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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, and 7-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pettersson et al. (2017/0159434).
With regard to claim 1, Pettersson discloses a bolting head (e.g. fig. 1) arranged for providing a rock surface with reinforcing rock bolts, the bolting head comprising:
a frame (fig. 1, framing supporting 210/310) arranged for supporting the bolting head (200) and being mountable to a boom (eg. 500/600) of a bolting rig; at least one drilling unit (300) arranged for drilling drill holes and including a drilling feed beam (310) and a rock drilling machine movable on the drilling feed beam (fig. 1); and at least one bolting unit including a bolting feed beam (e.g. 278) and a bolt feed device (fig. 2) arranged for inserting the rock bolts into the drill holes and being movable on the bolting feed beam (para 0084), wherein the at least one drilling unit and the at least one bolting unit are mounted to the frame in parallel orientation relative to each other and at a predetermined lateral distance from each other (para 0063), and wherein the at least one drilling unit and the at least one bolting unit are operable simultaneously and without moving the at least one drilling unit and the at least one bolting unit in relation to the frame, allowing thereby simultaneous drilling and bolt feeding for the bolting head (para 0062).
With regard to claim 2, Pettersson further discloses the predetermined lateral distance between the at least one drilling unit and the at least one bolting unit is set in accordance with a bolt distance of rock bolts to be mounted (para 0061-0063; e.g. fig. 2).
With regard to claim 3, Pettersson further discloses relative positions between the frame, the at least one drilling unit and the at least one bolting unit are fixed (fig. 2).
With regard to claim 5, Pettersson further discloses the at least one drilling unit comprises two drilling units and at least one bolting unit comprises two bolting units, the two drilling units and the two bolting units being simultaneously operable (para 0067, 0070).
With regard to claim 7, Pettersson discloses the invention substantially as claimed as discussed above. Pettersson further discloses a moveable carrier (fig. 1) with at least one boom (500/600) mounted on the carrier (fig. 1) and a control unit (800) arranged for controlling operation of the bolting rig, wherein the control unit is configured to provide control commands to the at least one drilling unit and to the at least bolting unit of the bolting head mounted on the at least one boom for executing a bolting work cycle including simultaneous drilling and bolting (paras 0073-0074).
With regard to method claims 8-13, the claimed method of reinforcing a rock surface would inherently be performed by the device to Pettersson as taught above.
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.
Claim(s) 4, 6, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pettersson et al. 230 (2017/0159434) in view of Combet et al. (5,246,313).
With regard to claim 4, Pettersson discloses the invention substantially as claimed however is silent regarding the frame being a cradle wherein the cradle is an elongated object having transverse orientation in relation to a longitudinal axis of the parallel at least one drilling unit and at least one bolting unit.
Combet discloses a bolting head with a drill and bolting unit mounted on a cradle (4) wherein the cradle is an elongated object having transverse orientation in relation to a longitudinal axis of the parallel at least one drilling unit and at least one bolting unit (fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Pettersson and utilize a cradle having a traverse orientation as taught in Combet, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to allow the system to rotate together.
With regard to claim 6, Pettersson discloses the invention substantially as claimed however is silent regarding an anchoring element supportable against the rock surface and wherein the frame is configured to be turnable in relation to the anchoring element.
Combet discloses a bolting head with a drill and bolting unit and an anchoring element (14) supportable against the rock surface and wherein the frame is configured to be turnable in relation to the anchoring element (col. 3, lines 5-40; fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Pettersson and utilize an anchoring element as taught in Combet, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to further support the system and ensure proper alignment.
With regard to method claim 14, the claimed method of reinforcing a rock surface would inherently be performed by the modification of Pettersson to include an anchoring elements as taught by Combet above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Numerous references disclose simultaneous drilling/bolting including Theunissen (11,174,731); Koskinen et al. (2020/0263499); and Furge (10,480,319).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN F FIORELLO whose telephone number is (571)270-7012. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00AM-4:30PM EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Anderson can be reached at (571)270-5281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/BENJAMIN F FIORELLO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678
BF
08/26/2026
Prosecution Insights