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. 19/114498, filed on 03/24/2025. Claims 15-32 are still pending in the application.
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) 15-21, 24-25, 27-30, 32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by US Patent No. 6,446,762 to St. Pierre et al (henceforth referred to as St. Pierre).
Regarding claims 15-21, 24-25, 27-30, 32, St. Pierre teaches a device for carrying a drive motor (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 102) of an elevator system (i.e. Fig. 1, ref. 10), the elevator system including a shaft (i.e. Fig. 1A, ref. 12) connecting several stories of a building and a car (i.e. Fig. 1A, ref. 14) movable in the shaft between the stories by the drive motor; the device comprising:
a carrier (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 100) with a receptacle (i.e. Mark up of Fig. 2) adapted to fasten the drive motor to the carrier, a bracket (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 110, 112, 134), and a support (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 156); and
wherein, in an assembled state of the device, the carrier is fastened by one end to a side wall (i.e. Column 3, lines 2-3: “lower brackets (110, 112) are anchored to a structural wall element, e.g. a floor slab, at the top landing”) and/or a ceiling of the shaft, the receptacle is arranged on a portion (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 138), projecting into the shaft, of the carrier, the bracket (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 110, 112, 134) is fastened to the side wall and is arranged below the carrier, and the support supports the portion, projecting into the shaft, of the carrier on a portion, projecting into the shaft, of the bracket.
Wherein the support is a longitudinal portion of a guide rail (i.e. Column 4, line 9: “An elevator car rail (156))” guiding the car in a longitudinal direction of the shaft.
Wherein the guide rail is a hollow rail and/or wherein the longitudinal portion is an end portion of the guide rail (i.e. Column 4, line 9: “An elevator car rail (156) is attached to the upper car rail bracket (142)”).
Wherein the bracket is anchored in a floor (i.e. Column 3, lines 2-3: “lower brackets (110, 112) are anchored to a structural wall element, e.g. a floor slab, at the top landing”) and/or on the side wall directly adjacent the floor of one of the stories in the assembled state of the device.
Wherein the one of the stories is a top story (i.e. Column 3, lines 2-3: “lower brackets (110, 112) are anchored to a structural wall element, e.g. a floor slab, at the top landing”).
Wherein the carrier rests on an upper end of the support in the assembled state of the device (i.e. Column 4, line 9: “An elevator car rail (156) is attached to the upper car rail bracket (142)”).
Including an additional support (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 120, 122, 148, 150) further supporting the portion, projecting into the shaft, of the carrier on the portion, projecting into the shaft, of the bracket.
Including a wall element that, in the assembled state of the device, extends at least in portions between the support and the side wall and is a sheet metal part (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 152).
Including an additional support (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 120, 122, 148, 150) further supporting the portion, projecting into the shaft, of the carrier on the portion, projecting into the shaft, of the bracket, and wherein the additional support is formed by a wall element (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 152) that, in the assembled state of the device, extends at least in portions between the support and the side wall.
A system for carrying a plurality of drive motors (i.e. functional language: capable of mounting more than one drive motor) of an elevator system (i.e. Fig. 1A, ref. 10), the elevator system including a shaft (i.e. Fig. 1A, ref. 12) connecting several stories of a building and a car (i.e. Fig. 1A, ref. 14) movable in the shaft between the stories by the drive motors, the system comprising:
at least two of the devices according to claim 15; and
wherein the carrier of each of the devices has the receptacle adapted to fasten one of the drive motors to the carrier (i.e. Fig. 2).
Wherein the carriers are each fastened to the side wall of the shaft in an assembled state of the system (i.e. Fig. 2, via ref. 110, 112).
Wherein the carriers, in the assembled state of the system, at the portions projecting into the shaft, are connected to one another via a connecting part (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 134, 158) thereby forming a frame.
An elevator system (i.e. Fig. 1A, ref. 10) comprising:
a shaft (i.e. Fig. 1A, ref. 12) connecting several stories of a building;
a car (i.e. Fig. 1A, ref. 14) movable in the shaft between the stories;
a drive motor (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 102) moving the car; and
the device according to any of the claim 15 wherein the drive motor is fastened to the carrier of the device via the receptacle of the device.
A method for mounting a drive motor (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 102) of an elevator system (i.e. Fig. 1A, ref. 10), wherein the elevator system includes a shaft (i.e. Fig. 1A, ref. 12) connecting several stories of a building and a car (i.e. Fig. 1A, ref. 14) movable in the shaft between the stories by the drive motor, the method comprising steps of:
providing the device according in claim 15 having the bracket (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 110, 112, 134), the support (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 156) and the carrier with the receptacle (i.e. Mark up of Fig. 2) for fastening the drive motor to the carrier;
fastening the bracket and the carrier with one end to a side wall, wherein the bracket fastened to the side wall is arranged below the carrier fastened to the side wall (i.e. Column 3, lines 2-3: “lower brackets (110, 112) are anchored to a structural wall element, e.g. a floor slab, at the top landing”), and the receptacle is arranged on a portion (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 138), projecting into the shaft, of the carrier; and
connecting the support to the carrier and to the bracket such that the support supports the portion, projecting into the shaft, of the carrier on a portion projecting into the shaft, of the bracket (i.e. Fig. 2).
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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) 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent No. 6,446,762 to St. Pierre et al in view of US Patent No. 5,845,745 to Lane (henceforth referred to as Lane).
Regarding claim 26, St. Pierre does not specifically teach at least one vibration-damping intermediate piece. However, Lane teaches a device for carrying a drive motor (i.e. Fig. 1, ref. 30) comprising a damping system used for connection to the support rail system to minimize system vibration (i.e. Abstract and Fig. 4, ref. 38, 40) and teaches vibrations and torques induced by the motor are absorbed at the dampening members (i.e. Column 4, lines 59-61). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the damping system as taught in Lane in the device as taught in St. Pierre to absorb vibration and torques induced by the motor and there would have been reasonable expectation of success.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 22-23 and 31 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
DE 10 2008 016143 to Cischek teaches a device for carrying a drive motor;
US Patent No. 10, 246,299 to Fargo et al teaches a device for carrying a drive motor;
JP 2001-240339 to Ishii et al teaches a device for carrying a drive motor;
JP 2001-171953 to Asano et al teaches a device for carrying a drive motor;
JP 2001-106461 to Fukui et al teaches a device for carrying a drive motor.
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
