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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1 and 3-8 have been amended. Claim 2 has been canceled. Claims 9-12 have been added. Claims 1 and 3-12 have been examined on the merits.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 10-11, filed 03/31/2026, with respect to the previous 35 U.S.C. § 103 rejections are not persuasive.
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., “As seen from the fluid passageways through the manifold block 122, such additional pumps (not shown in the Figures) would be connected in parallel with the existing hydraulic pump 100 to independently provide force to extend the piston 164.”; Most importantly, the pressurized hydraulic fluid provided by these additional pumps via ports 122e, 122f never passes through hydraulic pump 100.”) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
With respect to: “It follows that a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention would NOT combine Hisel and Buhro”, the examiner disagrees. As disclosed below, the claimed structure is well known in the art, and one of ordinary skill would be able to make the combination.
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.
Claims 1, 3, 4, 7-9, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hisel (US-20160107008-A1) and BUHRO (US-3325995-A).
Referring to claim 1: Hisel teaches a hydraulic jack (hydraulic jack of 10 Fig. 1) for lifting a jack-load (“for temporarily securing and stabilizing a vehicle or structure” [0037]), the hydraulic jack comprising: a lift cylinder (202 Figs. 1 and 2) comprising a proximal end (proximal end of 202 closest to 100 shown in Fig. 2) and a distal end (distal end of 202 opposite to 100 shown in Fig. 2);
a ram (204 and 206 Figs. 1 and 2) fitted on the lift cylinder (202 Figs. 1 and 2), at least a portion of the ram (204 and 206 Figs. 1 and 2) being configured to fit within (shown in Figs. 1 and 2) the lift cylinder (202 Figs. 1 and 2) and slide in and out of the distal end (distal end of 202 opposite to 100 shown in Fig. 2) of the lift cylinder (202 Figs. 1 and 2);
a hydraulic fluid reservoir (138 Fig. 2) containing hydraulic fluid (“hydraulic fluid reservoir 138.” [0045]), the hydraulic fluid reservoir being in fluidic communication (fluidic communication via 160 shown in Fig. 2; “One end of the cylinder rod 160 has a piston 164 while the other end is configured to engage a push block 210 attached to the extension tube assembly 200” [0038]) with the lift cylinder (202 Figs. 1 and 2);
a hydraulic pump (100 Fig. 1; “hydraulic pump assembly” [0038]) in fluidic communication with the hydraulic fluid reservoir (138 Fig. 2) and the lift cylinder (202 Figs. 1 and 2);
and a port (122e/122f Figs. 8 and 9) in fluidic communication with an air compressor (“Ports 122e, 122f allow for the manifold block 122 to be connected to and operated by an external pressure source, such as another manual pump or a compressed air powered pump.” [0047]),
an outlet port (outlet port of “compressed air powered pump” which connects to 122e/122f Fig. 8), and in fluidic communication with the hydraulic fluid reservoir (138 Fig. 2);
wherein the air compressor (“compressed air powered pump.” [0047]) is in fluidic communication with the hydraulic fluid reservoir (138 Fig. 2), pressurizing (“the hydraulic manifold 120 has a manifold block 122 having a first end portion 124 and a second end portion 126. The hydraulic manifold 120 distributes hydraulic fluid between the pump actuator 102 and the piston 164 on the cylinder rod 162, and also directs hydraulic fluid between the pump actuator 102 and a hydraulic fluid reservoir 138” [0045]) the hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic fluid reservoir (138 Fig. 2) with pressurized air from the air compressor (“Ports 122e, 122f allow for the manifold block 122 to be connected to and operated by an external pressure source, such as another manual pump or a compressed air powered pump” [0047]) that pushes the hydraulic fluid from the reservoir (138 Fig. 2), through the hydraulic pump (100 Fig. 1; “hydraulic pump assembly” [0038]) and
into the lift cylinder (202 Figs. 1 and 2), extending the ram (204 and 206 Figs. 1 and 2) towards the jack-load (“for temporarily securing and stabilizing a vehicle or structure” [0037]).
