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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Information Disclosure Statement
1. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on (2/28/24) is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Proctor (US PG PUB 2009/0289446).
[CLAIM 1] Regarding claim 1, Proctor discloses a retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement comprising: a drive unit (42) being configured to be mounted adjacent wheels (W1-W2) of a vehicle; an axle (12) being operatively connected to said drive unit and configured to be rotated by said drive unit; mud flaps (14/16) being suspended from opposing ends of said axle; a control unit (64) being operatively connected to said drive unit and configured to control the operation of said drive unit (Proctor, paragraph [0026]); and said drive unit being actuatable to rotate said drive axle and roll up and retract said mud flaps from an extended position to a retracted position (Proctor, FIG 3) to minimize contact with objects on the ground and damage resulting from such contact upon a vehicle being driven in reverse (Proctor, paragraphs [0008-0009] teach movement of the mud flaps when in reverse gear).
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[CLAIM 2] Regarding claim 2, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 1, wherein said control unit (64) is connectable to a reverse indicator or reverse switch of a vehicle to automatically actuate said drive unit to retract said mud flaps upon a vehicle being driven in reverse (Proctor, paragraphs [0008-0009] teach movement of the mud flaps when in reverse gear and inherently includes an indicator for the driver).
[CLAIM 3] Regarding claim 3, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 2, wherein: said control unit (64) is configured to actuate said drive unit (42) and rotate said axle (12) in a first direction until said mud flaps (14/16) are retracted to said retracted position in which the lower edge of each of said mud flaps (14/16) is positioned about halfway up the height of its adjacent tire; and said control unit (64) is configured to actuate said drive unit and rotate said axle (12) in a second direction opposite said first direction until said mud flaps (14/16) are extended to said extended position in which the lower edge of each of said mud flaps (14/16) is positioned three to six inches from the ground (Any desired position by the user can be used to compensate for ground clearance).
[CLAIM 4] Regarding claim 4, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 3, wherein: each of said mud flaps (14/16) comprises an upper mounting bracket (Proctor, FIG 1) and a flap portion (Proctor, FIG 1) suspended in a freely pivotable manner from said upper mounting bracket (Proctor, FIGS1-3); and said axle (12) comprises a mounting arrangement configured to receive and hold said upper mounting bracket of each of said mud flaps (14/16) such that upon rotation of said axle (12) said flap portion is rolled up around said axle (Proctor, FIGS 1-3 illustrate an exemplary mud flap mounting including a mounting frame 48, axle 12 and motor 42 which when assembled are all connected in order to operate the movement of the mud flaps).
[CLAIM 5] Regarding claim 5, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 4, wherein said mounting arrangement comprises: an open-ended slot in said drive axle to permit sliding in and out of said upper mounting bracket to permit insertion and removal of said mud flaps and a securing bolt configured to be inserted into a receptacle in said axle to cover said open-ended slot to secure said upper mounting bracket in said open-ended lot (Proctor, FIGS1-3 are exemplary and shows mounting holes and fasteners which allow replacement of the mud flaps. Holes or slots are interchangeable).
[CLAIM 6] Regarding claim 6, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 5, further comprising a status indicator operatively connected to said control unit (64) and configured to be mounted on a surface in a cab of a vehicle and to indicate whether said mud flaps (14/16) are in said extended position or said retracted position (Proctor, paragraph [0008] teaches a control switch used by the driver which can/has status of mud flap position).
[CLAIM 7] Regarding claim 7, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 6, further comprising a manual control button arrangement operatively connected to said control unit (64) to permit manual actuation of said drive unit (42) to permit a user to selectively retract and extend said mud flaps (Proctor, paragraph [0042] teaches driver control e.g. manual of the mud flap position).
[CLAIM 8] Regarding claim 8, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 7, wherein said control unit (64) is configured to actuate said drive unit (42) to automatically extend said mud flaps (14/16) upon expiration of a predetermined amount of time (The controller of Proctor can include a timing device if desired to assist the driver).
[CLAIM 9] Regarding claim 9, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 8, wherein said drive unit (42) comprises a battery or is connectable to a battery (Proctor discloses an electric motor in paragraph [0020] which inherently requires energy such as a battery).
[CLAIM 10] Regarding claim 10, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 9, wherein each of said mud flaps comprises a standard hinged mud flap (Proctor, FIGS1-3).
