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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 12-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 01/06/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Springer (2012/0067603) in view of Freeman (11,208,163).
Regarding claim 1, Springer teaches a work machine, comprising: an axle (119); a plurality of wheels (116), each of the plurality of wheels mounted on an outboard end of the axle, and having a cylindrical shell extending axially and concentrically about the axle; and a plurality of guard assemblies (134), each of the plurality of guard assemblies mounted on an outboard end of the axle, and each of the plurality of wheels mounted to the axle such that each of the plurality of wheels covers a respective one of the plurality of guard assemblies, each of the plurality of guard assemblies having: a final drive (130) rotatably supported on an outboard end of the axle (119) and including an annular seal (140) extending between rotating and non-rotating components of the final drive (130); a rotating element (154) connected to a corresponding one of the plurality of wheels; a guard (134) connected to the final drive; and an internal guard (212) fixed to the axle (paragraph [0063])). Springer teaches the invention as described above but fails to teach the guard rotates. Freeman teaches a seal guard for a machine having an annular seal (36) between a spindle (37) and a final drive (38) and having a rotating guard (12) connected to the final drive and an internal guard (11) connected to the spindle. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the guard of Springer rotating and attached to the final drive as taught by Freeman as it is obvious to use a known technique to improve similar devices in the same way.
Regarding claim 9, Springer as modified by Freeman teaches the rotating guard (134) is annular and formed from welded steel plate or steel castings (paragraph [0046]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-8, 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.
The closest prior art fails to teach the rotating element further comprises a first protrusion extending radially inward, and a second protrusion extending radially inward, the first protrusion and the second protrusion spaced apart to form a slot. The rotating element of Springer does not contain any protrusions that form a slot. There are no prior art teachings that would fairly suggest modifying the rotating element of Springer to include a protrusions that form a slot.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is listed on the attached PTO-892. Gachhadar teaches a compactor wheel having a wheel guard.
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/ABIGAIL A RISIC/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3671 February 7, 2026