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 .In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1, 3-14, 16, 17, 19-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Steffen et al. US 10,344,439 in view of Oetken et al. US 2016/0109858.
Steffen et al. discloses a vibratory plate compactor (1) compactor comprising:
A handle (13) including at least one operating element to control and/or regulate the
direction, speed, on/off/idle of the compacting machine; Col. 5 ln. 55-Col. 6 ln. 55.
A vibrationally isolated frame (11), a compacting plate (12), at least one vibration
generator (6) having an eccentric weight (8) and driven shaft, both of which rotate
to generate compaction and propulsion forces.
An electric motor (7) configured to regulate the direction and speed of the vibration
generator (6). Col. 3, lns. 4-12.
A battery (3) configured to supply energy to the electric motor (7) and;
An electronic control unit (10) and drawbar (13) configured to permit an operator
“control and/or regulate the function of the vibratory plate”, such as forward and
backward directions. Col. 3, ln. 57-Col. 4, ln. 56; Figs. 1, 10.
A control lever (not numbered) see Fig. 10.
What Steffen et al. does not disclose is the use of a digital user interface. However, Oetken et al. teach a compaction machine (100) comprising:
A user interface (126) coupled to a processor (120), a memory (122), a data bus (124),
a neutral speed/direction alert system configured to alert a user when the
compaction machine is in a neutral or stopped condition on the surface being
compacted.
A controller (110) configured to:
Receive direction/speed data from a sensor (108).
Determine the position of a speed/direction control element (115) associated with the
user interface (126). [0014-0020].
Wherein the control element (115) includes a forward direction indication, a neutral position indication and a reverse direction indication of the control element (115) [0015] and determines the direction and speed of the compaction machine based on the position of the control element (115).
Wherein the control element (115) may be a lever, a touchscreen, a keyboard, a pointing device or a speaker [0019]. And configured to display/indicate the speed, direction and control element position as well as alert the user when the machine is stopped, see [0015]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the compaction machine of Steffen et al. with the touchscreen user interface taught by Oetken et al. in order to automate speed/direction control of the compacting machine.
With respect to claim 3-7, 14 Steffen et al. discloses the electronic control unit can be designed to control and or regulate the direction and speed of rotation of the vibration generators to effectuate forward/backward travel and stationary operation, see col. 2, lns. 59-Col. 3, ln. 3. Wherein “in addition to the already described components, additional known assemblies can also be provided in or on the transmit units (17, 21).
Further, Oetken et al. teaches “speed…may be derived from a control lever (115) used by an operator to select speed and direction…the distance that the control lever (115) is moved from a center position determines the speed. When the control lever is in the neutral position, no power is applied to drive the compactor (100)…Evaluation of the control lever position can be used to derive when the compactor (100) is stopped”
[0016]. Wherein the control lever (115) can be a touchscreen, keyboard or other digital user interface capable of inputting a user defined speed/direction signal. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the vibrating plate of Steffen et al. with a touchscreen user interface taught by Oetken et al. in order to improve the accuracy of adjustments made during operation of the compactor.
With respect to claims 8-13, 16-17 Steffen et al. discloses the vibrating plate includes a frame vibrationally isolated from the plate, at least one electric motor configured to rotate at least one eccentric shaft, and a battery configured to power the electric motors. Wherein the ECU (10) is configured to control direction and speed of the vibration generator (6), thereby affecting forward/backward motion and stationary operation of the compaction machine (1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the vibrating plate of Steffen et al. with the touchscreen displays as taught by Oetken et al. in order to improve the accuracy of adjustments made during operation of the compactor.
With respect to claims 19-22 Steffen et al. discloses the handle (13) includes at least one operating element to control and/or regulate the direction, speed, on/off/idle of the compacting machine. Col. 5, ln. 55-Col. 6, ln. 55. But does not disclose a digital user interface. However, Pedersen et al. teach it is known an operator control (112) may include a control panel (120)…for example a keyboard, keypad, touchscreen, lever, knob, scroll wheel, switch, dial, handle joystick, or a bezel input device. Wherein the
touchscreen can be capacitive, resistive, surface acoustic, or infrared based input device. See [0053]. Graham et al. also teaches a user interface (126) including an input device, such as switches, dials, knobs, joysticks, handles, touchpads and the like. Wherein effective control of individual components of the paving machine (100) may generally be enabled using a combination of electrical and mechanical adjustments. See [0019-20]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the compactor of Steffen et al. with the touchscreen displays as taught by Pedersen et al. and Graham et al. in order to improve the accuracy of adjustments
Claim(s) 15, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Steffen et al. US 10,344,439 in view of Oetken et al. US 2016/0109858 as applied to claims 11, 13 above, and further in view of Pedersen et al. US 2016/0063907.
Steffen et al. disclose essentially all that is claimed except for a capacitive touch screen. However, Pedersen et al. teach it is known an operator control (112) may include a control panel (120)…for example a keyboard, keypad, touchscreen, lever, knob, scroll wheel, switch, dial, handle joystick, or a bezel input device. Wherein the touchscreen can be capacitive, resistive, surface acoustic, or infrared based input device. See [0053]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the compactor of Steffen et al. in view of Oetken et al. with a capacitive touchscreen display as taught by Pedersen et al. in order to improve the accuracy of adjustments made during operation of the compactor.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 3-22 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Response to Amendment
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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAYMOND W ADDIE whose telephone number is
(571)272-6986. The examiner can normally be reached on m-f 7:30-12:30, then 6-9pm.
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/RAYMOND W ADDIE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3671 4/07/2026
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