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 .
Response to Amendment
This Final Rejection is in response to the Amendment dated October 30, 2025 filed in response to the Non-final Rejection dated July 8, 2025.
The rejections in the previous Office action are maintained as explained below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant argues, in the third-to-last paragraph on page 8 of the Amendment, addition of a chamber element as amended into claim 1 defines the claim over the prior art reference combination of Nieminen (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0144979 A1) in view of Decker (U.S. Patent No. 3,801,026). Examiner respectfully disagrees. The prior art reference combination of Nieminen in view of Decker renders claim 1 as amended unpatentable as explained in the rejection below. The additional structural elements Examiner referenced during the telephone interview is embodied in applicant’s Fig. 4 where the perimeter of diaphragm D is fixed within chamber element 53 such that deformation of diaphragm D displaces the crusher head. Applicant’s amendments do not capture this aspect.
Claim 10 includes language which essentially equates a “movable diaphragm” to the piston of the claimed “piston accumulator”, but does not include limitations drawing an appreciable distinction between a piston and a diaphragm such that the Nieminen in view of Decker combination may be reasonably interpreted as rendering claim 10 unpatentable over the combination. If the claim were further amended to include the fixed-perimeter deformable diaphragm referenced above, the current rejection may need to be withdrawn.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-4 and 8-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0144979 A1 by Nieminen, hereinafter “Nieminen”, in view of U.S. Patent No. 3,801,026 to Decker et al., hereinafter “Decker”.
Regarding claim 1, Nieminen discloses a crusher device comprising:
a shaft defining a first direction parallel to its length, the shaft comprising an upper shaft end (main shaft 3 in Fig. 2 with an upper shaft end adjacent lower axial bearing 18 defining a first direction upward toward crushing head 4; ¶[0027]);
a bearing provided at the upper shaft end (lower axial bearing 18 in Fig. 2; ¶[0042]);
a crusher head supported on the bearing at the upper shaft end (crushing head 4 in Fig. 2; ¶[0028]); and
an overload safety device positioned between the bearing and the crusher head to support the crusher head on the bearing and couple the crusher head to the upper shaft end (hydraulic cylinder 12 and adjustment piston 13 in Fig. 2; ¶[0036] and [0037]), the overload safety device including a chamber element mounted to the crusher head (chamber element hydraulic cylinder 12 mounted to crusher head 4 as shown in Fig. 2) and a biasing device positioned between the bearing and the crusher head and configured to bias the crusher head away from the upper shaft end in the first direction (hydraulic fluid as a pressure medium is filled or released from pressure medium space 19 located within hydraulic cylinder 12 to move adjustment piston 13 within cylinder 12 which adjusts the hydraulic setting adjustment and safety system of the crusher; ¶[0063] and [0064]), wherein:
the overload safety device is configured to permit displacement of the crusher head in a second direction opposite to the first direction relative to the shaft from an equilibrium position to a displaced position in response to a force acting on the crusher head in the second direction, wherein the biasing device is configured to return the crusher head from the displaced position to the equilibrium position upon removal of the force (The “equilibrium position” of the crusher shown in Fig. 2 is its normal operating position where piston 13 is biased upwardly away from shaft 3 to set setting s. ¶[0007] discloses the hydraulic control circuit of hydraulic cylinder and piston assembly 12 and 13 may be used to increase setting s when uncrushable material is lodged in the gap between crushing head 4 and outer crushing tool 5. Reducing the amount of pressure medium in pressure medium space 19 displaces crushing head 4 downward along the first direction to a “displaced position”. Once hydraulic pressure in pressure medium space 19 returns to normal, crushing head 4 is biased away from shaft 3 to return it to its “equilibrium position” to resume normal operation.).
