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 under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, “a cab configured to accommodate a driver of the vehicle” as recited in claim 9 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 § 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-2, 5-6, 8, 10-13, 15-16, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20220057797 A1 (Ramsager, hereinafter: Ram) in view of US 11597454 B2 (Kaneko et al., hereinafter: Kaneko), and further in view of US 20220185585 A1 (Toebes et al., hereinafter: Toebes).
Regarding claim 1, Ram teaches a vehicle (10 in fig. 3A, ¶0039) comprising: a body (12 in fig. 3A) including a chamber (48 in fig. 4) and lifting mechanism (16 in fig. 7A, ¶0043);
a propulsion system (34 in fig. 2, ¶0042: the wheel actuators 34 may include propulsion actuators or propulsion units) including a first independently driven wheel (14 on left side of fig.3A, ¶0042: Such independently steerable motorized wheels 14 may each comprise independent steering actuator motors that may independently steer each of the wheels) and a second independently driven wheel 14 on right side of fig.3A, ¶0042) disposed at opposing sides of the body (it can be seen in fig.3A), the propulsion system (34) configured to drive the first wheel and the second wheel to cause the vehicle to pivot about a rotational axis of the vehicle (¶0042, the wheel actuators 34 may include propulsion actuators or propulsion units such as motors for clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation of the wheels 14. The wheel actuators 34 may also include steering actuators operable to pivot or rotate an angle of one or more of the wheels 14 left or right about a center axis extending through a diameter of the wheel 14. Interprets as rotation axis of vehicle is perpendicular to the center axis of wheel, if wheels pivot or rotate an angle, vehicle will also pivot or rotate in the same angle of its own rotation axis).
Ram does not explicitly teach the lifting mechanism disposed at least partially within the chamber and configured to engage and lift a cargo pallet, and the chamber configured to receive the cargo pallet through an opening in the body and accommodate the cargo pallet and the lifting mechanism within the chamber; and a bi-directional hitch disposed at an upper portion of the body and including a first connector and a second connector, the first connector and the second connector configured to pivot relative to one another and relative to the body about the rotational axis of the vehicle, each of the first connector and the second connector configured to attach the vehicle to one selected from the group consisting of (i) another vehicle and (ii) a trailer.
Kaneko teaches a bi-directional hitch disposed at an upper portion of the body (see below attached annotated fig.1) and including a first connector (113 in fig.1 and 2) and a second connector (132 in fig.1 and 2), the first connector (113 in fig.1 and 2) and the second connector (132 in fig.1 and 2) configured to pivot relative to one another and relative to the body about the rotational axis (L in fig. 3A, since vehicle turns in either direction, rotation axis will be parallel to L axis shown in fig. 3A. Therefore, L in fig. 3A is interpreted as a rotation axis of vehicle) of the vehicle (it can be seen in fig. 2), each of the first connector and the second connector configured to attach the vehicle to one selected from the group consisting of (it can be seen in fig. 1-3, vehicle 111 is connected to trailer 130 or 131 via first and second connector).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have modified Ram by incorporating and a bi-directional hitch disposed at an upper portion of the body and including a first connector and a second connector, the first connector and the second connector configured to pivot relative to one another and relative to the body about the rotational axis of the vehicle, each of the first connector and the second connector configured to attach the vehicle to one selected from the group consisting of Kaneko in order to provide connection between front end unit and trailer (see, column 4, lines 10-12 of Kaneko).
A combination of Ram and Kaneko does not explicitly teach the lifting mechanism disposed at least partially within the chamber and configured to engage and lift a cargo pallet, and the chamber configured to receive the cargo pallet through an opening in the body and accommodate the cargo pallet and the lifting mechanism within the chamber.
Toebes teaches the lifting mechanism (3060 in fig. 3A, ¶0031) disposed at least partially (it can be seen in fig. 3A) within the chamber (350 in fig. 3A) and configured to engage and lift a cargo pallet (it can be seen in fig. 3D-F), and the chamber (350) configured to receive the cargo pallet through an opening in the body (It can be seen in fig. 3H) and accommodate the cargo pallet and the lifting mechanism within the chamber (It can be seen in fig. 3H).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have modified the combination of Ram and Kaneko by incorporating the lifting mechanism disposed at least partially within the chamber and configured to engage and lift a cargo pallet, and the chamber configured to receive the cargo pallet through an opening in the body and accommodate the cargo pallet and the lifting mechanism within the chamber in view of Toebes in order to provide additional degree of freedom movement to pick up cargo (¶0031).
