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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the pivotable arm of claim 8 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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) 1-4 and 8-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hamann et al. (EP 4,218,401).
Hamann et al. show a conveyor system 2 which has side walls and uprights, two or more lane dividers 6, rails 16 positioned between the uprights and a scissor mechanism 18 positioned along the rails and connected to the lane dividers 6 wherein the scissor mechanism can independently adjust lane width 24 from an offset distance.
Re claim 2, shown is a slide which moves along rails 16.
Re claim 3, the lane width is adjusted with the scissor mechanism 18 and the offset by a sliding motion. See Figures 5 and 6.
Re claim 4, lane width and offset are independently adjusted.
Re claim 8, inherent is the ability to use a directional arm if so desired.
Re claim 9, disclosed is the use of a motor for moving the scissor mechanism.
Re claim 10, a hand crank may be used to move the scissor mechanism.
Re claim 11, the lane dividers are maintained at equal spacings.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7 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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Willnhammer (CN 220265116) shows a scissor mechanism for adjusting a width of lane dividers.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES R BIDWELL whose telephone number is (571)272-6910. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8 to 4.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gene Crawford, can be reached at telephone number (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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/JAMES R BIDWELL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3651 02/02/2026