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 .
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to the application filed on March 26th, 2026. Claims 1-14 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
Response to Amendment
In response to Applicant’s amendment filed March 26th, 2026, Examiner withdraws the previous 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 prior art claim rejections.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed March 26th, 2026, have been fully considered.
Regarding the arguments provided for the rejections of claims 1 and 8, as put forth on pages 6-8, applicants’ arguments have been fully considered. Applicant argues “Hickey and Rajala, either individually or in any proper combination, fails to disclose or suggest at least the above underlined recitations of amended Claim 1…Hickey fails to disclose or suggest anywhere that in the charge balancing operating mode, a first pump displacement of the first pump is automatically adjusted in dependence on the hydraulic power demand, and with the first electric motor running at a lower rotational speed…Applicant respectfully submits that Rajala also fails to disclose or suggest such control of a hydraulic system…Claim 8 includes similar recitations as those discussed above with reference to amended claim 1. For similar reasons, Applicant respectfully submits that Hickey and Rajala, either individually or in any proper combination, fails to disclose or suggest”.
As to point (a), Examiner respectfully disagrees. In reference to the displacement of the first pump not being automatically adjusted in dependence on the hydraulic power demand, examiner directs the Applicant to paragraph [0057] of Hickey which states “In order to meet this amount of hydraulic power hydraulic control system 202 may instruct each of first hydraulic pump 212 and second hydraulic pump 216 to provide approximately 50% of the total hydraulic power output” the control system automatically instructs both of the pumps to provide a certain amount of power, in this example the power of each is 50% but in view of the specification the output of each does not need to be equal (see Hickey; [0060]). The outputs of the pumps are capable of being varied to provide a desired amount of power. Additionally, applicant asserts that the first electric motor runs at a lower rotational speed and this is not taught by Hickey. Examiner maintains that it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that having a lower energy consumption would mean having a lower rotational speed as well. However, to aid in the understanding that this would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art examiner relies upon newly cited art CN-106284475A (hereinafter, “Quan”) as teaching control of motor speed to cause variations to the pumps.
Regarding the arguments provided for the rejections of claims 2-7 and 9-14, as put forth on pages 8-9, applicants’ arguments have been fully considered. Applicant argues “the remaining dependent claims are patentable at least per the patentability of the independent claims from which they depend”.
As to point (b), see point (a).
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.
The factual inquiries 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 nonobviousness.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 6-8, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US-20220098832 (hereinafter, “Hickey”) in view of CN-106284475A (hereinafter, “Quan”).
Regarding claim 1 Hickey discloses a computer system comprising processing circuitry configured to control a hydraulic system of an electric working machine (see at least [abstract]; “a hydraulic control system in communication with at least the first battery pack, the first pump motor, the first hydraulic pump, the second battery pack, the second pump motor, and the second hydraulic pump is configured to independently control each of the first hydraulic pump and the second hydraulic pump so that a combined hydraulic power output satisfies 100% of a hydraulic power output demand for the electric mining machine”), the hydraulic system comprising:
a first pressure supplier powered by a first electric energy storage system (see at least [0025]; “removable power source 104 includes two battery packs, including a first battery pack 108 and a second battery pack 110. Each battery pack is a separate, self-contained battery pack that is configured to supply electric power to individual hydraulic pumps, as will be described below,” and [0036]; “First hydraulic pump 212 may be in fluid communication with hydraulic control system 202 via a first hydraulic supply line 204 and second hydraulic pump 216 may be in fluid communication with hydraulic control system 202 via a second hydraulic supply line 206. With this arrangement, hydraulic control system 202 may use pressurized hydraulic fluid received from first hydraulic pump 212 and/or second hydraulic pump 216 to operate one or more components, including, for example, a steering system 224 (via a first hydraulic output line 226) and/or a lifting and loading system 228 (via a second hydraulic output line 230).”),
a second pressure supplier powered by a second electric energy storage system (see at least [0025]; “removable power source 104 includes two battery packs, including a first battery pack 108 and a second battery pack 110. Each battery pack is a separate, self-contained battery pack that is configured to supply electric power to individual hydraulic pumps, as will be described below,” and [0036]; “First hydraulic pump 212 may be in fluid communication with hydraulic control system 202 via a first hydraulic supply line 204 and second hydraulic pump 216 may be in fluid communication with hydraulic control system 202 via a second hydraulic supply line 206. With this arrangement, hydraulic control system 202 may use pressurized hydraulic fluid received from first hydraulic pump 212 and/or second hydraulic pump 216 to operate one or more components, including, for example, a steering system 224 (via a first hydraulic output line 226) and/or a lifting and loading system 228 (via a second hydraulic output line 230)”), and
