VEHICLE

DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions. Acknowledgment is made of the response filed on July 30, 2026, where: And claims 12, 13, 19, and 25 have been amended; Claim 1 has been previously cancelled; Claims 2-27 pending in this Office Action. Applicant’s arguments, beginning page 9 with respect to the limitation in Claim 2, where “a transmission is mid-mounted to the frame such that the transmission is disposed at least partially beneath the seat” (emphasis added by the examiner) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 USC 103 rejection of Claims 2-4 as being unpatentable over Yamasaki et al. in view of Sunsdahl et al. has been withdrawn. Applicant's arguments with respect to the combination of Yamasaki et al. and Sunsdahl failing to teach or suggest: “an engine mounted to the frame entirely forward of a front edge of the seat and operatively coupled to the transmission, the engine operable to provide motive force to the at least one of the plurality of ground engaging members via the transmission and the at least one drive shaft” have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Yamasaki et al. shows in Figure 1 an engine (1) mounted in the forward portion of the vehicle drive train, where the engine (1) provides motive force to the at least one of the plurality of ground engaging members (8F, 8R) via the transmission (T) and the at least one drive shaft (6F, 6R). Sundahl et al. teach of an all-terrain body layout that includes teaching of a frame, dashboard, and operator seating area. It is maintained that it would have been within the level of ordinary skill at the time the invention was filed to use Sundahl et al. body and seating for the vehicle body taught by Yamasaki et al. where the engine is located forward of the seat. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: (a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claim 6-9, 19-21, and 23-27 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent 5,057,062 issued to Yamasaki et al. in view of U.S. Patent Publication 2008/0023249 issued to Sunsdahl et al. Regarding Claim 6, 12, 13, 19 and 25, Yamasaki et al. teaches in Figures 1-15 and respective portions of the specification of an off-road utility vehicle (a four wheel drive vehicle is disclosed which is capable of off-roading), said vehicle comprising: a transmission (T) that is arranged in the middle of the vehicle and an engine (1) located in a longitudinal orientation in the front part of the vehicle, a plurality of ground engaging members (8F, 8R) that are inherently supporting by the frame of the vehicle; at least one drive shaft (4R, 4F), a front differential (7F) operatively coupled to the ground engaging members (8F); and the engine (1) mounted to the frame operatively coupled to the transmission (T), the engine (1) operable to provide motive force to the at least one of the plurality of ground engaging members (8F, 8R) via the transmission and the at least one drive shaft (4R, 4F). Yamasaki et al shows the powertrain layout in Figures 1A and 1B and an operator area with a dashboard in Figure 6A, but does not show the details for the body layout. Sunsdahl et al. shows an all-terrain body layout structure with a frame (15) for supporting four wheels (22), dashboard (31) and an operator area (17) positioning seating (20) on the vehicle frame. Sunsdahl further teaches of a rollover protection structure (16) coupled to the frame and disposed around a portion of the operator area. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to use the vehicle body and frame and rollover protection taught by Sunsdahl et al.’s for the powertrain layout taught by Yamasaki et al. In the modified vehicle the engine (1) taught by Yamasaki et al. would be located in the forward portion of the frame and the transmission would be mounted in the middle portion of the body partially beneath and rearward of the seat. One would be motivated to use the body taught by Sunsdahl et al. to provide the necessary vehicle structure to allow the vehicle taught by Sunsdahl et al. to function. Regarding Claims 7, 8 and 20-21, Yamasaki et al. shows the engine (1) and transmission (T) are located with a longitudinal orientation in Figures 1A and 1B. In the invention of Yamaskaki et al., as modified by Sunsdahl et al., the engine and transmission would maintain their longitudinal orientation. Regarding Claim 9, in the invention of Yamaskaki et al., as modified by Sunsdahl et al., the portion of the vehicle body located near element (19) in Figure 1 of Sunsdahl et al. is taken to be cargo bed. Regarding Claim 23 and 26, Yamasaki et al. teach the transmission (T) comprises a differential (7R) disposed at least partially rearward of the seat and operably coupled to at least one of the plurality of ground engaging members (8R), and the at least one drive shaft (4R, 4F) comprises at least one of: (Yamasaki et al. teaches at least the second option below) a rear drive shaft operably coupled to the engine at a first end and extending rearward and operably coupled to the differential at an opposing second end; and a front drive shaft (4F) operably coupled at a first end to the differential (7F) and extending forward and operably coupled to a front differential (7F) at an opposing second end, the front differential (4F) operably coupled to at least one of the plurality of ground engaging members (8F). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to locate the differential at least partially rearward of the seat for the modified invention of Yamasaki et al. One would be motivated to partially locate the differential as an obvious location for locating the rear differential. Regarding Claims 24 and 27, Yamasaki et al. teach the transmission (T) comprises a transmission coupled directly to the engine (E), and the at least one drive shaft comprises: a rear drive shaft (4R) operably coupled to the engine (E) at a first end and extending rearward and operably coupled to a rear differential (7R) at an opposing second end, the rear differential (7R) operably coupled to at least one of the plurality of ground engaging members (8R); and a front drive shaft (4F) operably coupled at a first end to the transmission (T) and extending forward and operably coupled to a front differential (7F) at an opposing second end, the front differential (7F) operably coupled to at least of the plurality of ground engaging members (8F ). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to locate the transmission at least partially forward of the seat the transmission and rear drive shaft at least partially below and rearward of the seat for the modified invention of Yamasaki et al. One would be motivated to locate the transmission at least partially forward of the seat structure to centrally locate the transmission to centralize the center of gravity for the vehicle which would increase stability. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-5 and 12-18 allowed. Claims 10-11 and 22 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. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the primary reason for the indication of allowable subject matter in this case is the inclusion of: in re claims 2, 11 and 13 where the a transmission is mid-mounted to the frame such that the transmission is disposed at least partially beneath the seat or in re claims 10, 12 and 22 the transmission is disposed at least partially rearward of the seat; in re claim 14 where a front differential is located forward of the engine and the engine is disposed entirely forward of a front edge of the dashboard for an off road vehicle, with a frame, a drivetrain that includes a drive shaft and a transmission located partially rearward of the seat, in combination with the other elements recited, not found in the prior art of record. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 BRIAN L SWENSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5572. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday (9-5). 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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. BRIAN SWENSON Primary Examiner Art Unit 3618 /BRIAN L SWENSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3613