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. 19/118101, filed on 04/03/2025. Claims 1-11 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 4, 8-9 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 4 recites the limitation "the cabin’s extension" in line 3, 6 and 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Examiner interprets this limitation to mean an entire width of the cabin.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the cabin’s extension" in line 7 and 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Examiner interprets this limitation to mean an entire width of the cabin.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "the cabin’s extension" in line 13. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Examiner interprets this limitation to mean an entire width of the cabin.
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, 4-7 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2017/182256 to Steiner (henceforth referred to as Steiner).
Regarding claims 1, 4-7, Steiner discloses an elevator arrangement comprising:
at least one cabin (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 3); and
at least one drive unit (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 51);
wherein the at least one cabin is coupled with the drive unit by at least one traction member (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 60) interacting with the drive unit in a drive zone (i.e. Fig. 3, space between upper and lower ref. 51);
the at least one cabin is guided by at least one cabin guide rail (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 74, 75) which is arranged eccentrically according to a horizontal direction (i.e. Fig. 3, dotted line going through ref. 76 is eccentrically spaced away from dotted line going through ref. 23) with respect to a lift shaft centre line (i.e. Fig. 3, dotted line going through ref. 23);
the drive unit’s drive zone is arranged eccentrically with respect to the lift shaft centre line (i.e. Fig. 3, dotted line going through ref. 73 is eccentrically spaced away from dotted line going through ref. 23), wherein the eccentricity of the cabin guide rails is opposite the eccentricity of the drive zone such that the drive unit’s drive zone is arranged in horizontal distance with respect to the at least one cabin guide rail and also with the lift shaft center line (i.e. Fig. 3, dotted lines of ref. 73, 23, and 76 are horizontally spaced apart from each other),
the eccentricity of the drive zone is dependent on a predefined/predefinable eccentricity of the cabin guide rails (i.e. Machine translation page 8, third paragraph: “arrangement of the suspension element strands 57, 58 is in relation to a centerline 23 substantially symmetrical”; in other words center placement of ref. 51 will depend on center placement of ref. 74, 75), and
the eccentricity of the drive zone is at least a predefined/predefinable factor of the eccentricity of the cabin guide rail, wherein the drive unit having a belt drive (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 51), the traction member is a belt (i.e. Machine Translation claim 8: “Support means (60), preferably belt-like support means”), and the eccentricity of the drive zone is defined depending on the number of belts (i.e. in this case the eccentricity is for at least 4 belts as stated in Machine Translation claim 8: “suspension element strands (57, 58) each have at least two separate support means (60)”).
Wherein the eccentricity of the drive zone is at least 3% (i.e. in this case Fig. 3, ref. 73 is at least 3% of the entire width of the entire cabin, ref. 3, away from ref. 23) or at most 6% or 8% respectively with respect to the cabin’s extension in said horizontal direction and opposite the cabin guide rail’s eccentricity; or
wherein the drive unit interacts with two belts, wherein the eccentricity of the drive zone is at least 6% and/or at most 8% respectively with respect tot eh cabin’s extension in said horizontal direction and opposite the cabin guide rail’s eccentricity; or
wherein the drive unit interacts with three belts, wherein the eccentricity of the drive zone is at least 5% or at most 7% respectively with respect to the cabin’s extension in said horizontal direction and opposite the cabin guide rail’s eccentricity.
Wherein the at least one cabin is guided by two cabin guide rails (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 74, 75) arranged on opposite sides of the cabin, wherein the two cabin guide rails are arranged eccentrically with respect to the lift shaft centre line, wherein the two cabin guide rails are arranged with same eccentricity (i.e. Fig. 3, dotted line going through ref. 76 is eccentrically spaced away from dotted line going through ref. 23).
Wherein the elevator arrangement has two counterweight guide rails (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 64a, 64b) for at least one counterweight (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 41), which are arranged symmetrically with respect to a centre of the drive zone (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 64a, 64b are arranged about the center line, ref. 73).
Wherein the drive unit is arranged such that the drive zone or the at least one traction member is arranged at least approximately at the same horizontal position according to the horizontal direction of the lift shaft centre line as the x-position of the two counterweight guide rail (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 51 and 64a, 64b are centered about the same center line, ref. 73).
Regarding claim 9, Steiner discloses a method for use of a drive unit arranged eccentrically with respect to a lift shaft centre line (i.e. Fig. 3, dotted line through ref. 23), the method comprising:
driving at least one cabin (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 3) of an elevator arrangement,
wherein the elevator arrangement having cabin guide rails (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 74, 75) which are arranged eccentrically in a horizontal direction with respect to the lift shaft centre line on one side of the lift shaft centre line,
the cabin guide rail’s eccentricity is used for defining an amount of eccentricity of the position of a centre (i.e. Fig. 3, dotted line through ref. 73) of a drive zone (i.e. Fig. 3, space between upper and lower ref. 51) of the drive unit in opposed direction with respect to the centre line on the other side of the lift shaft centre line,
the drive zone’s eccentricity is at least 5% with respect to the cabin’s extension (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 73 is at least 5% of the entire width of the entire cabin, ref. 3, away from ref. 23) in said horizontal direction, wherein the eccentricity of the drive zone is dependent on a predefined/predefinable eccentricity of the cabin guide rails (i.e. Machine translation page 8, third paragraph: “arrangement of the suspension element strands 57, 58 is in relation to a centerline 23 substantially symmetrical”; in other words center placement of ref. 51 will depend on center placement of ref. 74, 75),
wherein the eccentricity of the drive zone is at least a predefined/predefinable factor of the eccentricity of the cabin guide rails, wherein the drive unit includes a belt drive (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 51), wherein the traction member is a belt (i.e. Machine Translation claim 8: “Support means (60), preferably belt-like support means”), and the eccentricity of the drive zone is defined depending on the number of belts (i.e. in this case the eccentricity is for at least 4 belts as stated in Machine Translation claim 8: “suspension element strands (57, 58) each have at least two separate support means (60)”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 and 10-11 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.
EP 3553013 to Martini et al teaches an elevator arrangement with car guide rail and drive zone eccentrically positioned from the center line of the car;
WO 2017/179119 to Shimabayashi et al teaches an elevator arrangement with car guide rail and drive zone eccentrically positioned from the center line of the car;
WO 2017/141438 to Shimabayashi et al an elevator arrangement with car guide rail and drive zone eccentrically positioned from the center line of the car.
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
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