having a first portion of a predetermined longitudinal length with a standard rail structure that connects to a subsequent second rail portion that is asymmetrical with respect to the first portion. A second rail is further provided with mirrored portions to the first rail, as shown in figure 1. The rails meet at a conjugate coupling surface. The structure of the rail has a foot, a web and a head as shown in figure 3.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 is 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Li (CN 114541186 A), Wang (CN 111851167 A), Nagrodsky (EP 3533928 A1) and Singleton et al (US 2019/0127923) all disclose types of rail insulators.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Robert J McCarry Jr. whose telephone number is (571)272-6683. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:00-3:00.
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/Robert J McCarry Jr/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
RJM
September 15, 2026
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