DETAILED ACTION
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. The specification, the abstract and the drawings are all acceptable.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. 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.
4. Claims 1, 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by USPN 8,098,036 to Matsunaga.
As to claim 1, Matsunaga teaches an electric work machine(fig. 1), comprising: a motor(fig. 2: “18”); a first manual switch configured to alternatively receive a first drive operation or a first stop operation, the first drive operation and the first stop operation being manually performed by a user of the electric work machine and a second manual switch configured to alternatively receive a second drive operation or a second stop operation, the second drive operation and the second stop operation being manually performed by the user(col. 1: lines 59 – col. 2: lines 26); and a control circuit configured to execute: a drive control to rotate the motor, based on the first manual switch receiving the first drive operation and the second manual switch receiving the second drive operation, a first stop control to stop the motor, based on the motor being rotated and the first manual switch having received the first stop operation, and a second stop control to stop the motor, based on the motor being rotated and the second manual switch having received the second stop operation, the second stop control being different from the first stop control(col. 8: lines 55 – col. 9: lines 18 & col. 11: lines 58 – col. 12: lines 8 wherein apparatus and method are taught to use the first manual switch and second manual switch for motor stopping control and rotation controls).
As to claim 14, Matsunaga teaches the electric work machine according to claim 1, wherein the first manual switch includes a trigger, and the first drive operation includes moving the trigger a distance greater than or equal to a specific distance from an initial position(col. 19: lines 34-42).
As to claim 15, Matsunaga teaches the electric work machine according to claim 1, wherein the second manual switch includes a lever configured to be pivotally moved by the user(col. 10: lines 38-40).
As to claim 16, it is rejected as the same reason as claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claims 2-13 are objected to as being dependent upon the rejected base claim 1, but could be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claims and any intervening claims for the following reasons: No prior art of record discloses the features as claimed in the noted claims.
6. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter. The non-obvious features are:
In comparison with the closest prior art as cited in this Office action and any previous Office actions, no prior art of record discloses the following features as claimed in the following claim limitations:
As per claim 2: Decelerating the motor at a first mean deceleration and thereby stopping the motor, based on the motor being rotated and the first manual switch having received the first stop operation, the first mean deceleration being a mean value of decelerations of the motor during a period from a time the first manual switch receives the first stop operation until the motor stops, and the second stop control includes decelerating the motor at a second mean deceleration and thereby stopping the motor, based on the motor being rotated and the second manual switch having received the second stop operation, the second mean deceleration being a mean value of decelerations of the motor during a period from a time the second manual switch receives the second stop operation until the motor stops and different from the first mean deceleration.
As per claim 4: Rotating the motor by inertia until elapse of a first period of time from a time the first manual switch receives the first stop operation; and applying a braking force to the motor and thereby decelerating the motor, based on the elapse of the first period of time from the time the first manual switch receives the first stop operation, and the second stop control includes: rotating the motor by inertia until elapse of a second period of time from a time the second manual switch receives the second stop operation, the second period of time being shorter than the first period of time, and applying a braking force to the motor and thereby decelerating the motor, based on the elapse of the second period of time from the time the second manual switch receives the second stop operation.
As per claim 5: The second stop control includes stopping the motor in accordance with a control profile, the control profile being based on a first actual speed, the first actual speed being an actual rotational speed of the motor at a time the second manual switch receives the second stop operation.
As per claim 9: The movement range including a first region and a second region, the second drive operation includes moving the second manual switch to be within the first region or positioning the second manual switch within the first region, and the second stop operation includes moving the second manual switch to be within the second region or positioning the second manual switch within the second region.
Conclusion
7. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
USPN 5,584,619 to Guzzella discloses a motor control system for machine tool.
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID S LUO whose telephone number is (571)270-5251. The examiner can normally be reached 8AM-5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eduardo Colon-Santana can be reached at 571-272-2060. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID LUO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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