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 § 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.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
With respect to claim 7, the term "optionally" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention.
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, 2, and 7-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ognibene (USPub 2021/0001930).
With respect to claim 1, Ognibene discloses an electro-hydraulic steering system (10) for a vehicle comprising: a hydraulic steering actuator (15) for turning a steered wheel through a rotation angle; a fluid supply arrangement including a source of pressurized fluid (45) and a tank (50); a working port arrangement having two working ports (80, 85) fluidly connected with the hydraulic steering actuator; a hydro-mechanical steering unit (65; [0050]) fluidly connected between the fluid supply arrangement and the working port arrangement (Figs 1-2) and configured to connect one of the working ports with the source of pressurized fluid and the other with the tank in dependence on a steering demand (Figs 1-2; claim 1); a steering member (55) connected with the hydro-mechanical steering unit (65) by a steering shaft (60), the steering member movable by a user to rotate the steering shaft to generate a steering demand; a steering member sensor (200, 205, 210; claim 9) connected to a controller (220) to detect the position and/or movement of the steering member; an electric motor (185; [0189]) operative to apply a torque to rotate the steering shaft when actuated to provide a haptic steering torque feedback to a user through the steering member, the electric motor operatively connected to the controller (Fig 1)(220); wherein the controller is configured modify a haptic steering torque feedback sensed by the user through the steering member by providing a control output to control actuation of the electric motor to apply torque to rotate the steering shaft ([0089-0092]), wherein the controller is configured to control actuation of the electric motor in dependence on at least one parameter indicative of an operating condition of the vehicle ([0012] and claims 3-4) such that the haptic steering torque feedback sensed by the user follows a predetermined profile over a range of movement of the steering member from an initial position ([0091-0098]).
With respect to claims 2 and 10, wherein controller is configured to control actuation of the electric motor to modify the haptic steering torque feedback sensed by the user in dependence on at least one of the following: a. a steering angle of the steered wheel [0080]; b. a steering angle of the steering member [0079]; c. a steering torque applied by a user to the steering member [0079]; d. a ground speed of the vehicle [0104]; e. fluid pressure differential between the chambers of the steering actuator [0082-0083]; f. speed of movement of the steering member [0123].
With respect to claim 7, wherein the vehicle is a utility vehicle such as an agricultural tractor or a self-propelled mobile machine [0045].
With respect to claims 8-9, the apparatus discussed above discloses the method 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.
Claims 3 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ognibene in view of Hansen et al. (USPub 2020/0114955).
With respect to claims 3 and 11, Ognibene discloses the claimed invention discussed above but does not disclose wherein the controller is configured such that when the steering member is moved from an initial position through at least part of a dead band range of movement of the steering member in which the hydro-mechanical steering unit does not supply fluid to said one working port, the controller actuates the electric motor to apply a torque to rotate the steering shaft in a direction which opposes the direction of rotation applied to the steering shaft by the user. Hansen et al., however, disclose wherein a controller is configured such that when the steering member is moved from an initial position through at least part of a dead band range of movement of the steering member in which the hydro-mechanical steering unit does not supply fluid to said one working port, the controller actuates the electric motor to apply a torque to rotate the steering shaft in a direction which opposes the direction of rotation applied to the steering shaft by the user [0010-0011]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was filed to modify the invention of Ognibene in view of the teachings of Hansen et al. to prevent the steering wheel from feeling completely loose, lifeless, or disconnected.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6 and 12-14 are 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.
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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