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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, an impactor supported by the manipulator including a head that is cycled to repeatedly extend and strike the wear part on the earth working equipment to ease release of the ground-engaging wear part from the base must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: 30, 1063. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claim(s) 62-64 and 67 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hickman, Jr. (US 5,626,457).
Regarding claim 62, Hickman discloses a handling system (Fig. 1) comprising a handling tool (34, 34’; Figs. 1 and 3-5; col. 4, lines 24-32); a manipulator (10; Fig. 1; col. 1, lines 22-23; col. 3, lines 46-50) to support and move the handling tool (34, 34’); an impactor (39; Fig. 2; col. 4, lines 48-57) supported by the manipulator (10) including a head that is cycled to repeatedly extend and strike an object; and a controller (col. 1, lines 31-33) to control the movements of the handling tool and the manipulator.
Note that “for a ground-engaging wear part mounted on an earth working equipment, for holding the ground-engaging wear part, to engage the ground-engaging wear part and remove the ground-engaging wear part from a base of the earth working equipment, and to repeatedly extend and strike the wear part on the earth working equipment to ease release of the ground-engaging wear part from the base, and the handling tool engaging a nose of the wear part” is a recitation of the intended use, and a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
Regarding claim 63, Hickman discloses wherein the manipulator (10) includes a three-axis joint (i.e., X-axis joint designated by shock control cylinder 17 and extension member 18, Y-axis joint designated by linear actuation means 15, Z-axis joint designated by actuator 27; Fig. 1; ) supporting the handling tool (34, 34’) wherein three axes of the three-axis joint are spaced apart and arranged seriatim to each other.
Regarding claim 64, Hickman discloses including a hydraulic drive (col. 1, lines 37-39; col. 3, lines 61-63; ) to power the handling tool (34, 34’) and the manipulator (10).
Regarding claim 67, Hickman discloses a handling tool (34, 34’; Fig. 1; col. 2, lines 29-30) that can grip objects and rapidly move them to a desired location.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 65, 66, and 68-72 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. In addition, the impactor of claim 62 from which claims 65, 66, and 68-72 must be shown in the drawings.
Claims 73-76 are objected to but would be allowable pending correction of the drawings to show the impactor as defined in original claim 73.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERMIE E COZART whose telephone number is (571)272-4528. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30am - 7:00pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James Kish can be reached at 571-272-5554. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JERMIE E COZART/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799
April 30, 2025
Prosecution Insights