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
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 1-2, 4, 6-7, 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Manci et. al. (US 20060255622 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Manci discloses a shock absorption pedal with adjustable resistance, comprising: a fixed guide rail (132), fixedly connected to a vehicle body; a sliding frame (134), arranged in a groove of the fixed guide rail (132), and movable vertically along the fixed guide rail; and a support plate (110), fixedly connected to the sliding frame (134), a displacement regulating mechanism being arranged on the fixed guide rail (120); one end of the displacement regulating mechanism being arranged outside the groove of the fixed guide rail, and another end of the displacement regulating mechanism being connected to one end of a shock absorption spring (140, 142); another end of the shock absorption spring (142) being fixedly connected to the sliding frame (134); and a position of the sliding frame being regulable by the displacement regulating mechanism (120), to adjust a length of the shock absorption spring (140, 142) (see [0057], Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4).
Regarding Claim 2, Manci Discloses the shock absorption pedal with adjustable resistance according to claim 1, wherein a baffle (138) is arranged at a top of the fixed guide rail (132); the displacement regulating mechanism (152) comprises a regulating screw (156A) and a spring regulating block (152); the regulating screw penetrates the baffle, with one end located outside the groove of the fixed guide rail (132), and another end located inside the fixed guide rail (132) and connected to the spring regulating block (152); and the spring regulating block (152) is connected to one end of the shock absorption spring (142B, 140B) (see Fig. 2, [0059-0070]).
Regarding Claim 4, Manci discloses the shock absorption pedal with adjustable resistance according to claim 2, wherein a guard plate (134A) is arranged at one side of the fixed guide rail (132) away from the vehicle body; the guard plate (134A) and the fixed guide rail (132) define a channel; the sliding frame is movable vertically in the channel; the guard plate (134A) is further provided with a through hole (A) (see Annotated Fig. 2 below) in a corresponding position of the motion trajectory of the sliding frame; and the position of the sliding frame can be observed through the through hole (A) (see Fig.2, Annotated Fig. 2 below).
PNG
media_image1.png
247
437
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Annotated Fig. 2
Regarding Claim 6, Manci discloses the shock absorption pedal with adjustable resistance according to claim 1, wherein the sliding frame (134) is connected to the fixed guide rail (132) by rollers (136A), and a rotation direction of the roller (136A) is parallel to a relative motion direction of the sliding frame (134) and the fixed guide rail (132); and the sliding frame (134) achieves relative movement with the fixed guide rail (132) by the rollers (136A) (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4).
Regarding Claim 7, Manci discloses the shock absorption pedal with adjustable resistance according to claim 6, wherein the sliding frame (134) is connected to a side wall of the groove of the fixed guide rail by the rollers (136B) (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4).
Regarding Claim 9, Manci discloses the shock absorption pedal with adjustable resistance according to claim 1, wherein the sliding frame (134) and the fixed guide rail (132) are further connected to each other by a damper (144), and a movement direction of the damper (144) is consistent with that of the shock absorption spring (142, 140) (see Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 10, Manci discloses the shock absorption pedal with adjustable resistance according to claim 1, wherein a shock absorption pad (136C) fixedly connected to the vehicle body is arranged at a highest point and/or lowest point of stroke of the support plate (110) (see Fig. 1, Fig. 2, [0095]).
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.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manci et. al. (US 20060255622 A1) as applied to Claim 1, above, in view of Guest (US 4274798 A).
Regarding Claim 3, Manci discloses the shock absorption pedal with adjustable resistance according to Claim 2 and that one end of the regulating screw (156A) is located outside the groove of the fixed guide rail is connected to a motor (156) (see Fig. 2).
Manci does not explicitly disclose the shock absorption pedal having one end connected to a regulating handle to screw in or screw out.
Guest teaches the use of a regulating handle (28) to screw in or screw out a regulating screw (27) (see Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to combine the regulating handle (28) screw taught by Guest with the shock absorption pedal with adjustable resistance in place of the motor (156) in order to manually actuate the screw without requiring power.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manci et. al. (US 20060255622 A1) as applied to Claim 1, above, in view of Mariotti et. al. (EP 3696134 A9).
Regarding Claim 5, Manci discloses the shock absorption pedal with adjustable resistance according to claim 4.
Manci does not disclose a scale on an edge of the through hole.
Mariotti teaches a scale (62) on an edge of a through hole in a shock absorption pedal with adjustable resistance (see [0022], [0069], Fig. 10, Fig. 11).
It would have been obvious to combine the scale for an adjustable shock absorption pedal taught by Mariotti with the shock absorption pedal with adjustable resistance of Manci in order for the operator to know what level of shock absorption is currently applied to the pedal (see EP 3696134 A1 [Mariotti]; [0069]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manci et. al. (US 20060255622 A1) as applied to Claim 1, above, in view of Van Rooijen. (US 20180118544 A1).
Regarding Claim 8, Manci discloses the shock absorption pedal with adjustable resistance according to Claim 6.
Manci does not disclose the rollers connecting the sliding frame to a bottom wall of the groove of the fixed guide rail.
Van Rooijen teaches an industrial vehicle wherein the sliding frame (25) is connected to a bottom wall of the groove of the fixed guide rail (30) by the rollers (60) (see Fig. 4, [0021-0023]).
It would have been obvious to combine the frame connected to the bootom wall of a groove of a fixed rail by rollers taught by Van Rooijen with the shock absorption pedal with adjustable resistance of Manci in order to relieve tension from the system, reducing weight on the systems mechanical components (see US 20180118544 A1 [Van Rooijen]; [0021-0022]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Shea Irvin whose telephone number is (571)272-9952. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30 - 17:00.
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, Robert Siconolfi can be reached at (571) 272-7124. 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.
/S.W.I./Examiner, Art Unit 3616
/Robert A. Siconolfi/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3616