Nieminen does not disclose from claim 1:
wherein the biasing device is a piston accumulator comprising:
a gas chamber located within the chamber element;
a first liquid chamber located within the chamber element;
a second liquid chamber in fluid communication with the first liquid chamber; and
a moveable piston slidably disposed within the chamber element between the gas chamber and the first liquid chamber such that the gas chamber is defined by the chamber element and the piston and the first liquid chamber is defined by the piston and the chamber element;
wherein the gas chamber is configured to hold a pressurized gas such that the gas chamber and the pressurized gas are compressible by a movement of the movable piston in the first direction;
wherein the first liquid chamber is configured to hold a liquid such that the fluid may impart movement of the moveable piston;
wherein the second liquid chamber is configured to hold a portion of the liquid such that when the liquid in the second liquid chamber is pressurized due to the force acting on the crusher head in the second direction, the fluid flows from the second liquid chamber into the first liquid chamber.
Decker teaches a crusher device (Fig. 1; col. 3, line 49) comprising:
a shaft with an upper end (tubular shaft 3 in Fig. 1 with its upper end adjacent supporting shaft 11; col. 3, line 51)
a bearing at the upper end of the shaft (spherical bearing cup 13 in Fig. 1; col. 4, line 8-10);
a crusher head (cone 10 in Fig. 1; col. 4, line 5); and
an overload safety device (supporting shaft 11, cylinder 18, flow aperture 19, piston 20 and valve 21 in Fig. 1; col. 4, line 17-65) positioned to support the crusher head on the bearing and couple the crusher head to the upper shaft end (overload safety device support shaft 11 is positioned to support crusher head cone 10 on spherical bearing cup 13 and couples crusher head cone 10 to the upper end of tubular shaft 3 through its engagement with tubular shaft 3 as disclosed at col. 4, line 13-65), the overload safety device including a chamber element (cylinder 18) and a biasing device (piston 20) configured to bias the crusher head away from the upper shaft end in the first direction (nitrogen gas entering cylinder 18 through valve 21 pushes piston 20 downwardly which pushes hydraulic fluid in cylinder 18 beneath piston 20 downwardly that in turn pushes supporting shaft 11 upward which pushes cone 10 upward and away from the upper end of shaft 3), wherein:
the overload safety device is configured to permit displacement of the crusher head relative to the shaft in response to a force acting on the crusher head (col. 4, line 47-52 discloses the overload safety device downwardly yields cone 10 when uncrushable material enter the gap between cone lining 9 and wall lining 14);
wherein the biasing device is a piston accumulator comprising:
a gas chamber located within the chamber element (the portion of cylinder 18 above piston 20 in Fig. 1 is filled with nitrogen gas; col. 4, line 61-65);
a first liquid chamber located within the chamber element (the portion of cylinder 18 below piston 20 in Fig. 1 is filled with hydraulic fluid; col. 4, line 58-61);
a second liquid chamber (the interior of tubular shaft 3 in Fig. 1 is filled with hydraulic fluid; col. 4, line 25-30); and
a moveable piston slidably disposed within the chamber element between the gas chamber and the first liquid chamber (piston 20 separates cylinder 18 into an upper portion containing nitrogen gas and a lower portion containing hydraulic fluid);
wherein the gas chamber is configured to hold a pressurized gas such that it is compressible by a movement of the moveable piston (the upper portion of cylinder 18 holds nitrogen gas);
wherein the first liquid chamber is configured to hold a liquid such that it may impart movement of the moveable piston (the lower portion of cylinder 18 containing hydraulic fluid pushes piston 20 upwardly when hydraulic pressure exceeds the nitrogen gas pressure);
wherein the second liquid chamber is configured to hold the liquid such that it may be pressurized due to the force acting on the crusher head in the first direction (hydraulic fluid inside tubular shaft 3 in Fig. 1 is pressurized by a pump which pushes supporting shaft 11 upwardly which pushes cone 10 upwardly in opposition to force being imparted on cone 10 by crushing material between liners 9 and 14; col. 4, line 25-36).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a combination gas and fluid accumulator in place of Nieminen’s exclusively fluid-based accumulator as a biasing device which adjusts the crusher setting s in the same way Decker teaches using a combination gas and fluid accumulator as a biasing device to adjust the crusher setting. A person of ordinary skill would have recognized applying the teaching of Decker to the crusher device of Nieminen would have achieved the predictable result of improving Nieminen’s crusher device by simplifying the construction of the overload safety device according to Decker’s teaching at col. 2, line 26-42.
