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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
The indicated allowability of claims 1-6, 8-9, 11-12 and 15-17 is withdrawn in view of the newly discovered reference(s) to Kia Corporation (KR2019980063554), supplied by the applicant in the IDS dated 11/20/2025 . Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) follow.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/202/2025 was filed after the mailing date of the Final Rejection on 10/24/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Status of Claims
The indicated allowability of claims 1-6, 8-9, 11-12, and 15-17 is withdrawn in light of the new art rejections presented below. Claims 1-6, 8-9, 11-12, and 15-17 remain pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code 102 not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1, 5-6, 8-9, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kia Corporation (KR2019980063554)(supplied by the applicant in the IDS dated 11/20/2025, machine translation included herewith and referred to below)(hereinafter “Kia”).
Kia discloses a frame (2) for carrying a concrete-distribution boom, comprising a carrier profile which has at least one force-absorption region absorbing a flow of force exerted by the concrete-distribution boom (such as a region toward the left end in fig. 1, with the region capable of absorbing any forces as it is structurally the same as the applicant’s device), and a force-dissipation region (such as a region toward the right end in fig. 1), which is spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the carrier profile (fig. 1) dissipating the flow of force into the ground (the region is capable of dissipating force as it is structurally similar to that of the applicant’s claimed device), wherein the carrier profile comprises two profiled sheets (4, 5) which are each bent along at least one bending axis (see each having two bends) and are assembled along at least two connection lines (along 6 and 7) to form a hollow profile (fig. 4), wherein the hollow profile has a maximum cross-sectional width (from the outward facing surface on the left end of 5 to the outward facing surface on the right end of 4) and a maximum cross-sectional height (from the outward facing surface on the bottom end of 5 to the outward facing surface on the top end of 4), wherein the connection lines are diagonally opposite one another in an imaginary rectangle formed by the cross-sectional width and the cross-sectional height (see fig. 4, notice how 6 and 7 are diagonally opposite each other).
Regarding claim 5, Kia further discloses wherein the connection lines and/or the bending axes are oriented parallel to the longitudinal direction of the carrier profile (left to right in fig. 1a and in the same manner as the applicant’s device).
Regarding claim 6, Kia further discloses wherein the profiled sheets are joined to one another along the connection lines to form the hollow profile (fig. 4, see also pg. 2 of the machine translation, the last two lines of the paragraph beginning with “As shown”).
Regarding claim 8, Kia further discloses wherein, as viewed in cross section, the profiled sheets are subdivided by the bending axes into subportions (forming vertically and horizontally extending portions for both 4 and 5), wherein outside subportions of a profiled sheet assume an angle with one another of between 45 degrees and 135 degrees (approximately 90 degrees for each as shown in fig. 4).
Regarding claim 9, Kia further discloses wherein, as viewed in cross section, the profiled sheets are subdivided by the bending axes into subportions (forming vertically and horizontally extending portions for both 4 and 5), wherein, in the region of the connection, an outside profiled sheet portion of one of the profiled sheets assumes an angle with an adjoining outside profiled sheet portion of the other of the profiled sheets of between 45 degrees and 135 degrees (fig. 4, for instance, see the vertically extending portion of 5 at the top left forming an angle with the horizontally extending portion of 4 at the top of about 90 degrees, the outward facing surfaces and thus considered “outside”).
Regarding claim 11, Kia further discloses wherein one of the profiled sheets has a subportion which is defined by a bending axis (the bottom, horizontally extending portion of 5), forms an underside of the carrier profile and whose width is less than a maximum cross-sectional width of the hollow profile (as shown in fig. 4, which is less than the overall maximum width which further includes the width of element 4 on the right side).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code 103 not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 2-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kia in view of Renault (FR759949)(supplied by the applicant in the IDS dated 6/16/2023, machine translation included in the Non-Final Rejection dated 7/14/2025).
Kia discloses the claimed invention but does not appear to explicitly disclose the two profiled sheets having a fastening opening for fixing an attachment part to the carrier profile.
Renault teaches it was known in the art to have a similar frame with profiled sheets (1, 2) that has a fastening opening (the opening for 4) for fixing an attachment part to the carrier profile (intended use, the opening is capable of fixing an attachment part).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kia by having a fastening opening the sheets as taught by Renault in order to provide openings for attachment members (such as the cross-member 4 of Renault, which is similar to the cross-member 3 of Kia but Kia is silent as to how the cross-member is attached to the carrier members) to provide structural rigidity to the frame.
