DETAILED ACTION
1. This action is in response to applicant's amendment received on 6/11/2026. Amended claims 1-4, 6-7, 9, 11 are acknowledged and the following new grounds of rejection below are formulated. Claim 12 is cancelled. The amendments to the specification have been considered and accepted.
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 Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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.
Claim(s) 1-11 and 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuovo et al. (U.S. Publication 2013/0206490), hereinafter “Kuovo” in view of Caron (U.S. Publication 2021/0172252), hereinafter “Caron”.
Regarding claims 1, 6, 7, Kuovo discloses the same invention substantially as claimed such as discloses a rock drilling rig (1), comprising a carriage (shown in figure 1), a rock drilling machine (1), a control unit (32) and an interface (interface holding 26a and 26b) for receiving at least one electrical battery pack (26a, 26b), wherein: the control unit (32) is configured to control the rock drilling rig to perform work tasks according to a work cycle (paragraphs 3 and 24), and the control unit is configured to control operating power from any electric battery pack provided in the interface (paragraphs 24-25), wherein the interface (shown in figure 2) is configured to receive a plurality of independent electrical battery packs (26a, 26b) and the control unit is configured to selectively control operating power from any electrical battery packs provided in the interface (paragraphs 24-25), wherein the rock drilling rig (1) further comprises an electrical connection (21) for connecting the rock drilling rig to an external electrical source at a work area (paragraph 20), and wherein the control unit is configured to selectively charge any electrical battery pack, from the external electrical source (21), simultaneously as powering the rock drilling rig or another electrical battery pack is powering the rock drilling rig (26a, 26b), but is silent to disclose the control unit selectively charging a second battery pack from the external source while the rock drilling rig is powered by the external source or the first battery. However, Caron teaches the use of charging a first battery pack within the worksite after depletion of charge and using a second battery pack to power the rig (paragraphs 43-45) for the purpose of powering the rig for longer. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Kuovo by incorporating charging the first battery pack within the worksite and using a second battery to power the rig as taught by Caron for the purpose of allowing operation of the rig for longer. Examiner notes that the external energy source powers the rig and charges the batteries as well (paragraphs 10 and 27).
Kuovo and Caron disclose the same invention substantially as claimed but is silent to state that the controller automatically switches power form the first battery to the second battery. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of when the invention was made to have the battery switching automatic to the second battery and charging the first battery, since it has been held that broadly providing a mechanical or automatic means to replace manual activity which has accomplished the same result involves only routine skill in the art. In re Venner, 120 USPQ 192.
Regarding claim 2, Kuovo discloses the rock drilling rig (10, 30) according to claim 1, wherein the rock drilling rig comprises the plurality of independent battery packs (26a, 26b) arranged in the interface (show in figure 2).
Regarding claim 3, Kuovo discloses the rock drilling rig (101) according to claim 2, wherein the control unit (32) is configured to selectively control which electrical battery pack or which combination of electrical battery packs are powering the rock drilling rig (paragraph 27).
Regarding claims 4 and 8, Kuovo discloses the same invention substantially as claimed such as not using the battery to power the rig if it fails (paragraph 26), but is silent to disclose monitoring a battery parameter such as state of charge, current, etc. However, the examiner takes Official Notice that it is well known in the art to monitor the battery parameter before use for the purpose of allowing for the battery to have enough power to be able to provide energy to the system appropriately and to prolong the life of the battery. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of when the invention was made to modify Kuovo by incorporating monitoring the battery parameters for the purpose of allowing for the battery to have enough power to be able to provide energy to the system appropriately and to prolong the life of the battery.
Regarding claim 5, Kuovo discloses the rock drilling rig (1) according to claim 1, wherein the rock drilling rig (1) further comprises a fuel cell (paragraph 21), which is configured power the rock drilling rig alone or in combination with any electrical battery pack (26a or 26b) arranged thereon, and charge any electrical battery pack arranged thereon (paragraph 27).
Regarding claim 9, Kuovo discloses the same invention substantially as claimed but is silent to provide a sensor that provides data of the capacity of the electrical battery packs. However, the examiner takes Official Notice that it is well known in the art to provide a sensor that senses the capacity of the battery packs for the purpose of allowing the system to sense how much charge is in the batteries to be able to use safely. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of when the invention was made to modify Kuovo by incorporating a sensor toe sense the capacity of the battery packs for the purpose of allowing the system to sense how much charge is in the batteries to be able to use safely.
Regarding claim 10, Kuovo discloses the system according to claim 6, wherein the system (1) comprises at least one additional mining equipment device (16, 17, 4, or 31) and that mining equipment device is provided with a corresponding interface (26a, 26b), wherein the electrical battery packs (26a, 26b) are interchangeable in between all battery interfaces between different types of mining equipment devices and the rock drilling rig (1, paragraph 30). Examiner notes that the auxiliary energy source (26) can power the drilling or the other work needed to be done from the vehicle.
Regarding claim 11, Kuovo discloses the claimed invention except for the electrical battery packs having different maximum charge capacity. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have battery packs with different maximum charge capacity, since applicant has not disclosed that such an arrangement solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally well with the same maximum charge capacity.
Regarding claim 13, Kuovo discloses a method for controlling a system of mining equipment, wherein the system comprises at least a rock drilling rig, a plurality of battery packs and a control unit, and the rock drilling rig comprises a carriage, a rock drilling machine, and an interface for receiving at least one electrical battery, the electrical battery packs are physical separate entities and independent of each other, and the control unit performs the method: controlling the rock drilling rig to perform work tasks according to a work cycle, controlling operating power to the rock drilling rig from any electric battery pack provided in the interface of the at least one rock drilling rig dependent on battery specific parameters of the individual electrical battery packs and the work cycle, and continuously monitoring and processing data from a plurality of battery pack parameters of the electrical battery packs, and indicating an electric battery pack, having a battery parameter value below a corresponding threshold value for that parameter, for being ready for exchange, and/or charge. Refer to the rejections of claims 1 and 4 for further details since the limitations are similar.
Regarding claim 14, Kuovo discloses the method according to claim 13, wherein the system comprises at least one additional mining equipment device and that mining equipment device is provided with a corresponding interface, wherein the electrical battery packs are interchangeable in between all battery interfaces between different types of mining equipment devices and the rock drilling rigs and wherein the control unit is configured to: continuously monitor and processing input data from the rock drilling rig and the at least one additional mining equipment device, assigning assign electrical battery packs to the mining equipment devices dependent on the specific mining equipment devices working plan and/or maximum power output. Refer to the rejections of claim 10 for further details since the limitations are similar.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 6 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection relies on the new Caron reference.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to PTO-892.
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 SYED O HASAN whose telephone number is (571)272-0990. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday; 11AM-7PM.
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, Lindsay Low can be reached at (571) 272-1196. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. 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.
/SYED O HASAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747 8/21/2026
Prosecution Insights