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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is overly wordy and repetitive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: Paragraph 0072, line 1, the phrase “the safety retainer 20 enables to limit user manipulation” is grammatically awkward.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 3, it is unclear which element is located at a locking end of the slit. It is suggested that the language be changed to “…and a lock, wherein the lock is located at a locking end of the slit”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 8, it is unclear which element is located at a locking end of the slit. It is suggested that the language be changed to “…and a lock, wherein the lock is located at a locking end of the slit”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities: The phrase “moving the retainer bar in a stand-by position” in line 4 should likely be changed to moving the retainer bar “into” or “to” a stand-by position. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: The phrase “pivoting the retainer bar in the stand-by position” in line 3 should likely be changed to pivoting the retainer bar “into” or “to” the stand-by position. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: The phrase “pivoting by the switch bracket, in a blocking position,” in line 2 should likely be changed to --pivoting [[by]] the switch bracket[[,]] into a blocking position--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7-9, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Albertshofer (EP 0732256 A2, hereinafter ‘256).
With regard to claim 1, ‘256 discloses a safety retainer, for a cabin of a vehicle, the safety retainer comprising:
a sliding interface (21), configured to be rigidly mounted on the cabin (1) of the vehicle, the sliding interface comprising a slit (22) and a lock (19), located at a locking end of the slit (the lock 19 is “located at” the locking end 31 of the slit); and
a retainer bar (9), comprising a first end (proximate numeral 8 in Fig. 1) configured to be pivotably secured to a chassis of the vehicle (pivotable connection is visible in Fig. 1) and a second end comprising a sliding member (11);
the retainer bar being configured to move between:
an inoperative position (Fig. 2), wherein the sliding member is inserted in the slit and configured to slide along the slit; and
an operative position (Fig. 1), wherein the sliding member is engaged with the lock to prevent a relative movement of the retainer bar and the sliding interface.
With regard to claim 2, ‘256 discloses that the sliding interface further comprises a stand-by area (see annotated Fig. provided below), located at the locking end of the slit.
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With regard to claim 3, ‘256 teaches that the retainer bar is further configured to move in a stand-by position (the standby position is between the inoperative position and the locking position, thus the retainer bar must move through the standby position) and wherein, in the stand-by position, the sliding member is in contact with the stand-by area (the sliding member 11 will at some point be positioned in the standby position and thus “in contact with” the standby position).
With regard to claim 7, ‘256 teaches that the retainer bar further comprises a handle (note that any element capable of being grasped by an operator can broadly be considered a “handle,” such as element 28).
With regard to claim 8, ‘256 teaches a vehicle comprising:
a chassis (2);
a cabin (1), secured to the chassis, the cabin comprising a rear wall (see annotated Fig. below); and
the safety retainer of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above), wherein the retainer bar (9) is pivotably secured to the chassis (see pivotable connection in Fig. 1) and the sliding interface (21) is fixedly mounted on the rear wall (see Figs. 1 and 2).
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With regard to claim 9, ‘256 teaches that the cabin is configured to pivot in an upright position (Fig. 1 position), and wherein, when the cabin is in the upright position, the retainer bar is in the inoperative position (the retainer bar can be considered “inoperative” before the lock 19 is engaged).
With regard to claim 11, ‘256 teaches the structural elements of this claim, as discussed with respect to claim 1 above. Furthermore, ‘256 teaches:
when the retainer bar is in the inoperative position (i.e. Fig. 2), tilting the cabin from an upright position into a fully tilted position (this is considered to occur when the cabin moves from an arbitrary intermediate position along its travel into the fully tilted position of Fig. 2);
while the cabin is being tilted, sliding the sliding member along the slit until it is partially engaged with the lock (the sliding member 11 moves along the slit 22 between the Fig. 2 and Fig. 1 position);
tilting back the cabin from the fully tilted position into the tilted position (this occurs when the cabin is lowered back down to the Fig. 2 position after maintenance is complete—note that the claim does not imply any particular order of the steps); and
engaging the sliding member with the lock (19) so the retainer bar is in the operative position (i.e. the Fig. 1, fully locked position).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6, 10, and 12-15 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.
With regard to claim 4, ‘256 fails to teach a switch bracket pivotably secured to the sliding interface and located between the stand-by area and the lock. The closest structure to the claimed “switch bracket” is lock element 19, but this element has already been interpreted as the “lock” of claim 1. Furthermore, this element is not located “between the stand-by area and the lock” as required by the claim.
With regard to claim 10, ‘256 fails to teach a cylinder configured to pivot the cabin from the upright position into a tilted position and wherein, when the cabin is in the tilted position, the retainer bar is in the operative position to lock the cabin in the tilted position. Although ‘256 does teach a cylinder element (9/10), this element has already been designated as the “retainer bar” of claim 1.
With regard to claim 12, ‘256 fails to teach at least “while the cabin is in the fully tilted position, moving the retainer bar in a stand-by position” because the retainer bar (9) of ‘256 cannot be moved while the cabin is in the fully tilted position of Fig. 2. Whenever the retainer bar (9) is moved from the Fig. 2 position, the retainer bar will move the cabin out of the fully tilted position.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited references provide further examples of the state of the art with regard to locking mechanisms for tilting vehicle cabs.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT E FULLER whose telephone number is (571)272-6300. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30AM - 5:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tara Schimpf can be reached at 571-270-7741. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ROBERT E FULLER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3676
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