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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
The following is a quotation of the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 5 recites the limitation “wherein the first arm portion has a first arm and a second arm”. There appears to be improper antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as Applicant has previously defined “the first arm portion having a pair of arms”, thus it is unclear if Applicant is re-introducing the first and second arm, or otherwise. The claim language “the second arm portion has a third arm and a fourth arm”.
Examiner requests clarification and recommends amending the claims with language that clearly sets forth the claimed invention. In the interim, and in the interests of compact prosecution, the claims have been interpreted as set forth below.
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 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; or
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed 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 Boussard et al. (“Boussard”)(US 2018/0142488 A1).
Boussard (fig. 1-8) teaches a vehicle transport device comprising:
(re: base claim 1) a carriage (2, 3) capable of entering under a vehicle to be transported;
a first arm portion (3) provided to the carriage, the first arm portion having a pair of arms (near 31, 32) capable of supporting one of a front wheel or a rear wheel of the vehicle;
a second arm portion (2) provided to the carriage, the second arm portion having a pair of arms (near 21, 22 or 23, 24) capable of supporting the other of the front wheel or the rear wheel of the vehicle;
an acquisition unit that acquires size information of the vehicle (fig. 1 showing sensors 10, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49; para. 22, 30, 32 teaching various sensors for gathering vehicle size related information, such as laser range finder, ultrasonic telemetry sensors, force sensors, and short-range scanning laser telemetry sensors)
a distance adjusting device that adjusts a distance between the first arm portion and the second arm portion according to the acquired size information of the vehicle while the vehicle transport device is moving toward a location of the vehicle (Cf. fig. 2-5 showing vehicle transport device with carriage that enters underneath vehicle; para. 22, 30-36 teaching sensors providing real-time information while vehicle transport is in process of aligning vehicle with para. 35 expressly teaching that “arm (2) adjusts its length according to the length of the front overhang estimated by the ultrasonic range finders” and that the length of the rear arm is also adjusted based on sensor measurements);
(re: certain elements claim 5) wherein the pair of arms of the first arm portion has a first arm and a second arm extending along a left-right direction of the carriage (near 31, 32),
wherein the pair of arms of the second arm portion has a third arm and a fourth arm (near 23, 24),
wherein the second arm, the third arm, and the fourth arm are each rotatable between a first position extending along a front-rear direction of the carriage and a second position extending along the left-right direction of the carriage (Cf. fig. 2 and 5; para. 34-36),
wherein the first arm, the second arm, the third arm, and the fourth arm are arranged along the front-rear direction in this order (Id.),
wherein the carriage enters under the vehicle from the fourth arm side with the second arm, the third arm, and the fourth arm in the first position, when the vehicle transport device arrives in front of or behind the vehicle (Id.),
wherein the third arm rotates to the second position and the carriage moves until the third arm hits the other wheel when the third arm enters between the front wheel and the rear wheel of the vehicle (Id.),
wherein the fourth arm rotates to the second position when the carriage stops, whereby the third arm and the fourth arm clamp the other wheel (Cf. fig. 2-5),
wherein the distance adjusting device moves the first arm portion toward the second arm until the first arm hits the one wheel, when the third arm and the fourth arm clamp the other wheel (Id. with para. 34-35 teaching adjusting length of arm portions and para. 36 teaching clamping of wheels with respective arms), and
wherein the second arm rotates to the second position when the first arm section stops, whereby the first arm and the second arm clamp the one wheel (Id.).
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 of this title, 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 2-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Boussard et al. (“Boussard”)(US 2018/0142488 A1) in view of and Cord et al. (“Cord”)(US 11,981,554), and Choi et al. (“Choi”)(CN 117166828 A)(with text citations to English translation attached herewith).