But is silent on an air valve with an inlet port, an outlet port, and a reservoir port in fluidic communication with the hydraulic fluid reservoir and wherein specifically setting the air valve in a lift-state puts the air compressor in fluidic communication with the hydraulic fluid reservoir.
BUHRO in an analogous hydraulic jack (shown in Fig. 1) and teaches an air valve (“valve assembly housing” Col. 6, lines 23-30) with an inlet port (100 Figs. 1, 3, and 4; “said valve assembly housing having a second outlet connected to said pumping device to furnish air under pressure to said device,” Col. 6, lines 31-33),
an outlet port (144 Fig. 5; “the fluid pressure within the reservoir 28 of the jack assembly 10 is sufficient to unseat the valve member 148 from the section 146 and thereby communicate the reservoir 28 with the atmosphere,” Col. 5, lines 27-30), and
a reservoir port (port which connects 136/44 to port of 28 Fig. 1; “a first outlet connected to said reservoir” Col. 6, line 30) in fluidic communication with the similar configuration hydraulic fluid reservoir (28 Fig. 1; “a reservoir for hydraulic fluid” Col. 6, line 24; “reservoir” Col. 6, line 30) and wherein specifically setting the air valve in a lift-state (lift-state for lifting “In operation, assuming that the air inlet conduit 100 is connected to a suitable source of pressurized air, and that the outlet conduits 44 and 136 are connected to the auxiliary pumping device 30 and the fluid reservoir 28 of the jack assembly 10, respectively, as the manipulating handle 78 is initially depressed, the spring 150 is compressed such that the spherical valve member 148 is engaged with the valve seat section 146 to prevent the valve bore 132 from communicating with the atmosphere.” Col. 5, lines 37-44; “a valve operator mounted adjacent the valve housing and movable toward and away from the housing, said spring means and said reservoir valve plunger and said air pump valve plunger each having a portion projecting outwardly of the valve assembly housing and engageable with said operator and movable by it” Col. 6, lines 60-66) puts the air compressor (“an air operated pumping device” Col. 6, lines 24-25) in fluidic communication (“an air operated pumping device for forcing hydraulic fluid under pressure from the reservoir to the ram assembly to move a load” Col. 6, lines 24-27) with the similar configuration hydraulic fluid reservoir (28 Fig. 1).
Referring to claim 3: Hisel as modified teaches the hydraulic jack of claim 1, wherein setting the air valve in a release-state (release-state of BUHRO operates opposite to (wherein 148 is opened) to the following: “In operation, assuming that the air inlet conduit 100 is connected to a suitable source of pressurized air, and that the outlet conduits 44 and 136 are connected to the auxiliary pumping device 30 and the fluid reservoir 28 of the jack assembly 10, respectively, as the manipulating handle 78 is initially depressed, the spring 150 is compressed such that the spherical valve member 148 is engaged with the valve seat section 146 to prevent (release-state in the opposite configuration opens for communicating with the atmosphere) the valve bore 132 from communicating with the atmosphere.” Col. 5, lines 37-43) closes fluidic communication between the similar configuration air compressor (air compressor attached to 100 Figs. 1, 3, and 4 of BUHRO) and the similar configuration hydraulic fluid reservoir (28 Fig. 1 of BUHRO), and puts the hydraulic fluid reservoir in fluidic communication (“It will be noted that the force exerted on the valve member 148 by the spring 150 is such that when the handle 78 is arranged in the position illustrated in FIGURE 5, the fluid pressure within the reservoir 28 of the jack assembly 10 is sufficient to unseat the valve member 148 from the section 146 and thereby communicate the reservoir 28 with the atmosphere” Col. 5, lines 24-30 of BUHRO) with the outlet port (144 Fig. 5 of BUHRO) of the air valve.
