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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 15-24 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 07/08/2026.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
(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(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Langerud (USPN 4,431,074).
Regarding claim 1, Langerud teaches a lower travelling body of a mobile crane (car body 12 for a crane; col. 1, lines 53-55), the lower travelling body comprising: a car body 12 that supports an upper slewing body (turntable 22) in such a way as to allow the upper slewing body to rotate around a slewing center axis (col. 1, lines 57-60); a right crawler frame 28 extending in a front-to-rear direction on a right side relative to the car body; a left crawler frame 28 extending in the front-to-rear direction on a left side relative to the car body (Figure 2); and a plurality of coupling members 78-84, wherein the plurality of coupling members include: a right front coupling member 78 that couples the car body to the right crawler frame as the right front coupling member is disposed on a diagonally rightward front side relative to the car body; a right rear coupling member 82 that couples the car body to the right crawler frame as the right rear coupling member is disposed on a diagonally rightward rear side relative to the car body; a left front coupling member 80 that couples the car body to the left crawler frame as the left front coupling member is disposed on a diagonally leftward front side relative to the car body; and a left rear coupling member 84 that couples the car body to the left crawler frame as the left rear coupling member is disposed on a diagonally leftward rear side relative to the car body (all coupling members shown in Figure 2; col. 2, lines 30-36), wherein each of the right front coupling member and the right rear coupling member is configured to change a relative position to one or both of the right crawler frame and the car body in order to reduce dimensions of the lower travelling body when the lower travelling body is transported, and wherein each of the left front coupling member and the left rear coupling member is configured to change a relative position to one or both of the left crawler frame and the car body in order to reduce dimensions of the lower travelling body when the lower travelling body is transported.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 5-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishii (USPN 7,992,660) in view of Langerud (USPN 4,431,074).
Regarding claim 1, Ishii teaches a lower travelling body of a mobile crane, the lower travelling body comprising: a car body 1 that supports an upper slewing body (a round slewing ring, conventionally provided on cranes, is shown on the car body 1, in Figure 1) in such a way as to allow the upper slewing body to rotate around a slewing center axis (upper rotating body described in col. 3, lines 51-53); a right crawler frame 3R extending in a front-to-rear direction on a right side relative to the car body (Figure 1); a left crawler frame 3L extending in the front-to-rear direction on a left side relative to the car body; and a plurality of coupling members 13, wherein the plurality of coupling members include: a right front coupling member 13 that couples the car body to the right crawler frame as the right front coupling member is disposed on a rightward front side relative to the car body; a right rear coupling member 13 that couples the car body to the right crawler frame as the right rear coupling member is disposed on a rightward rear side relative to the car body; a left front coupling member 13 that couples the car body to the left crawler frame as the left front coupling member is disposed on a leftward front side relative to the car body; and a left rear coupling member 13 that couples the car body to the left crawler frame as the left rear coupling member is disposed on a leftward rear side relative to the car body (all shown in Figure 1), wherein each of the right front coupling member and the right rear coupling member is configured to change a relative position to one or both of the right crawler frame and the car body in order to reduce dimensions of the lower travelling body when the lower travelling body is transported (link 13 changes its connection position relative to the car body 1, between contacted and extended track positions), and wherein each of the left front coupling member and the left rear coupling member is configured to change a relative position to one or both of the left crawler frame and the car body in order to reduce dimensions of the lower travelling body when the lower travelling body is transported (crawler positions are retracted to facilitate carrying the crane on a trailer; col. 1, lines 20-21).
Ishii shows the coupling members extending transversely rather than diagonally relative to the car body.
Langerud teaches a mobile crane having a car body, axles, and coupling members, as described above. The coupling members are oriented diagonally to the front and rear and toward the crawler frames.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to orient the coupling members diagonally away from the car body toward the crawler frames, in view of Langrud, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide more stable bracing of the frame.