a common hydraulic valve system via which the first and second pressure suppliers are configured to supply hydraulic fluid to at least one hydraulic consumer of the working machine (see at least Fig. 4 and [0036]; “hydraulic control system 202 may use pressurized hydraulic fluid received from first hydraulic pump 212 and/or second hydraulic pump 216 to operate one or more components, including, for example, a steering system 224 (via a first hydraulic output line 226) and/or a lifting and loading system 228 (via a second hydraulic output line 230)”),
the first pressure supplier comprising a first pump driven by a first electric motor (see at least fig. 4; motor 1-214 and pump 1-212), and the second pressure supplier comprising a second pump driven by a second electric motor (see at least fig. 4; motor 2-218 and pump 2-216), the first and second pumps being variable displacement pumps arranged to automatically adjust pump displacements in dependence on a hydraulic power demand of the at least one hydraulic consumer (see at least [0023]; “the redundant dual pump hydraulic system and method distributes hydraulic power output between the two hydraulic pumps in order to meet hydraulic power load demand and to allow for a hydraulic pump failure response by using the output from a single hydraulic pump to continue to supply hydraulic power to the electric mining machine,” and [0060]; “the output of one hydraulic pump of pair of hydraulic pumps 210 may be controlled by hydraulic control system 202 to be less than the output of the other. For example, in one embodiment, the output of first hydraulic pump 212 may be controlled to be less than the output of second hydraulic pump 216 in order to compensate for a greater electrical load or discharge rate on first battery pack 108,” the pumps are able to be varied in a way that will meet the power demand),
the processing circuitry being configured to:
determine a first charge level of the first electric energy storage system and a second charge level of the second electric energy storage system (see at least [0026]; “The modules are also equipped with an array of operational sensors and are provided with electronic components to provide data from the sensors to a separate maintenance network. Suitable battery modules and associated sensors and components are described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,960,396 and 10,063,069, incorporated by reference above,” and [0002]; “Sensors can include temperature sensors, timing devices, charge level detection devices, and other monitoring devices which can be employed to provide an operations center with accurate, real-time data regarding the performance of the module and its performance history”),
activate a charge balancing operating mode in response to determining that the second charge level exceeds the first charge level by at least a threshold amount (see at least [0047]; “the redundant dual pump hydraulic system and method according to the techniques of the embodiments described herein can load balance the hydraulic fluid output between the individual hydraulic pump (e.g., first hydraulic pump 212 and second hydraulic pump 216) in order to meet a hydraulic load demand…because each individual hydraulic pump is connected to an independent battery pack…unequal load and/or discharge rates between first battery pack 108 and second battery pack 110 may be compensated for to better distribute the electric power load and/or discharge rates between each battery pack by increasing or decreasing the respective loads of the associated hydraulic pump,” if the charge level between the two battery packs is uneven a load balancing operation will commence, the threshold for being even would merely be the difference between the two being greater than zero),
wherein, in the charge balancing operating mode, the first electric motor is controlled to a first rotational speed being lower than a second rotational speed of the second electric motor, whereby an electric power consumption of the first electric motor is lower than that of the second electric motor (see at least [0047]; “the redundant dual pump hydraulic system and method according to the techniques of the embodiments described herein can load balance the hydraulic fluid output between the individual hydraulic pump (e.g., first hydraulic pump 212 and second hydraulic pump 216) in order to meet a hydraulic load demand…because each individual hydraulic pump is connected to an independent battery pack…unequal load and/or discharge rates between first battery pack 108 and second battery pack 110 may be compensated for to better distribute the electric power load and/or discharge rates between each battery pack by increasing or decreasing the respective loads of the associated hydraulic pump,” it would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that increasing or decreasing of the respective loads of the associated pump would include increasing or decreasing the rotational speed and thus the power consumption as well) and a first pump displacement of the first pump is automatically adjusted in dependence on the hydraulic power demand (see at least [0047]; “the redundant dual pump hydraulic system and method according to the techniques of the embodiments described herein can load balance the hydraulic fluid output between the individual hydraulic pump (e.g., first hydraulic pump 212 and second hydraulic pump 216) in order to meet a hydraulic load demand…unequal load and/or discharge rates between first battery pack 108 and second battery pack 110 may be compensated for to better distribute the electric power load and/or discharge rates between each battery pack by increasing or decreasing the respective loads of the associated hydraulic pump).
