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 .
Responsive to correspondence
This office action is in response to amendment filed on 12/30/2025.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 117167451 A to WANG et al. (WANG) in view of JP 2006273118 A to ICHIKAWA et al. (ICHIKAWA).
Re: Claim 1:
WANG discloses:
A pump system configured to couple to a power take-off of a vehicle, the pump system comprising:
a pump (See Figs: 1-6:¶0031: discloses conversion mechanism having pump 30/60) having a drive shaft (See Figs: 1-6: drive shaft DS to transmit rotational motion as shown in figure 1 as annotated by the examiner), the drive shaft (See Figs: 1-6: drive shaft DS, figure 1 as annotated by the examiner) having a first end and a second end (See Figs: 1-6: figure 1 as annotated by the examiner),
the first end being configured to engage with the power take-off of the vehicle (See Figs: 1-6: ¶0066: power take-off 11 of vehicle 611, as explained in ¶0027-¶0043, ¶0058,¶0060, ¶0061, ¶0067, ¶0069), the second end (See Figs: 1-6: second end as shown in figure 1 as annotated by the examiner) being configured to drive the pump (See Figs: 1-6: the pump 30), the pump being sized and shaped to be disposed under the vehicle (See Figs: 1-6: ¶0066: vehicle body 611 as shown in figure 6 and described in cited paragraph pump 63), WANG is silent regarding ,
wherein the pump is directly coupled to and in proximity of the power take-off without being installed on a frame or chassis of the vehicle.
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However, installing and positioning of a pump directly coupled to a power take-off is merely one of the design options, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have installed the assembly of pump and power take-off depending on the convenience of maintenance, since it is well known in the art that a pump is directly coupled to and in proximity of the power take-off without being installed on a frame or chassis, such a system is explicitly taught by ICHIKAWA et al. JP 2006273118 A to ICHIKAWA et al. (ICHIKAWA: See Fig. 1b as annotated by the examiner: ¶0017: which explicitly shows that the pump 6 is not installed on frame or chassis 1 of a vehicle and further teaches a hydraulic pump 6 that is directly connected to and driven by the output shaft of the PTO 5 ), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to install a pump directly coupled to a power take-off device and without being attached to chassis, because the disclosed system provides benefits of providing a vehicle to make a work vehicle capable of handling a variety of tasks by transshipping containers (ICHIKAWA: ¶0007).
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Re: Claim 2:
WANG modified by ICHIKAWA discloses:
The pump system of Claim 1, modified WANG discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and further comprising an adapter configured to secure the pump system to the power take-off (See Fig. 2: adapter 122 to secure the pump system to the power take-off).
Re: Claim 3:
WANG modified by ICHIKAWA discloses:
The pump system of Claim 1, modified WANG discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and further comprising a housing (WANG: See Fig. 6: ¶0066: 612-611).
Re: Claim 4:
WANG modified by ICHIKAWA discloses:
The pump system of Claim 3, modified WANG discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and wherein the housing comprises a plate and a casing (WANG: See Fig. 6: ¶0066: casing 612 and chassis is inherently formed of plates).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 117167451 A to WANG et al, (WANG) in view of JP 2006273118 A to ICHIKAWA et al. (ICHIKAWA) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S Publication number 2016/0252063 A1 to MORDUKHOVICH et al (MORDUKHOVICH).
Re: Claim 5:
WANG modified by ICHIKAWA discloses:
The pump system of Claim 1, modified WANG discloses all the limitations of claim 1, further comprising an impeller (WANG: See Figs: 1-6: impeller in a pump is implied as is well known in the art, the drive shaft rotates the impeller to enable flow of the fluid and in this instance liquified natural gas LNG, such a pump is explicitly taught by U.S Publication number 2016/0252063 A1 to MORDUKHOVICH et al., it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that pump is operated using an impeller which would for appropriate pressurized fluid flow).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 117167451 A to WANG et al, (WANG) in view of JP 2006273118 A to ICHIKAWA et al. (ICHIKAWA) and U.S Publication number 2016/0252063 A1 to MORDUKHOVICH et al (MORDUKHOVICH) as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of U.S Publication number 2020/0025180 A1 to LAMUTH (LAMUTH).
