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 .
Introduction
This is a response to applicant’s submissions filed on December 10, 2025. Claims 1-2, 5-9, 13-17, 19-23, and 27-31 are pending.
Examiner' s Note
Examiner has cited particular paragraphs / columns and line numbers or figures in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the responses, to fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner. Applicant is reminded that the Examiner is entitled to give the broadest reasonable interpretation to the language of the claims. Furthermore, the Examiner is not limited to Applicants' definition which is not specifically set forth in the disclosure.
Response to Arguments
All of applicant’s arguments have been considered.
Regarding applicant’s argument that amending claim 6 clarifies that the working device is different from the attachment (Applicant’s Response, pg. 17), the examiner respectfully disagrees. In paragraph 0051 of the specification, it states that the working device includes a bucket 30a and paragraph 0053 of the specification states that that the bucket 30a is an example of the attachment.
Specification
Amendments to the specification were received on December 10, 2025.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Paragraph 0051 appears to contradict what is shown in Fig. 1 as the working device 4 is not shown to include a bucket 30a, boom(s) 11, lift link(s), control link(s) 13, and a quick hitch 16.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, line 14, RSSI does not have a definition of what the acronym represents.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 6-8 and 20-22 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claim 6 (lines 4, 7, and 9), claim 7 (line 4), claim 8 (line 4), claim 20 (lines 4, 7, and 9), claim 21 (line 4), and claim 22 (line 4), the limitation “working device” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear if the attachment previously claimed in claims 1 (line 2) and 17 (line 2) is part of the working device as paragraph 0051 states that the working device includes a bucket, which is an attachment.
Claims 7-8 and 21-22 are also rejected as being dependent upon a rejected base claim as they do not clear the deficiencies of the claims from which they depend.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-2, 5, 9, 13-17, 19, 23, and 27-31 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claims 1, 17, 30, and 31, the prior art does not disclose or render obvious when the attachment is attached to the hitch, select, as identification-information-at-attaching, one of the one or more pieces of identification information that is included in one of the one or more wireless signals that is received by the receiver most frequently among the one or more wireless signals in a first preset period of time according to a condition (ii); then
when the working vehicle takes action, select, as identification-information-at-action, one of the one or more pieces of identification information that is included in one of the one or more wireless signals that is received by the receiver most frequently among the one or more wireless signals in a second preset period of time according to the condition (ii).
Zitterbart discloses using the strength of a communication signal to correctly identify an attachment. However, it does not disclose when the attachment is attached to the hitch, select, as identification-information-at-attaching, one of the one or more pieces of identification information that is included in one of the one or more wireless signals that is received by the receiver most frequently among the one or more wireless signals in a first preset period of time according to a condition (ii); then
when the working vehicle takes action, select, as identification-information-at-action, one of the one or more pieces of identification information that is included in one of the one or more wireless signals that is received by the receiver most frequently among the one or more wireless signals in a second preset period of time according to the condition (ii).
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Claims 3-8 and 20-22 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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 ALEX GRIFFIN whose telephone number is (703)756-1516. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 7:30am - 5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ERIN BISHOP can be reached at (571)270-3713. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALEX B GRIFFIN/Examiner, Art Unit 3665
/Erin D Bishop/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665