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Regarding claim 2, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 1. The combination of Ram and Kaneko does not explicitly teach wherein the lifting mechanism is configured to extend at least partially through the opening in the body and away from the chamber.
Toebes teaches wherein the lifting mechanism (3060 in fig. 3A, ¶0031) is configured to extend at least partially through the opening in the body and away from the chamber (it can be seen in fig. 3A - K).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have modified the combination of Ram and Kaneko by incorporating the lifting mechanism is configured to extend at least partially through the opening in the body and away from the chamber in view of Toebes in order to provide additional degree of freedom movement to pick up cargo (¶0031).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Ram also teaches wherein the propulsion system (34) is configured to drive the vehicle in a forward direction of travel and a rearward direction of travel (¶0042: the wheel actuators 34 may include propulsion actuators or propulsion units such as motors for clockwise (Forward direction) and counter-clockwise (Rearward direction) rotation of the wheels 14, which will drive the Vehicle).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 5. Ram also teaches a first indicator light (18 in fig. 3A, ¶0066) is disposed at a first exterior side of the body (it can be seen in fig. 3A) and a second indicator light (18 of another vehicle which is connected to first vehicle) is disposed at a second exterior side of the body opposite the first exterior side (it can be seen in fig. 3A), the first indicator light and the second indicator light switchable between operating as a headlamp for the vehicle and operating as a taillamp for the vehicle based on a current direction of travel of the vehicle (¶0066: the control system 30 may instruct a first light or first set of lights of the indicator lights 18 to light up when the autonomous vehicle 10 is traveling in a first direction and may instruct a second light or second set of lights of the indicator lights 18 to light up when the autonomous vehicle 10 is traveling in a second direction opposite the first direction).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Ram also teaches the vehicle (10 in fig. 3A) is configured to attach to the selected one of the other vehicle (another 10 in fig. 9) and (it can be seen in fig. 10), and the propulsion system (34) of the vehicle is configured to drive the road train in a direction of travel (¶0042).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Ram also teaches a sensor system (26 in fig. 2) configured to capture sensor data (¶0051: the location sensors 26 can acquire information/data) at the vehicle to enable at least partially autonomous driving of the vehicle (¶0055: the control system 30 may be adapted to allow different elements of the system 38 to work together (e.g., the wheel actuators 34 and the location sensor 26) to facilitate automated or semi-automated operation and transport of the autonomous vehicle 10).
Regarding claim 11, Ram teaches a first vehicle (10 in fig. 3A) and a second vehicle (another 10 in fig. 9) connected to one another (it can be seen in fig, 9), each of the first vehicle (10) and the second vehicle (another 10) including: a body (12) including a chamber (48) and a lifting mechanism (16), and with the first vehicle (10) disposed in a front position of the road train (it can be seen in fig. 9), at least the propulsion system (34) of the first vehicle (10) is configured to drive the road train (¶0042) in a direction of travel (it can be seen in fig.9 see indicated travel direction arrows sign).
The combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches the lifting mechanism disposed at least partially within the chamber and configured to engage and lift a cargo pallet, and the chamber configured to receive the cargo pallet through an opening in the body and accommodate the cargo pallet and the lifting mechanism within the chamber;
a propulsion system including a first independently driven wheel and a second independently driven wheel disposed at opposing sides of the body, the propulsion system configured to drive the first wheel and the second wheel to cause the respective vehicle to pivot about a rotational axis of the vehicle; and
a bi-directional hitch disposed at an upper portion of the body and including a first connector and a second connector, the first connector and the second connector configured to pivot relative to one another and relative to the body about the rotational axis of the respective vehicle, each of the first connector and the second connector configured to attach the respective vehicle to one selected from the group consisting of (i) another vehicle and (ii) a trailer.
For citation, combination and motivation purposes, see rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 11. Ram does not explicitly teach wherein the first vehicle is attached at a first connector of the trailer and the second vehicle is attached at a second connector of the trailer.