Hickey does not explicitly disclose the first electric motor is controlled to a first rotational speed being lower than a second rotational speed of the second electric motor… and with the first electric motor running at a lower rotational speed.
Quan, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the first electric motor is controlled to a first rotational speed being lower…whereby an electric power consumption of the first electric motor is lower… and with the first electric motor running at a lower rotational speed (see at least [0037-0038]; “When the excavator is working, the operator controls the first frequency converter 10 to change the speed of the first motor 9 to match the displacement of the first hydraulic pump 12, so as to meet the requirements of different loads and different working conditions,” it would be obvious that to lower the energy consumption the rotational speed must be lowered).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to have modified the hydraulic system of Hickey with the motor speed control of Quan. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of being capable of reducing energy consumption (see at least Quan; [0007]).
Regarding claim 6 Hickey in view of Quan renders obvious all of the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, Hickey discloses A working machine comprising or being communicatively connected to the computer system of claim 1, the working machine comprising the hydraulic system, the first electric energy storage system, and the second electric energy storage system (see at least Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 7 Hickey in view of Quan renders obvious all of the limitations of claim 6. Additionally, Hickey discloses further comprising a first electric propulsion unit configured to be powered by the first electric energy storage system, and a second electric propulsion unit configured to be powered by the second electric energy storage system, the first electric propulsion unit being arranged to drive a first axle of the working machine, and the second electric propulsion unit being arranged to drive a second axle of the working machine (see at least [0031]; “electric mining machine 100 includes a propulsion system comprising one or more electric motors that are powered by one or more batteries. In some embodiments, electric mining machine 100 may include at least two electric motors for powering each set of wheels. For example, in this embodiment, electric mining machine 100 includes a first set of wheels 122 located on second body portion 118 associated with the frontward portion of electric mining machine 100. First set of wheels 122 are connected to a front axle 124 that is powered by a front electric motor. In this embodiment, electric mining machine 100 also includes a second set of wheels 126 located on first body portion 116 associated with the rearward portion of electric mining machine 100. Second set of wheels 126 are connected to a rear axle 128 that is powered by a rear electric motor”).
Regarding claim 8 Hickey discloses a computer-implemented method for controlling a hydraulic system of an electric working machine (see at least [0047]; “Accordingly, the redundant dual pump hydraulic system and method according to the techniques of the embodiments described herein can load balance the hydraulic fluid output between the individual hydraulic pump (e.g., first hydraulic pump 212 and second hydraulic pump 216) in order to meet a hydraulic load demand”), the hydraulic system comprising:
a first pressure supplier powered by a first electric energy storage system (see at least [0025]; “removable power source 104 includes two battery packs, including a first battery pack 108 and a second battery pack 110. Each battery pack is a separate, self-contained battery pack that is configured to supply electric power to individual hydraulic pumps, as will be described below,” and [0036]; “First hydraulic pump 212 may be in fluid communication with hydraulic control system 202 via a first hydraulic supply line 204 and second hydraulic pump 216 may be in fluid communication with hydraulic control system 202 via a second hydraulic supply line 206. With this arrangement, hydraulic control system 202 may use pressurized hydraulic fluid received from first hydraulic pump 212 and/or second hydraulic pump 216 to operate one or more components, including, for example, a steering system 224 (via a first hydraulic output line 226) and/or a lifting and loading system 228 (via a second hydraulic output line 230).”),
a second pressure supplier powered by a second electric energy storage system (see at least [0025]; “removable power source 104 includes two battery packs, including a first battery pack 108 and a second battery pack 110. Each battery pack is a separate, self-contained battery pack that is configured to supply electric power to individual hydraulic pumps, as will be described below,” and [0036]; “First hydraulic pump 212 may be in fluid communication with hydraulic control system 202 via a first hydraulic supply line 204 and second hydraulic pump 216 may be in fluid communication with hydraulic control system 202 via a second hydraulic supply line 206. With this arrangement, hydraulic control system 202 may use pressurized hydraulic fluid received from first hydraulic pump 212 and/or second hydraulic pump 216 to operate one or more components, including, for example, a steering system 224 (via a first hydraulic output line 226) and/or a lifting and loading system 228 (via a second hydraulic output line 230)”), and