Boussard as set forth above teaches all that is claimed except for expressly teaching
(re: claim 2) a height adjusting device that adjusts a height of the carriage, wherein the height adjusting device lowers the carriage to a position where the carriage can enter under the vehicle while the vehicle transport device is moving toward the location of the vehicle;
(re: claim 3) wherein the height adjusting device starts an operation of lowering the carriage when an estimated time until the vehicle transport device arrives in front of or behind the vehicle becomes a time required for the operation of lowering the carriage;
(re: claim 4) wherein the distance adjusting device adjusts the distance between the first arm portion and the second arm portion to a distance obtained by adding a wheelbase of the vehicle to a predetermined length for fine adjustment.
Re: claims 2 and 3:
Cord, however, teaches that it is well-known in the vehicle transport arts to integrate height adjusting elements to lift the carriage element relative to a front drive element, thus better preparing the vehicle for transport after the respective arms have immobilized the vehicle (fig. 1 near 132 and 211, 212; col. 4, ln. 60-65; col. 5, ln. 40-col. 6, ln. 15 teaching a front 132 and rear 211, 212 adjusting means capable of lowering the position of the carriage to enter under a vehicle during an estimated time the vehicle transport device is moving to arrive in front of vehicle).
Re: claims 4 and 5:
Choi further teaches it is well-known in the vehicle transport arts to use vehicle information, such as a wheelbase data, to make fine adjustments to front and rear transport elements to better secure the vehicle for transport (fig. 3 showing first 100 and second 600 arm portions set at wheelbase distance d1 and fig. 4 showing sensors verifying wheelbase measurements d2, d3; p. 13-17 teaching multiple sensor measurements, e.g., cameras, to verify wheelbase measurements and to make fine adjustment to arm elements that were initially set to conventional vehicle).
It would thus be obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art to modify the base reference with these prior art teachings—with a reasonable expectation of success—to arrive at the claimed invention. The rationale for this obviousness determination can be found in the prior art itself as cited above-- as Choi expressly teaches sensing wheelbase vehicle information to adjust the relative position of arm portions to better secure a vehicle for transport--and from an analysis of the prior art teachings that demonstrates that the modification to arrive at the claimed invention would merely involve the substitution/addition of well-known elements (e.g., height adjusting elements) with no change in their respective functions. Moreover, the use of prior art elements according to their known functions is a predictable variation that would yield predictable results (e.g., benefit produced by known function), and thus cannot be regarded as a non-obvious modification when the modification is already commonly implemented in the relevant prior art. See also MPEP 2143.I (teaching that simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results is known to one with ordinary skill in the art); 2144.06, 2144.07 (teaching as obvious the use of art recognized equivalences). Further, the prior art discussed and cited demonstrates the level of sophistication of one with ordinary skill in the art and that these modifications are predictable variations that would be within this skill level. 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 modify the invention of Boussard for the reasons set forth above.
Conclusion
Any references not explicitly discussed above but made of record are regarded as helpful in establishing the state of the prior art and are thus considered relevant to the prosecution of the instant application.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH C RODRIGUEZ whose telephone number is 571-272-3692 (M-F, 9 am – 6 pm, PST). The Supervisory Examiner is MICHAEL MCCULLOUGH, 571-272-7805.
Alternatively, to contact the examiner, send an E-mail communication to Joseph.Rodriguez@uspto.gov. Such E-mail communication should be in accordance with provisions of the MPEP (see e.g., 502.03 & 713.04; see also Patent Internet Usage Policy Article 5). E-mail communication must begin with a statement authorizing the E-mail communication and acknowledging that such communication is not secure and may be made of record. Please note that any communications with regards to the merits of an application will be made of record. A suggested format for such authorization is as follows: "Recognizing that Internet communications are not secure, I hereby authorize the USPTO to communicate with me concerning any subject matter of this application by electronic mail. I understand that a copy of these communications will be made of record in the application file”.
Information regarding the status of an application may also be obtained from the Patent Center: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov/
/JOSEPH C RODRIGUEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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February 11, 2026