Kaneko teaches wherein the first vehicle is attached at a first connector of the trailer (see attached annotated fig) and the second vehicle is attached at a second connector of the trailer (see above attached annotated fig).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have modified the combination of Ram by incorporating the first vehicle is attached at a first connector of the trailer and the second vehicle is attached at a second connector of the trailer in view of Kaneko in order to provide connection between two end unit and trailer to form a train(see, column 4, lines 10-12 of Kaneko).
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Regarding claim 13, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 12. Ram does not explicitly teach wherein the trailer is supported between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.
Kaneko teaches wherein the trailer is supported between the first vehicle and the second vehicle (see above attached annotated fig).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have modified the combination of Ram by incorporating the trailer is supported between the first vehicle and the second vehicle in view of Kaneko in order to provide connection between two end unit and trailer (see, column 4, lines 10-12 of Kaneko).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 11. Ram teaches the respective propulsion (34) systems of the first vehicle (10 on left in fig. 9) and the second vehicle (10 on right in fig.9) are configured to drive the road train in the direction of travel (¶0059: when a lead one of the autonomous vehicles 10 stops or slows down, the others in the train also stop or slow down accordingly in a synchronous fashion. Interprets, as all the other vehicles flow the propulsion system of a leading vehicle in their traveling direction, see attached annotated fig.).
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Regarding claim 16, Ram teaches a first vehicle (10 in fig. 3A) and a second vehicle (another 10 in fig. 9) connected to one another (it can be seen in fig, 9), each of the first vehicle (10) and the second vehicle (another 10) including: a body (12) including a chamber (48) and a lifting mechanism (16), and memory hardware storing instructions (2 in fig. 1, ¶0057: input read from a memory storage device, such as the memory 2) that, when executed on data processing hardware in communication with the memory hardware (it can be seen in fig. 2), cause the data processing hardware to perform operations including: with the first vehicle (10 in fig. 9) disposed in a front position of the road train (see attached annotated fig.9), operating at least the propulsion system (34) of the first vehicle to drive the road train in a direction of travel (¶0059: leading vehicle’s propulsion system is leading train in its traveling direction).
The combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches the lifting mechanism disposed at least partially within the chamber and configured to engage and lift a cargo pallet, and the chamber configured to receive the cargo pallet through an opening in the body and accommodate the cargo pallet and the lifting mechanism within the chamber;
a propulsion system including a first independently driven wheel and a second independently driven wheel disposed at opposing sides of the body, the propulsion system configured to drive the first wheel and the second wheel to cause the respective vehicle to pivot about a rotational axis of the vehicle; and
a bi-directional hitch disposed at an upper portion of the body and including a first connector and a second connector, the first connector and the second connector configured to pivot relative to one another and relative to the body about the rotational axis of the respective vehicle, each of the first connector and the second connector configured to attach the respective vehicle to one selected from the group consisting of (i) another vehicle and (ii) a trailer;
For citation, combination and motivation purposes, see rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 16. Ram also teaches wherein the operations include operating the respective propulsion systems of the first vehicle and the second vehicle to drive the road train in the direction of travel (for citation purpose see rejection of claim 15).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20220057797 A1 (Ramsager, hereinafter: Ram) in view of US 11597454 B2 (Kaneko et al., hereinafter: Kaneko), and further in view of US 20220185585 A1 (Toebes et al., hereinafter: Toebes), and further in view of US 20200277137 A1 (Bastian II et al., hereinafter: Bastian).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 1. The combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes does not explicitly teach each of the first connector and the second connector is further configured to attach to an accessory attachment.
Bastian teaches each of the first connector is further (see attached annotated fig.) configured to attach to an accessory attachment (910 in fig. 9).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have modified the combination of the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes by incorporating each of the first connector and the second connector is further configured to attach to an accessory attachment in view of Bastian in order to facilitate manipulating cargos (¶0129).
The combination of Ram, Kaneko, Toebes and Bastian discloses the claimed invention except for the second connector is further configured to attach to an accessory attachment. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention made to the second connector is further configured to attach to an accessory attachment in order to facilitate manipulation of cargo, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art (See MPEP 2144.04, section VI. B).