a common hydraulic valve system via which the first and second pressure suppliers are configured to supply hydraulic fluid to at least one hydraulic consumer of the working machine (see at least Fig. 4 and [0036]; “hydraulic control system 202 may use pressurized hydraulic fluid received from first hydraulic pump 212 and/or second hydraulic pump 216 to operate one or more components, including, for example, a steering system 224 (via a first hydraulic output line 226) and/or a lifting and loading system 228 (via a second hydraulic output line 230)”),
the first pressure supplier comprising a first pump driven by a first electric motor (see at least fig. 4; motor 1-214 and pump 1-212), and the second pressure supplier comprising a second pump driven by a second electric motor (see at least fig. 4; motor 2-218 and pump 2-216), the first and second pumps being variable displacement pumps arranged to automatically adjust pump displacements in dependence on a hydraulic power demand of the at least one hydraulic consumer (see at least [0023]; “the redundant dual pump hydraulic system and method distributes hydraulic power output between the two hydraulic pumps in order to meet hydraulic power load demand and to allow for a hydraulic pump failure response by using the output from a single hydraulic pump to continue to supply hydraulic power to the electric mining machine,” and [0060]; “the output of one hydraulic pump of pair of hydraulic pumps 210 may be controlled by hydraulic control system 202 to be less than the output of the other. For example, in one embodiment, the output of first hydraulic pump 212 may be controlled to be less than the output of second hydraulic pump 216 in order to compensate for a greater electrical load or discharge rate on first battery pack 108,” the pumps are able to be varied in a way that will meet the power demand),
the method comprising:
determining, by a processing circuitry of a computer system, a first charge level of the first electric energy storage system and a second charge level of the second electric energy storage system (see at least [0026]; “The modules are also equipped with an array of operational sensors and are provided with electronic components to provide data from the sensors to a separate maintenance network. Suitable battery modules and associated sensors and components are described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,960,396 and 10,063,069, incorporated by reference above,” and [0002]; “Sensors can include temperature sensors, timing devices, charge level detection devices, and other monitoring devices which can be employed to provide an operations center with accurate, real-time data regarding the performance of the module and its performance history”),
activating, by the processing circuitry, a charge balancing operating mode in response to determining that the second charge level exceeds the first charge level by at least a threshold amount (see at least [0047]; “the redundant dual pump hydraulic system and method according to the techniques of the embodiments described herein can load balance the hydraulic fluid output between the individual hydraulic pump (e.g., first hydraulic pump 212 and second hydraulic pump 216) in order to meet a hydraulic load demand…because each individual hydraulic pump is connected to an independent battery pack…unequal load and/or discharge rates between first battery pack 108 and second battery pack 110 may be compensated for to better distribute the electric power load and/or discharge rates between each battery pack by increasing or decreasing the respective loads of the associated hydraulic pump,” if the charge level between the two battery packs is uneven a load balancing operation will commence, the threshold for being even would merely be the difference between the two being greater than zero),
wherein, in the charge balancing operating mode, the first electric motor is controlled to a first rotational speed being lower than a second rotational speed of the second electric motor, whereby an electric power consumption of the first electric motor is lower than that of the second electric motor (see at least [0047]; “the redundant dual pump hydraulic system and method according to the techniques of the embodiments described herein can load balance the hydraulic fluid output between the individual hydraulic pump (e.g., first hydraulic pump 212 and second hydraulic pump 216) in order to meet a hydraulic load demand…because each individual hydraulic pump is connected to an independent battery pack…unequal load and/or discharge rates between first battery pack 108 and second battery pack 110 may be compensated for to better distribute the electric power load and/or discharge rates between each battery pack by increasing or decreasing the respective loads of the associated hydraulic pump,” it would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that increasing or decreasing of the respective loads of the associated pump) and a first pump displacement of the first pump is automatically adjusted in dependence on the hydraulic power demand (see at least [0047]; “the redundant dual pump hydraulic system and method according to the techniques of the embodiments described herein can load balance the hydraulic fluid output between the individual hydraulic pump (e.g., first hydraulic pump 212 and second hydraulic pump 216) in order to meet a hydraulic load demand…unequal load and/or discharge rates between first battery pack 108 and second battery pack 110 may be compensated for to better distribute the electric power load and/or discharge rates between each battery pack by increasing or decreasing the respective loads of the associated hydraulic pump).
