DETAILED ACTION
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 § 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.
Claims 18 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Roth (US 6,712,549 B2) in view of McMahon et al. (US 2013/0181431 A1).
For claim 18, Roth discloses a track system for use with a vehicle 1, the track system comprising:
an undercarriage assembly 10 [is configured to be pivotably coupled to the vehicle] (fig. 12, col. 7, lines 46 – 49, a plurality of stub shafts 37 configured to rotatably connect each one of the wheel assemblies directly to the vehicle chassis);
wherein the pivotable coupling comprises a first pivot 37 [extending laterally perpendicular to a direction of travel] (figs. 11 and 12) and defining a pitch pivot axis 18 of the undercarriage assembly [such that the farm implement is pivotable in an up-and-down direction about the pitch pivot axis] (fig. 9, col. 4, lines 31 – 36) and a second pivot 72 [extending longitudinally parallel to the direction of travel] (figs. 3 and 12) and defining a roll pivot axis 20 of the undercarriage assembly [such that the farm implement is pivotable in an up-and-down direction about the roll pivot axis] (fig. 9, col. 4, lines 27 – 31); but does not explicitly disclose the vehicle is a farm implement.
McMahon et al. discloses [an assembled vehicle 520 suitable for carrying a grain cart, manure tank, or similar large, heavy vehicle implement unit including tracks, chassis 522, frame 530, and yoke assembly 532 with a hitch 534 for attachment to a farm tractor or other towing vehicle] (pages 4 and 5, paragraph [0072]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to alternatively use the farm implement of McMahon et al. with the track system of Roth with a reasonable expectation of success because it would allow for improved overall traversal over varying terrain, thus reducing overall operation malfunction.
For claim 19, Roth modified as above discloses the track system wherein the undercarriage assembly has an opening 54A, 54B for an axle 14, 26 [such that the undercarriage assembly is configured to be pivotably coupled to the farm implement when the axle is inserted through the opening] (col. 8, lines 30 – 39).
For claim 20, Roth modified as above discloses the track assembly wherein the undercarriage assembly further comprises a set of wheel mounts 14, 26 including a rear idler wheel mount 26 and a front idler wheel mount 14, and wherein the track assembly further comprises:
one or more front idler wheels 16A, 16B coupled to the front idler wheel mount;
one or more rear idler wheels 16C, 16D coupled to the rear idler wheel mount; and
a track belt 42 [extending around the one or more front idler wheels and the one or more rear wheels] (fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 21 and 22 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art fails to disclose:
For claim 21: the set of wheel mounts further includes a bogie wheel mount, one or more bogie wheels coupled to the bogie wheel mount and disposed between the one or more front idler wheels and the one or more rear idler wheels; or
For claim 22: a tilt arm; a first bogie arm independently pivotable from the tilt arm, wherein the one or more front idler wheels are coupled to the first bogie arm; and a second bogie arm independently pivotable from the tilt arm, wherein the one or more rear idler wheels are coupled to the second bogie arm.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US-5590977 – comprising a paving machine comprising pivotable tracks; and
US-4166511 – discloses a crawler vehicle comprising a body; suspension frame members; ball-and-socket joints; pair of stops; and left and right side track assemblies.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jacob D. Knutson whose telephone number is (571)270-5576. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Valentin Neacsu can be reached at (571)-272-6265. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JACOB D KNUTSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3611
Prosecution Insights