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 Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 1-2 and 6-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hughes (US 5,385,314 A).
Regarding claim 1, Hughes discloses a cable handling system at an electrically powered mining or construction vehicle that includes a skid-steered tracked or wheeled vehicle body which is powered for motion (Fig. 1, 3; Col. 2, Ln. 28-36, mining vehicle 10 having a cable reel level wind mechanism 24), directly or indirectly, by an electric motor carried on the vehicle body and which is supplied electric power either by an on-board battery and/or fuel cell or through a trailing electrical cable which is arranged to be wound onto and unwound from a cable reel on the vehicle body during vehicle motion (Col. 2, Ln. 28-40, trailing electrical power cable 26 sourced from cable reel 28), the electrical cable provided for a connection to a remote source of electrical power, the system comprising (): a cable guide assembly that includes an arm member and a cable guide mechanism (Fig. 2-4; Col. 2, Ln. 60-68, cable guide mechanism 52 mounted on pivot arm 76), wherein: a first end of the arm member is rotatably attached at a rear of the vehicle body (Col. 2, Ln. 28-36, wherein the reel housing 16 is attached to the rear) to be moveable horizontally up to about 90 degrees in either direction around the rear of the vehicle body through an arc centered in the direction of a longitudinal axis of the vehicle body (Fig. 3; Col. 3, Ln. 24-36, pivot point 84); the cable guide mechanism is arranged at a second distal end of the arm member to receive and guide the electrical cable used towards the cable reel (Fig. 4; Col. 4, Ln. 66-68, free end 84).
Regarding claim 2, Hughes discloses wherein the arm member is freely moveable through the arc during vehicle movement (Col. 3; Ln. 24-36).
Regarding claim 6, Hughes discloses wherein the cable guide mechanism comprises a plurality of rollers for guiding the electrical cable used towards the cable reel (Fig. 4; Col. 4, Ln. 4-10, rollers 120).
Regarding claim 7, Hughes discloses wherein the plurality of rollers are arranged to guide the electrical cable used whilst ensuring that an allowable cable curve-radius for the electrical cable used is maintained for all arm member positions along the arc (Fig. 4; Col. 3, Ln. 59-68; Col. 4, Ln. 1-10).
Regarding claim 8, Hughes discloses wherein the length of the arm member, from its attachment at the rear of the vehicle body to the cable guide mechanism at its second distal end, is such that the electrical cable used will become positioned at a predetermined distance from the vehicle body, the tracks or wheels of the vehicle, or other parts of the vehicle (Col. 3, Ln. 59-68; Col. 4, Ln. 1-10).
Regarding claims 9 and 10, Hughes discloses wherein the arm member is connected to an actuator arrangement to be controllably moveable through the arc during vehicle movement (Fig. 3; Col. 3, Ln. 3-20, hydraulic motor 64).
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.
Claims 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hughes (US 5,385,314 A) as applied to claims 1-2 and 6-10 above, and further in view of Ruffels (GB 2,592,031 A).
Regarding claims 3 and 4, Hughes discloses the claimed invention except for a locking arrangement. However, Ruffels teaches wherein the cable guide assembly further comprises a locking arrangement for selectively locking the arm member at one or more positions along the arc and wherein the locking arrangement for selectively locking the arm member comprises a locking pin and a corresponding holed locking plate (Fig. 1; Pg. 9-11; ¶¶51, 55, lock 53). The lock 53 taught by Ruffels is understood to have a pin section being inserted into a corresponding holed section as per the description, and thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a locking pin and hole arrangement to the cable guide device in order to provide pivot limiting means for control of the guide when in use.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hughes (US 5,385,314 A) in view of Ruffels (GB 2,592,031 A) as applied to claims 3-4 above, and further in view of Therrien (WO 2021/155299 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Hughes discloses the claimed invention except for the locking pin having a weak link. However, Therrien teaches wherein the locking pin is provided with a weak link configured to, when the locking pin is used for locking the arm member, break when subjected to a predetermined force and release the arm member to become freely moveable through the arc (Pg. 21, ¶68). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a weak link to the pin of the locking arrangement as it provides increased safety parameters for miscalculated swinging and movement of the guide and vehicle, which further ensures minimal wear of the assembly.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited prior art references refer to cable reels attached to a sort of vehicle which further provides a guiding assembly similar to that of the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERMIA E MELIKA whose telephone number is (571)270-5162. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Victoria P. Augustine can be reached at (313) 446-4858. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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ERMIA E. MELIKA
Examiner
Art Unit 3654
/ERMIA E. MELIKA/ Examiner, Art Unit 3654
/Victoria P Augustine/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3654
Prosecution Insights