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 .
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 32 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Quenzi et al. (Pub. No.: 2004/0216333; hereinafter Quenzi) in view of Verseef (Pub. No.: 2003/0221338).
Regarding independent claim 32, Quenzi discloses a debris moving apparatus for removing debris from a highway surface to a position along the side of the highway, comprising:
a central member (214; See Fig. 18 provided below for immediate reference of the embodiment generally referenced in the rejection) supporting a mounting mechanism (215) for connection thereof to a truck (as disclosed in para. [0042]), said central member (214) including a hydraulic lift cylinder (240) interconnecting (at least operably) with the mounting mechanism (215) to enable vertical movement of the central member relative to said mounting mechanism between a raised transport position and a lowered operating position (See para. [0082] where it discloses “the hydraulic system may include a lift cylinder or actuator 240, which may be operable to raise and lower the center plow relative to the vehicle via pivotal movement of the center plow and support about the generally horizontal axis defined along the rearward end of the support, such as where the support attaches to the push beam or the like of the vehicle”).;
a pair of opposing wing members (216 and 18) pivotally connected to respective laterally opposing ends of said central member (See Fig. 18 for wing members and pivotal connections), each said wing member including a hydraulic swing cylinder interconnecting the corresponding said side member and said central member to affect pivotal movement of said side members relative to said central member (See Fig. 18 and para. [0070] where it discloses that cylinder 222a affects pivotal movement of wing member 216, and where cylinder 222b affects pivotal movement of wing member 218);
an onboard hydraulic system (200) operatively connected to said lift (240) and swing cylinders (222a-222b) to power operation thereof, said onboard hydraulic system (200) including a reservoir, a pump and a solenoid valve through which hydraulic fluid under pressure can be directed selectively to said lift and swing hydraulic cylinders (See para. [0076 where it discloses “selective actuation of a solenoid valve or switch may apply pressurized hydraulic fluid to fluid lines 221 connected to or in fluid communication with actuators 22a, 222b…’”).
Quenzi fails to disclose that the lift cylinder is a pair of lift cylinders as claimed. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have two lift cylinders instead of one, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skilled the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8. Applicant should further reference Ronald (Pat. No.: 4,024,922) cited in the conclusion for an example of a pair of hydraulic lift cylinders for raising/lowering a blade between a transport and operative position.
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Quenzi fails to disclose each of said wing members and said central member having a frame covered on forward surfaces thereof by a plastic skin attached to the respective said frames. Like Quenzi, Verseef discloses a debris moving apparatus comprising a central member 14 and a pair of opposing wing members (14A-14B; as seen in Fig. 1).
Unlike Quenzi, Verseef teaches wherein the central member (14) having a frame (front side of the central member 34) covered on the forward surface thereof by a plastic skin (See para. [0053] where it discloses “the front side of the main blade 14 can be at least partially covered with a non-stick material…Preferably the non-stick material is a sheet of UHMW plastic covering all or nearly all of the front side of the main blade”), and each of said wing members (14A-14B) having a frame (frame depicted in Fig. 4) covered on forward surfaces thereof by a plastic skin (16A-16B respectively, See para. [0061] where it discloses 16A-16B and 16 can be made from plastic).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the central and wing members of Quenzi, to include the plastic skin of Verseef, in order to provide a non-stick surface (See para. [0053]) or protect the bottom edge of the blade itself thereby increasing the overall efficacy of the blade/debris moving apparatus.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 19-31 allowed.
Claims 33-36 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Ronald (Pat. No.: 4,024,922) discloses a blade attachment with built-in air vent that is raised between a lowered operative position and a raised transport position via a pair of hydraulic lift cylinders (See col. 2, lns. 1-6); Mahoney (Pat. No.: 1,736,352) discloses a moldboard for grading machines wherein the moldboard has aligned openings within the face; Calvachio Jr. (Pat. No.: 5,544,434) discloses an air flow deflector for a snow plow; Jackson (Pat. No.: 9,845,582) discloses a convertible plow system that permits air to pass through the plow blade to the radiator via movable louvers; and Reynolds (Pat. No.: 9,267,305) discloses a louvered snow plow.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Audrey L Lusk whose telephone number is (571)272-5132. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 8am-5pm.
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/A.L.L./Examiner, Art Unit 3671
/CHRISTOPHER J SEBESTA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3671
