Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
This is a first office action on the merits for application serail number 18/689,347 filed 3/05/24 as a national stage entry of PCT/FR2022/051651. This action is in response to the preliminary amendment filed 12/024/24. Claims 1-20 are pending. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/05/24 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
The references cited in the PCT international search report by the EPO have been considered but would not be listed on any patent resulting from this application because they were not provided on a separate list in compliance with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(1). However, the examiner has listed them on the attached PTO-892 form as a courtesy to the applicant.
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: the prior art document listed on the specification cited as US 2019/152753 should read 2019/0152753.
Appropriate correction is required.
The drawings filed 3/05/24 are approved.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent 10,810,851 to Baillargeon et al.
Baillargeon provides
An aerial lift comprising:
a chassis (truck 168);
a platform (platform or bucket 152); having a zone for receiving an operator (154);
a first device for moving the platform relative to the chassis, the first device including a lift structure to raise and lower the platform (boom 150); and
a control unit (100),
wherein the platform includes a control console (166) equipped with one or more controls for the first device, an anchoring location (164) configured to be occupied by a second device for anchoring an item of safety equipment (hook 162 of lanyard 156, harness 158 for claim 11), a first system (Figure 7 and/or lanyard detection sensor 110/switch 176) for detecting a state of occupation of the anchoring location, the state of occupation being one of an occupied state or an unoccupied state, and a third device for emitting a warning signal (at least col. 15, lines 25-29 discuss visual and/or audible warnings) , the control unit being configured to acquire data from the first system as a function of the state of occupation of the anchoring location
wherein the aerial lift includes a second system for determining a position of the lift structure for the platform, and the control unit is configured to control the third device to emit the warning signal as a function of the state of occupation of the anchoring location and the position of the lift structure (col. 16, lines 36-43).
Baillergeon fails to specify that the control unit is configured to control emission of the warning signal, of which one or more of an intensity, a frequency, a tonality, or a color for a luminous warning signal, or a melody for an audible warning signal, varies as a function of the position of the lift structure.
Varying one or more of an intensity, a frequency, a tonality, or a color for a luminous warning signal, or a melody for an audible warning signal is viewed as a choice of design which would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention as a person with ordinary skill has good reason to pursue known options within his or her technical grasp and varying visual and audible warning is old well and known. For example, in the examiner’s 2017 Lincoln MKG, audible alarms get more frequent and louder when backing up the closer you get to an object and the flashing lights on the dash blink faster and the alarms get more frequent and louder the closer and faster you approach a vehicle in front of you. There would been no unknown or unexpected results obtained in varying the visual and audible warning alarms of Baillergeron.
Platform/basket includes floor 127 with an overload sensor 114 and a guardrail at the upper rim.
An overload sensor may be positioned at the lifting cylinder as discussed at column 12.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Several of the refences on the attached PTO-892 form teach devices like that of the instant application but do not qualify as prior art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT CANFIELD whose telephone number is (571)272-6840. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6, some Saturdays.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Dunn can be reached at 571-272-6670. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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ROBERT CANFIELD
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3636
/Robert Canfield/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636
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