[CLAIM 11] Regarding claim 11, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 1, wherein: said control unit (64) is configured to actuate said drive unit (42) and rotate said axle (12) in a first direction until said mud flaps (14/16) are retracted to said retracted position in which the lower edge of each of said mud flaps is positioned about halfway up the height of its adjacent tire (W1-W2); and said control unit (64) is configured to actuate said drive unit (42) and rotate said axle (12) in a second direction opposite said first direction until said mud flaps are extended to said extended position in which the lower edge of each of said mud flaps is positioned three to six inches from the ground (Any desired position can be used by the user for ground clearance).
[CLAIM 12] Regarding claim 12, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 1, wherein: each of said mud flaps comprises an upper mounting bracket (48) and a flap portion (Proctor, FIG 3) suspended in a freely pivotable manner from said upper mounting bracket (48); and said axle (12) comprises a mounting arrangement configured to receive and hold said upper mounting bracket (48) of each of said mud flaps such that upon rotation of said axle (12) said flap portion is rolled up around said axle (12).
[CLAIM 13] Regarding claim 13, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 12, wherein said mounting arrangement comprises: an open-ended slot (Proctor, FIG 3 is exemplary and shows mounting holes and fasteners) in said drive axle to permit sliding in and out of said upper mounting bracket to permit insertion and removal of said mud flaps (Proctor, FIG 3 is exemplary and shows mounting holes and fasteners); and a securing bolt configured to be inserted into a receptacle in said axle to cover said open-ended slot to secure said upper mounting bracket in said open-ended slot (Proctor, FIG 3 is exemplary and shows mounting holes and fasteners).
[CLAIM 14] Regarding claim 14, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 1, further comprising a status indicator (Proctor, paragraph [0008] teaches a control switch used by the driver which can/has status of mud flap position) operatively connected to said control unit (64) and configured to be mounted on a surface in a cab of a vehicle and to indicate whether said mud flaps (14/16) are in said extended position or said retracted position (Proctor, paragraph [0042] teaches driver control of the mud flap position).
[CLAIM 15] Regarding claim 15, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 1, further comprising a manual control button (Proctor, paragraph [0008] teaches a control switch used by the driver which can/has status of mud flap position) arrangement operatively connected to said control unit (64) to permit manual actuation of said drive unit to permit a user to selectively retract and extend said mud flaps (Proctor, paragraph [0042] teaches driver control of the mud flap position).
[CLAIM 16] Regarding claim 16, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 1, wherein said control unit (64) is configured to actuate said drive unit (42) to automatically extend said mud flaps (14/16) upon expiration of a predetermined amount of time (The controller of Proctor can include a timing device if desired to assist the driver).
[CLAIM 17] Regarding claim 17, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 1, wherein said drive unit (42) comprises a battery or is connectable to a battery of a vehicle to supply power to said drive unit (Proctor discloses an electric motor in paragraph [0020] which inherently requires energy such as a battery).
[CLAIM 18] Regarding claim 18, Proctor discloses the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 1, wherein each of said mud flaps (14/16) comprises a standard hinged mud flap (Proctor, FIG 3 illustrates an exemplary mud flap that can move fore/aft while driving the vehicle).
[CLAIM 19] Regarding claim 19, Proctor discloses a method of protecting mud flaps using the retractable vehicle mud flap arrangement of claim 1 comprising the steps of: mounting said drive unit, said axle, and said control unit on a vehicle suspending said mud flaps (14/16) from opposing ends of said axle (Proctor, FIG 3 shows the motor and shaft and the vehicle includes controller 64); and driving said vehicle in reverse and actuating said drive unit and rotating said drive axle and rolling up and retracting said mud flaps from an extended position to a retracted position to minimize contact with objects on the ground and damage resulting from such contact upon said vehicle being driven in reverse (Proctor, paragraphs [0008-0009] teach movement of the mud flaps when in reverse gear. The method of mounting and operation can be modified for any vehicle application).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and can be found on the attached Notice of References Cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to whose telephone number is (571)270-3411. The examiner can normally be reached on 9AM-6PM PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jason Shanske can be reached on (571)270-5985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMES J TRIGGS/Examiner, Art Unit 3614B
/JASON D SHANSKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3614