Hickey does not explicitly disclose the first electric motor is controlled to a first rotational speed being lower than a second rotational speed of the second electric motor… and with the first electric motor running at a lower rotational speed.
Quan, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the first electric motor is controlled to a first rotational speed being lower…whereby an electric power consumption of the first electric motor is lower… and with the first electric motor running at a lower rotational speed (see at least [0037-0038]; “When the excavator is working, the operator controls the first frequency converter 10 to change the speed of the first motor 9 to match the displacement of the first hydraulic pump 12, so as to meet the requirements of different loads and different working conditions,” it would be obvious that to lower the energy consumption the rotational speed must be lowered).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to have modified the hydraulic system of Hickey with the motor speed control of Quan. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of being capable of reducing energy consumption (see at least Quan; [0007]).
Regarding claim 13 Hickey in view of Quan renders obvious all of the limitations of claim 8. Additionally, Hickey discloses a computer program product comprising program code for performing, when executed by the processing circuitry, the method of claim 8 (see at least [0050]; “At hydraulic control system 202, pressurized hydraulic fluid from each of first hydraulic pump 212 and second hydraulic pump 216 is collected at a main valve 404. Main valve 404 may receive instructions from hydraulic control system 202, for example, from a processor or other computerized controller, to release the pressurized hydraulic fluid from main valve 404 through one or more hydraulic cylinders 406,” the computerized controller is capable of producing instructions for the hydraulic system control).
Regarding claim 14 Hickey in view of Quan renders obvious all of the limitations of claim 8. Additionally, Hickey discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform the method of claim 8 (see at least [0050]; “At hydraulic control system 202, pressurized hydraulic fluid from each of first hydraulic pump 212 and second hydraulic pump 216 is collected at a main valve 404. Main valve 404 may receive instructions from hydraulic control system 202, for example, from a processor or other computerized controller, to release the pressurized hydraulic fluid from main valve 404 through one or more hydraulic cylinders 406,” the computerized controller is capable of producing instructions for the hydraulic system control).
Claim(s) 2-5, and 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hickey and Quan, as applied to claim 1 above, in view of WO-2025040553 (hereinafter, “Rajala”).
Regarding claim 2 Hickey in view of Quan renders obvious all of the limitations of claim 1. Hickey does not disclose wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain a total hydraulic power demand of the at least one hydraulic consumer, wherein the processing circuitry is only configured to activate the charge balancing operating mode in response to determining that the total hydraulic power demand is below a threshold level.
Rajala, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain a total hydraulic power demand of the at least one hydraulic consumer, wherein the processing circuitry is only configured to activate the charge balancing operating mode in response to determining that the total hydraulic power demand is below a threshold level (see at least [0060]; “at step 605, the system determines a current required hydraulic demand of the vehicle. Once the current demand has been determined, the system evaluates, at step 610, whether the current required hydraulic demand is greater than the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack…If, at step 610, the current required hydraulic demand is greater than the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack, then the system proceeds to step 625, operating the primary pack at its, maximum capacity and operating the secondary power pack such as to meet the difference between the current required hydraulic demand of the vehicle and the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack (step 630),”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to have modified the hydraulic system of Hickey as modified by Quan with the threshold level for enacting balancing mode of Rajala. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of “this provides greater efficiency than running the two pumps in parallel and splitting the pumping duties even at low outputs below the capacity of a single pump” (see at least Rajala; [0008]).
Regarding claim 3 Hickey in view of Quan and Rajala renders obvious all of the limitations of claim 2. Additionally, Rajala, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the threshold level is set in dependence on a maximum hydraulic power demand of the at least one hydraulic consumer (see at least [0060]; “at step 605, the system determines a current required hydraulic demand of the vehicle. Once the current demand has been determined, the system evaluates, at step 610, whether the current required hydraulic demand is greater than the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack…If, at step 610, the current required hydraulic demand is greater than the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack, then the system proceeds to step 625, operating the primary pack at its, maximum capacity and operating the secondary power pack such as to meet the difference between the current required hydraulic demand of the vehicle and the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack (step 630),”), such as to a value within a range of 70–90% of the maximum hydraulic power demand of the at least one hydraulic consumer (Rajala discloses the claimed invention except for the value being between 70-90% of the maximum hydraulic power demand. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the value, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to have modified the hydraulic system of Hickey as modified by Quan with the threshold level for enacting balancing mode of Rajala. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of “this provides greater efficiency than running the two pumps in parallel and splitting the pumping duties even at low outputs below the capacity of a single pump” (see at least Rajala; [0008]).