Re: Claim 6:
WANG modified by ICHIKAWA and MORDUKHOVICH discloses:
The pump system of Claim 5, modified WANG discloses all the limitations of claim 5, and an impeller, although the modified WANG is silent regarding wherein the impeller comprises a rotating disk and a plurality of vanes. However, it is well known in the art that pump impellers comprise a rotating disk and a plurality of vanes, such an impeller is explicitly taught by U.S Publication number 2020/0025180 A1 to LAMUTH (LAMUTH: vanes 12, rotating disc 10: ¶0050-¶0051, and as shown in figure 1), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that pump comprises rotating disk and plurality of vanes is operated which would have yielded pressurized desired fluid flow .
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 117167451 A to WANG et al, (WANG) in view of JP 2006273118 A to ICHIKAWA et al. (ICHIKAWA) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S Publication number 2017/0002819 A1 to WAHL et al. (WAHL).
Re: Claim 7:
WANG modified by ICHIKAWA discloses:
The pump system of Claim 1, modified WANG discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and a pump , WANG is silent regarding wherein the pump is a centripetal pump. However, it is well known in the art that pump impellers comprise a rotating disk and a plurality of vanes, such an impeller is explicitly taught by U.S Publication number 2017/0002819 A1 to WAHL et al. (WAHL: ¶0018, discloses pump shaft, which carries at least one set of vanes, which pumps the fluid by centripetal force in a known manner ), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that pump being a centripetal pump which would have yielded predictable results. Additionally, it would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to elect different type of pump as a matter of design option for the purpose of generating appropriate fluid flow output.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 117167451 A to WANG et al, (WANG) in view of JP 2006273118 A to ICHIKAWA et al. (ICHIKAWA) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S Publication number 2018/0230996 A1 to CROWDER et al. (CROWDER).
Re: Claim 8:
WANG modified by ICHIKAWA discloses:
The pump system of Claim 1, modified WANG discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and a pump, WANG is silent regarding an specific pump as recited:
wherein the pump is a rotary pump.
however, such a rotary pump is explicitly taught by U.S Publication number 2018/0230996 A1 to CROWDER et al. (CROWDER: ¶0018, discloses that the power take-off can be operably coupled with a rotary vane pump, and provide rotational power to the pump to drive the pumping operation), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that pump may be a rotary pump which would have yielded predictable results of delivering the pumped fluid. Additionally, it would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to elect different type of pump as a matter of design option for the purpose of generating appropriate fluid flow output.
Claim(s) 9, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 117167451 A to WANG et al, (WANG) in view of JP 2006273118 A to ICHIKAWA et al. (ICHIKAWA) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S Publication number 2004/0045547 A1 to YAMAMOTO et al. (YAMAMOTO).
Re: Claims 9 and 11:
WANG discloses:
The pump system of Claim 1, WANG discloses all the limitations of claim 1, WANG does not specifically disclose wherein the pump further comprises a removable cover further comprising a spacer disposed about the shaft (claim 11).
However, it is well known in the art to provide removable pump cover and a spacer (as claimed in claim 11 such a pump is explicitly taught by U.S Publication number 2004/0045547 A1 to YAMAMOTO et al. (YAMAMOTO : ¶0033, ¶0077: the pump further comprises a removable cover), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that pump may be provided with a detachable cover and a spacer on a pump shaft for ease of maintenance and life of the pump shaft. Additionally, it would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to elect a pump with removable pump cover and a spacer as a matter of design option for the purpose which would have yielded predictable results such as ease of maintenance and life of the pump shaft.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 117167451 A to WANG et al, (WANG) in view of JP 2006273118 A to ICHIKAWA et al. (ICHIKAWA) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S Publication number 2025/0003417 A1 to BUTHMANN et al. (BUTHMANN).
Re: Claim 10:
WANG discloses:
The pump system of Claim 1, WANG discloses all the limitations of claim 1, WANG does not specifically disclose further comprising a bearing disposed about the shaft.
However, it is well known in the art to provide removable pump cover and a spacer (as claimed in claim 11 such a pump is explicitly taught by U.S Publication number 2025/0003417 A1 to BUTHMANN et al. (BUTHMANN : ¶0066: the pump further comprises he spacer 38 comprises the roller bearing 39 of the pump shaft 34), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that pump may be provided with bearing for preventing friction during rotation. Additionally, it would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to elect a pump having a shaft with bearing which would have yielded predictable results such a reducing frictional forces and smooth operations of the pump.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 117167451 A to WANG et al, (WANG) in view of U.S Publication number 2016/0252063 A1 to MORDUKHOVICH et al. (MORDUKHOVICH), and JP 2006273118 A to ICHIKAWA et al. (ICHIKAWA).
