DETAILED ACTION
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, the “the arcuate interface” 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 Objections
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 10, line 2 recites the limitation “the second hardness zone” which should be changed to “the second lower hardness zone”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 8, 10, 11, 14, and 21 – 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okawa et al. (US 7,040,080 B2) in view of Steiner et al. (US 2015/0008730 A1).
For claim 8, Okawa et al. discloses a method of making a track link 10 comprising:
[hardening a material forming a track link 10 to a first, higher hardness] (col. 4, lines 45 – 61, HRC (Rockwell Hardness) 40 or more, or more preferably, HRC 45 to HRC 55);
[selectively softening the hardened material of the track link from the first, higher hardness to a second, lower hardness] (col. 4, lines 63 – 67 and col. 5, lines 1 – 4, hardness (HRC 40 or less)); and
[producing, by way of the hardening and the softening, a first lower hardness zone forming a first track pin bore 14, a second lower hardness zone forming a bushing hole 13, and a higher hardness zone extending to each of a first end and a second end of the track link and including at least a majority of an upper rail surface of the track link] (col. 4, lines 45 – 67 and col. 5, lines 1 – 4); but does not explicitly disclose the bushing hole is a second track pin bore.
Steiner et al. discloses a track link 24 comprising [an elongate link body 24 having a lower shoe-mounting surface 26 and an upper rail surface 30] (page 2, paragraph [0017]), and further comprising [a first track pin bore 40 and a second track pin bore 42] (fig. 3, page 2, paragraph [0019]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to alternatively use the second track pin bore of Steiner et al. in place of the bushing hole of Okawa et al. with a reasonable expectation of success because it would allow for an alternative link for a track system, thus increasing overall track service life and ride quality.
For claim 10, Okawa et al. modified as above discloses the method of claim 8 further comprising [forming the higher hardness zone extending throughout the track link outside of the first lower hardness zone and the second lower hardness zone] (fig. 3, col. 5, lines 10 – 14).
For claim 11, Okawa et al. modified as above discloses the method further comprising [forming peaks of the first lower hardness zone and the second lower hardness zone each located at a depth from the upper rail surface] (in view of the modification above, the peaks are located at central axes of the first and second track pin bores).
For claim 14, Okawa et al. modified as above discloses the method [wherein the first lower hardness zone includes a first link strap of the track link and the second lower hardness zone includes a second link strap of the track link] (fig. 3, drawing 1 below), and [the higher hardness zone extends, between the first track pin bore and the second track pin bore, from the upper rail surface to a lower shoe-mounting surface 12 of the track link] (figs. 2 and 3).
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Drawing 1
For claim 21, Okawa et al. discloses a method of making a track link 10 comprising:
[hardening a material forming a track link 10 via heating the track link a first time] (col. 4, lines 13 – 15), and [then cooling the track link] (col. 4, lines 45 – 61);
[selectively softening only some of the material of the track link as hardened via heating only some of the material a second time] (col. 4, lines 63 – 67 and col. 5, lines 1 – 4); and
producing in the track link, by way of the hardening and the softening, [a lower hardness of the material forming a first track pin bore 14 and a bush hole 13] (col. 4, lines 63 – 67 and col. 5, lines 1 – 4), and [a higher hardness of the material forming an upper rail surface of the track link] (col. 4, lines 58 – 61 and col. 5, lines 10 – 14); but does not explicitly disclose
the bushing hole is a second track pin bore.
Steiner et al. discloses a track link 24 comprising [an elongate link body 24 having a lower shoe-mounting surface 26 and an upper rail surface 30] (page 2, paragraph [0017]), and further comprising [a first track pin bore 40 and a second track pin bore 42] (fig. 3, page 2, paragraph [0019]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to alternatively use the second track pin bore of Steiner et al. in place of the bushing hole of Okawa et al. with a reasonable expectation of success because it would allow for an alternative link for a track system, thus increasing overall track service life and ride quality.
For claim 22, Okawa et al. modified as above discloses the method wherein [the heating the track link a first time includes furnace heating (hot-forgine) the entire track link] (col. 4, lines 13 – 15), and [the cooling the track link includes liquid quenching the entire track link] (col. 4, lines 45 – 49).
For claim 23, Okawa et al. modified as above discloses the method [wherein the selectively softening only some of the material of the track link includes selectively softening the material via tempering] (col. 4, lines 63 – 67 and col. 5, lines 1 – 4, induction tempering)
For claim 24, Okawa et al. modified as above discloses the method [wherein the track link includes a higher hardness zone that extends from the upper rail surface to a lower shoe-mounting surface of the track link] (figs. 2 and 3, col. 4, lines 58 – 61 and col. 5, lines 10 – 14).
For claim 25, Okawa et al. modified as above discloses the method [wherein an arrangement in the track link of the lower hardness of the material and the higher hardness of the material defines a scallop-retarding pattern of varying hardness] (figs. 2 and 3).
For claim 26, Okawa et al. modified as above discloses the method [wherein the higher hardness of the material forming the upper rail surface is the hardness produced by the hardening the material forming a track link via [heating the track link the first time] (col. 4, lines 13 – 15), and [then cooling the track link] (col. 4, lines 45 – 49).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okawa et al. (US 7,040,080 B2) in view of Steiner et al. (US 2015/0008730 A1), and further in view of Burtnett (US 3,567,529 A).
For claim 9, Okawa et al. modified as above does not explicitly disclose the method wherein the softening of the hardened material includes softening the hardened material using heating elements within the first track pin bore and the second track pin bore.
Burtnett discloses [to differentially temper an inside diameter of a bushing 10, heating means such as an induction heating coil indicated at 51, are separately supported in axial alignment with a bore 11 of the bushing] (col. 3, lines 43 – 46).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to alternatively use the tempering with the induction heating coil of Burtnett with the softening of the hardened material of Okawa et al. modified as above with a reasonable expectation of success because it would allow for rapid heating with high energy efficiency, thus reducing overall energy costs and environmental impact.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12, 13, and 15 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art fails to disclose:
For clams 12 and 13: the higher hardness zone includes an entirety of the upper rail surface; and
For claim 15: a first arcuate interface is formed between the first lower hardness zone and the higher hardness zone, and a second arcuate interface is formed between the second lower hardness zone and the higher hardness zone.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US-20150361534 – comprising a method of producing a track link;
US-20080174175 – comprising a track link having straps;
WO-2007108486 – comprising a method of manufacturing a track link; and
US-5500058 – comprising a method for producing a vehicular endless track link.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jacob D. Knutson whose telephone number is (571)270-5576. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
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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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/JACOB D KNUTSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3611
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