Referring to claim 4: Hisel as modified teaches the hydraulic jack of claim 3, wherein putting the hydraulic fluid reservoir (28 Fig. 1 of BUHRO) in fluidic communication with the outlet port (144 Fig. 5 of BUHRO) of the air valve vents at least some of the pressurized air into the atmosphere (“It will be noted that the force exerted on the valve member 148 by the spring 150 is such that when the handle 78 is arranged in the position illustrated in FIGURE 5, the fluid pressure within the reservoir 28 of the jack assembly 10 is sufficient to unseat the valve member 148 from the section 146 and thereby communicate the reservoir 28 with the atmosphere” Col. 5, lines 24-30 of BUHRO).
Referring to claim 7: Hisel as modified teaches the hydraulic jack of claim 1, further comprising: a base unit (300 Fig. 1) with a flat lower surface (shown in Fig. 1) configured to sit on a floor; and a handle rotatably (108 Fig. 1) attached to the base unit (300 Fig. 1) at a jack handle rotation point (handle rotation point of 102 shown in Fig. 4) adapted to actuate the hydraulic pump (100 Fig. 1; “hydraulic pump assembly” [0038]).
Referring to claim 8: Hisel as modified teaches the hydraulic jack of claim 1, wherein the reservoir port (port which connects 136/44 to port of 28 Fig. 1; “a first outlet connected to said reservoir” Col. 6, line 30) of the air valve is a first reservoir port (first port of 136/44 Fig. 1) for selectively receiving pressurized air in the lift-state (lift-state for lifting “In operation, assuming that the air inlet conduit 100 is connected to a suitable source of pressurized air, and that the outlet conduits 44 and 136 are connected to the auxiliary pumping device 30 and the fluid reservoir 28 of the jack assembly 10, respectively, as the manipulating handle 78 is initially depressed, the spring 150 is compressed such that the spherical valve member 148 is engaged with the valve seat section 146 to prevent the valve bore 132 from communicating with the atmosphere.” Col. 5, lines 37-44; “a valve operator mounted adjacent the valve housing and movable toward and away from the housing, said spring means and said reservoir valve plunger and said air pump valve plunger each having a portion projecting outwardly of the valve assembly housing and engageable with said operator and movable by it” Col. 6, lines 60-66), but is silent on the hydraulic jack further comprising:
a second reservoir port on the air valve in fluidic communication with the hydraulic fluid reservoir for venting pressurized air into the atmosphere from the hydraulic fluid reservoir when the air valve is set in a release state.
BUHRO in an analogous hydraulic jack (shown in Fig. 1) and teaches it further comprising: a second reservoir port (146 Fig. 5) in fluidic communication with the similar configuration hydraulic fluid reservoir (28 Fig. 1) for venting pressurized air into the atmosphere (“the fluid pressure within the reservoir 28 of the jack assembly 10 is sufficient to unseat the valve member 148 from the section 146 and thereby communicate the reservoir 28 with the atmosphere” Col. 5, lines 27-30) from the hydraulic fluid reservoir (28 Fig. 1) when the air valve is set in a release state (release-state operates opposite to (wherein 148 is opened) to the following: “In operation, assuming that the air inlet conduit 100 is connected to a suitable source of pressurized air, and that the outlet conduits 44 and 136 are connected to the auxiliary pumping device 30 and the fluid reservoir 28 of the jack assembly 10, respectively, as the manipulating handle 78 is initially depressed, the spring 150 is compressed such that the spherical valve member 148 is engaged with the valve seat section 146 to prevent (release-state in the opposite configuration opens for communicating with the atmosphere) the valve bore 132 from communicating with the atmosphere.” Col. 5, lines 37-43).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the hydraulic jack of Hisel as modified with the second reservoir port as taught by BUHRO for the purpose of allowing communication between the elements with the capabilities of having a check valve therein to promote flow in one direction.
It also would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the second reservoir port of Hisel as modified and move it specifically on the air valve for the purpose of having an alternate configuration which houses the second reservoir port and consolidates the reservoir ports in one location, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C)
Referring to claim 9: Hisel as modified teaches the hydraulic jack of claim 8, further comprising: a fluid barrier (47A and 47B Fig. 1A of BUHRO) mounted on the second reservoir port (port of 47A and 47B Fig. 1A of BUHRO).
