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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/28/23, 3/12/24 and 8/1225 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the” was omitted before “first hemispherical bearing surface” and “second hemispherical bearing surface”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities: “second” was omitted before “portion”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-10, 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Anderson, US 2023/0358069 in view of Bermingham, US 2,878,084.
Regarding claims 1, 7-8, 16 and 18:
Anderson discloses a tilt tower (10), comprising:
a mast (12) fixed to ground;
a swing arm (14) including a tube with a hollow interior portion; and
a bearing (at 16) rotatably coupling the swing arm to a side of an upper end of the mast, the bearing including:
a bearing seat (40-46) coupled to the side of the upper end of the mast, the bearing seat including a first portion (42) including a first hemispherical bearing surface and a second portion (40) including a second hemispherical bearing surface, wherein the first portion and the second portion collectively form a circular bearing surface (refer to Figs. 5 and 6);
an axle (16) coupled to an exterior surface of the respective swing arm, wherein the axle includes a hollow interior portion connected to the interior of the tube of the swing arm.
Anderson does not expressly disclose a sealed roller bearing between the axle and the mast.
Bermingham discloses a sealed roller bearing for use between relatively rotatable parts (pg. 1, ll. 15-19).
Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) to use the sealed roller bearing as suggested by Bermingham as the bearing of Anderson in order to establish a fluid tight seal between the mast and the swing arm.
Regarding claim 2:
Anderson discloses wherein the hollow interior of the axle is open to the hollow interior portion of the tube of the swing arm through an opening in a side of the swing arm.
Regarding claim 3:
Anderson discloses wherein the axle is cylindrical and includes a uniform circumference throughout the length of the axle (refer to Fig. 10).
Regarding claims 4 and 12:
Anderson in view of Bermingham discloses wherein the sealed roller bearing is at least partially within a bearing seat of the bearing (as substituted into Anderson, the sealed roller bearing would be located where the bearing of Anderson is located as shown in Fig. 17).
Regarding claims 5 and 15:
Anderson discloses wherein the axle includes a flange (28) extending radially from a surface of the axle and is connected to the mast, and the bearing seat is at least partially about the flange (refer to Fig. 17).
Regarding claim 6:
Anderson discloses wherein the flange is operatively coupled to a backing plate (34) between the flange and the mast.
Regarding claim 9:
Anderson discloses wherein the bearing seat is physically connected to the side of the upper end of the mast by at least two fasteners (through apertures 56 and 58), and wherein the bearing seat is selectively removable from the side of the upper end of the mast.
Regarding claim 10:
Anderson modified in view of Bermingham discloses wherein the first and second hemispherical bearing surfaces collectively form the circular bearing surface about the sealed roller bearing.
Regarding claims 13, 14 and 20:
Anderson discloses wherein the first portion (40) of the bearing seat is permanently fixed to the upper end of the mast;
Anderson discloses wherein the second portion of the bearing seat is selectively removable from the upper end of the mast (via bolts, refer to Fig. 17).
Regarding claim 17:
Anderson discloses wherein the bearing seat is physically connected to the mast by at least two fasteners and is selectively removable from the side of the mast (via bolts).
Regarding claim 19:
Anderson discloses wherein the first hemispherical bearing surface includes a first arced surface including a first length different from a second length of a second arced surface of the second hemispherical bearing surface.
PNG
media_image1.png
391
650
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Anderson, US 2023/0358069 in view of Bermingham, US 2,878,084 as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Timian et al., US 2019/0040647.
Regarding claim 11:
Anderson in view of Bermingham discloses a sealed roller bearing but does not expressly disclose wherein it is spherical.
Timian discloses a tilt tower having a roller bearing that is spherical (refer to Fig. 2A).
Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a PHOSITA to use a spherical roller bearing as suggested by Timian for the bearing of Anderson in view of Bermingham. Timian suggests wherein a spherical roller bearing is functionally equivalent to a cylindrical roller bearing in such an application as shown in Figs. 2A and 2B.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRENT W HERRING whose telephone number is (571)270-3661. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:30a-6:00p MT.
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, Brian Glessner can be reached at (571)272-6754. 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.
/BRENT W HERRING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3633