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 .
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.
Claims 1-2, 5, 7-9 and 12-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamaji (US 2015/0075148 A1) hereinafter Yamaji.
Regarding Claims 1 Yamaji teaches a device (10) for controlling a hydraulic pump (10) , comprising - a hydraulic fluid reservoir (Fig 2), a hydraulic pump (10) having one inlet (See Fig below) and one outlet (See Fig below) , where in to the inlet (See Fig below) is connected to the hydraulic fluid reservoir (Fig 2) by means of a first low-pressure line (Fig 2), the outlet (See Fig below) is connected to a high-pressure line (See Fig below) to which a consumer (6) can be connected (Fig 2), an adjustment unit (12) interacting with the hydraulic pump (10) and with which the delivery volume of the hydraulic pump (10) can be changed, the adjustment unit (12) being arranged in a high-pressure secondary line (See Fig below) connected to the high-pressure line (See Fig below), a high-pressure seat valve (14) arranged in the high-pressure secondary line (See Fig below) and interacting with the adjustment unit (12), a sensor (18) with which an actual value of at least one characteristic variable that can be influenced by the delivery volume of the hydraulic pump (10) can be detected, an actuator (1, 2) with which a target value of the characteristic variable can be specified, and a control device (20) which interacts with the sensor (18) and the actuator (1, 2) such that the high-pressure seat valve (14) can be activated taking into account the actual value detected by the sensor (18) and the target value specified by the actuator (1, 2) (See Fig 2).
Regarding Claims 2 and 8 Yamaji teaches the adjustment unit (12) comprises an actuating cylinder (12) or is designed as an actuating cylinder (12), wherein a piston (see Fig below) is slidably mounted in the actuating cylinder (12), the piston (see Fig below) divides the actuating cylinder (12) into a first pressure chamber (Fig 2) and a second pressure chamber (Fig 2), the first pressure chamber (Fig 2) is connected to the high-pressure line (See Fig below) by means of the high-pressure secondary line (See Fig below) and a working line (See Fig below), the second pressure chamber (Fig 2) is connected to the hydraulic fluid reservoir (Fig 2) by means of a second low-pressure line (See Fig below), and the piston (See Fig below) is biased against the first pressure chamber (Fig 1) with a counter-piston (piston rod) (See Fig below).
Regarding Claim 5 Yamaji teaches the high- pressure seat valve (14) is designed as a high-pressure seat valve having an integrated pressure limiting function (Fig 2).
Regarding Claim 7 Yamaji teaches A device (10) for controlling a hydraulic pump (10), comprising - a hydraulic fluid reservoir (18),- a hydraulic pump (10) having one inlet (See Fig below) and one outlet (22), wherein the inlet (See Fig below) is connected to the hydraulic fluid reservoir (Fig 2) by means of a first low-pressure line (Fig 2), the outlet (See Fig below) is connected to a high-pressure line (See Fig below) to which a consumer (6) can be connected, an adjustment unit (12) interacting with the hydraulic pump (10) and with which the delivery volume of the hydraulic pump (10) can be changed, the adjustment unit (12) being arranged in a high-pressure secondary line (See Fig below) connected to the high-pressure line (See Fig below), a secondary low-pressure line (See Fig below) branching off from the high-pressure secondary line (See Fig below), a low-pressure seat valve (see Fig 10, See Fig below) arranged in the secondary low-pressure line (see Fig below) and interacting with the adjustment unit, - a sensor (18) with which an actual value of at least one characteristic variable that can be influenced by the delivery volume of the hydraulic pump (10) and relates to the consumer (6) can be detected, an actuator (1, 2) with which a target value of the characteristic variable can be specified, and - a control device (20) which interacts with the sensor (18) and the actuator (1, 2) such that the low-pressure seat valve can be activated taking into account the actual value detected by the sensor (18) and the target value specified by the actuator (46) (Fig 2 and 10).
Regarding Claim 9 Yamaji teaches a fixed or variable high-pressure throttle (see Fig below) is arranged in the high- pressure secondary line (36) (Fig 2 and 10).
Regarding Claim 12 Yamaji teaches the high-pressure seat valve (14) is designed as a high-pressure digital seat valve (Fig 1-2).
Regarding Claim 13 Yamaji teaches that a pressure present in the working line (See Fig below) can be detected by means of a pressure sensor (18), wherein the pressure sensor (18) interacts with the control device (20) such that ahigh-pressure seat valve (14) and/or a low-pressure seat valve (see Fig below) can be activated taking into account the pressure detected by the pressure sensor (18) (Fig 2 and Fig 10).