Regarding claim 3, Kia as modified further discloses wherein the fastening opening forms a passage to an inner region of the hollow frame (as taught by Renault and as it is a through bore, see fig. 3 of Renault).
Regarding claim 4, Kia as modified discloses the claimed invention but does not appear to disclose wherein one of the two profiled sheets has an access opening arranged adjacent to the fastening opening, wherein the fastening opening has an area of more than 0.3 cm^2 or the access opening has an area of more than 100 cm^2.
Renault further teaches it was known in the art to have a frame with an access opening (the opening for 18, see figs. 2 and 4) for a frame and arranged adjacent to the fastening opening (fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Kia by having an access opening adjacent to the fastening opening as taught by Renault in order to provide openings for attachment members (such as member 18 of Renault) such as an axle or the like (like axle 18 in Renault).
It further would have been obvious to have the size of the fastening opening to have an area of more than 0.3cm^2 or more than 100 cm^2, since it has been held that a change in size of a component generally involves only routine skill in the art. The motivation for doing so would be to have the opening sized as desired by a user for a particular application or reception of a specifically sized component.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kia.
Kia discloses the claimed invention but does not appear to disclose at least one of the further features: the hollow profile has a cross-sectional width between 10 cm and 45 cm; the hollow profile has a cross-sectional height between 20 cm and 90 cm; the profiled sheet comprises an overhang which projects beyond the connection line and whose extent is preferably between 0.5 cm and 5 cm; the frame has a boom pedestal arranged in the force-absorption region for connecting to the concrete-distribution boom; the frame has a supporting system which is connected to the carrier profile in the force-dissipation region and which is designed to introduce the forces transmitted by the carrier profile into the ground.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kia such that the hollow profile has a cross-sectional width between 10 cm and 45 cm, since it has been held that a change of size of a component involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP2144.04. The motivation for doing so would be to have the hollow profile be of a size desired by a user for a particular application, such as a vehicle frame.
Claim(s) 1, 5-6, 8-9, 11, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Anderson et al. (U.S. 6,755,212) in view of Kia.
Anderson discloses a frame (the frame/chassis for the truck in fig. 1, see also col. 7, ll. 25-28) for carrying a concrete-distribution boom (10, see fig. 1 including 12, 14, etc., see also col. 5, ll. 6-23) .
Anderson is silent as to the details of the frame.
Kia teaches it was known in the art to have a frame (2) for carrying a concrete-distribution boom, comprising a carrier profile which has at least one force-absorption region absorbing a flow of force exerted by the concrete-distribution boom (such as a region toward the left end in fig. 1, with the region capable of absorbing any forces as it is structurally the same as the applicant’s device), and a force-dissipation region (such as a region toward the right end in fig. 1), which is spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the carrier profile (fig. 1) dissipating the flow of force into the ground (the region is capable of dissipating force as it is structurally similar to that of the applicant’s claimed device), wherein the carrier profile comprises two profiled sheets (4, 5) which are each bent along at least one bending axis (see each having two bends) and are assembled along at least two connection lines (along 6 and 7) to form a hollow profile (fig. 4), wherein the hollow profile has a maximum cross-sectional width (from the outward facing surface on the left end of 5 to the outward facing surface on the right end of 4) and a maximum cross-sectional height (from the outward facing surface on the bottom end of 5 to the outward facing surface on the top end of 4), wherein the connection lines are diagonally opposite one another in an imaginary rectangle formed by the cross-sectional width and the cross-sectional height (see fig. 4, notice how 6 and 7 are diagonally opposite each other).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Anderson by having a frame with carrier profile which has at least one force-absorption region for absorbing a flow of force exerted by the concrete-distribution boom, and a force-dissipation region, which is spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the carrier profile for dissipating the flow of force into the ground, wherein the carrier profile comprises at least two profiled sheets which are each bent along at least one bending axis and are assembled along at least two connection lines to form a hollow profile wherein the hollow profile has a maximum cross-sectional width and a maximum cross-sectional, wherein the connection lines are diagonally opposite one another in an imaginary rectangle formed by the cross-sectional width and the cross-sectional height as taught by Kia as Anderson is silent as to the details of the frame and the frame of Kia is structurally strong and relatively lightweight due to the hollow construction and sheet metal formation.
Regarding claim 5, Anderson as modified further discloses wherein the connection lines and/or the bending axes are oriented parallel to the longitudinal direction of the carrier profile (as taught by Kia, left to right in fig. 1a and in the same manner as the applicant’s device).
