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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 8 and 13 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 8, line 2, recites “to the pin bore the bushing bore” which is grammatically incorrect and should be changed to --to the pin bore and the bushing bore--.
Claim 13, line 2, recites “to the pin bore the bushing bore” which is grammatically incorrect and should be changed to --to the pin bore and the bushing bore--.
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 14-20 are 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.
Claim 14, line 8, recites “an outer surface” which is indefinite because it is unclear what the difference is between the outer surface of the blank from line 8 and the outer surface of the track link from line 5. As best understood, the blank forms the track link thus the outer surfaces appear to be the same structure.
Claim 14, line 9, recites “a central axis of the central portion” which is indefinite because it is unclear how the central axis of the central portion from line 9 is different from or related to the central axis of the central portion from lines 5-6. Should line 9 be amended to recite --the central axis of the central portion--?
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Maguire et al. (US 6,322,173 B1).
Regarding claim 1, Maguire et al. discloses a track link comprising:
two end portions (the left and right sides of 16 in Figure 5) including a **[pin]** bore (100) and a **[bushing]** bore (102), both the pin bore and the bushing bore extending between an inner surface (the surface on the opposite side of 110 that is not shown in Figure 5) and an outer surface (110) of the track link; and
a central portion (the middle portion of 16 in Figure 5), in between the two end portions, the central portion including:
a strut (the vertical member between 120 and 122 in Figure 6) extending at least partially along a central axis (along 118 in Figures 5-7) of the central portion of the track link;
at least two windows (120, 122) extending between the outer surface and the inner surface of the track link, each window being defined in part by the strut; and
a dimple (shown below) on at least one of the outer surface and inner surface of the track link, the dimple being located along the central axis of the central portion of the track link and in between the at least two windows.
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Annotated Figure 5 of Maguire et al. (US 6,322,173 B1)
Regarding claim 8, Maguire et al. discloses that the central portion further includes at least two bolt holes (210) that are perpendicular to the pin bore the bushing bore, each bolt hole intersecting a window, of the at least two windows.
**The above statements in brackets are instances of intended use and functional language. While features of an apparatus may be recited either structurally or functionally, claims directed to an apparatus must be distinguished from the prior art in terms of structure rather than function. Apparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does, see MPEP 2114. It has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-13 are allowed over the prior art of record.
Claims 2-7 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.
Claims 14-20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art does not teach or render obvious the claimed combination of elements recited in claim 9, wherein a track link is comprised of two end portions including a pin bore and a bushing bore, the pin bore and the bushing bore extending between an inner surface and an outer surface, a central portion includes a plurality of struts, at least one strut of the plurality of struts extending along a central axis of the central portion of the track link, the track link further comprises at least two windows that extend between the outer surface and the inner surface of the track link, each window being defined in part by at least one strut of the plurality of struts, a central opening extends between the outer surface and the inner surface of the track link, the central opening being located along the central axis of the central portion of the track link and in between the at least two windows, and being defined in part by at least two struts of the plurality of struts.
Trone (US 2019/0351959 A1) discloses a track link comprised of two end portions, a pin bore, and a bushing bore, the pin bore and the bushing bore extending between an inner surface and an outer surface, a central portion includes a singular strut, the strut extending along a central axis of the central portion of the track link, the track link further comprises at least two windows that extend between the outer surface and the inner surface of the track link, each window being defined in part by the strut, a central opening (the gap 76B) extends between the outer surface and the inner surface of the track link, the central opening being located along the central axis of the central portion of the track link and in between the at least two windows. Trone does not disclose a plurality of struts and that the central opening is defined in part by at least two struts of the plurality of struts.
The prior art does not teach or render obvious the claimed combination of elements recited in claim 14, wherein a method of manufacturing one or more track links is comprised of forging a cylindrical billet of a predetermined diameter into a blank that includes two end portions, a central portion in between the two end portions, and a dimple on an outer surface of the track link, the dimple being located along a central axis of the central portion, and punching a plurality of openings into the forged blank. The plurality of openings include at least two windows extending between an outer surface and an inner surface of the blank, thereby forming a strut extending at least partially along a central axis of the central portion of the blank, and the dimple is located in between the at least two windows.
Naoki et al. (DE 11201506147 T5) discloses a method of forming a crawler link that includes a blank and a punching operation. Naoki et al. does not disclose that the blank has a dimple formed on an outer surface, the dimple being located along a central axis of a central portion of the blank, and that the dimple is located between the at least two windows formed by a punching process.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Jones et al. (US 10,960,944 B2) discloses a track pad with a plurality of dimples.
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/ADAM D ROGERS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617