Regarding claim 2, Ishii teaches the car body 1 includes :a car body main part 1 that rotatably supports the upper slewing body (at upper rotating body; col. 3, lines 49-52); a front axle 2 extending rightward and leftward from the car body main part (Figure 1); and a rear axle 2 extending rightward and leftward from the car body main part on a rear side relative to the front axle (Figure 1), wherein the right crawler frame 3R includes a right front axle support 4 (axle receiving hole 4; col. 4, lines 2-5) at and a right rear axle support 4 that support the front axle and the rear axle, respectively, in such a way as to allow the right crawler frame to change a position thereof in a left-to-right direction between an expanded position and a contracted position at which a distance between the slewing center axis and the right crawler frame is smaller than a distance at the expanded position, relative to the front axle and the rear axle, wherein the left crawler frame includes a left front axle support and a left rear axle support that support the front axle and the rear axle, respectively, in such a way as to allow the left crawler frame to change a position thereof in the left-to-right direction between an expanded position and a contracted position at which a distance between the slewing center axis and the left crawler frame is smaller than a distance at the expanded position, relative to the front axle and the rear axle (col. 3, line 60 through col. 4, line 23), wherein the right front coupling member 13 is configured to be set in an expanded connection state in which the right front coupling member is connected to the car body as the right crawler frame is set at the expanded position, and is connected to a part of the right crawler frame that is on a front side relative to the right front axle support, wherein the right rear coupling member 13 is configured to be set in an expanded connection state in which the right rear coupling member is connected to the car body as the right crawler frame is set at the expanded position, and is connected to a part of the right crawler frame that is on a rear side relative to the right rear axle support, wherein the left front coupling member is configured to be set in an expanded connection state in which the left front coupling member is connected to the car body as the left crawler frame is set at the expanded position, and is connected to a part of the left crawler frame that is on a front side relative to the left front axle support, wherein the left rear coupling member 13 is configured to be set in an expanded connection state in which the left rear coupling member is connected to the car body as the left crawler frame is set at the expanded position, and is connected to a part of the left crawler frame that is on a rear side relative to the left rear axle support, wherein each of the right front coupling member and the right rear coupling member is configured such that while remaining connected to at least one of the car body and the right crawler frame, each of the right front coupling member and the right rear coupling member changes a relative position to at least one of the car body and the right crawler frame , from the expanded connection state, thus allowing the right crawler frame to shift from the expanded position to the contracted position, and wherein each of the left front coupling member and the left rear coupling member is configured such that while remaining connected to at least one of the car body and the left crawler frame, each of the left front coupling member and the left rear coupling member changes a relative position to at least one of the car body and the left crawler frame, from the expanded connection state, thus allowing the left crawler frame to shift from the expanded position to the contracted position (the connections between connecting members/links 13 and car body 1 are released to allow the crawlers to shift between expanded and contracted positions, while the connection to the crawler frame attachment portion 111 remains connected).
Regarding claim 5, Ishii teaches that each of the right front coupling member 13 and the right rear coupling member 13 is configured to be set in a restricted state (Figure 1 of Ishii shows coupling members 13 on the left side of the drawing connected in a restricted state, where the crawler frame is closer to the car body than in a contracted state; both sides can be set to the contracted state or an extended state) in which each of the right front coupling member and the right rear coupling member is restricted by at least one of the car body and the right crawler frame set at the contracted position, and wherein each of the left front coupling member and the left rear coupling member is configured to be set in a restricted state in which each of the left front coupling member and the left rear coupling member is restricted by at least one of the car body and the left crawler frame set at the contracted position.
