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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: L1, L2, L3, and L4
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the self-moving device from claim 20 and the snow removal device from claim 20 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 3-7, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The term “close” in claims 3, 4, and 6 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “close” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. What one person considers as close may not be the same as what another person considers as close thus the metes and bounds of the limitation cannot be determined.
Claim 19 recites the limitation "the upper and lower sides" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 20, lines 2-3, recites “a plurality of crawlers of any of claim 1” which is indefinite because it is unclear exactly what the Applicant is trying to claim with “any of claim 1”. Should claim 20 be amended to recite --a plurality of crawlers of claim 1--?
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.
Claims 13, 15, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Puglise (US 4,235,479 A).
Regarding claim 13, Puglise discloses a crawler, comprising:
a frame (12), wherein the frame comprises a first frame body (the frame that 14 and 14 are connected to) and a second frame body (the frame on the other side of the tractor that supports the other track);
a first wheel (16) and a second wheel (14), wherein the first wheel and the second wheel are rotatably connected to the frame respectively, and the first wheel and the second wheel are opposite to each other and arranged at intervals;
one of the first wheel and the second wheel is a driving wheel (16), and another is a driven wheel (14);
a crawler body (18) is sleeved on a periphery of the first wheel and a periphery of the second wheel, and the crawler body is engaged with the first wheel and the second wheel; and
a snow scraping component (40, 42), wherein the snow scraping component is at least a part of a first barrier (40) and a second barrier (42), the snow scraping component is connected to the frame and positioned between the first wheel and the second wheel (see Figure 1), and the snow scraping component has a gap “d” with an outer wheel face of the first wheel (40 is spaced from 16 as shown in Figure 1).
Regarding claim 15, Puglise discloses a length direction (the up-and-down direction of 40 in Figure 2) of the snow scraping component is consistent with an axial direction (the axial centerline of 16) of the first wheel.
Regarding claim 16, Puglise discloses that the snow scraping component is arranged obliquely downward from the frame (see Figure 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 2, and 8-12 are allowed over the prior art of record.
Claims 14, 17, and 18 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.
Claims 3-7, 19, and 20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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 does not teach or render obvious the claimed combination of elements recited in claim 1, wherein a crawler is comprised of a crawler body, a driving wheel, and a driven wheel, a first frame body and a second frame body, the first frame body and the second frame body are respectively arranged at two opposite sides of an axis direction of the driving wheel, so that the driving wheel and the driven wheel are connected, a first barrier and a second barrier that are arranged between the driving wheel and the driven wheel, a distance between the first barrier and the driving wheel is L1, and 0＜L1＜5mm, and a distance between the second barrier and the driven wheel is L2, and 0＜L2＜5mm.
Ito et al. (US 6,578,934 B2) discloses a snow removal machine with a body, a driving wheel, a driven wheel, a frame, and a scraper that removes debris from one of the wheels of the snow removal machine. Ito et al. does not disclose that a distance (L1, L2) between scraper and the wheel, and 0＜L1, L2＜5mm.
Puglise (US 4,235,479 A) discloses a crawler vehicle that is comprised of a crawler body, a driving wheel, a driven wheel, frame bodies, and two pusher plates i.e. barriers. Puglise does not disclose that the pusher plates are arranged a distance (L1, L2) from the driving and driven wheels of 0＜L1, L2＜5mm.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM D ROGERS whose telephone number is (571)272-6561. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 6AM-2:00PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, John Olszewski can be reached at (571)272-2706. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ADAM D ROGERS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617
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