Re: Claim 12:
WANG discloses:
A pump system configured to couple to a power take-off of a vehicle, the pump system comprising:
a pump (See Figs: 1-6:¶0031: discloses conversion mechanism having pump 30/60) having a drive shaft (See Figs: 1-6: drive shaft DS to transmit rotational motion as shown in figure 1 as annotated by the examiner) and a liquid end (See Figs: 1-6: liquid end is implied to deliver and as described in ¶0042-¶0043 ), the drive shaft having a first end and a second end (See Figs: 1-6: figure 1 as annotated by the examiner), the first end being configured to engage with the power take-off of the vehicle (See Figs: 1-6: ¶0066: power take-off 11 of vehicle 611, as explained in ¶0027-¶0043, ¶0058,¶0060, ¶0061, ¶0067, ¶0069), the second end (See Figs: 1-6: second end as shown in figure 1 as annotated by the examiner) being configured to engage with the liquid end (See Figs: 1-6: second end as shown in figure 1 as annotated by the examiner, liquid end is implied to deliver and as described in ¶0042-¶0043) so as to drive an impeller (See Figs: 1-6: impeller in a pump is implied as is well known in the art, the drive shaft rotates the impeller to enable flow of the fluid and in this instance liquified natural gas LNG, such a pump is explicitly taught by U.S Publication number 2016/0252063 A1 to MORDUKHOVICH et al., it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that pump is operated using an impeller for pressurized flow ), the pump being sized and shaped to be disposed under the vehicle (See Figs: 1-6: ¶0066: vehicle body 611 as shown in figure 6 and described in cited paragraph pump 63).
wherein the pump is directly coupled to and in proximity of the power take-off without being installed on a frame or chassis of the vehicle.
However, installing and positioning of a pump directly coupled to a power take-off is merely one of the design options, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have installed the assembly of pump and power take-off depending on the convenience of maintenance, since it is well known in the art that a pump is directly coupled to and in proximity of the power take-off without being installed on a frame or chassis, such a system is explicitly taught by ICHIKAWA et al. JP 2006273118 A to ICHIKAWA et al. (ICHIKAWA: See Fig. 1b as annotated by the examiner: ¶0017: which explicitly shows that the pump 6 is not installed on frame or chassis 1 of a vehicle and further teaches a hydraulic pump 6 that is directly connected to and driven by the output shaft of the PTO 5 ), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to install a pump directly coupled to a power take-off device and without being attached to chassis, because the disclosed system provides benefits of providing a vehicle to make a work vehicle capable of handling a variety of tasks by transshipping containers (ICHIKAWA: ¶0007).
Claim(s) 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 117167451 A to WANG et al, (WANG) in view of U.S Publication number 2016/0252063 A1 to MORDUKHOVICH et al. (MORDUKHOVICH) and JP 2006273118 A to ICHIKAWA et al. (ICHIKAWA) as applied to claim 12 above and further in view of LAMUTH (claim 13), WAHL (claim 14) and CROWDER (claim 15).
Re: Claims 13-15:
WANG modified by MORDUKHOVICH and ICHIKAWA discloses:
The pump system of Claim 12, modified WANG discloses all the limitations of claim 12, although modified WANG is silent regarding wherein the impeller comprises a rotating disk and a plurality of vanes (LAMUTH: claim 13), wherein the pump is a centripetal pump (WAHL: claim 14) and wherein the pump is a rotary pump (CROWDER: claim 15).
However, all the limitations of claims 13-15 are well known in the art for explanation see the rejections of claims 6-8 above.
Claim(s) 16-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S Publication number 2023/0149754 A1 to LINSMEIER et al. (LINSMEIER) in view of U.S Publication number 2016/0252063 A1 to MORDUKHOVICH et al. , U.S Publication number 2019/0224508 A1 to LASKARIS et al. (LASKARIS) and JP 2006273118 A to ICHIKAWA et al. (ICHIKAWA).