Regarding claim 4 Hickey in view of Quan and Rajala renders obvious all of the limitations of claim 2. Additionally, Hickey discloses wherein the working machine comprises a tiltable body configured to carry a payload (see at least [0051]; “an example embodiment, lifting and loading system 228 may use hydraulic actuators to control operation of bucket 114 at the front of electric mining machine 100 (i.e., lifting, tilting, etc.),” the bucket is able to tilt as well as to carry a payload).
Hickey does not disclose wherein the threshold level is set to a value lower than a hydraulic power demand for dumping of the payload by tilting the tiltable body.
Additionally, Rajala, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the threshold level is set to a value lower than a hydraulic power demand for dumping of the payload by tilting the tiltable body (see at least [0059-0060]; “Raising bucket 114 requires a certain amount of hydraulic power to drive the hydraulic actuators of loading and lifting system 228. Notably, the heavier the load attempted to be lifted more hydraulic output is required to drive lifting system 228…the at step 605, the system determines a current required hydraulic demand of the vehicle. Once the current demand has been determined, the system evaluates, at step 610, whether the current required hydraulic demand is greater than the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack…If, at step 610, the current required hydraulic demand is greater than the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack, then the system proceeds to step 625, operating the primary pack at its, maximum capacity and operating the secondary power pack such as to meet the difference between the current required hydraulic demand of the vehicle and the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack (step 630),”) (Rajala discloses the claimed invention except for the value being less than the hydraulic power demand to dump the payload. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the value, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to have modified the hydraulic system of Hickey as modified by Quan with the threshold level for enacting balancing mode of Rajala. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of “this provides greater efficiency than running the two pumps in parallel and splitting the pumping duties even at low outputs below the capacity of a single pump” (see at least Rajala; [0008]).
Regarding claim 5 Hickey in view of Quan and Rajala renders obvious all of the limitations of claim 2. Additionally, Rajala, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: receive weight data indicative of a current weight of the working machine, and set the threshold level in dependence on the weight data (see at least [0059-0060]; “Raising bucket 114 requires a certain amount of hydraulic power to drive the hydraulic actuators of loading and lifting system 228. Notably, the heavier the load attempted to be lifted more hydraulic output is required to drive lifting system 228,” the greater the load, the greater demand required to lift the load, therefore determining whether the threshold is exceeded is dependent on the weight to be lifted) (Rajala discloses the claimed invention except for the value being dependent on weight. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the value, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to have modified the hydraulic system of Hickey as modified by Quan with the threshold level for enacting balancing mode of Rajala. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of “this provides greater efficiency than running the two pumps in parallel and splitting the pumping duties even at low outputs below the capacity of a single pump” (see at least Rajala; [0008]).
Regarding claim 9 Hickey in view of Quan renders obvious all of the limitations of claim 8. Hickey does not disclose further comprising: obtaining, by the processing circuitry, a total hydraulic power demand of the at least one hydraulic consumer, wherein the charge balancing operating mode is only activated in response to determining that the total hydraulic power demand is below a threshold level.
Rajala, in the same field of endeavor, teaches further comprising: obtaining, by the processing circuitry, a total hydraulic power demand of the at least one hydraulic consumer, wherein the charge balancing operating mode is only activated in response to determining that the total hydraulic power demand is below a threshold level (see at least [0060]; “at step 605, the system determines a current required hydraulic demand of the vehicle. Once the current demand has been determined, the system evaluates, at step 610, whether the current required hydraulic demand is greater than the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack…If, at step 610, the current required hydraulic demand is greater than the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack, then the system proceeds to step 625, operating the primary pack at its, maximum capacity and operating the secondary power pack such as to meet the difference between the current required hydraulic demand of the vehicle and the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack (step 630),” the maximum capacity corresponds to the threshold level).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to have modified the hydraulic system of Hickey as modified by Quan with the threshold level for enacting balancing mode of Rajala. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of “this provides greater efficiency than running the two pumps in parallel and splitting the pumping duties even at low outputs below the capacity of a single pump” (see at least Rajala; [0008]).