Regarding claim 2, the prior art reference combination of Nieminen in view of Decker renders the crusher device of claim 1 unpatentable as explained above. Nieminen further discloses, wherein the overload safety device further comprises a joint received in the bearing (a joint is created between lower axial bearing 18 and upper axial bearing 17 in Fig. 2; ¶[0063]).
Regarding claim 3, the prior art reference combination of Nieminen in view of Decker renders the crusher device of claim 2 unpatentable as explained above. Nieminen further discloses, wherein the bearing is a spherical bearing, and the joint is a spherical joint (upper and lower axial bearings 17 and 18 in Fig. 2 are shown as spherical bearings with a joint surface between them; ¶[0063]).
Regarding claim 4, the prior art reference combination of Nieminen in view of Decker renders the crusher device of claim 2 unpatentable as explained above. When Decker’s combination gas and fluid accumulator is incorporated into Nieminen’s crusher device, Decker’s chamber element cylinder 18 will be positioned above Nieminen’s axial bearing 17 such that Decker’s biasing device piston 20 will be located between the upper portion of cylinder 18 and the joint between Nieminen’s bearings 17 and 18.
Regarding claim 8, the prior art reference combination of Nieminen in view of Decker renders the crusher device of claim 1 unpatentable as explained above. Decker further teaches comprising a valve assembly disposed between the first liquid chamber and the second liquid chamber (flow apertures 19 and mouthpiece 22 in Fig. 1 are disposed between the lower portion of cylinder 18 and the interior cavity of tubular shaft 3; col. 5, line 1-3),
wherein the valve assembly is configured to allow the liquid to flow from the second chamber to the first chamber with a lower resistance than a flow from the first chamber to the second chamber (col. 5, line 3-19).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the valve assembly taught by Decker in the crusher device disclosed by Nieminen when improving Nieminen’s crusher device by simplifying the construction of the overload safety device according to Decker’s teaching.
Regarding claim 9, the prior art reference combination of Nieminen in view of Decker renders the crusher device of claim 8 unpatentable as explained above. Decker further discloses the valve assembly (mouthpiece 22 in Fig. 1) comprises:
a low resistance check valve configured to allow the liquid to flow through from the second chamber to the first chamber but not allow the liquid to flow through from the first chamber to the second chamber (col. 5, line 3-8 discloses mouthpiece 22 includes check valves); and
a high resistance bypass port configured to allow the liquid to flow through from the first chamber to the second chamber (col. 5, line 8-18 discloses mouthpiece 22 includes adjustable throttle bores).
Regarding claim 10, Nieminen discloses a crusher device comprising:
a shaft defining a first direction parallel to its length, the shaft comprising an upper shaft end (main shaft 3 in Fig. 2 with an upper shaft end adjacent lower axial bearing 18 defining a first direction upward toward crushing head 4; ¶[0027]);
a bearing provided at the upper shaft end;
a crusher head supported on the bearing at the upper shaft end (lower axial bearing 18 in Fig. 2; ¶[0042]); and
an overload safety device positioned between the bearing and the crusher head to support the crusher head on the bearing and couple the crusher head to the upper shaft end (hydraulic cylinder 12 and adjustment piston 13 in Fig. 2; ¶[0036] and [0037]), the overload safety device including a chamber element mounted to the crusher head (chamber element hydraulic cylinder 12 mounted to crusher head 4 as shown in Fig. 2) and a biasing device positioned between the bearing and the crusher head and configured to bias the crusher head away from the upper shaft end in the first direction (hydraulic fluid as a pressure medium is filled or released from pressure medium space 19 in Fig. 2 to move adjustment piston 13 which adjusts the hydraulic setting adjustment and safety system of the crusher; ¶[0063] and [0064]), wherein:
the overload safety device is configured to permit displacement of the crusher head in a second direction opposite the first direction relative to the shaft from an equilibrium position to a displaced position in response to a force acting on the crusher head in the second direction, wherein the biasing device is configured to return the crusher head from the displaced position to the equilibrium position upon removal of the force (The “equilibrium position” of the crusher shown in Fig. 2 is its normal operating position where piston 13 is biased upwardly away from shaft 3 to set setting s. ¶[0007] discloses the hydraulic control circuit of hydraulic cylinder and piston assembly 12 and 13 may be used to increase setting s when uncrushable material is lodged in the gap between crushing head 4 and outer crushing tool 5. Reducing the amount of pressure medium in pressure medium space 19 displaces crushing head 4 downward along the first direction to a “displaced position”. Once hydraulic pressure in pressure medium space 19 returns to normal, crushing head 4 is biased away from shaft 3 to return it to its “equilibrium position” to resume normal operation.).
