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 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 17,18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Walter(US 20170015162 A1).
Regarding claim 17, Walter discloses a vehicle accessory(fig 3), comprising: equipment(410) constructed and arranged to operate while attached to a vehicle; and an attachment assembly constructed and arranged to attach the equipment to the vehicle, the attachment assembly having: a base(402) constructed and arranged to support the equipment, an insert(103) coupled with the base, the insert being constructed and arranged to engage with a vehicle receiver(300) of the vehicle, and an auxiliary receiver(101) coupled with the base, the auxiliary receiver being constructed and arranged to engage with an insert of an auxiliary accessory(55) that is different from the vehicle accessory.
Regarding claim 18, Walter discloses wherein the equipment includes a winch device(410) coupled with the base of the attachment assembly, the winch device being constructed and arranged to pull loads relative to the vehicle when the winch device is attached to the vehicle via the attachment assembly(para 0034).
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 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) 1,2,12,13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tripp(US 20240082612 A1) in view of Walter(US 20170015162 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Tripp discloses a firefighting vehicle(100), comprising: a firefighting vehicle body(110) constructed and arranged to perform firefighting operations(para 0068); a vehicle receiver(210) coupled with the firefighting vehicle body(fig 2); and a vehicle accessory(220) which includes (i) equipment constructed and arranged to operate while attached to firefighting vehicle body(para 0071). Tripp does not specify an attachment assembly. However Walter discloses a similar vehicle accessory (fig 1,2) comprising an attachment assembly(fig 2) constructed and arranged to attach the equipment to a vehicle body, the attachment assembly including: a base(402) constructed and arranged to support the equipment(fig 3), an insert(301) coupled with the base, the insert being constructed and arranged to engage with the vehicle receiver(fig 2), and an auxiliary receiver(100) (indirectly)coupled with the base(fig 3), the auxiliary receiver being constructed and arranged to engage with an insert of an auxiliary accessory that is different from the vehicle accessory(fig 2,3; para 0028). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tripp such that it comprises the attachment assembly of Walter to provide a means for mounting multiple accessories on the attachment assembly.
Regarding claim 2, Tripp discloses a winch(para 0064) however he does not disclose the attachment assembly. Walters discloses wherein the equipment of the vehicle accessory includes: a winch device(410) coupled with the base of the attachment assembly(fig 3), the winch device being constructed and arranged to pull loads relative to the firefighting vehicle body when the winch device is attached to the firefighting vehicle body via the attachment assembly(fig 3, para [0031-0034]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tripp such that the vehicle comprises an attachment assembly with a winch to allow the user to change attachments as needed.
Regarding claim 12, Tripp discloses wherein a back side of the firefighting vehicle body includes a set of hose couplings(250) constructed and arranged to couple with a set of hoses(para 0067 discloses multiple couplings are possible) ; and wherein the vehicle receiver is disposed on the back side adjacent to the set of hose couplings(para 0067, 0072).
Regarding claim 13, Tripp discloses a winch device(2220) coupled with the base of the attachment assembly, the winch device being constructed and arranged to pull loads from a location adjacent the set of hose couplings when the winch device is attached to the firefighting vehicle body via the attachment assembly(para 0064,0065).
Claim(s) 3,4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tripp(US 20240082612 A1) and Walter(US 20170015162 A1) in view of Wang(US 20190194001 A1)
Regarding claim 3, Tripp discloses a winch device (para 0064), however he does not disclose a spool. Wang discloses a winch assembly(fig 3) for a vehicle wherein the winch device includes: a spool(106), a cable(para 0022) wound at least partly around the spool, and a motor(200), the motor being constructed and arranged to turn the spool to control winding of the cable around the spool(para 0022,0023). The combination would result in the motor to be supported by the base of the attachment assembly of Tripp. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the winch of Tripp such that it comprises a spool to provide a means of pulling the load.
Regarding claim 4, Tripp discloses wherein the base of the attachment assembly includes: a plate constructed(402) and arranged to provide a horizontal platform that supports the winch device when the insert of the attachment assembly is inserted into the vehicle receiver(fig 3).
Claim(s) 14, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tripp(US 20240082612 A1), Walter(US 20170015162 A1) and Wang(US 20190194001 A1) in view of Petrillo (Petrillo, Alan M., "Front Bumpers Offer Almost Unlimited Customization", article dated March 14, 2016, accessed July 24, 2026, at htps://ww.fireapparatusmagazine.com/fre-apparatus/front-bumpers-ofer-almost-unlimited-customization/ (Year: 2016), fig 8).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Tripp and Walter does not disclose the auxiliary attachment is a hose manager. However Petrillo discloses a hose manager insert(see annotated figure 8 below), an elongated section coupled with the hose manager insert, the elongated section defining a hose deflection surface to manage a set of hoses when the set of hoses couples with the set of hose couplings. The combination would result in the hose manager insert engaged with the auxiliary receiver. It would have been obvious to modify the attachment assembly of water such that the auxiliary attachment is a hose manger to provide the vehicle with additional hose attachment points.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5-11,15-16,19 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claim 5, the closes prior art on record is Tripp(US 20240082612 A1). However, Tripp does not show disclose or render obvious the combination of the firefighting vehicle of claim 4 wherein the insert of the attachment assembly defines an insert axis along which the insert engages the vehicle receiver; and wherein the auxiliary receiver defines an auxiliary receiver axis along which the auxiliary receiver receives the insert of the auxiliary accessory, the auxiliary receiver axis being parallel to the insert axis defined by the insert of the attachment assembly.
Regarding claim 8, the closes prior art on record is Tripp(US 20240082612 A1). However Tripp does not show disclose or render obvious the combination of the firefighting vehicle of claim 1 wherein the base of the attachment assembly includes a plate constructed and arranged to provide a horizontal platform to support the equipment More specifically, wherein at least a portion of the insert of the attachment assembly is disposed on a first side of the plate; and wherein at least a portion of the auxiliary receiver is disposed on a second side of the plate that is opposite the first side of the plate.
Regarding claim 19, the closes prior art on record is Walter(US 20170015162 A1). However, Walter does not show disclose or render obvious the combination of the firefighting vehicle of claim 14 wherein the hose manager insert and the insert of the attachment assembly have a common form factor which enables the hose manager insert to engage with the vehicle receiver.
Regarding claim 19, the closes prior art on record is Walter(US 20170015162 A1). However, Walter does not show disclose or render obvious the combination of the vehicle accessory of claim 18 wherein the base of the attachment assembly includes a plate constructed and arranged to provide a horizontal platform to support the equipment. More specifically wherein at least a portion of the insert of the attachment assembly is disposed on a first side of the plate; and wherein at least a portion of the auxiliary receiver is disposed on a second side of the plate that is opposite the first side of the plate.
Conclusion
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SHAMS . DHANANI
Examiner
Art Unit 3614
/JAMES A ENGLISH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3614
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