DETAILED ACTION
Application Status
Claims 1-14 are pending and have been examined in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) filed on 05/22/2024 has been reviewed and considered.
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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: ”112” (Fig. 2). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 4-7 and 11-14 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being
In claims 4 and 11, the term, “the driving extraction gear” lacks proper antecedent basis.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)(2) as being anticipated by Ehrlinger (US 4671377 A).
With respect to claims 1, Ehrlinger discloses a work vehicle (See “heavy agricultural vehicles, tractors and building machines”, Col. 1, LL. 5-6) that comprises a driving source (1, Fig. 1), first driving wheels (10), second driving wheels (11), a transmission (2/4; also see “take-up shaft 3 driven by a variable gear 2”, Col. 3, LL. 20-21) transmitting power from the driving source to the first driving wheels (“each output shaft 3, 5 drives one of the axles 8, 9 and therewith the wheels 10, 11”, Col. 3, LL. 21-22), and a first brake (16) for stopping the first driving wheels, the work vehicle comprising a driving extraction device attached to the transmission, extracting power from the transmission, and selectively transmitting power to the second driving wheels (see “drive wheels (11) of said vehicle that are connectable or disconnectable via said clutch”, claim 3), wherein the driving extraction device comprises: an extraction housing (17) attached to the transmission; an extraction clutch (12) selectively transmitting power from the transmission to an output shaft (5) connected with the second driving wheels; and a second brake (13) for stopping the output shaft.
With respect to claim 2, Ehrlinger discloses the work vehicle of claim 1, wherein the extraction clutch (12) and the second brake (13) are accommodated in the extraction housing (17).
With respect to claim 3, Ehrlinger discloses the work vehicle of claim 1, wherein the extraction clutch (12) is switched to a two-wheel mode or a four-wheel mode, and when the second brake is moved to a position at which the second brake retains the second driving wheel, the extraction clutch is simultaneously switched to the four-wheel mode (see "undesired disengagement of the clutch 12 will be prevented until braking is no longer needed", Col. 3, LL. 58-60). Since the clutch is kept out of disengagement until braking is no longer needed, it follows, that when braking is needed, the clutch is engaged.
With respect to claim 8, Ehrlinger discloses a driving extraction device for a work vehicle that comprises a driving source (1, Fig. 1), first driving wheels (10), second driving wheels (11), a transmission (2) transmitting power from the driving source to the first driving wheels, and a first brake (16) for stopping the first driving wheels, the driving extraction device comprising: an extraction housing (17) provided outside the transmission; an extraction clutch (12) selectively transmitting power from the transmission to an output shaft (5) connected with the second driving wheels; and a second brake (13) for stopping the output shaft, wherein the driving extraction device is attached to the transmission, extracts power from the transmission, and selectively transmits power to the second driving wheels (see “clutch 12 automatically couples the front output shaft to the motor 1”, Col. 3, LL. 26-28).
With respect to claim 9, Ehrlinger discloses the driving extraction device of claim 8, wherein the extraction clutch (12, Fig. 1) and the second brake (13) are accommodated in the extraction housing (17).
With respect to claim 10, Ehrlinger discloses the driving extraction device of claim 8, wherein the extraction clutch (12) is switched to a two-wheel mode or a four-wheel mode, and when the second brake is moved to a position at which the second brake retains the second driving wheel, the extraction clutch is simultaneously switched to the four-wheel mode (see "undesired disengagement of the clutch 12 will be prevented until braking is no longer needed", Col. 3, LL. 58-60). Since the clutch is kept out of disengagement until braking is no longer needed, it follows, that when braking is needed, the clutch is engaged.
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 4 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ehrlinger (US 4671377 A) in view of Blackman (US 5884730 A).
With respect to claim 4, Ehrlinger discloses the work vehicle of claim 1, wherein the driving extraction device further comprises a hollow extraction gear (15) connected with the driving extraction gear and rotating around the output shaft (5), and the second brake comprises first friction plates (27) retained on an outer surface of the hollow extraction gear, second friction plates (26), and a second brake actuator (24; also see Col. 4, LL. 25-35) controlling coupling between the first friction plates and the second friction plates.
Ehrlinger is silent in teaching that the first friction plates are retained on an inner surface of the extraction housing.
Blackman teaches friction plates (16) retained on an inner surface of a housing (12; also see Col. 2, LL. 17-19).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Ehrlinger in view of Blackman to arrive at the claimed invention by substituting the means for retaining the friction plates disclosed by Ehrlinger for the friction plate retaining means taught by Blackman. Such a modification would have been obvious because it is a simple substitution of one known element for another. Further, such a person would have been motivated to make such a modification to improve the packing efficiency of the extraction housing by using portions of the extraction housing to retain the second friction plates.
With respect to claim 11, Ehrlinger discloses the driving extraction device of claim 8, wherein the driving extraction device further comprises a hollow extraction gear (15) connected with the driving extraction gear and rotating around the output shaft (5), and the second brake comprises first friction plates (27) retained on an outer surface of the hollow extraction gear, second friction plates (26), and a second brake actuator (24; also see Col. 4, LL. 25-35) controlling coupling between the first friction plates and the second friction plates.
Ehrlinger is silent in teaching that the first friction plates are retained on an inner surface of the extraction housing.
Blackman teaches friction plates (16) retained on an inner surface of a housing (12; also see Col. 2, LL. 17-19).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Ehrlinger in view of Blackman to arrive at the claimed invention by substituting the means for retaining the second friction plates disclosed by Ehrlinger for the second friction plate retaining means taught by Blackman. Such a modification would have been obvious because it is a simple substitution of one known element for another. Further, such a person would have been motivated to make such a modification to improve the packing efficiency of the extraction housing by using portions of the extraction housing to retain the second friction plates.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7 and 12-14 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.
Regarding claims 5 and 12, the closest prior art of record is Davis (EP 1039165 A2). Davis teaches a braking arrangement comprising first and second friction plates (40/42), wherein the second friction plates are coupled to an inner surface of a housing by splines (46a, Fig. 6), and a brake actuator (26/28 and 36a-c), wherein the brake actuator comprises a fixed plate (26) and a rotary plate (28) and at least three balls (36a-c) disposed between the fixed and rotary plate, the rotary plate adjusts a gap between the first friction plates and the second friction plates. In contrast to what is claimed by the applicant, Davis is silent in teaching any portion of the second brake actuator being spline coupled to a housing by the same splines that couple the second friction plates to the housing. Suggestions to modify Davis to arrive at the claimed invention were not reasonably found in the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and discloses vehicles having power-take-off devices including clutches in general.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Matthew D Lee whose telephone number is (571)272-6087. The examiner can normally be reached Mon. - Fri. (7:30 - 5:00 EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, John Olszewski can be reached at (571) 272-2706. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW D LEE/ Examiner, Art Unit 3617
/JOHN OLSZEWSKI/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3617
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