Nieminen does not disclose from claim 10:
wherein the biasing device is a piston accumulator comprising:
a gas chamber located within the chamber element;
a first liquid chamber located within the chamber element;
a second liquid chamber in fluid communication with the first liquid chamber; and
a moveable diaphragm disposed within the chamber element between the gas chamber and the first liquid chamber such that the gas chamber is defined by the chamber element and the movable diaphragm and the first liquid chamber is defined by the movable diaphragm and the chamber element;
wherein the gas chamber is configured to hold a pressurized gas such that the gas chamber and the pressurized gas are compressible by a movement of the moveable diaphragm in the first direction;
wherein the first liquid chamber is configured to hold a liquid such that the fluid may impart movement of the moveable diaphragm;
wherein the second liquid chamber is configured to hold a portion of the liquid such when the liquid in the second chamber is pressurized due to the force acting on the crusher head in the second direction, the fluid flows from the second liquid chamber into the first liquid chamber.
Decker teaches a crusher device (Fig. 1; col. 3, line 49) comprising:
a shaft with an upper end (tubular shaft 3 in Fig. 1 with its upper end adjacent supporting shaft 11; col. 3, line 51)
a bearing at the upper end of the shaft (spherical bearing cup 13 in Fig. 1; col. 4, line 8-10);
a crusher head (cone 10 in Fig. 1; col. 4, line 5); and
an overload safety device (supporting shaft 11, cylinder 18, flow aperture 19, piston 20 and valve 21 in Fig. 1; col. 4, line 17-65) positioned to support the crusher head on the bearing and couple the crusher head to the upper shaft end (overload safety device support shaft 11 is positioned to support crusher head cone 10 on spherical bearing cup 13 and couples crusher head cone 10 to the upper end of tubular shaft 3 through its engagement with tubular shaft 3 as disclosed at col. 4, line 13-65), the overload safety device including a chamber element (cylinder 18) and a biasing device (piston 20) configured to bias the crusher head away from the upper shaft end (nitrogen gas entering cylinder 18 through valve 21 pushes piston 20 downwardly which pushes hydraulic fluid in cylinder 18 beneath piston 20 downwardly that in turn pushes supporting shaft 11 upward which pushes cone 10 upward and away from the upper end of shaft 3), wherein:
the overload safety device is configured to permit displacement of the crusher head relative to the shaft in response to a force acting on the crusher head (col. 4, line 47-52 discloses the overload safety device downwardly yields cone 10 when uncrushable material enter the gap between cone lining 9 and wall lining 14).
