DETAILED ACTION
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the following features must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s):
The “gear” that forms a part of the lifting mechanism, as recited in Claim 5;
The “output shaft” of the lifting drive apparatus, as recited in Claim 5; and
The “two sets of racks, gears, and lifting drive apparatuses”, as recited in Claims 6 and 7.
No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
The “lifting mechanism is capable of being lifted and lowered relative to the device frame”; “lifting the to-be-flipped member by the lifting mechanism”; lowering the battery module relative to the second supporting member by the lifting mechanism”; and “lifting the first supporting member by the lifting mechanism”; and “lowering the flipped first supporting member by the lifting mechanism”, as recited respectively in Claims 1, 16, 16, 18, and 18;
The “flipping mechanism, wherein the flipping mechanism is rotatably connected to the lifting mechanism”; “flipping the lifted to-be-flipped member by the flipping mechanism in the first rotational direction”; “flipping mechanism is configured to: flip the lifted to-be-flipped member in a first rotational direction; and flip the lifted first supporting member in a second rotational direction after the second supporting member carries the battery module”; and “flipping the lifted first supporting member by the flipping mechanism”, as recited respectively in Claims 1, 15, 16, and 18;
The “first clamping mechanism, wherein the first clamping mechanism is arranged on the flipping mechanism and the first clamping mechanism is configured to clamp the first supporting member”; and the “first clamping assembly and the second clamping assembly are respectively configured to clamp two opposite sides of the first supporting member in a height direction”, as recited respectively in Claims 1 and 3;
The “second clamping mechanism, wherein the second clamping mechanism is arranged on the flipping mechanism, the second clamping mechanism is configured to clamp the battery module, and the second clamping mechanism is configured to release the clamping to the battery module independently of the first clamping mechanism”; and the “third clamping assembly and the fourth clamping assembly are arranged in a second direction, and the second direction is parallel to a flipping axis of the flipping mechanism”, as recited respectively in Claims 1 and 4;
The “blocking mechanism, configured to block the to-be-flipped member located on the conveying line or to block the second supporting member located on the conveying line, and the blocking mechanism being capable of being lifted and lowered relative to the conveying line”, as recited in Claim 14;
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 116692461 (“CN ‘461”; cited by Applicant.) CN ‘461 discloses a flipping method for a battery module (Figs. 1-13, “Implementation”, P4-6), comprising:
placing the battery module (battery module, S1, S2, P6) on a first supporting member (loading tray), wherein the first supporting member and the battery module form a to-be-flipped member (S2, P6);
clamping the to-be-flipped member (via 42 and 43, S2, P6);
lifting the to-be-flipped member (via 2/21, S1, S2, P6);
flipping the lifted to-be-flipped member via 3, S2, P6);
placing a second supporting member (transfer pallet) below the lifted to-be-flipped member (S3, P6);
lowering the battery module relative to the second supporting member (S3, P6); and
maintaining the clamping to the first supporting member and releasing the clamping to the battery module, and making the second supporting member to carry the battery module (S3, S4, P6).
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.
Claims 1, 3, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN ‘461 in view of CN 214494725 (“CN ‘725” cited by Applicant).
With regard to Claim 1, CN ‘461 discloses a flipping device (Figs. 1-13, “Implementation”, P4-P6), comprising:
a device frame (1, 11, 12, Figs. 1-2, P4),
a conveying line (conveyor track, S1, P6) configured to convey a to-be-flipped member, the to-be- flipped member comprises a first supporting member (Loading tray, S2, P6) and a battery module (battery module) placed on the first supporting member (S2, P6), and the conveying line is further configured to convey a second supporting member (transfer pallet) to below the to-be-flipped member after the to-be-flipped member is lifted (S3, P6);
a lifting mechanism (2, Figs. 1-2, P4) wherein the lifting mechanism is capable of being lifted and lowered relative to the device frame (P4);
a flipping mechanism (3, Figs. 1-3, P4), wherein the flipping mechanism is rotatably connected to the lifting mechanism (P4);
a first clamping mechanism (42, Figs. 4-5), wherein the first clamping mechanism is arranged on the flipping mechanism (Fig. 1) and the first clamping mechanism is configured to clamp the first supporting member (P4); and
a second clamping mechanism (43, Figs. 4-5), wherein the second clamping mechanism is arranged on the flipping mechanism (Fig. 1), the second clamping mechanism is configured to clamp the battery module (P5-P6), and the second clamping mechanism is configured to release the clamping to the battery module independently of the first clamping mechanism (S3, S4, P6).
CN ‘461 fails to teach that at least part of the device frame is configured to be arranged beside a conveying line (the latter being construed to mean that the conveying line is a physical structure that is located within or adjacent the device frame and is not merely a space where a separate vehicle such as an AGV can bring battery modules and their supports on a pallet, as shown in CN ‘461.) CN ‘725 discloses a flipping device (1, Figs. 1-8) that includes a device frame (Fig. 1), a conveying line (11) arranged beside the device frame (Fig. 1), a lifting mechanism (12), a flipping mechanism (2), and a clamping mechanism (21). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of Applicant’s invention, to modify CN ‘461 to include a conveying line that is arranged beside the device frame because it would provide for the exact positioning of a product relative to the lifting, flipping, and clamping mechanisms, as shown by CN ‘725 (Fig. 1).
With regard to Claim 3, CN ‘461 discloses wherein the first clamping mechanism (42) comprises a first clamping assembly (42 upper, Fig. 5) and a second clamping assembly (42 lower which is adjacent (“46” as shown in Fig. 5), the first clamping assembly and the second clamping assembly are arranged at an interval in a first direction (Fig. 5), the first direction is parallel to a flipping plane of the flipping mechanism (Fig. 4), and the first clamping assembly and the second clamping assembly are respectively configured to clamp two opposite sides of the first supporting member in a height direction (Figs. 4-5).
With regard to Claim 16, CN ‘461 discloses a method of operating the flipping device (S1-S4, P6) according to claim 1, comprising:
clamping the to-be-flipped member (loading tray and battery module) by the first clamping mechanism (42) and the second clamping mechanism (43, S2, P6);
lifting the to-be-flipped member by the lifting mechanism (2, S2);
flipping the lifted to-be-flipped member by the flipping mechanism (3) in the first rotational direction (S2, P6);
placing the second supporting member (transfer pallet) below the lifted to-be-flipped member (S3, P6);
lowering the battery module relative to the second supporting member by the lifting mechanism (S3, P6); and
maintaining the clamping of the first clamping mechanism to the first supporting member and releasing the clamping of the second clamping mechanism to the battery module, and making the second supporting member to carry the battery module (S3, S4, P6).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4-15, and 17-19 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. US 2015/0118002 discloses a flipping device (100, Figs. 1-6) having a device frame (30, 50), a conveying mechanism (10), a lifting mechanism (71), a flipping mechanism 73), and a clamping mechanism (95).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LYNN E SCHWENNING whose telephone number is (313)446-4861. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 5 pm EST.
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/LYNN E SCHWENNING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3652