DETAILED ACTION
In response to remarks filed on 27 January 2026
Status of Claims
Claims 1-15 are pending;
Claims 1, 5 and 12-15 are currently amended;
Claims 2-4 and 6-11 were previously presented;
Claims 1-15 are rejected herein.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 27 January 2026 have been fully considered and they are moot as the reference has been reinterpreted in view of the new limitations. Terms like “mounted on”, “mounted to”, “arranged to” do not require direct contact and intermediate elements may be present. Examiner is relying on “one” for each of the “at least one” limitations for claim interpretation in regards to the Domanski reference.
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.
Claims 1-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Domanski et al (Europe Patent Publication No. 3,543,408 B1).
As to Claim 1, Domanski discloses a trench cutter (10) comprising:
A box-shaped housing (Annotated figures A and B, “housing”), on the upper face of which a lifting apparatus is mounted (Paragraph 0024: “Furthermore, it is preferred in a trench wall cutter according to the invention that at a top end of the trimming frame, a rope or a rod is attached, with which the trench wall cutter is suspended on a carrier device and vertically adjustable”),
At least one cutting wheel (14, 15), which is arranged below a lower face of the housing (Annotated figures A and B, “housing”) and is driven in rotation to remove soil material, wherein cutting teeth (18, 20) are arranged along the outer circumference of the cutting wheel (14, 15) in at least one circumferential row, which at least one axial circumferential clearance adjoins,
At least one clearing plate (Annotated figures A and B, “clearing plate”), which is arranged to be fixed relative to the housing (Annotated figures A and B, “housing”) and engages in the at least one circumferential clearance on the cutting wheel (14, 15) to clear away soil material (Paragraph 0030: “In order to remove adhering soil material, plate-shaped clearing plates 50 are attached to the underside of the milling frame 12 and engage in a comb-like manner in the annular spaces 24 between the cutting teeth 20 in order to mechanically scrape off adhering soil material”), wherein the at least one cutting wheel is mounted on a planar bearing plate (Annotated figures A and B, “bearing plate”) below the lower face of the housing (Annotated figures A and B, “housing”), wherein
The at least one clearing plate (Annotated figures A and B, “clearing plate”) is mounted on a plate holder (Annotated figures A and B, “plate holder”), and the plate holder is mounted on the bearing plate (Annotated figures A and B, “bearing plate”); and
The at least one clearing plate is mounted on the plate holder (Annotated figures A and B, “plate holder”) so as to be spaced apart from the housing (Annotated figures A and B, “housing”), and the plate holder is arranged so as to be spaced apart from the housing, and
A passage (Annotated figure A, “passage”) is formed between (See “area between housing, clearing plate and plate holder” in annotated Figure A) the at least one clearing plate (Annotated figures A and B, “clearing plate”), the plate holder and the housing (Annotated figures A and B, “housing”), through which passage soil material that has been cut out during operation is guided upwards (Paragraph 0030: “The clearing plates 50 are attached to both sides of a central discharge device 30, which is designed to suck off milling fluid from the milling slot that has been created. The discharge device 30 has a suction box 32 which extends parallel to the axes of rotation and tapers downwards. On its underside, the suction box 32 is provided with a plurality of suction openings 34, as can be seen Fig. 3 can be found”).
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Figure A. Trench cutter (Domanski)
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Figure B. Trench cutter (Domanski)
As to Claim 2, Domanski discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Domanski also discloses wherein at least two circumferential rows (Figure 3) of cutting teeth (18, 20) are arranged on the at least one cutting wheel (14, 15), which teeth are axially spaced apart from one another by a circumferential clearance, in which a clearing plate (Annotated figures A and B, “clearing plate”) engages (Figure 3).
As to Claim 3, Domanski discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Domanski also discloses wherein two pairs (Figure 3 shows two pairs of wheels 15 and two pairs of wheels 16 each divided by plates 11a and 11b) of cutting wheels (14, 15) are arranged on the lower face of the housing (Annotated figures A and B, “housing”).
As to Claim 4, Domanski discloses the invention of Claim 3 (Refer to Claim 3 discussion). Domanski also discloses wherein from of each pair of cutting wheels (14, 15), one cutting wheel is mounted on one side of the bearing plate (Annotated figures A and B, “bearing plate”) and in that at least one clearing plate (Annotated figures A and B, “clearing plate”), which is mounted on the bearing plate by means of a plate holder (Annotated figures A and B, “plate holder”), is assigned to each cutting wheel (40).
As to Claim 5, Domanski discloses the invention of Claim 4 (Refer to Claim 4 discussion). Domanski also discloses wherein one of the passage (Annotated figure A, “passage”), which is delimited by the housing (Annotated figures A and B, “housing”), the bearing plate (Annotated figures A and B, “bearing plate”) and the assigned at least one clearing plate (Annotated figures A and B, “clearing plate”) with the plate holder (Annotated figures A and B, “plate holder”), is assigned to each cutting wheel (14, 15).
As to Claim 6, Domanski discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Domanski also discloses wherein a supply system (40) for supplying a liquid, in particular a curable suspension, is arranged.
As to Claim 7, Domanski discloses the invention of Claim 6 (Refer to Claim 6 discussion). Domanski also discloses wherein the supply system (40) is arranged between two pairs of cutting wheels (14, 15) and/or in at least one of the plate holders (30, 32).
As to Claim 8, Domanski discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Domanski also discloses an outer circumference of the housing (Annotated figures A and B, “housing”) is smaller than a cutting cross section of the cutting wheels (14, 15).
As to Claim 9, Domanski discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Domanski also discloses a drive apparatus (Equipment inside housing), in particular a hydraulic motor or an electric motor, is arranged in the housing for driving the cutting wheels (14, 15).
As to Claim 10, Domanski discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Domanski also discloses the at least one cutting wheel (14, 15) comprises a hub (17), in which a hub motor is arranged.
As to Claim 11, Domanski discloses the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Domanski also discloses the at least one clearing plate (Annotated figures A and B, “clearing plate”) and/or the plate holder (Annotated figures A and B, “plate holder”) are detachably fastened and a connecting system for at least one clearing plate (Annotated figures A and B, “clearing plate”) is provided on the lower face of the housing (Every structural element of the clearing plates and wheels are provided on the lower face of the housing as per the figures).
As to Claim 12, Domanski discloses a trench cutter device comprising carrier equipment (12), on which the trench cutter (10) according to Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). is arranged to be vertically movable by the lifting apparatus.
As to Claim 13, Domanski discloses a method for making a cut trench in the ground, the method comprising utilizing the trench cutter (10) according to Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion).
As to Claim 14, Domanski discloses the invention of Claim 13 (Refer to Claim 13 discussion). Domanski also discloses driving the at least one cutting wheel (15, 16) in rotation in a rotational direction, and guiding cut-out soil material through the passage (Annotated figure A, “passage”) between the housing (Annotated figures A and B, “housing”) and the clearing plate (Annotated figures A and B, “clearing plate”) using the at least one clearing plate (Annotated figures A and B, “clearing plate”).
As to Claim 15, Domanski discloses a method for making a cut trench in the ground, the method comprising utilizing the trench cutter (10) device according to Claim 12 (Refer to Claim 12 discussion).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 EDWIN J TOLEDO-DURAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7501. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday: 10:00AM to 6:00PM EST.
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/EDWIN J TOLEDO-DURAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678
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