Regarding Claim 14 Yamaji teaches the control device (20) is designed to determine a position of the adjustment unit (12) using the pressure detected by the pressure sensor (18), wherein the high-pressure seat valve (14) and/or the low-pressure seat valve (See Fig below) can be activated taking into account the position of the adjustment unit (12) determined by the control device (20) (Fig 2 and 10).
Regarding Claims 15-16 Yamaji teaches a high-pressure seat valve (14) can be activated by the control device (20) using an activation variable (see Fig 2) wherein a reference value of the activation variable is stored in the control device (20) depending on the actual value of a characteristic variable that can be influenced by the delivery volume of the hydraulic pump (10) (See Par.0034-36 ), and
wherein the control device (20) is designed to detect an actual value of the activation variable corresponding to the actual value of the characteristic variable and to determine a state characteristic value of the hydraulic pump (10) from the comparison of the actual value of the activation variable to a reference value of the activation variable associated with the actual value of the characteristic variable (Fig 2, Par.0034-0036).
Regarding Claim 17 Yamaji teaches the characteristic variable is determined by the delivery volume or the displacement volume (Fig 2, Par.0034-0036)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamaji in view Meehan et al. (US 2017/0335867 A1).
Regarding Claim 10 Yamaji teaches a device (Fig 1-2) for controlling a hydraulic pump (10), comprising - a hydraulic fluid pressure reservoir (Fig 1-2), a hydraulic motor having one inlet (See Fig below) and one outlet (see Fig below), wherein the inlet (See Fig below) is connected to the hydraulic fluid pressure reservoir (See Fig below) by means of a high-pressure line (see Fig below),of the outlet (See Fig below) is connected to a hydraulic fluid reservoir (Fig 2 )by means of a return line (Fig 2),an adjustment unit (12) interacting with the hydraulic pump and with which the displacement volume to be absorbed by the hydraulic pump (10) can be changed, a high-pressure seat valve (14) arranged in the high-pressure secondary line (See Fig below) and interacting with the adjustment unit (12), a sensor (18) with which an actual value of at least one characteristic variable that can be influenced by the displacement volume to be absorbed by the hydraulic pump (10) can be detected, an actuator (1, 2) with which a target value of the characteristic variable can be specified, and a control device (20) which interacts with the sensor (18) and the actuator (1, 2) such that the high-pressure seat valve (14) can be activated taking into account the actual value detected by the sensor (18) and the target value specified by the actuator (46) (See Fig below). Yamaji is silent regarding the hydraulic device being a motor instead of a pump.
However, Meehan teaches a hydraulic circuit for controlling a hydraulic device (102) (FIG 1). The hydraulic device (102) having a swash plate control mechanism (150) that adjusts output of the hydraulic device (Fig 1). Meehan teaches the hydraulic device being a pump-motor (102) for supplying pressurized fluid to displace an actuator and further receiving pressurized fluid to do useful work thereby functioning both as a pump and motor.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Yamaji to include the teachings of Meehan by forming the hydraulic device as a pump-motor for the purpose of allowing the hydraulic device to perform work as a pump and as a motor as desired to increase operational capability of the hydraulic system.
Regarding Claim 11 Yamaji as modified above teaches a device for controlling a hydraulic motor (10), comprising, a hydraulic fluid pressure reservoir (Fig 1), a hydraulic motor having one inlet (See Fig below) and one outlet (See Fig below), wherein the inlet (See Fig below) is connected to the hydraulic fluid pressure reservoir (Fig 1) by means of a high-pressure line (See Fig below) of the outlet (See Fig below) is connected to a hydraulic fluid reservoir (Fig 2)by means of a return line (See Fig below),- an adjustment unit (12) interacting with the hydraulic motor and with which the displacement volume to be absorbed by the hydraulic motor (66) can be changed, the adjustment unit (12) being arranged in a high-pressure secondary line (See Fig below) connected to the high-pressure line (See Fig below), a low-pressure seat valve (See Fig 10, see Fig below) arranged in the secondary low-pressure line (See Fig 10 and Fig below) and interacting with the adjustment unit,a sensor (18) with which an actual value of at least one characteristic variable that can be influenced by the displacement volume to be absorbed by the hydraulic motor (Fig 1-2) can be detected, an actuator (1, 2) with which a target value of the characteristic variable can be specified, and a control device (20) which interacts with the sensor (18) and the actuator (1, 2) such that the low-pressure seat valve (54) can be activated taking into account the actual value detected by the sensor (18) and the target value specified by the actuator (1,2) (See Fig 10 and Fig below).
Allowable subject matter
Claims 3, 4 and 6 would be allowable if rewritten to include all the limitations of the base claims and all the intervening claims.
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Conclusion
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/ABIY TEKA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
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