Regarding claim 6, Anderson as modified further discloses wherein the profiled sheets are joined to one another along the connection lines to form the hollow profile (as taught by Kia, see fig. 4, see also pg. 2 of the machine translation, the last two lines of the paragraph beginning with “As shown”).
Regarding claim 8, Anderson as modified further discloses wherein, as viewed in cross section, the profiled sheets are subdivided by the bending axes into subportions (as taught by Kia, forming vertically and horizontally extending portions for both 4 and 5), wherein outside subportions of a profiled sheet assume an angle with one another of between 45 degrees and 135 degrees (as taught by Kia, approximately 90 degrees for each as shown in fig. 4).
Regarding claim 9, Anderson as modified further discloses wherein, as viewed in cross section, the profiled sheets are subdivided by the bending axes into subportions (as taught by Kia, forming vertically and horizontally extending portions for both 4 and 5), wherein, in the region of the connection, an outside profiled sheet portion of one of the profiled sheets assumes an angle with an adjoining outside profiled sheet portion of the other of the profiled sheets of between 45 degrees and 135 degrees (as taught by Kia, fig. 4, for instance, see the vertically extending portion of 5 at the top left forming an angle with the horizontally extending portion of 4 at the top of about 90 degrees, the outward facing surfaces and thus considered “outside”).
Regarding claim 11, Anderson as modified further discloses wherein one of the profiled sheets has a subportion which is defined by a bending axis (as taught by Kia, the bottom, horizontally extending portion of 5), forms an underside of the carrier profile and whose width is less than a maximum cross-sectional width of the hollow profile (as taught by Kia and as shown in fig. 4, which is less than the overall maximum width which further includes the width of element 4 on the right side).
Regarding claim 15, Anderson as modified discloses a concrete pump having a frame of claim 1 (see the rejection of claim 1 above), comprising a concrete pumping device (30) and a concrete-distribution boom (12) which are connected to the frame in the force-absorption region (fig. 1, the frame is at least operatively connected to the pumping device and distribution boom and the force-absorption region is part of the frame.
Claim(s) 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kia in view of DiCesare (U.S. 7,275,296).
Kia discloses a method for producing a carrier profile, comprising the following steps: providing two sheets (4, 5), bends that are bent along a bending axis (see fig. 4 showing two bends for each sheet), each sheet comprising longitudinally extending portions forming an angle between 45 and 135 degrees (the bends forming an angle of 90 degrees with both horizontally and vertically extending portions), assembling the sheets to form a hollow profile having a cross-sectional width (from the outward facing surface on the left end of 5 to the outward facing surface on the right end of 4) and a cross-sectional height (from the outward facing surface on the bottom end of 5 to the outward facing surface on the top end of 4), connecting the profiled sheets by welding along two connection lines (along 6 and 7, see also pg. 2 of the machine translation, the last two lines of the paragraph beginning with “As shown” describing the welds), wherein the connection lines are diagonally opposite one another in an imaginary rectangle formed by the cross-sectional width and the cross-sectional height of the hollow profile (see fig. 4, notice how 6 and 7 are diagonally opposite each other).
Kia does not appear to disclose the sheets being metal, producing at least one fastening hole in at least one of the sheets, after said producing at least one fastening hole, or bending each of the sheets along the bending axis to produce the two profiled sheets.
DiCesare teaches it was known in the art to get bends in sheet metal for a frame by bending (col. 2, ll. 42-47) and also producing fastening holes (see apertures 46 and 48).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kia by having the bends be formed by bending sheet metal and also having fastening hole(s) formed as taught by DiCesare as Kia is silent as to the means of forming the bends and bending sheet metal to achieve the bends is a relatively fast and inexpensive means to get bends in sheet metal and the providing of apertures allows for various components to be attached such as the cross-members (3) shown in Kia.
It is further noted that the steps of producing the holes and bending of the sheet metal can be arranged in any particular order/sequence without affecting the method of production and final product and thus it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the producing of the hole and the bending occur in any sequence, including the bending after producing the hole, in order to achieve the same desired product but allows for an easier bending after the holes are already formed rather than producing the holes in an already bent sheet metal member that can be more cumbersome and time consuming.
Regarding claim 17, Kia as modified further discloses wherein the at least one fastening hole is positioned to form a passage to an inner region of the hollow profile after the profiled sheets have been assembled (see the teaching by DiCesare above).
Response to Arguments
In light of the IDS dated 11/20/2025, new rejections have been made above. This action is Non-Final.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL R REID whose telephone number is (313)446-4859. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9am-5pm est.
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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) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form.
/MICHAEL R REID/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753