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 Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: An article is missing between the phrase “except on” and the word “side” in line 6 of the claim. Applicant must also ensure proper antecedent basis for the limitation “side” upon correction. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 1-2 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Pub. 2023/0391220 A1 to Arata et al., hereinafter Arata.
Regarding Claim 1, Arata teaches an electric work vehicle comprising:
at least one electric motor (“traveling motor” 20, Fig. 2, [0033]);
a running vehicle-body portion (“body frame” 12, Fig. 1, [0033]);
a power transmission portion (“power transmission unit” 22, Fig. 1, [0042]) which is attached to the running vehicle-body portion (12, attachment depicted in Fig. 1 and recited in [0042]) and which is configured to transmit a power of the at least one electric motor (20, via reduction gear and differential mechanism, [0042]);
a battery (90, Fig. 1, [0033]);
an electric-power control device (“control device (ECU)” 46, Fig. 1, [0033]) configured to control an electric power that is to be transferred between the battery (90) and the at least one electric motor (20, control of 20 described in [0043-0044]); and
electric equipment (equipment contained within “junction box” 71 including “fuse” 116, “main contactor” 112, and “sub contactor” 118, Figs. 1, 5, [0068]); and
a housing (71) which is provided above the running vehicle-body portion (12) in a vertical direction of the electric work vehicle (71 disposed above 12, Fig. 1) and which houses the electric equipment (as recited in [0068]);
wherein the electric-power control device (46) and each of the at least one electric motor (20) are provided outside of the housing (71, both 46 and 20 depicted as outside of 71, Figs. 1-2), and are connected through a high-voltage cable (48V line depicted between 118 (in operative connection with 46) and inverters 42, 44, and subsequently 20 in Fig. 5, [0063]) through which the electric power is to be transmitted (Fig. 5, [0062], connections described further in [0080]).
Regarding Claim 2, Arata further teaches wherein the electric power control device (46) is provided above the running vehicle-body portion (12) in the vertical direction (disposition of 46 above 12 depicted in Fig. 1), and is located adjacent to the housing (71) in a horizontal direction (disposition of 46 adjacent to 71 depicted in Fig. 1) of the electric work vehicle (10, Fig. 1, [0032]).
Regarding Claim 4, Arata further teaches wherein the electric equipment (components contained within 71) includes an electronic control device (assembly of “fuse” 116, “main contactor” 112, and “sub contactor” 118, Figs. 1, 5, [0068]) that is configured to drive the electric-power control device (46, connection depicted in Fig. 5 and recited in [0068]),
wherein the electronic control device (assembly contained within 71) is connected to each of the electric-power control device (46) and the at least one electric motor through a low-voltage cable (12V control signal line from 46 as stepped down by “DC-DC converter” 80, depicted in Fig. 5) through which a signal is to be transmitted ([0049]).
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.
Claims 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Arata in view of US Pub. 2022/0256766 A1 to Nishizawa et al., hereinafter Nishizawa.
Regarding Claim 3, Arata teaches the electric work vehicle according to Claim 2, but does not teach an explicitly dustproof area, its disposition relative to the vehicle body and battery, components contained within a dustproof area, or panels provided below and around the dustproof area.
In the same field of endeavor of electric work vehicles, and with a common applicant and assignee, and with Arata included as a named inventor, Nishizawa teaches an electric work vehicle comprising:
a dustproof area (“covered space” S, Figs. 2-3, [0036]) which is provided above the running vehicle-body portion (the assembly of “body frame” 16, “main frames” 16a and 16b, and “lateral frames” 16c, Figs. 1A and 6, [0027], analogous to Arata – 12) in the vertical direction (disposition depicted in Fig. 2) and which is located adjacent to the housing (“electrical component case” 77, Fig. 2, [0038], analogous to Arata – 71) in a horizontal direction of the electric work vehicle (disposition of S horizontally parallel to 77 (as 77 is contained within S) depicted in Fig. 2); and
panels (“plate member” 50, Fig. 2, [0036]) provided below the dustproof area (S) in the vertical direction (disposition depicted in Fig. 2) and around the dustproof area except on side of the housing [sic] in the horizontal direction (“lid” 49 may be in an opened state, [0037], which constitutes an absence of paneling on a horizontally disposed side of the housing, depicted in Fig. 2),
wherein the electric-power control device (“control unit”, [0035], analogous to Arata – 46) is located in the dustproof area ([0041]), and
wherein the battery (41, Fig. 2, [0028], analogous to Arata – 90) is located adjacent to and above the electric-power control device (control unit, which is disposed within 77) in the vertical direction (instances of 41 disposed above 77, Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the electric work vehicle and associated essential powertrain components of Arata with the dustproof area and analogous control components of Nishizawa, yielding predictable results. A skilled artisan would appreciate the addition of dust/water ingress protection to protect sensitive electric components from damage (Nishizawa – [0004] and [0038), and to provide an opening in the dustproof space via a lid ([0042]) to provide easy access to the electric components for service.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US Pub. 2022/0379704 A1 to Tottori et al. discloses an electric work vehicle having a plurality of essential drivetrain and control components disposed in a manner analogous to the broad scope recited in the instant application.
US Pub. 2018/0026244 A1 to Ito et al. discloses an electric work vehicle having a dust-proof and water-proof battery case (50, [0120]) for ingress protection of the battery (40) and associated wire harnesses (45), connectors (46) and ECU (12).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mitchell James Price whose telephone number is (571)272-3729. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Thurs 8:00 - 5:00 Eastern, Fri 8:00 - 12:00 Eastern.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Valentin Neacsu can be reached at (571)272-6265. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Mitchell James Price/ Examiner, Art Unit 3611
/JACOB D KNUTSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3611
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