Referring to claim 12: Hisel as modified teaches the hydraulic jack of claim 1 further comprising a bottle jack (see shape of 10 Fig. 1 of Hisel).
Claims 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hisel US-20160107008-A1 and BUHRO (US-3325995-A), as applied above in claim 1, and in further view of Snook (US 9162855 B1).
Referring to claim 10: Hisel as modified teaches the hydraulic jack of claim 1, but is silent on wherein the pressurized air from the air compressor is compressed air of at least 25 psi.
Snook in an analogous hydraulic jack (100 Fig. 10) wherein the pressurized air from the air compressor is compressed air of at least 25 psi (“A control knob 126 of the regulator 115 preferably protrudes out of the control housing 844 for the operator to turn and adjust the pressure coming out of the regulator 115. It can preferably be adjusted from 0 psi to full shop pressure (e.g., 80 to 100 psi) by turning the knob.” Col. 9, lines 38-42).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the hydraulic jack of Hisel as modified with the pressure as taught by Snook for the purpose of having sufficient pressure to accomplish the intended task.
Referring to claim 11: Hisel as modified teaches the hydraulic jack of claim 1, but is silent on wherein the pressurized air from the air compressor is compressed air of at least 50 psi.
Snook in an analogous hydraulic jack (100 Fig. 10) wherein the pressurized air from the air compressor is compressed air of at least 50 psi (“A control knob 126 of the regulator 115 preferably protrudes out of the control housing 844 for the operator to turn and adjust the pressure coming out of the regulator 115. It can preferably be adjusted from 0 psi to full shop pressure (e.g., 80 to 100 psi) by turning the knob.” Col. 9, lines 38-42).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the hydraulic jack of Hisel as modified with the pressure as taught by Snook for the purpose of having sufficient pressure to accomplish the intended task.
Claims 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hisel US-20160107008-A1 and BUHRO (US-3325995-A), as applied above in claim 4, and in further view of Snook (US 9162855 B1).
Referring to claim 5: Hisel as modified teaches the hydraulic jack of claim 4, but is silent on wherein the pressurized air from the air compressor is compressed air of at least 25 psi.
Snook in an analogous hydraulic jack (100 Fig. 10) wherein the pressurized air from the air compressor is compressed air of at least 25 psi (“A control knob 126 of the regulator 115 preferably protrudes out of the control housing 844 for the operator to turn and adjust the pressure coming out of the regulator 115. It can preferably be adjusted from 0 psi to full shop pressure (e.g., 80 to 100 psi) by turning the knob.” Col. 9, lines 38-42).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the hydraulic jack of Hisel as modified with the pressure as taught by Snook for the purpose of having sufficient pressure to accomplish the intended task.
Referring to claim 6: Hisel as modified teaches the hydraulic jack of claim 4, but is silent on wherein the pressurized air from the air compressor is compressed air of at least 50 psi.
Snook in an analogous hydraulic jack (100 Fig. 10) wherein the pressurized air from the air compressor is compressed air of at least 50 psi (“A control knob 126 of the regulator 115 preferably protrudes out of the control housing 844 for the operator to turn and adjust the pressure coming out of the regulator 115. It can preferably be adjusted from 0 psi to full shop pressure (e.g., 80 to 100 psi) by turning the knob.” Col. 9, lines 38-42).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the hydraulic jack of Hisel as modified with the pressure as taught by Snook for the purpose of having sufficient pressure to accomplish the intended task.
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 CHRISTOPHER SOTO whose telephone number is (571)272-8172. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8a.m. - 5 p.m..
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, Monica Carter can be reached at 571-272-4475. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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CHRISTOPHER SOTO
Examiner
Art Unit 3723
/CHRISTOPHER SOTO/Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/MONICA S CARTER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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