DETAILED ACTION
1. This action is in response to applicant's amendment received on 11/29/2025. Amended claims 1-5 and 7 are acknowledged and the following new grounds of rejection below are formulated.
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.
Claims 2-5 and 7 are 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
A broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c). In the present instance, claims 1-2 recites the broad recitation the cooler, and the claim also recites the cooler as the radiator and the oil cooler which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation. The claim(s) are considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims. The radiator and the oil cooler should be recited firsthand in claim 1.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5 and 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adachi (JP 2002081408), hereinafter “Adachi” in view of Kim (KR 102487185), hereinafter “Kim”.
Regarding claim 1, Adachi discloses the same invention substantially as claimed such as a working machine comprising: a first cooling fan (22); a second cooling fan (24); a temperature detector (31) to detect a temperature of a to-be-cooled target, the to-be-cooled target being at least one of cooling water and hydraulic fluid that are cooled by a cooler (21 or 23); a storage and/or a memory to store first data defining a correspondence relationship between the temperature detected by the temperature detector and a first target rotational speed which is a target rotational speed of the first cooling fan, and second data defining a correspondence relationship between the temperature detected by the temperature detector and a second target rotational speed which is a target rotational speed of the second cooling fan; and a controller (33) configured or programmed to control a rotational speed of the first cooling fan to the first target rotational speed corresponding to the temperature detected by the temperature detector and control a rotational speed of the second cooling fan to the second target rotational speed corresponding to the temperature detected by the temperature detector; wherein the second target rotational speed is set such that a difference between the second target rotational speed and the first target rotational speed is equal to or larger than a predetermined difference irrespective of the temperature detected by the temperature detector (paragraphs 16-31), but is silent to disclose a difference set for a first rotational speed of the first fan and the second rotational speed of the second fan being higher than a predetermined difference. However, Kim teaches the use of setting a difference for between a rotational speed of the first fan (10) and the rotational speed of the second fan (20) to be greater than a resonant frequency RPM for the purpose of avoiding a resonance phenomenon in which vibration and noise are excited. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Adachi by incorporating a rotational speed difference between the first fan and the second fan to be greater than a predetermined difference as taught by Kim for the purpose of avoiding a resonance phenomenon in which vibration and noise are excited.
Regarding claim 2, Adachi discloses the working machine according to claim 1, wherein the cooler includes a radiator (21) to cool the cooling water and an oil cooler (23) to cool the hydraulic fluid; the first cooling fan (22) is provided to cool a radiator, and the second cooling fan (24) is provided to cool the oil cooler; the temperature detector includes: a first temperature detector (31) to detect a temperature of the cooling water cooled by the radiator (21); and a second temperature detector (32) to detect a temperature of the hydraulic fluid cooling by the oil cooler (23); and the first data defines a correspondence relationship between the temperature detected by the first temperature detector and the first target rotational speed, and the second data defines a correspondence relationship between the temperature detected by the second temperature detector and the second target rotational speed (paragraphs 16-31).
Regarding claim 3, Adachi discloses the working machine according to claim 2, wherein the first data includes a storage table or an arithmetic expression in which the first target rotational speed is defined in advance for each of the plurality of first temperature ranges of the radiator, and the second data includes a storage table or an arithmetic expression in which the second target rotational speed is defined in advance for each of the plurality of second temperature ranges of the oil cooler; and the controller is configured or programmed to determine one of the first temperature ranges of the radiator to which the temperature detected by the first temperature detector belongs, and rotate the first cooling fan at the first target rotational speed corresponding to the determined one of the first temperature ranges and determine one of the second temperature ranges of the oil cooler to which the temperature detected by the second temperature detector belongs and rotate the second cooling fan at the second target rotational speed corresponding to the determined one of the second temperature ranges (paragraphs 16-31). Examiner notes that it is inherent that controller has a prefixed table to set the rotational speed of both fans based upon sensed temperature ranges in order for the controller to rightfully set the rotational speeds. Adachi’s controller (33) has the capability.
Regarding claim 4, Adachi discloses the working machine according to claim 3, wherein the second data is defined such that the second target rotational speed continuously increases as the temperature detected by the second temperature detector increases with regard to one of the second temperature ranges of the oil cooler to which the second target rotational speed (speed of 24) higher than a maximum value of the first target rotational speed belongs (paragraph that states “Furthermore, if the oil temperature… the cooling effect of the fan 24 stronger”). This paragraph mentions the increase of the second target rotation speed as the temperature of the oil increases.
Regarding claim 5, Adachi discloses the working machine according to claim 1, wherein the first cooling fan and the second cooling fan are provided to cool at least one of the radiator (21) and the oil cooler (23, abstract).
Regarding claim 11, Adachi discloses the working machine according to claim 1, further comprising a receiver to receive an instruction to change the predetermined difference; wherein the controller is configured or programmed to change at least one of the first data or the second data stored in the storage and/or the memory in response to the instruction received by the receiver (abstract). Examiner notes that Adachi’s controller (33) has the capability to change the data.
Regarding claim 12, Adachi discloses the working machine according to claim 1, further comprising: a working device to be driven by hydraulic pressure (paragraph 12); and a water cooling path to cool a to-be-cooled device by circulating cooling water; wherein the first cooling fan includes a radiator fan (22) to cool the cooling water; and the second cooling fan (24) includes an oil cooler fan to cool hydraulic fluid to drive the working device (Abstract).
Claim(s) 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adachi and Kim in view of Machida (U.S. Publication 2017/0125861), hereinafter “Machida”.
Regarding claims 6-7, Adachi discloses the same invention substantially as claimed but is silent to disclose detecting the charge state of the battery and detecting the temperature of the battery to provide a specific rotational speeds of the first fan and the second fan. However, Maduchi teaches the use of detecting the charge state of a battery through detecting the temperature of the battery using temperature sensors (16, 17) and operating respective cooling fans (22, 32) accordingly (paragraphs 20-21) for the purpose of cooling the battery and vehicle components effectively (paragraph 3). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Adachi and Kim by incorporating detecting the battery temperature and operating the fans based upon sensed values as taught by Maduchi for the purpose of cooling the battery and vehicle components effectively.
Claim(s) 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adachi and Kim in view of Takeuchi et al. (U.S. Publication 2009/0129918), hereinafter “Takeuchi”.
Regarding claims 8-10, Adachi discloses the same invention substantially as claimed but is silent to disclose the fans being side by side within a rectangular shroud with elastic support pieces connected to the shroud. However, Takeuchi teaches the use of a rectangular shroud (40) housing the two cooling fans (20, 30, paragraphs 28 and 31) for the purpose of mounting and providing protection for the fan assemblies. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Adachi and Kim by incorporating the fan shroud assembly as taught by Takeuchi for the purpose of mounting with using less space and providing protection for the fan assemblies.
Adachi, Kim, and Takeuchi disclose the same invention substantially as claimed except for elastic support pieces for the fan shroud. However, the examiner takes Official Notice that it is well known in the art to provide elastic support portions for the fan shroud of cooling fans for the purpose of reducing vibrations and noise. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of when the invention was made to modify Adachi, Kim, and Takeuchi by incorporating elastic support portions for the fan shroud for the purpose of reducing vibrations and noise.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 has been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection relies on the new Kim reference.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to PTO-892.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/SYED O HASAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747 2/26/2026