DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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, 8-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Addicott (US 2018/0354761) in view of Chase (US 2013/0058746).
Regarding claim 1, Addicott teaches an attachment for a forklift for positioning a load at a desired location, the load having exterior sides, the attachment comprising:
a rearward carriage structure, 102;
a forward carriage structure, 106, for supporting forwardly extending forks, 190, the forward carriage structure slidably mounted on the rearward carriage structure to move side to side relative to the rearward carriage structure, see paragraph 0045;
Addicott does not teach the clamp arms, as claimed. Chase teaches upright clamp arms, 108A and 108B, mounted to a forward carriage, 102, structure to move side to side relative to the forward carriage structure, toward and away from each other, see paragraph 0046;
upper clamps, 124A and 124B, carried by the clamp arms to engage the exterior locations of a load when the clamp arms are moved toward each other and simultaneously moving the forward carriage structure to a medial (central) position between the clamp arms.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to combine the clamp arms of Chase with the carriage structure and forks of Addicott in order to achieve the predictable result of clamping and securing the load on the forks to ensure the load is held securely on the forklift.
Regarding claim 8, Chase teaches an actuator assembly, 110, for moving the clamp arms towards and away from each other, see paragraph 0047.
Regarding claim 9, Chase teaches the actuator assembly, 110, is mounted to extend between the forward carriage structure and the clamp arms, see figure 2.
Regarding claim 10, Addicott teaches a locking mechanism to prevent relative sliding movement between the forward and rearward carriage structures, see paragraphs 0079-0082 which discus valves to lock and unlock the hydraulic operator of the fork-carriage apparatus.
Regarding claim 11, Chase teaches a sensor for sensing the position of the attachment toward and away from the load, see claim 1, where the sensor is located on the clamping arms.
Regarding claim 12, the upper clamps of Chase are configured to engage the posts of a load in the form of a rack, where the rack is considered to be the article worked on by the clamp and the rack does not limit the claim. See MPEP 215.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-7 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.
Claim 2 claims that lower clamps carried by the clamp arms at a location below the upper clamps to engage a load positioned beneath load being carried by the forklift. After an extensive search of the prior art the examiner was unable to find a teaching of the clamps as claimed, which clamp a load that is positioned below the forks and below a load carried by the forks. While the combination of Addicott and Chase teaches a forklift with clamps, as claimed in claim 1. The combination of the clamps of Chase do not teach clamping a load below the forks, as it would not be obvious to combine the clamps of Chase to engage a load below the forks.
As such, claims 2 and 3-7 are objected to.
Claims 13-21 are allowed.
Regarding claim 13, applicant claim an attachment for a forklift for positioning a load at a desired location above a lower structure, the load and the lower structure having exterior sides, the attachment comprising: a rearward carriage structure; a forward carriage structure for supporting forwardly extending forks, the forward and rearward carriage structures slidably engage with each other to move side to side relative to each other; upright clamp arms mounted to the forward carriage structure to move side to side relative to the forward carriage structure, toward and away from each other; upper clamps carried by the clamp arms to engage the exterior sides of a load being carried by the forks when the clamp arms are moved toward each other; lower clamps carried by the clamp arms to engage the exterior sides of the lower structure when the clamp arms are moved toward each other, and simultaneously moving the forward carriage structure to a medial (central) position between the clamp arms.
After an extensive search of the prior art the examiner was unable to find a teaching of the attachment for a forklift, as claimed, including upright clamp arms comprising upper clamps and lower clamps, where the lower clamps engage the exterior sides of the lower structure blow the forklift, as claimed.
While the combination of Addicott and Chase teaches a forklift with upright clamp structures, it does not teach nor render obvious clamps that engage the exterior sides of the lower structure, as claimed. Upright clamps that extend below forks of a forklift to engage a structure or load below the forks was not found to be taught by the prior art, either alone or in combination. As such, claims 13-21 are allowed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Prior art cited on the PTO-892 and not relied upon is included to show additional examples of forklifts similar to the claimed invention.
CN 210595102 shows a forklift with forks and side clamps for clamping a load. WO 2013/007118 and GB 2575655 teach load carrying vehicles with upright clamp arms that are moveable toward and away from each other. And US 2016/0152455 teaches a side shift for a lift truck for shifting a carriage relative to a vehicle mount.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAITLIN S JOERGER whose telephone number is (571)272-6938. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5 (CST).
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, Ernesto Suarez can be reached at (571)270-5565. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KAITLIN S JOERGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
13 August 2026
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