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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 7/1/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1,8, and 9 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-4, and 7-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Advani U.S. Patent No. 6,595,346.
Claim 1, Advani teaches a method for compacting a flow of goods in an overhead conveyor system 1, the method including: conveying via 3 overhead a plurality of conveyor containers 3A, each conveyor container 3A of the plurality of conveyor containers 3A loaded with at least one good 6 in the overhead conveyor system 1; unloading automatically the at least one good 6 from each conveyor container 3A of the plurality of conveyor containers 3A into a collecting conveyor container 2A; and conveying via 2overhead the collecting conveyor container 2a loaded with the at least one good 16 from each conveyor container 3A of the plurality of conveyor containers 3A in the overhead conveyor system 1 C4 L5-18.
Claim 3, Advani teaches the unloading automatically the at least one good 6 from each conveyor container 3A of the plurality of conveyor containers 3A includes unloading into a buffer store 3B and discharging the goods 6 from the buffer store 3B into the collecting conveyor container 2A.
Claim 4, Advani teaches the conveyor containers 3A of the plurality of conveyor containers 3A are each arranged vertically above the buffer store 3B during the unloading into the buffer store 2B Fig. 1.
Claim 7, Advani teaches the collecting conveyor container 2A is arranged vertically below the buffer store 3B while the goods 6 are discharged from the buffer store 3B.
Claim 8, Advani teaches a for compacting a flow of goods 6 in an overhead conveyor system 1 Fig. 1, the method including: conveying overhead a plurality of conveyor containers 3A, each conveyor container 3A of the plurality of conveyor containers 3A loaded with at least one good 6 in the overhead conveyor system 1; unloading automatically the at least one good 6 from each conveyor container 3A of the plurality of conveyor containers 3A into a collecting conveyor container 2A; and conveying via 2 overhead the collecting conveyor container 2A loaded with the at least one good 6 from each conveyor container 3A of the plurality of conveyor containers 3A in the overhead conveyor system 1, wherein the unloading automatically includes unloading based at least in part on at least one property of the goods 6, the at least one property one of 1) good volume or 2) a combined good length and girth or 3) good weight or 4) good order or 5) sorting destination C4 L5-18.
Claim 9, Advani teaches a transfer station 1 for compacting a flow of goods 6 in an overhead conveyor system 1 Fig. 1, the transfer station comprising: a first conveyor rail 3C; a plurality of conveyor containers 3A, each container 3A of which is loaded with at least one good 6 and is displaceable along the first conveyor rail 3C; an unloading unit 5 arranged along the first conveyor rail 3C for automatically unloading the at least one goods 6 from the plurality of conveyor containers 3A a second conveyor rail 2C; and at least one collecting conveyor container 2A, the at least one collecting conveyor container 2, each collecting conveyor container 2A of the at least one collecting conveyor container 2A configured to receive the at least one goods 6 from each conveyor container 3A of the plurality of conveyor containers 3A, the at least one collecting conveyor container 2A displaceable along the second conveyor rail 2 C4 L5-18.
Claim 10, Advani teaches a buffer store 3B for receiving the at least one goods 6 from the plurality of conveyor containers 3A, wherein the buffer store 3B includes a switchable discharge element (electric shaft) for automatically discharging the goods 6 received C4 L5-18.
Claim 11, Advani teaches the first conveyor rail 3C is arranged vertically above the buffer store 3B Fig. 1.
Claim 12, Advani teaches the second conveyor rail 2C is arranged vertically below the buffer store 3B.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 2, 5-6, and 13-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Advani U.S. Patent No. 6,595,346 in view of Naslund U.S. Patent No. 3,357,539.
Claim 2, Advani does not teach as Naslund teaches the unloading automatically the at least one good 18 from each conveyor container 22 of the plurality of conveyor containers 22 includes opening automatically via 94 each conveyor container 23 on an underside C4 L30-55. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to combine the transport disclosed in Advani with the unloading configuration taught in Naslund with a reasonable expectation of success because
Claims 5 and 13, Advani does not teach as Naslund teaches detecting with an entry detection unit 154 the at least one good 18 from each conveyor container 22 of the plurality of conveyor containers 22 unloaded into the buffer store 118 C3 L19-35. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to combine the transport disclosed in Advani with the sensor configuration taught in Naslund with a reasonable expectation of success because
Claims 6 and 17, Advani does not teach as Naslund teaches detecting with an exit detection unit the goods 18 discharged from the buffer store 118 into the collecting conveyor container 16 C3 L19-35. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to combine the transport disclosed in Advani with the sensor configuration taught in Naslund with a reasonable expectation of success because
Claim 14, Advani does not teach as Naslund teaches the switchable discharge element 154 is configured as an openable base, which is displaceable or pivotable in a base plane C5 L30-45 Fig. 8a. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to combine the transport disclosed in Advani with the sensor configuration taught in Naslund with a reasonable expectation of success because
Claim 15, Advani does not teach as Naslund teaches an opening unit 94 for automatically opening the at least one collecting conveyor container 23 arranged along the second conveyor rail 16. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to combine the transport disclosed in Advani with the unloading configuration taught in Naslund with a reasonable expectation of success because
Claim 16, Advani does not teach as Naslund teaches a chute surface 118 arranged vertically below the buffer store 80 and facing the opening unit 94. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to combine the transport disclosed in Advani with the unloading configuration taught in Naslund with a reasonable expectation of success because
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAVEL SINGH whose telephone number is (571)272-2362. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8am-6pm.
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, Gene Crawford can be reached at (571) 272-6911. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KAVEL SINGH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3651
KS
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