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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In paragraph 0014, line 4, “toward a front in side view” seems to be directed to recite --toward a front inside view--. This phrasing is found throughout the specification.
In paragraph 0048, line 3, “base 50 as described above, t is located on the left side” seems to be directed to recite --base 50 as described above, it is located on the left side--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In line 5, “toward a front in side view” seems to be directed to recite --toward a front inside view--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tabeta et al. JP 2010216154 A.
Regarding claim 1, a construction machine (1) including a wireless communication antenna (26B; paragraph 0001) that is provided in a driving unit (3) having a driving base (10) as a base part, the construction machine comprising:
a driver's seat (11) that is provided on the driving base (Fig. 2); and
an operation lever (12) that is placed on one of left and right sides of the driver's seat (paragraph 0026), wherein
the antenna is placed at a position that is located in front of the operation lever in a front-rear direction and that is located on an outer side of the operation lever and on an inner side of an edge of the driving base in a left-right direction (see annotated Fig. 3).
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Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 2-3 and 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tabeta et al. JP 2010216154 A, in view of Arai et al. JP 2021150829 A.
Regarding claim 2, Tabeta et al. disclose the construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the antenna is placed in front of the operation lever (see annotated Tabeta et al. Fig. 3). Tabeta et al. disclose that the antenna is placed above monitors (Tabeta et al. 21D/21E; Tabeta et al. Fig. 4). Tabeta et al. do not disclose that the antenna is placed below a monitor placed in front of the operation lever.
However, Arai et al. disclose an antenna (Arai et al. 93) housed within a communication unit (Arai et al. 60; Arai et al. paragraph 0037) that is placed below a monitor (Arai et al. 51B) placed in front of an operation lever (Arai et al. 45R) (see annotated Arai et al. Fig. 3). This monitor is placed on a meter (Arai et al. 51).
Therefore, it 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 to provide the construction machine of Tabeta et al. with the antenna placement as taught by Arai et al. with a reasonable expectation of success for the advantage of preventing the obstruction of a driver’s view when operating the machine (Arai et al. paragraph 0024).
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Regarding claim 3, Tabeta et al. disclose the construction machine according to claim 1, comprising an air conditioning duct (Tabeta et al. 17) having a front-rear extending portion (Tabeta et al. 17A) that extends forward of the driver's seat along an edge portion (see annotated Tabeta et al. Fig. 5) of the driving base on the one of the left and right sides in plan view and a raised portion (Tabeta et al. 17B) that is raised from the front-rear extending portion (Tabeta et al. paragraph 0032).
Tabeta et al. do not disclose that the antenna is placed at a position that is located on an outer side of the raised portion in the left-right direction and that is located below an upper end of the raised portion in an up-down direction.
However, Arai et al. disclose an antenna (Arai et al. 93) housed within a communication unit (Arai et al. 60; Arai et al. paragraph 0037) that is placed in front of below and below an air duct (Arai et al. 57; Arai et al. Fig. 3). The air duct is placed in front of a meter (Arai et al. 51; Arai et al. paragraph 0019). Arai et al. disclose a second embodiment wherein the communication unit that houses the antenna is placed on an outer side and below the meter (Arai et al. Fig. 16; Arai et al. paragraph 0051).
Therefore, it 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 to provide the construction machine of Tabeta et al. with the antenna placement as taught by Arai et al. with a reasonable expectation of success for the advantage of preventing the obstruction of a driver’s view when operating the machine (Arai et al. paragraph 0024), including when the antenna is placed at a position towards an outer side cabin wall instead of towards the center of a cabin, as known by one of ordinary skill in the art.
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Regarding claim 5, Tabeta et al. do not disclose the construction machine according to claim 3, wherein the air conditioning duct has a recess portion that is recessed toward a lateral inner side in a portion of the raised portion that includes a position at which the antenna is placed in the up-down direction.
However, Arai et al. disclose an air conditioning duct (Arai et al. 57) that has a recess portion (see annotated Arai et al. Fig. 3) that is recessed toward a lateral inner side (see annotated Arai et al. Fig. 3) in a portion of a raised portion that includes a position at which an antenna (Arai et al. 93) housed within a communication unit (Arai et al. 60; Arai et al. paragraph 0037) is placed in an up-down direction (see annotated Arai et al. Fig. 3).
Therefore, it 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 to provide the construction machine of Tabeta et al. with the antenna positioning as taught by Arai et al. with a reasonable expectation of success for the advantage of positioning the antenna such that it does not obstruct a driver’s view when operating the machine (Arai et al. paragraph 0024).
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Regarding claim 6, Tabeta et al. disclose the construction machine according to claim 3, comprising a duct support frame (Tabeta et al. 19) that supports the air conditioning duct (Tabeta et al. paragraph 0034) with respect to the driving base (Tabeta et al. paragraph 0047), wherein the antenna is supported by the duct support frame (Tabeta et al. Fig. 6; Tabeta et al. paragraph 0039).
Regarding claim 7, Tabeta et al. disclose the construction machine according to claim 3, comprising an electrical component (Tabeta et al. 21F) that is provided at a position below the antenna (Tabeta et al. 26B) in the up-down direction and is supported by the air conditioning duct (see annotated Tabeta et al. Fig. 6; Tabeta et al. paragraph 0052).
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Regarding claim 8, the construction machine according to claim 7, wherein
the air conditioning duct has, as a portion that supports the electrical component, an inclined portion (Tabeta et al. 21C) that is inclined upward toward a front in side view (Tabeta et al. Figs. 5 and 6; Tabeta et al. paragraph 0038).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tabeta et al. JP 2010216154 A, in view of Arai et al. JP 2021150829 A, and further in view of Nishigori et al. JP 2021185306 A.
Regarding claim 4, Tabeta et al., in view of Arai et al., disclose the construction machine according to claim 3, wherein the monitor (Tabeta et al. 21D/21E) is placed in an upper portion (Tabeta et al. 21) of the raised portion of the air conditioning duct (Tabeta et al. 17B) (Tabeta et al. Figs. 5 and 6; Tabeta et al. paragraphs 0034-0035).
Tabeta et al., in view of Arai et al., do not disclose that the antenna is placed so that at least part of the antenna overlaps with the monitor in plan view.
However, Nishigori et al. disclose a monitor (Nishigori et al. 191) that is positioned in front and above an operation lever (Nishigori et al. 77R), provided on an upper portion of an air duct (Nishigori et al. 172) (Nishigori et al. Figs. 55-59; Nishigori et al. paragraphs 0119-0120). Combining the antenna arrangement of Tabeta et al., in view of Arai et al., with the monitor placement as taught by Nishigori et al. meets the limitations wherein the antenna is placed so that at least part of the antenna overlaps with the monitor in plan view (Tabeta et al. Fig. 3; Nishigori et al. Figs. 46 and 55).
Therefore, it 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 to provide the construction machine of Tabeta et al., in view of Arai et al., with the monitor placement as taught by Nishigori et al. with a reasonable expectation of success for the advantage of positioning the monitor such that it does not obstruct a driver’s view when operating the machine, and that the operation lever does not interfere with the driver’s viewing of the monitor display during machine operation (Nishigori et al. paragraphs 0119-0120).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Tabeta et al. JP 2010216154 A disclose construction machinery. See annotated Tabeta et al. Figs. 3 and 5-6.
Arai et al. JP 2021150829 A disclose a communication unit and work machine. See annotated Arai et al. Fig. 3.
Nishigori et al. JP 2021185306 A disclose a work machine.
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/Anayansi Santiago/Examiner, Art Unit 3612
/A.S./Examiner, Art Unit 3612
/AMY R WEISBERG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3612
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