DETAILED ACTION
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on November 27, 2024 has 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 § 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 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Umamizu (JP 2006008097 A).
Umamizu discloses a rail support member for supporting a rail that guides a movable body 21 as generally shown in figures 1 and 2. The rails are comprised of a left rail 3 and a right rail 3, each of which has a channel form and an opening facing an opening of a remaining one of the left rail and the right rail at a distance. The left rail and the right rail respectively guiding a left running wheel 23 and a right running wheel 23 of the movable body 2. The rail support member is further comprised of a separately formed yoke 2 having a left separate body and a right separate body and is used in an integrated state by connecting and fixing the left separate body and the right separate body. The left separate body has, integral therewith, a left receiving portion that receives a lower flange portion of the left rail from below, and the right separate body has, integral therewith, a right receiving portion that receives a lower flange portion of the right rail from below as shown in the cross-sectional figures.
The cross-sectional figures further show the left separate body, and the shape of the right separate body are identical.
The rail support member according is further comprised of the left separate body, and the right separate body are bolted together while being overlapped in a front-rear direction by height adjusting bolts 5.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 8 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Umamizu (JP 2006008097 A).
Umamizu discloses the rail support assembly as described above. However, Umamizu discloses the rail assembly to be a floor mounted assembly but does not specifically show an overhead rail conveyor. It would have been an obvious design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied the floor mounted rail assembly to be applied as an overhead rail for a suspended vehicle, with the expected result of providing a versatile rail assembly for both floor mounted and overhead mounted rails.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Weickert (US 2017/0066596), Kundel (US 6,499,408), Gesing (EP 3754071) and Ensch (EP 0842876) all disclose types of rail support assemblies.
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
October 6, 2026
