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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 11-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/23/2025.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-10 are objected to because of the following informalities: The claims point to a method claim, but does not contain the language of a method claim (moving, generating, etc.). Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Weber U.S. Patent No. 10,246,266.
Claim 1, Weber teaches a method for operating a machine Fig. 1 comprising: a transport device 1 that comprises a linear motor, wherein: the linear motor of the transport device 1 comprises a plurality of drive coils 7 that are at least temporarily energized with a drive coil voltage configured to generate a drive electromagnetic field that interacts with a drive magnet 4 of at least one shuttle Tn of the linear motor to drive for driving the at least one shuttle Tn C5 L1-55, at least one excitation magnet is provided on a movable part of the machine, in that at least one of the plurality of drive coils 7 is used as excitation coil 8 that is energized with an excitation coil voltage to generate an alternating excitation electromagnetic field in the vicinity of the excitation coil 8, the excitation electromagnetic field interacts with the excitation magnet 5 C11 L55-67; C12 L1-15 to produce mechanical vibrations of the movable part of the machine, and the mechanical vibrations cause a sound that is used for the operation of the machine C8 L40-60.
Claim 2, Weber teaches the sound is used to trigger a given action in the machine or to indicate a certain state of a part of the machine C8 L50-65 Fig. 5.
Claim 3, Weber teaches the excitation magnet 5 is provided on a shuttle Tn of the linear motor of the transport device 1 C5 L1-55.
Claim 4, Weber teaches the drive magnet 4 of the shuttle Tn is simultaneously used as excitation magnet 5 C1 L1-55.
Claim 5, Weber teaches the excitation magnet 5 is provided on an object transported with a shuttle Tn of the linear motor of the transport device 1 C9 L35-55.
Claim 6, Weber teaches the machine Fig. 1 comprises a handling device 3 with a movable part 2, and the excitation magnet 5 is provided on the movable part 2 or on an object moved with the handling device 3 Fig. 3.
Claim 7, Weber teaches the excitation voltage via 5 of a drive coil 7 is superimposed on the drive coil voltage via 7 of the drive coil 4 C5 L1-55.
Claim 8, Weber teaches each one of several drive coils 7 is energized with an excitation voltage via 7 simultaneously to generate the excitation electromagnetic field 5.
Claim 9, Weber teaches the shuttle Tn is moved by generating a moving drive electromagnetic field via 4,5 by successively energizing successive drive coils 7 with a drive coil voltage via 7, and the excitation voltage via 8 is applied to at least one of these successive drive coils 7 or is superimposed onto the drive coil voltage via 7 of at least one of these successive drive coils 7.
Claim 10, Weber teaches the excitation voltage via 8 is applied to several of these successive drive coils 7 or is superimposed onto the drive coil voltage via 7 of several of these successive drive coils 7.
Conclusion
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/KAVEL SINGH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3651
KS