Wherein the biasing device is a piston accumulator comprising:
a gas chamber located within the chamber element (the portion of cylinder 18 above piston 20 in Fig. 1 is filled with nitrogen gas; col. 4, line 61-65);
a first liquid chamber located within the chamber element (the portion of cylinder 18 below piston 20 in Fig. 1 is filled with hydraulic fluid; col. 4, line 58-61);
a second liquid chamber in fluid communication with the first liquid chamber (the interior of tubular shaft 3 in Fig. 1 is in fluid communication with the portion of cylinder 18 below piston through flow apertures 19; col. 4, line 25-30 and 55-58); and
a moveable diaphragm disposed within the chamber element between the gas chamber and the first liquid chamber (piston 20 operates as a diaphragm within cylinder 18 partitioning it into an upper portion containing nitrogen gas and a lower portion containing hydraulic fluid);
wherein the gas chamber is configured to hold a pressurized gas such that the gas chamber and the pressurized gas are compressible by a movement of the movable diaphragm in the first direction (the upper portion of cylinder 18 holds nitrogen gas pressurized by movement of diaphragm piston 20 upward);
wherein the first liquid chamber is configured to hold a liquid such that the fluid may impart movement of the moveable diaphragm (the lower portion of cylinder 18 containing hydraulic fluid pushes diaphragm piston 20 upwardly when hydraulic pressure exceeds the nitrogen gas pressure);
wherein the second liquid chamber is configured to hold a portion of the liquid such when the liquid in the second chamber is pressurized due to the force acting on the crusher head in the second direction, the fluid flows from the second liquid chamber into the first liquid chamber (Hydraulic fluid inside tubular shaft 3 in Fig. 1 is pressurized by a pump which pushes supporting shaft 11 upwardly which in turn pushes cone 10 upwardly in opposition to force being imparted on cone 10 by crushing material between liners 9 and 14; col. 4, line 25-36. When force being imparted on cone 10 by crushing material between lingers 9 and 14 overcomes the pressurized hydraulic fluid inside shaft 11, hydraulic fluid flows from shaft 11 into tubular shaft 3.).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a combination gas and fluid accumulator in place of Nieminen’s exclusively fluid-based accumulator as a biasing device which adjusts the crusher setting s in the same way Decker teaches using a combination gas and fluid accumulator as a biasing device to adjust the crusher setting. A person of ordinary skill would have recognized applying the teaching of Decker to the crusher device of Nieminen would have achieved the predictable result of improving Nieminen’s crusher device by simplifying the construction of the overload safety device according to Decker’s teaching at col. 2, line 26-42.
Regarding claim 11, the prior art reference combination of Nieminen in view of Decker renders the crusher device of claim 10 unpatentable as explained above. Nieminen further discloses, wherein the overload safety device further comprises a joint received in the bearing (a joint is created between lower axial bearing 18 and upper axial bearing 17 in Fig. 2; ¶[0063]).
Regarding claim 12, the prior art reference combination of Nieminen in view of Decker renders the crusher device of claim 11 unpatentable as explained above. Nieminen further discloses, wherein the bearing is a spherical bearing, and the joint is a spherical joint (upper and lower axial bearings 17 and 18 in Fig. 2 are shown as spherical bearings with a joint surface between them; ¶[0063]).
Regarding claim 13, the prior art reference combination of Nieminen in view of Decker renders the crusher device of claim 11 unpatentable as explained above. When Decker’s combination gas and fluid accumulator is incorporated into Nieminen’s crusher device, Decker’s chamber element cylinder 18 will be positioned above Nieminen’s axial bearing 17 such that Decker’s biasing device piston 20 will be located between the upper portion of cylinder 18 and the joint between Nieminen’s bearings 17 and 18.
Regarding claim 14, the prior art reference combination of Nieminen in view of Decker renders the crusher device of claim 10 unpatentable as explained above. Decker further teaches comprising a valve assembly disposed between the first liquid chamber and the second liquid chamber (flow apertures 19 and mouthpiece 22 in Fig. 1 are disposed between the lower portion of cylinder 18 and the interior cavity of tubular shaft 3; col. 5, line 1-3),
wherein the valve assembly is configured to allow the liquid to flow from the second chamber to the first chamber with a lower resistance than a flow from the first chamber to the second chamber (col. 5, line 3-19).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the valve assembly taught by Decker in the crusher device disclosed by Nieminen when improving Nieminen’s crusher device by simplifying the construction of the overload safety device according to Decker’s teaching as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 15, the prior art reference combination of Nieminen in view of Decker renders the crusher device of claim 14 unpatentable as explained above. Decker further discloses the valve assembly (mouthpiece 22 in Fig. 1) comprises:
a low resistance check valve configured to allow the liquid to flow through from the second chamber to the first chamber but not allow the liquid to flow through from the first chamber to the second chamber (col. 5, line 3-8 discloses mouthpiece 22 includes check valves); and
a high resistance bypass port configured to allow the liquid to flow through from the first chamber to the second chamber (col. 5, line 8-18 discloses mouthpiece 22 includes adjustable throttle bores).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL DEREK PRESSLEY whose telephone number is (313)446-6658. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am to 3:30pm Eastern.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Templeton can be reached at (571) 270-1477. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/P.D.P./ Examiner, Art Unit 3725
/Christopher L Templeton/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3725