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 1-5 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. JP2023-169639, filed on 09/29/2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/27/2024 and 03/16/2026 has been received and considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are accepted.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “wherein protruding orientation the restrictor protrudes” in line 21. However, “a protruding orientation” has been introduced earlier in the claim (line 19). It is unclear if the protruding orientation recites in line 21 is referring to the previous recitation. For examination purposes, wherein protruding orientation the restrictor protrudes” has been construed as “wherein in the protruding orientation the restrictor protrudes”.
Claims 2-5 are rejected for their dependency on claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5 are rejected, but would be allowable if rejections in view of 35 USC § 112 second paragraph are overcome.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 1 and its depending claim(s) 2-5, the closest prior art reference Ogisu teaches (Fig. 1-4): A transport facility (Fig. 1), comprising: a rail (2) on which a transport vehicle (1) travels, the rail (2) extending along a travel path (L) of the transport vehicle in a path direction through an opening (17) in a wall (16)(Fig. 1); a door (fire door 18) configured to open and close the opening (para. 0036), wherein the rail (2) comprises: a movable rail (movable guide portions 21) disposed in an overlapping area overlapping with a door path as a movement path of the door (16) to open and close the opening (Fig. 1; para. 0038), a first fixed rail (22) disposed on a first side (left side) in the path direction (L) relative to the overlapping area (Fig. 1), and a second fixed rail (22) disposed on a second side (right side) in the path direction (L) relative to the overlapping area (Fig. 1), the first side and the second side in the path direction being opposite sides in the path direction (Fig. 1), wherein the movable rail (21) is shiftable between a connected orientation (guiding position) in which the movable rail is disposed in the overlapping area to connect the first fixed rail (22) to the second fixed rail (22)(Fig. 1-2; para. 0038), and a retracted orientation (out-of-the-way position) in which the movable rail is disposed outside of the overlapping area to disconnect the first fixed rail from the second fixed rail (para. 0038).
However, Ogisu fails to teach a restrictor configured to be in a normal orientation with the movable rail in the connected orientation, wherein normal orientation the restrictor does not overlap with a transport vehicle path that is a movement path of the transport vehicle, and to shift to a protruding orientation in response to the movable rail being shifted from the connected orientation to the retracted orientation, and wherein in the protruding orientation the restrictor protrudes to a position overlapping the transport vehicle path to restrict travel of the transport vehicle.
While another reference (JP 4003494 B2) teaches (Fig. 2): an emergency stop mechanism (150) that may be construed as a restrictor for preventing a collision of the transport vehicle (10) and a fire door (20)(para. 0037), the emergency stop mechanism (150) is configured as a transmitter (31) for stopping the vehicle, and it would require an improper amount of hindsight reasoning to further modify the transmitter to shift to a protruding orientation in response to the movable rail being shifted from the connected orientation to the retracted orientation, and wherein in the protruding orientation the restrictor protrudes to a position overlapping the transport vehicle path to restrict travel of the transport vehicle. Such a modification would require modifications to a modifying reference.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure of a fire proof door opening in a transport facility and methods to stop the transport vehicle: US-20170002523-A1, US-20190093290-A1, US-20190112131-A1, US-10988902-B2, US-11059672-B2, US-11376453-B2, US-11802438-B2, EP-0004677-A1, JP-4003494-B2, JP-2009241758-A, JP-2014190114-A, JP-2023063119-A.
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
Prosecution Insights