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 .
This is the First Office Action on the merits of Application No. , filed on 19/114495. Claims 14-26 are still pending in the application.
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 23-26 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.
Claim 23 recites the limitation "the ready for travel position" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 14-21 and 23-26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by WO 2017/021796 to Giorgioni (henceforth referred to as Giorgioni).
Regarding claims 14-21, Giorgioni discloses an elevator system comprising:
a car (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 1);
a car door (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 2, 3) arranged on the car with a car door panel (i.e. Fig. 1, ref. 2, 3), the car having a car door threshold (i.e. Fig. 9, ref. 5), that guides the car door panel moving linearly between a closed position (i.e. Fig. 5) and open position (i.e. Fig. 9) of the car door;
a shaft door with a shaft door panel (i.e. Page 10, lines 6-7: “Floor doors are installed on the various floors of the building, at the openings of the shaft”) arranged at a shaft door threshold (i.e. Fig. 9, ref. 50), the shaft door threshold guiding the shaft door panel moving linearly between a closed position and an open position of the shaft door;
a coupling mechanism including a car door coupling connected to the car door panel and a shaft door coupling connected to the shaft door panel, wherein the car door coupling and the shaft door panel, wherein the car door coupling and the shaft door coupling are adapted to couple to one another to move the shaft door panel and the car door panel together (i.e. not referenced but Fig. 5 shows a car door coupler attached to ref. 20);
a first door gap reduction element (i.e. Fig. 6, ref. 7b) bridging a door gap (i.e. Page 10, line 1: “zone of the gap only when the door opens”) between the car door threshold and shaft door threshold when the car door threshold is adjacent the shaft door threshold;
wherein the first door gap reduction element is shiftable in a displacement direction parallel to a direction of displacement of the car door panel between the closed position and the open position of the car door, the first door gap reduction element being shiftable between a ready for crossing position (i.e. Fig. 9) and a ready for travel position (i.e. Fig. 5);
a second door gap reduction element (i.e. Fig. 6, ref. 6b) arranged on the shaft door threshold or on the car door threshold and being shiftable linearly; and
a door gap reduction element stop (i.e. Fig. 6, ref. 7a shown between ref. 7b, 6b) attached to the car between the first door gap reduction element and the second door gap reduction element.
Wherein the first door gap reduction element is arranged on the car (i.e. Fig. 6, ref. 7b is shown attached to ref. 1).
Wherein the first door gap reduction element in the ready for crossing position (i.e. Fig. 9, ref. 7b) at least partially bridges the door gap between a walk on area on the car door threshold (i.e. Fig. 9, ref. 11) and a walk on area on the shaft door threshold.
Wherein the first door gap reduction element in the ready for travel position (i.e. Fig. 6, space between ref. 50 and 2) opens up a pass through region through which the shaft door coupling or the car door coupling is moved when the car is traveling.
Wherein the first door gap reduction element reduces a door gap distance between the car door threshold and the shaft door threshold to a residual distance, the residual distance being a maximum of half the door gap distance (i.e. Fig. 6 to Fig. 10, reduction in space between ref. 50 and 2).
Wherein the second door gap reduction element moves in a direction opposite a direction in which the first door gap reduction element is moving (i.e. Fig. 9 to Fig. 6, ref. 7b, 6b).
Including a drive (i.e. Fig. 5, ref. 20) that shifts the first door gap reduction element along the car door threshold or along the shaft door threshold between the ready for crossing position and the ready for travel position.
Including a retaining element (i.e. Fig. 5, ref. 26a) locking the first door gap reduction element against movement in the ready for crossing position.
Regarding claims 23-26, Giorgioni discloses a method for operating an elevator system, the elevator system including a car (i.e. Fig. 5, ref. 1) with a car door (i.e. Fig. 5, ref. 2, 3) and a shaft with a shaft door (i.e. Page 10, lines 6-7: “Floor doors are installed on the various floors of the building, at the openings of the shaft”), the method comprising steps of:
shifting a first door gap reduction element (i.e. Fig. 6, ref. 7b) in the shaft from a ready for crossing position(i.e. Fig. 9) to the ready for travel position (i.e. Fig. 5);
moving the car in the shaft to the shaft door with the first door gap reduction element in the ready for travel position;
shifting the first door gap reduction element from the ready for travel position to the ready for crossing position (i.e. Fig. 5 to Fig. 9); and
loading and/or unloading the car (i.e. via through Fig. 9, ref. 11) at the shaft door with the first door gap reduction element in the ready for crossing position (i.e. Fig. 9).
Including starting the shifting of the first door gap reduction element from the ready for travel position (i.e. Fig. 5) to the ready for crossing position (i.e. Fig. 9) after the first door gap reduction element has passed a last shaft door coupling or car door coupling (i.e. Fig. 5, not referenced but door coupler shown at ref. 20) to be passed before the car arrives at the shaft door.
Including completing the shifting of the first door gap reduction element from the ready for travel position to the ready for crossing position before or at a time when the car door reaches an open position (i.e. Fig. 7 to Fig. 9).
Including sensing and reporting to a control unit (i.e. Page 9, lines 7-8: “safety device which controls reopening of the cabin door”) that the first door gap reduction element is in the ready for crossing position and/or that the first door gap reduction element is in the ready for travel position.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 23 is 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.
JP 5068486 to Teppei et al teaches an elevator sill gap closing device that moves in a horizontal direction;
CN 101985340 to Li et al teaches an elevator sill gap closing device that moves in a horizontal direction;
JP 2009-249116 to Goto teaches an elevator sill gap closing device that moves in a horizontal direction.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIEM M TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7825. The examiner can normally be reached M 9-5, W-F 10-2.
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/DIEM M TRAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3654