Regarding claim 10 Hickey in view of Quan and Rajala renders obvious all of the limitations of claim 9. Additionally, Rajala, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the threshold level is set in dependence on a maximum hydraulic power demand of the at least one hydraulic consumer (see at least [0060]; “at step 605, the system determines a current required hydraulic demand of the vehicle. Once the current demand has been determined, the system evaluates, at step 610, whether the current required hydraulic demand is greater than the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack…If, at step 610, the current required hydraulic demand is greater than the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack, then the system proceeds to step 625, operating the primary pack at its, maximum capacity and operating the secondary power pack such as to meet the difference between the current required hydraulic demand of the vehicle and the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack (step 630),”), such as to a value within a range of 70–90% of the maximum hydraulic power demand of the at least one hydraulic consumer (Rajala discloses the claimed invention except for the value being between 70-90% of the maximum hydraulic power demand. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the value, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to have modified the hydraulic system of Hickey as modified by Quan with the threshold level for enacting balancing mode of Rajala. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of “this provides greater efficiency than running the two pumps in parallel and splitting the pumping duties even at low outputs below the capacity of a single pump” (see at least Rajala; [0008]).
Regarding claim 11 Hickey in view of Quan and Rajala renders obvious all of the limitations of claim 9. Additionally, Hickey discloses wherein the working machine comprises a tiltable body configured to carry a payload (see at least [0051]; “an example embodiment, lifting and loading system 228 may use hydraulic actuators to control operation of bucket 114 at the front of electric mining machine 100 (i.e., lifting, tilting, etc.),” the bucket is able to tilt as well as to carry a payload).
Hickey does not disclose wherein the threshold level is set to a value lower than a hydraulic power demand for dumping of the payload by tilting the tiltable body.
Additionally, Rajala, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the threshold level is set to a value lower than a hydraulic power demand for dumping of the payload by tilting the tiltable body (see at least [0059-0060]; “Raising bucket 114 requires a certain amount of hydraulic power to drive the hydraulic actuators of loading and lifting system 228. Notably, the heavier the load attempted to be lifted more hydraulic output is required to drive lifting system 228…the at step 605, the system determines a current required hydraulic demand of the vehicle. Once the current demand has been determined, the system evaluates, at step 610, whether the current required hydraulic demand is greater than the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack…If, at step 610, the current required hydraulic demand is greater than the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack, then the system proceeds to step 625, operating the primary pack at its, maximum capacity and operating the secondary power pack such as to meet the difference between the current required hydraulic demand of the vehicle and the maximum hydraulic capacity of the primary power pack (step 630),”) (Rajala discloses the claimed invention except for the value being less than the hydraulic power demand to dump the payload. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the value, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to have modified the hydraulic system of Hickey as modified by Quan with the threshold level for enacting balancing mode of Rajala. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of “this provides greater efficiency than running the two pumps in parallel and splitting the pumping duties even at low outputs below the capacity of a single pump” (see at least Rajala; [0008]).
Regarding claim 12 Hickey in view of Quan and Rajala renders obvious all of the limitations of claim 9. Additionally, Rajala, in the same field of endeavor, teaches further comprising: receiving, in the processing circuitry, weight data indicative of a current weight of the working machine, and setting, by the processing circuitry, the threshold level in dependence on the weight data (see at least [0059-0060]; “Raising bucket 114 requires a certain amount of hydraulic power to drive the hydraulic actuators of loading and lifting system 228. Notably, the heavier the load attempted to be lifted more hydraulic output is required to drive lifting system 228,” the greater the load, the greater demand required to lift the load, therefore determining whether the threshold is exceeded is dependent on the weight to be lifted) (Rajala discloses the claimed invention except for the value being dependent on weight. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the value, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to have modified the hydraulic system of Hickey as modified by Quan with the threshold level for enacting balancing mode of Rajala. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of “this provides greater efficiency than running the two pumps in parallel and splitting the pumping duties even at low outputs below the capacity of a single pump” (see at least Rajala; [0008]).
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.
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/ASHLEIGH NICOLE TURNBAUGH/Examiner, Art Unit 3667
/Hitesh Patel/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3667
5/27/26
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