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 10-17 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. DE10 2022 206 751.7, filed on 07/01/2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/02/2025 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) 10-12 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Schneider et al. (US 20240227595 A9).
Regarding claim 10, Schneider teaches (Fig. 1-4): An inverted pantograph (10) for a charging device for an electric vehicle (para. 0003), the inverted pantograph (10) comprising: an actuator (positioning unit 38) having first and second mutually opposite ends (Fig. 1), a suspension device (holding frame 24) at said first end and a contact head (contact device 14) at said second end for contacting the electric vehicle (Fig. 3); said actuator (38) configured to lower said contact head (14) from a rest position (shown in Fig. 1) into a charging position (shown in Fig. 3) for charging the electric vehicle, to exert a contact pressure (contact force) on said contact head (14) in said charging position (Fig. 3; para. 0046), and to raise said contact head (14) into said rest position after a charging procedure (para. 0050; Fig. 4a-4d); said actuator (38) including a telescopic shaft (41-43) having at least two sub-shafts (upper segment 41 and lower segment 43) configured to be pushed axially into each other (Fig. 4a-4d).
Regarding claim 11, Schneider further teaches (Fig. 1-4): the contact pressure (contact force) is effected by a weight force of said contact head (14) and at least one of said sub-shafts (41, 43) of said telescopic shaft (intrinsic for components like the contact head and sub-shafts to have weight).
Regarding claim 12, Schneider further teaches (Fig. 1-4): the contact pressure (contact force) is a difference between a counter force (force of a contact spring 16 with tension/compression springs 28; para. 0035; Fig. 2) and the weight force of said contact head and said at least one sub-shaft of said telescopic shaft (41-43)(Fig. 4a-4d).
Regarding claim 18, Schneider further teaches (Fig. 1-4): A charging device for charging an electric vehicle (para. 0003), the charging device comprising an inverted pantograph according to claim 10 (see rejection of claim 10 above).
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.
Claim(s) 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schneider et al. (US 20240227595 A9), in view of Fei et al. (CN 108045248 A, provided).
Regarding claim 13, Schneider further teaches (Fig. 1-4): said actuator (38) includes a control unit (control element; claim 11) for controlling the actuator (para. 0025), but does not explicitly teach that said actuator has a cable drive connected to said contact head, said cable drive configured to move said contact head, in response to control signals of said control unit, between said rest position and said charging position.
However, another reference Fei teaches an alternate inverted pantograph for charging electric vehicles, wherein (Fig.1-3): an actuator (support chain drive mechanism 4) has a cable drive (support chains 2, 3) connected to a contact head (6), said cable drive (2, 3) configured to move said contact head between a rest position and a charging position (para. 0033; Fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for Schneider to provide a cable drive for moving the contact head between a rest position and a charging position, as disclosed by Fei, with a reasonable expectation of success because using cables and pulleys to move the contact head would provide a highly controlled, precise, and smooth vertical movement, enabling smooth mechanical descent.
Regarding claim 14, the secondary reference Fei further teaches (Fig. 1-3): said cable drive (2, 3) has an electric motor (para. 0041). Utilizing an electric motor for the drive would allow the drive to operate silently, crucial for unban charging stations located near residential areas.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-17 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 15 and its depending claim(s) 16, the prior art fails to teach a spring-loaded bearing connecting said contact head to said telescopic shaft; and a first sensor configured to measure a first measured value dependent on a force acting on said spring-loaded bearing and to output the first measured value to said control unit as a first measurement signal; said control unit configured to stop said cable drive when the first measurement signal exceeds a predetermined first threshold value. While Schneider further teaches (Fig. 1-4): a contact spring (45) that may be construed as a spring-loaded bearing, the examiner finds no obvious reason to modify Schneider such that the contact spring is a bearing connecting the contact head to the telescopic shaft, and provide a first sensor configured to measure a first measured value dependent on a force acting on said spring-loaded bearing and to output the first measured value to said control unit as a first measurement signal. Such a modification would require improper hindsight reasoning.
Regarding claim 17, the prior art fails to teach an energy accumulator connected to said control unit and to said cable drive; said control unit configured to detect failure of a supply voltage and, upon a failure of the supply voltage being detected, to output a restoring control signal to said cable drive; and said cable drive configured to raise said contact head into said rest position in response to the restoring control signal. While Schneider further teaches (Fig. 1-4): said actuator (38) includes a control unit (control element; claim 11) for controlling the actuator (para. 0025); and the secondary reference Fei teaches (Fig.1-3): an actuator (support chain drive mechanism 4) has a cable drive (support chains 2, 3) connected to a contact head (6) for moving said contact head between a rest position and a charging position (para. 0033; Fig. 1), the examiner finds no obvious reason to modify the combination of Schneider and Fei to include an energy accumulator connected to said control unit and to said cable drive; said control unit configured to detect failure of a supply voltage and, upon a failure of the supply voltage being detected, to output a restoring control signal to said cable drive; and said cable drive configured to raise said contact head into said rest position in response to the restoring control signal. Such a modification would require improper hindsight reasoning.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure of an inverted pantograph for charging electric vehicles/buses: US-2562727-A, US-11345245-B2, US-20230132562-A1, US-20230249561-A1, EP 3878684 A1, DE 102019214662 A1, KR 20190091673 A, EP 3459785 A1, CN 208035962 U, DE 102017000916 A1, ES 2587722 T3.
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.
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/CHENG LIN/Examiner, Art Unit 3615
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