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 .
This is the first action on the merits of application 18/887,713. Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
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.
(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.
Claims 1-2, 7-10, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/102(a)(2) as being anticipated by WO 2018207323 A1 (Nakaya et al.).
Regarding claim 1, Nakaya et al. disclose:
A distance sensor device (32) for monitoring a lock clearance (gap with width w1, figure 5) of an elevator door locking device (13) of an elevator car door operator (figure 2), the distance sensor device being arranged to one of the following:
a static structure of the elevator door operator or a hanger plate (32 is arranged to hanger plate 34, figure 2) of the elevator car door operator,
wherein the distance sensor device (34) is configured to obtain distance data in a direction parallel to the lock clearance of the elevator door lock device (horizontal direction), when the elevator door is locked by the elevator door locking device, and
wherein the obtained distance data represents the lock clearance of the elevator door locking device (between 23 and 25).
Regarding claim 2, Nakaya et al. further disclose:
wherein the lock clearance of the elevator door locking device is defined by a distance between a lock latch (25) of the elevator door locking device (13) attached to the hanger plate (34, figure 2) of the elevator door operator and a lock counterpart (23) of the elevator door locking device (108) attached to the static structure (24) of the elevator door operator.
Regarding claim 7, Nakaya et al. further disclose:
further configured to obtain close end signal data indicating that the elevator door is closed (page 6 of the attached machine translation, paragraph 5, lines 2-6).
Regarding claim 8, Nakaya et al. further disclose:
An elevator car door operator comprising:
an electric motor (29),
a door control unit (7),
at least one hanger plate (16) for carrying at least one elevator door panel (15);
an elevator door locking device (13); and
the distance sensor device (32) according to claim 1.
Regarding claim 9, Nakaya et al. disclose:
A method for monitoring a lock clearance (w1) of an elevator door locking device (13) of an elevator car door operator (figure 2) with a distance sensor device (32) arranged to one of the following:
a static structure (24) of the elevator car door operator or a hanger plate (34) of the elevator car door operator,
wherein the method comprises obtaining distance data in a direction parallel (horizontal direction) to the lock clearance of the elevator door locking device, when the elevator door is locked by the elevator door locking device (figure 4), wherein the obtained distance data represents the lock clearance of the elevator door locking device (lock clearance between 23 and 25).
Regarding claim 10, Nakaya et al. further disclose:
wherein the lock clearance of the elevator door locking device is defined by a distance between a lock latch (25) of the elevator door locking device attached to a hanger plate (16) of the elevator door operator and a lock counterpart (23) of the elevator door locking device attached to the static structure (24) of the elevator door operator.
Regarding claim 15, Nakaya et al. further disclose:
further comprising obtaining close end signal data indicating that the elevator door is closed (page 6 of the attached machine translation, paragraph 5, lines 2-6).
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 6, 14, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2018207323 A1 (Nakaya et al.) in view of JP 2010137956 A (Yukio).
Regarding claim 6, Nakaya et al. teach:
The distance sensor device according to claim 1.
Nakaya et al. are silent to the sensor device obtaining installation data during an installation phase of the elevator car door operator.
However, Yukio teaches:
A distance sensor device for an elevator door,
further configured to obtain installation data during an installation phase of the elevator car door operator, wherein the installation data comprises direction data indicating the closing side of the elevator door (page 9, paragraph 7 of the attached machine translation, “The sensor 48 is installed on the side of the car door, which is a moving body, and holes 45-47 are formed at positions where detection is desired on the base member 17C side of the car door. The sensor output value from the sensor 48 is input to the door opening/closing control unit 16 connected to the sensor 48… The door opening/closing control unit 16 determines the door position of the door panels 9 and 10 based on the position information held in advance.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to obtain installation data during an installation phase, as taught by Yukio, with the distance sensor device of Nakaya et al. to provide baseline data for comparison to the operating data collected by the distance sensor.
Regarding claim 14, Nakaya et al. teach:
The method according to according to claim 9.
Nakaya et al. are silent to the sensor device obtaining installation data during an installation phase of the elevator car door operator.
However, Yukio teaches:
A method for monitoring a lock clearance of an elevator door locking device,
further comprising obtaining installation data during an installation phase of the elevator car door operator, wherein the installation data comprises direction data indicating the closing side of the elevator door (page 9, paragraph 7 of the attached machine translation, “The sensor 48 is installed on the side of the car door, which is a moving body, and holes 45-47 are formed at positions where detection is desired on the base member 17C side of the car door. The sensor output value from the sensor 48 is input to the door opening/closing control unit 16 connected to the sensor 48… The door opening/closing control unit 16 determines the door position of the door panels 9 and 10 based on the position information held in advance.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to obtain installation data during an installation phase, as taught by Yukio, with the distance sensor device of Nakaya et al. to provide baseline data for comparison to the operating data collected by the distance sensor.
Regarding claim 18, Nakaya et al. teach:
The distance sensor device according to claim 2.
Nakaya et al. are silent to the sensor device obtaining installation data during an installation phase of the elevator car door operator.
However, Yukio teaches:
A distance sensor device for an elevator door,
further configured to obtain installation data during an installation phase of the elevator car door operator, wherein the installation data comprises direction data indicating the closing side of the elevator door (page 9, paragraph 7 of the attached machine translation, “The sensor 48 is installed on the side of the car door, which is a moving body, and holes 45-47 are formed at positions where detection is desired on the base member 17C side of the car door. The sensor output value from the sensor 48 is input to the door opening/closing control unit 16 connected to the sensor 48… The door opening/closing control unit 16 determines the door position of the door panels 9 and 10 based on the position information held in advance.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to obtain installation data during an installation phase, as taught by Yukio, with the distance sensor device of Nakaya et al. to provide baseline data for comparison to the operating data collected by the distance sensor.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5, 11-13, 16-17, and 19-20 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. Regarding claims 3, 11, and 16, the prior art of record fails to disclose or render obvious all of the limitations of these claims. The prior art does not teach a distance sensor device for an elevator door that is configured to be calibrated, or a comparable method of calibration, that involves arranging the hanger plate against a buffer that is arranged to the static structure of the elevator door operator to define a change of the locking clearance. Claims 4-5, 12-13, and 19-20 depend from claims 3 and 11.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. CN-101107192-A, WO-2013140575-A1, JP-2014076871-A, JP-5948205-B2, US-20120118219-A1, and US-20200048037-A1 are cited to show distance sensor devices for elevator door operators similar to the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHELLE M MUDWILDER whose telephone number is (571)272-6068. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 11:00 am - 7:30 pm.
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/M.M.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3654
/ANNA M MOMPER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3619