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Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20220057797 A1 (Ramsager, hereinafter: Ram) in view of US 11597454 B2 (Kaneko et al., hereinafter: Kaneko), and further in view of US 20220185585 A1 (Toebes et al., hereinafter: Toebes), and further in view of DE 102019104046 A1 (Frank).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 1. The combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes does not explicitly teach wherein the body includes a cab configured to accommodate a driver of the vehicle.
Frank teaches wherein the body includes a cab (it can be seen in fig. 3) configured to accommodate a driver (4 in fig. 3) of the vehicle (it can be seen in fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have modified the combination of the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes by incorporating wherein the body includes a cab configured to accommodate a driver of the vehicle in view of Frank in order to achieve manual operation of vehicle.
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20220057797 A1 (Ramsager, hereinafter: Ram) in view of US 11597454 B2 (Kaneko et al., hereinafter: Kaneko), and further in view of US 20220185585 A1 (Toebes et al., hereinafter: Toebes), and further in view of US 20050218617 A1 (Frahm).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 13. The combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes does not explicitly teach wherein the trailer includes a support element configured to extend from the trailer and support the trailer at a ground surface, the support element including at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) a caster (i) a caster, (ii) a support leg, and (iii) a lower portion of the trailer (as per BRI, Kaneko teaches a support element is a lower portion of the trailer. As per BRI, when trailer is disassembled from train lower portion of trailer will provide ground support, also in column 3, lines 61-67 teaches trailer can have wheels but not a caster).
Frahm teaches the trailer (10, 12 and 14 in fig.1) includes a support element (22 in fig. 1) configured to extend from the trailer and support the trailer at a ground surface (it can be seen in fig.1), the support element (22) including at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) a caster (¶0022),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have modified the combination of the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes by incorporating the trailer includes a support element configured to extend from the trailer and support the trailer at a ground surface, the support element including at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) a caster in view of Frahm in order to facilitating movement of trailer in relatively tight areas and to make relatively sharp turns (see, ¶0022).
Claim(s) 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20220057797 A1 (Ramsager, hereinafter: Ram) in view of US 11597454 B2 (Kaneko et al., hereinafter: Kaneko), and further in view of US 20220185585 A1 (Toebes et al., hereinafter: Toebes), and further in view of US 20180364738 A1 (Bridges).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 16. Ram does not explicitly teach the operations further include, with the second vehicle in a rear position of the road train, operating the second connector of the second vehicle to attach the second vehicle to the selected one of the other vehicle and the trailer based on a destination of the selected one of the other vehicle and the trailer.
Kaneko teaches the operations further include, with the second vehicle in a rear position of the road train, operating the second connector of the second vehicle to attach the second vehicle to the selected one of the other vehicle and the trailer based on a destination of the selected one of (Note: The operation of connecting second vehicle to the trailer is shown in fig. 7 that second vehicle and trailer both are arranged as per destination of loaded cargo (e.g. locations A, or for b or for C) on the trailer. See column 9, line 28 – column 10, line 13).
However, Kaneto’s attachment is done manually at distribution center.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have modified Ram, by incorporating the operations further include, with the second vehicle in a rear position of the road train, operating the second connector of the second vehicle to attach the second vehicle to the selected one of the other vehicle and the trailer based on a destination of the selected one of Kaneko in order to organize shipping based on their delivery location which can reduce the shipping time by eliminating multiple delivery trips of vehicles in same destination (as shown in fig. 7).
Bridges teaches attaching the vehicle to the trailer automatically. (see Fig. 6A-6C, Fig. 8A-8C and ¶0093).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have modified the combination of the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes by incorporating attaching the vehicle to the trailer automatically in view of Bridges in order to reduce shipping time (¶0045).
Furthermore, it has been held by the court that that broadly providing an automatic or mechanical means to replace a manual activity which accomplished the same result is not sufficient to distinguish over the prior art. (see MPEP 2144.04, section B(III)). Therefore, to automate Kaneko’s manual attaching or detaching the vehicle to the trailer as per destination involves only routine skill in the art.
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 16. Ram does not explicitly teach the operations further include, with the second vehicle in a rear position of the road train, operating the first connector of the second vehicle to detach the second vehicle from the road train based on a destination of the second vehicle.
