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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed July 22, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1-12, 14-16, 18-21 and 23 remain pending in the application. The previous objections to claim 23 are withdrawn in light of the Applicant's amendment to claim 23.
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.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U. S. Patent Publication 2011/0116944 to Rohl in view of U. S. Patent Publication 2014/0271257 to Nelson, U. S. Patent 3,318,253 to Campolong, and U. S. Publication 2017/0159659 to Robillard.
Referring to claim 20, Rohl teaches a method comprising:
(a) coupling an output shaft (16 is both the output shaft of the motor and the drive shaft of the compressor) of a motor (62) to a drive shaft (16 is both the output shaft of the motor and the drive shaft of the compressor) of an air compressor (18) so that rotation of the motor drives the air compressor (18); and (b) coupling the output shaft of the motor (62) to a drive shaft (34) of a hydraulic pump (20) so that rotation of the motor (62) drives the hydraulic pump (20) (Figures 1-4; paragraphs [0014]-[0021]);
(d) fluidly coupling the hydraulic pump (20) to at least one of: a hydraulic steering system of a vehicle, a hydraulic braking system of a vehicle, or an auxiliary system of a vocational vehicle (paragraph [0014]-[0021]); and
(e) fluidly coupling the air compressor to a pneumatic device (Figures 1-4; paragraphs [0014]-[0021]).
Rohl does not teach the use of an electric motor. Nelson teaches a method comprising:
coupling an output shaft (16a) of an electric motor (16) to a drive shaft (12) of a compressor (12) so that rotation of the electric motor (16) drives the compressor (12) (Figures 1 and 2; paragraphs [0070]-[0084] and [0097]).
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the method taught by Rohl with the electric motor taught by Nelson in order to use the compressor and pump in an electric vehicle.
Rohl is silent as to a container. Nelson teaches a method comprising:
positioning an electric motor (16), a hydraulic pump (14), and a compressor (12) within an interior of a container (50) (Figures 1 and 2; paragraphs [0070]-[0084] and [0097]).
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the method taught by Rohl with the container taught by Nelson in order to protect the compressor and pump.
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, that when the compressor is within the container as detailed above, the container must have at least one opening for the fluid coupling of the air compressor to a pneumatic device as taught by Nelson and detailed above.
Rohl and Nelson are silent as to cooling of the motor. Campolong teaches a system wherein:
an electric motor (inside 14) defines at least a portion of a fluid pathway for receiving coolant (from 78) (Fig.; col. 5 line 39 - col. 7 line 17).
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the method taught by Nelson with the motor cooling taught by Campolong in order to keep the motor from overheating. As taught by Robillard in paragraph [0057], it is well known in the art that electric motors produce heat, which therefore needs to be accounted for in the design of a pump, and Nelson is silent as to this known design concern.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-12, 14-16, 18, 19, 21 and 23 are allowable. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art does not teach a system comprising all the limitations of claim 1, but more specifically comprising (b) an air compressor comprising a drive shaft coupled to the output shaft of the electric motor so that rotation of the electric motor drives the air compressor; (c) a hydraulic pump comprising a drive shaft that is coupled to the output shaft of the electric motor so that rotation of the electric motor drives the hydraulic pump, wherein the hydraulic pump is configured to generate sufficient pressure in the hydraulic fluid for operation of an auxiliary function of a vocational vehicle or for operating steering or braking of a vehicle; (d) a container comprising at least one sidewall, wherein the container defines an interior, wherein the electric motor, the hydraulic pump, and the air compressor are all received within the interior of the container, wherein the container defines: a first pair of openings configured to communicate hydraulic fluid therethrough, and at least one additional opening configured to communicate therethrough compressed air from the air compressor.
Response to Arguments
The Applicant's arguments have been considered but, unless otherwise addressed below, are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
The 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). the 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 BRYAN MATTHEW LETTMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7860. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4pm.
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/BRYAN M LETTMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
