DETAILED ACTION
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 1-2, 4-5, 10, 12-14, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Meissner (EP2364877A1) and Hangzhou (CN113404748A).
Regarding claims 1, 4-5,10 12, 13, Meissner discloses a tipper truck comprising: a chassis (14) and a tipper body (16) attached to the chassis at a pivot point (figs 1-2), the tipper body configured to be pivotable relative to the chassis (figs 1-4); and a hydraulic cylinder assembly (18, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 52) (figs 1-3), the hydraulic cylinder being disposed between the chassis and the tipper body and configured to tilt the tipper body relative to the chassis (figs 1-3), the hydraulic cylinder assembly comprising: a single-acting hydraulic cylinder (18) (fig 3); an oil tank (40); a fluid line (46) fluidically connecting the oil tank with the hydraulic cylinder (fig 3); and a motor unit (42, 44) including a pump (42) disposed in the fluid line to pump fluid from the oil tank to the hydraulic cylinder to extend the hydraulic cylinder (abstract, fig 3); a pressure sensor (48) arranged at the hydraulic cylinder and configured to output at least one pressure signal indicative of pressure of hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic cylinder (abstract, fig 3); and a controller (52) configured to control the motor unit based on the at least one pressure signal received from the pressure sensor (page 3 4th paragraph);
Meissner is silent regarding the fact that the motor unit further comprises a motor configured to operate the pump, wherein the hydraulic cylinder assembly is configured so that oil leaving the hydraulic cylinder, during retraction of the hydraulic cylinder, passes through the pump to the oil tank.
Hangzhou teaches the fact that the motor unit (2,3) comprises a motor (3) configured to operate the pump (2) (fig 1), wherein the hydraulic cylinder assembly (6) is configured so that oil leaving the hydraulic cylinder, during retraction of the hydraulic cylinder, passes through the pump to the oil tank(fig 1, page 4).
(Claim 4) Hangzhou further teaches that the motor unit includes a generator (3) configured to recover energy from oil flowing from the hydraulic cylinder to the oil tank, during retraction of the hydraulic cylinder (fig 1: 3 acts as both generator and motor, same as in the applicant’s disclosure).
(Claim 10)Hangzhou further discloses a 2/2 valve (5) arranged on the fluid line for permitting fluid return from the hydraulic cylinder to the oil tank through the pump in a bypass position (fig 1), and for preventing fluid return from the hydraulic cylinder to the oil tank through the pump in a check valve position (fig 1).
(Claims 5 and 16) Hangzhou further discloses a command unit (11) configured to receive operation commands to extend or retract the hydraulic cylinder and to output a corresponding command signal (page); wherein the controller (7) is further configured to control the motor unit based on the command signals received from the command unit (fig 1, page 2).
Before the effective filling date, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Meissner and Hangzhou before him or her, to modify the apparatus/method disclosed by Meissner to include the generator as taught by Hangzhou in order to help recover energy (abstract).
Regarding claims 2 and 14, Meissner further discloses that the controller is programmed to operate the motor unit in a pressure relief mode in response to the at least one pressure signal indicating a spike in pressure over an upper pressure threshold (page 3).
Claims 3 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Meissner (EP2364877A1) and Hangzhou (CN113404748A) as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, and further in view of Kowatari et al. (US 20250059728).
Regarding claims 3 and 15, the combination of Meissner and Hangzhou is silent regarding the fact that in response to the pressure signal indicating a dip in pressure below a lower pressure threshold, controlling the motor unit to enter a cavitation safe mode.
Kowatari teaches that in response to the pressure signal indicating a dip in pressure below a lower pressure threshold, controlling the motor unit to enter a cavitation safe mode ([0076]-[0078]).
Before the effective filling date, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Meissner, Kowatari and Hangzhou before him or her, to modify the apparatus/method disclosed by the combination of Meissner and Hangzhou to the cavitation mode as taught by Kowatari in order to prevent cavitation ([0076])
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-9,11, 17-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANY E AKAKPO whose telephone number is (469)295-9255. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am - 5pm.
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/DANY E AKAKPO/Examiner, Art Unit 3672
1/21/2026
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