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 § 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) 1-2, and 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ogawa (US 20190122910).
Regarding claim-1. Ogawa discloses a transport facility (Fig.1-6, 8-9; Abstract), comprising:
a travel rail (2) along a travel path;
a transport vehicle (3) configured to travel along the travel path; and
a guide rail (21) disposed along the travel path separately from the travel rail, the guide rail configured to guide the transport vehicle (Fig.2-6), and
wherein: the transport vehicle (3) comprises: a vehicle body (Fig.2), a guided portion (defined by one 19) guidable by the guide rail, at least one travel wheel (15) supported on the vehicle body, the at least one travel wheel being rollable on an upper surface of the travel rail (Fig.2-6), and
at least one rise restrictor (defined by other 19) supported on the vehicle body, the guide rail (21) is disposed in at least one of an intersecting section of the travel path or a curved section of the travel path without being disposed in a straight section of the travel path (Fig.3-6), the at least one rise restrictor (19) is configured to face, from below, a guide rail lower surface that is a downward-facing surface of the guide rail in a section in which the guide rail is disposed, and the at least one rise restrictor is configured to come in contact with the guide rail lower surface from below in response to a rise of the vehicle body (From Fig.3: 19 should come into contact with lower surface of 21 from the lower side when vehicle body glides/travels also check Figs.4-6).
Regarding claim-2. Ogawa discloses wherein: the at least one rise restrictor (19) faces the guide rail lower surface across a space, and the space is set to less than a smallest gap between the guide rail lower surface and a member attached to the vehicle body and facing the guide rail lower surface (See Fig.3).
Regarding claim-4. Ogawa discloses wherein: the travel rail comprises a first rail section (2) and a second rail section (2A) spaced from each other in a width direction perpendicular to a travel direction when viewed in a vertical direction (Fig.3-6), and the travel direction is along the travel path, the guide rail (21) is between the first rail section and the second rail section in the width direction, the at least one travel wheel comprises a first wheel rollable on an upper surface of the first rail section and a second wheel rollable on an upper surface of the second rail section, and the at least one rise restrictor (19) is between the first wheel and the second wheel in the width direction (See Fig.3-6).
Regarding claim-5. Ogawa discloses wherein: the vehicle body (Fig.2) comprises: a coupler (10), a first support supported (9F) on the coupler in a manner rotatable about a first axis extending in a vertical direction (Fig.5), and
a second support (9) spaced from the first support in the travel direction and supported on the coupler in a manner rotatable about a second axis extending in the vertical direction (Fig.5),
the at least one travel wheel further comprises a third wheel rollable on the upper surface of the first rail section and a fourth wheel rollable on the upper surface of the second rail section, the at least one rise restrictor comprises a first rise restrictor and a second rise restrictor, the first wheel, the second wheel, and the first rise restrictor are supported on the first support, and the third wheel, the fourth wheel, and the second rise restrictor are supported on the second support (See Fig.3-6).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 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 “See PTO-892”.
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/MA/Examiner, Art Unit 3651
/GENE O CRAWFORD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3651