Kaneko teaches the operations further include, with the second vehicle in a rear position of the road train, operating the first connector of the second vehicle to detach the second vehicle from the road train based on a destination of the second vehicle (Note: The operation of disassembling second vehicle to the trailer is shown in fig. 7 that second vehicle and trailer both are detached to organized them as per destination of loaded cargo (e.g. locations A, or for b or for C) on the trailer. See column 9, line 28 – column 10, line 13).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have modified Ram, by incorporating the operations further include, with the second vehicle in a rear position of the road train, operating the first connector of the second vehicle to detach the second vehicle from the road train based on a destination of the second vehicle in view of Kaneko in order to organize shipping based on their delivery location which can reduce the shipping time by eliminating multiple delivery trips of vehicles in same destination (as shown in fig. 7).
Bridges teaches detaching the vehicle from the trailer automatically. (see Fig. 6A-6C, Fig. 8A-8C and ¶0093).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have modified the combination of the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes by incorporating detaching the vehicle to the trailer automatically in view of Bridges in order to reduce shipping time (¶0045).
Furthermore, it has been held by the court that that broadly providing an automatic or mechanical means to replace a manual activity which accomplished the same result is not sufficient to distinguish over the prior art. (see MPEP 2144.04, section B(III)). Therefore, to automate Kaneko’s manual attaching or detaching the vehicle to the trailer as per destination involves only routine skill in the art.
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes teaches all the limitations of claim 16. Ram does not teach wherein the operations further include, with the first vehicle disposed in the front position of the road train, operating the first connector of the first vehicle to attach the first vehicle to another vehicle and operating at least a propulsion system of the other vehicle to drive the road train in the direction of travel.
Kaneko teaches operations further include, with the first vehicle disposed in the front position of the road train (110 in fig. 2), operating the first connector of the first vehicle to attach the first vehicle to another vehicle (Note: The operation of connecting first connector of the first vehicle 110 of the train shown in fig. 2, is being perform manually to another vehicle 121 via intermediate trailer can be seen in fig. 2 and 7 column 9, line 28 – column 10, line 13) and operating at least a propulsion system (104 in fig. 5) of the other vehicle to drive the road train in the direction of travel (Column 4: lines 37-41, individual steering angles and individual driving torques of the front wheels of the front end unit 110 and the rear wheels of the rear end unit 120 are independently controlled so that the traveling position of the vehicle 100 is controlled. It interprets as once the first vehicle 100 connected to another vehicle 121, it will utilize propulsion system of another vehicle 121 as shown in fig. 6 and 7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have modified Ram, by incorporating wherein the operations further include, with the first vehicle disposed in the front position of the road train, operating the first connector of the first vehicle to attach the first vehicle to another vehicle and operating at least a propulsion system of the other vehicle to drive the road train in the direction of travel in view of Kaneko in order to allow the first vehicle to follow driving direction of another vehicle (as shown in fig. 6 and 7).
Bridges teaches attaching the vehicle from the trailer automatically. (See, Fig. 6A-6C, and Fig. 8A-8C and ¶0093).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have modified the combination of the combination of Ram, Kaneko and Toebes by incorporating attaching the vehicle to another vehicle and the trailer automatically in view of Bridges in order to reduce shipping time (¶0045).
Furthermore, it has been held by the court that that broadly providing an automatic or mechanical means to replace a manual activity which accomplished the same result is not sufficient to distinguish over the prior art. (see MPEP 2144.04, section B(III)). Therefore, to automate Kaneko’s manual attaching the vehicle to another vehicle or the trailer involves only routine skill in the art.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 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. DE 20313955 U1 also teaches a vehicle comprising, body, lifting mechanism the lifting mechanism disposed at least partially within the chamber and configured to engage and lift a cargo pallet, and the chamber configured to receive the cargo pallet through an opening in the body and accommodate the cargo pallet and the lifting mechanism within the chamber (see Fig.4 and 6a-6c). US 11597454 B2 (Kaneko et al.) also teaches claimed subject matter of claim 15 and 20 (see column 4, lines 37-41).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAIMIN G PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-0052. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
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/JAIMIN G PATEL/Examiner, Art Unit 3652
/JONATHAN SNELTING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3652
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