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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 61, 67, 71, 95 and 96 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Driear (US 4,922,571).
As concerns claim 61, Driear shows a mounting system (Fig. 2 & 3) configured for mounting a boom assembly (21) to a material collection vehicle (10) comprising: a turret (24) including a turret housing (29, 39) enclosing a turret chamber (34); and a joint (40) including a joint housing (end portion of ball joint member 40 attached to end portion of boom tube 41) shaped to form an opening providing for fluid communication along a fluid pathway including said turret chamber (Fig. 2 & 3), the joint housing (via support member 42 being rigidly attached to the end portion of boom tube 41, which is attached to the end portion of ball joint member 40) being pinned (via pin 43) to the turret housing (via base pylon 27 being attached to plenum enclosure 29), the joint being sealingly coupled to said turret using one or more seal packings, the one or more seal packings forming a seal along a boundary between said joint and said turret (col 5, ln 42-46); wherein the seal maintains sealing engagement between the turret and the joint over a range of motion of the joint (col 5, ln 42-46).
As concerns claim 67, Driear shows wherein said joint comprises a ball-and-socket joint (39, 40); wherein said seal is slidably engaged with said joint housing along a curved surface surrounding said opening (col 5, ln 42-46).
As concerns claim 71, Driear shows a material collection vehicle (10) comprising: a telescopically extendable boom assembly (21) including: a first boom section (51) and a second boom section (41), the second boom section being configured for nested engagement with said first boom section (Fig. 1); a mounting system (Fig. 2 & 3) configured for connecting said boom assembly to a body (24) of said material collection vehicle, the mounting system including: a joint (40) including a joint housing (end portion of ball joint member 40 attached to end portion of boom tube 41) shaped to form an opening disposed along a sealed path of fluid communication extending from an interior portion of said boom assembly to said vehicle body through said joint (Fig. 2 & 3; col 5, ln 42-46); and a turret (24) coupled to the joint (via socket portion 39 formed on the side of plenum enclosure 29), the turret including a turret housing (29, 39); and an actuator (45, 46, 47) connected to the turret housing (via base pylon 27 being attached to plenum enclosure 29) and the boom assembly (via anchor member 48 being attached to boom assembly 21).
As concerns claim 95, Driear shows the joint housing being a generally ball-shaped housing (40) which is spherical along at least a portion of an exterior shape of the ball-shaped housing and mounted on one end of said boom assembly (Fig. 2 & 3), the generally ball-shaped housing being fit into a complementary shaped socket (39) so that the joint housing may rotate substantially freely within the socket over a substantially conical range of motion (Fig. 2 & 3).
As concerns claim 96, Driear shows the joint housing being a generally ball-shaped housing (40) which is shaped as an imperfect sphere along at least a portion of an exterior shape of the ball-shaped housing and mounted on one end of said boom assembly (Fig. 2 & 3), the generally ball-shaped housing being fit into a complementary shaped socket (39) so as to allow for pivoting motion (via pin 43) of said boom assembly about a first axis and a second axis centered on said joint but substantially inhibiting pivoting motion about all other axes centered on said joint (Fig. 2 & 3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 37-39, 42, 43, 48, 52, 54, 58, 59 and 101-105 are allowed over the prior art of record.
Claims 63, 66 and 79 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/04/2025 have been considered but are moot based on the new ground(s) of rejection. Applicant’s arguments are noted, but the elements are shown above in the rejection.
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 MATTHEW R BUCK whose telephone number is (571)270-3653. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 6:30-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicole Coy can be reached at (571)272-5405. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW R BUCK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3679