Re: Claim 16:
LINSMEIER discloses:
A pump system configured to couple to a power take-off of a vehicle, the pump system comprising:
a drive shaft (See Figs. 1-6: ¶0031-¶0035: drive shaft 260) having a first end and a second end, the first end being configured to engage with the power take-off (See Figs. 1-6: ¶0027-¶0028: PTO unit 200) of the vehicle;
a pump (See Figs. 1-6: ¶0027: pump 60) having an impeller, the impeller being driven by the second end of the drive shaft;
a pump inlet pipe (See Figs. 1-6: water inlet pipe is implied , since water is delivered to pump and then pump via an outlet , as explained in ¶ 0020, the pump system 60 includes a housing that supports a pump that is configured to drive fluid (e.g., water, agent, etc.) from a fluid source (e.g., the water tank 80) configured to route water from a tank (See Figs. 1-6: water tank 80, further without inlet and outlet pipes the pump 60 cannot be operated) on the vehicle to the impeller (See Figs. 1-6: this is implied since it is well known in the art that the drive shaft rotates the impeller to enable flow of the fluid and in this instance liquified natural gas LNG, such a pump is explicitly taught by U.S Publication number 2016/0252063 A1 to MORDUKHOVICH et al., it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that pump is operated using an impeller for pressurized flow ); and
an outlet pipe configured to route the water exiting the pump to one or more control valves of the vehicle (See Figs. 1-6: water inlet pipe is implied , since water is delivered to pump and then pump via an outlet , as explained in ¶ 0020, the pump system 60 includes a housing that supports a pump that is configured to drive fluid (e.g., water, agent, etc.) from a fluid source (e.g., the water tank 80, further without inlet and outlet pipes the pump 60 cannot be operated, such a system of inlet and outlet pips is well known in the art and explicitly taught by U.S Publication number 2019/0224508 A1 to LASKARIS et al. (LASKARIS: See Fig. 2: ¶0026-¶0036) , it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that pump having inlet and outlet pipes and multiple valves positioned for regulating flow of respective fluid which is advantageous to control the operations of the system by regulating fluid flow,
wherein the pump is directly coupled to and in proximity of the power take-off without being installed on a frame or chassis of the vehicle.
However, installing and positioning of a pump directly coupled to a power take-off is merely one of the design options, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have installed the assembly of pump and power take-off depending on the convenience of maintenance, since it is well known in the art that a pump is directly coupled to and in proximity of the power take-off without being installed on a frame or chassis, such a system is explicitly taught by ICHIKAWA et al. JP 2006273118 A to ICHIKAWA et al. (ICHIKAWA: See Fig. 1b as annotated by the examiner: ¶0017: which explicitly shows that the pump 6 is not installed on frame or chassis 1 of a vehicle and further teaches a hydraulic pump 6 that is directly connected to and driven by the output shaft of the PTO 5 ), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to install a pump directly coupled to a power take-off device and without being attached to chassis, because the disclosed system provides benefits of providing a vehicle to make a work vehicle capable of handling a variety of tasks by transshipping containers (ICHIKAWA: ¶0007).
Re: Claim 17:
LINSMEIER modified by MORDUKHOVICH , LASKARIS and ICHIKAWA discloses:
The pump system of Claim 16, modified LINSMEIER discloses all the limitations of claim 16 and wherein the pump system has a compact size configured to fit under the vehicle (LINSMEIER: See Fig. 9: ¶0024: systems positioned beneath the front cabin 30 (e.g., the pump system 60, etc.)).
Re: Claim 18:
LINSMEIER modified by MORDUKHOVICH , LASKARIS and ICHIKAWA discloses:
The pump system of Claim 16, modified LINSMEIER discloses all the limitations of claim 16 and further comprising the power take-off, wherein the power take-off is configured to engage with a transmission of the vehicle (LINSMEIER: See Figs. 1-6: ¶0026-¶0027: transmission 130 as shown in figure 3).
Re: Claim 19:
LINSMEIER modified by MORDUKHOVICH , LASKARIS and ICHIKAWA discloses:
The pump system of Claim 18, modified LINSMEIER discloses all the limitations of claim 18, and wherein the power take-off and the pump system are aligned so as to rotate about a common axis (ICHIKAWA: See Fig.1b as annotated by the examiner: common axis as shown).
Re: Claim 20:
LINSMEIER modified by MORDUKHOVICH , LASKARIS and ICHIKAWA discloses:
The pump system of Claim 18, modified LINSMEIER discloses all the limitations of claim 18 , and wherein the power take-off attaches to the transmission via one or more fasteners and engages with one or more gears of the transmission (LINSMEIER: See Figs. 1-6: as shown in FIG. 7, the transmission adapter plate 310 couples the output end 214 of the main drive shaft 210 to the transmission input 132 of the transmission 130 ), further it is well known in the art that power take-off is fastened with transmission for transmitting rotational torque and for the ease of maintenance. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to fasten the two separate objects for robust machine construction and ease of maintenance.
Response to Arguments filed 12/30/2025
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 12, 16 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Notice of Finality
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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHAFIQ A MIAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4925. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 am to 6:30 pm (Monday thru Thursday).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MARK LAURENZI can be reached at (571) 270-7878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHAFIQ MIAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
January 15, 2026