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
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.
Claim(s) 1-9 and 11-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lindsay et al. (USPub 2005/0016779).
With respect to claim 1, Lindsay et al. disclose a tiller arm detection system for a material handling vehicle, the tiller arm detection system comprising: a tiller arm (22), including: a cam assembly (30, 32), the cam assembly having a first cam (30 or 32) with a first surface profile (Figs 6-8) and a second cam (other of 30 and 32) with a second, different surface profile (Figs 6-8); a first sensor (37 or 36, respectively), the first sensor to detect a portion of the first cam (Fig 3 and [0027]); a second sensor (other of 36 and 37), the second sensor to detect a portion of the second cam (Fig 3 and [0027]); and a controller (106), the controller to communicate with the first sensor and the second sensor to determine a position of the tiller arm based on the detected portion of the first cam or the second cam, and the controller to activate a feedback system based on the detected portion of the first cam or the second cam ([0027] and [0030]; error message on display).
With respect to claim 2, wherein the first cam (30 or 32) includes a first protrusion defining the first surface profile (Figs 6 or 7).
With respect to claim 3, wherein the second cam (other of 32 and 30) includes a second protrusion and a third protrusion separated by a gap, the second protrusion, third protrusion, and the gap defining the second surface profile (Figs 7 or 6).
With respect to claim 4, wherein the first cam (30) is laterally offset from the second cam (32)(Fig 3), and wherein the first cam is arranged so that the first protrusion of the first cam is arranged substantially within the gap formed between the second protrusion and third protrusion of the second cam (Figs 4 and 8).
With respect to claim 5, wherein, when the first sensor (36 or 37) detects the first protrusion of the first cam (32 or 30), the controller determines that the tiller arm is in an operational zone of the material handling vehicle [0027]; fast mode or slow mode).
With respect to claim 6, wherein, when the first sensor (36) does not detect the first protrusion of the first cam (32), the controller determines that the tiller arm is in a braking zone of the material handling vehicle [0038].
With respect to claim 7, wherein, when the second sensor (37 or 36) detects the second protrusion or the third protrusion of the second cam (30 or 32), the controller determines that the tiller arm is in a transitional zone ([0038]; transition from slow mode to fast mode or transition from fast mode to brake mode).
With respect to claim 8, wherein, when the controller determines that the tiller arm is in the transitional zone, the controller activates the feedback system to provide feedback to an operator of the material handling vehicle [0035].
With respect to claim 9, wherein the feedback is audible, tactile, visual [0035], or mechanical feedback.
With respect to claims 11-15, the apparatus discussed above meets the method limitations.
With respect to claims 16-20, the apparatus discussed above meets the limitations.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lindsay et al. in view of Rusche et al. (USPub 2018/0065837).
With respect to claim 10, Lindsay et al. disclose the claimed invention discussed above and that a transitional zone may be from a high speed mode to a brake mode [0038] but do not disclose wherein the feedback system is activated when the tiller arm moves from an operational zone to the transitional zone and is not activated when the tiller arm moves from a braking zone to the transitional zone. Rusche et al., however, disclose sending a warning to the user not move the tiller into a lower brake zone which will cause the pallet truck to abruptly stop without notice [0016] but is not activated when the tiller arm moves from the braking zone to the transitional zone. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was filed to modify the invention of Lindsay et al. in view of the teachings of Rusche et al. to warn the operator when the tiller arm moves from an operational zone to the transitional zone in order to prevent the pallet truck from abruptly stopping involuntarily.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DREW J BROWN whose telephone number is (571)272-1362. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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DREW BROWN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3616
/DREW J BROWN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617
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