DETAILED ACTION
The four (4) Information Disclosure Statements filed, and listed as attachments on the Office Action Summary, have all 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 § 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 1-15 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.
Regarding claim 1, the phrase "or the like" renders the claim(s) indefinite because the claim(s) include(s) elements not actually disclosed (those encompassed by "or the like"), thereby rendering the scope of the claim(s) unascertainable. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
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) 1-7, 9, 10, 14 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Linde (WO 2010/120236 A1).
Linde discloses a railway wagon for carrying a semitrailer 5 and comprised of
a first bogie 1, a second bogie 2 and a carrying section 3, as generally shown in figure 1. The carrying section is movable between a first position in which it extends between said bogies, as depicted in figure 1 and a second position in which the carrying section is turned out from the railway wagon for loading and unloading of a semitrailer, as depicted in figure 4. The wagon further comprises a beam assembly 10 configured to be moved out from and back to the railway wagon and to support a front portion of the carrying section. The beam assembly further comprises a pair of legs which are arranged at an outer end of the beam assembly and configured to support against the ground, generally shown in figure 1 and 4. The beam assembly further comprises a hydraulic actuator which is configured to lower and raise the leg and which is arranged substantially in parallel with a main extension of the beam assembly. The prior art describes the hydraulic actuator as follows: “The support legs 11 may be telescoped to a desired length individually by hydraulic motors therein, or alternatively one of the support legs 11 can have a hydraulic motor and the telescopic movement be synchronously transmitted by mechanical means to the other support leg.”
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8 and 11-13 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Linde (WO 2018/101883 A1), Wu (CN 104859671 A), Roop (US 2009/0095189 A1), Macomber (US 3,576,167), and Eriksson (WO 2006/031178 A1) all show various types of railway cars to transport vehicles.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, S. Joseph Morano can be reached at 571-272-6684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Robert J McCarry Jr/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
RJM
September 16, 2026
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