Regarding claims 6-9, Ishii shows a right coupling member 13 that is at least one of the right front coupling member and the right rear coupling member includes a car body connection portion rotatably connected to the car body by a pin 21 and to the crawler frame by a pin 12 (Figure 8), and a crawler connection portion detachably connected to the right crawler frame set at the expanded position. It appears to teach detaching the car body connection portion while keeping the crawler connection portion connected, rather than the crawler connection portion being detached from the right crawler frame and the car body connection portion being kept connected to the car body, such that the right coupling member rotates on the car body connection portion relative to the car body to change a relative position of the right coupling member to the car body and the right crawler frame, from the expanded connection state, thus allowing the right crawler frame to shift from the expanded position to the contracted position, and then is detachably connected to the right crawler frame set at the contracted position and is therefore set in the restricted state. However, it would have been an obvious reversal of parts to keep the car body connection portions connected while detaching the crawler connection portions to adjust the position of the crawler frames relative to the bar body, in order to achieve substantially the same result in substantially the same way.
Regarding claim 10, Ishii shows a right coupling member 13 that is at least one of the right front coupling member and the right rear coupling member includes a car body connection portion at pin 23 detachably connected to the car body (Figure 8), and a crawler connection portion at pin 12 connected to the right crawler frame set at the expanded position, wherein as the car body connection portion is detached from the car body and the crawler connection portion is kept connected to the right crawler frame, the right coupling member changes a relative position of the right coupling member to the car body, from the expanded connection state, thus allowing the right crawler frame to shift from the expanded position to the contracted position, and then is detachably connected to the car body as the right crawler frame is set at the contracted position, and is therefore set in the restricted state.
Regarding claims 11-14, the same structure is provided for the left crawler frame of Ishii and each of the front and rear coupling members 13.
Claim(s) 3 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishii and Langerud as applied to claims 1, 2, and 5-14 above, and further in view of Moore et al. (USPN 6,848,522).
Regarding claim 3, Ishii teaches that the right front coupling member 13 includes a right front load receiving surface counter to the car body 1 (at bracket 14) and a right front load transmission surface counter to the right crawler frame (at attachment portion 11), wherein the left front coupling member, similarly, includes a left front load receiving surface counter to the car body and a left front load transmission surface counter to the left crawler frame, wherein each of the right front load receiving surface of the right front coupling member and the left front load receiving surface of the left front coupling member is a surface configured to receive a front load from the car body 1, the front load being a load that the car body receives from the upper slewing body when a cargo-to-be-lifted is hung from the upper slewing body (“upper rotating body”; col. 3, lines 51-52) on a front side relative to the lower travelling body, the right front load transmission surface is a surface configured to transmit the front load to the right crawler frame, and the left front load transmission surface is a surface configured to transmit the front load to the left crawler frame. Langerud teaches the angled orientation of the coupling members 78-84, including the right front coupling member 78 being configured such that in plan view, a right front straight line that is a straight line passing through any point included in the right front load receiving surface and any point included in the right front load transmission surface passes through the right front end roller 32 or a point on a front side relative to the right front end roller (Figure 2), and wherein the left front coupling member is configured such that in plan view, a left front straight line that is a straight line passing through any point included in the left front load receiving surface and any point included in the left front load transmission surface passes through the left front end roller or a point on a front side relative to the left front end roller.
The combination is silent regarding front and rear wheels and rollers mounted therebetween, although that is a conventional crawler belt support arrangement and Langerud teaches at least front and rear wheels 30, 32, mounted at front and rear ends of the respective crawler frames.
Moore teaches a width adjustable crawler vehicle with crawler frames A1, A2, having front and rear wheels with rollers therebetween (see Figure 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the crawler frames of the combination with front and rear wheels as well as rollers positioned therebetween, in view of Moore, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to reliably support the endless belt.
Regarding claim 4, the combination teaches the same arrangement of rear left and right coupling members as that of the front left and right coupling members.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Galignani, Juergens, Roucka, Willim (DE’110), Hathauser, Porubcansky, Qin, and JP4097071 teach laterally adjustable crawler vehicle frames.
DE2216307 shows a laterally adjustable frame with detachable a pivotable connecting members.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Anne Marie M. Boehler whose telephone number is (571)272-6641. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Valentin Neacsu can be reached at 571-272-6265. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANNE MARIE M BOEHLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3611
/ab/
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