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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on February 18, 2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The specification fails to contain the appropriate sub-titles (i.e., “Background of the Invention”, “Brief Description of the Drawings”, etc.).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 14, line 3, it appears that “which rotary feedthrough” should be –which said (or the) rotary feedthrough--. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-15 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.
In claims 1 and 14, lines 11-12 and 5-6, respectively, “the clutch” appears to lack proper antecedent basis.
Note: Prior to the preliminary amendment “the clutch” in claims 1 and 14 shared reference numeral “23” with “a coupling” (claim 1, line 4). Further, nowhere else in the drawings or specification is a clutch mentioned; therefore, in order to advance the prosecution of the application it will be assumed that the claimed “clutch” is to be interpreted as the “coupling”.
In claim 1, line 20 (last line), “the connection level” appears to lack proper antecedent basis.
In claim 2, line 3, “the rotary feedthrough” appears to lack proper antecedent basis.
In claim 4, lines 2-3, applicant claims “…the coupling device is provided detachably on the fictitious connection plane”. This limitation is not understood by the examiner in that it is unclear as to how “the coupling device” can be “provided detachably” to a non-existent “plane”. The lack of clarity renders the claimed subject matter indefinite.
Note: A similar issue exists in claim 1 with “a fictitious connection plane for the coupling device fixedly arranged thereon” (lines 13-14).
In claims 7, 8 and 11 lines 3, “the end face” appears to lack proper antecedent basis.
In claim 9 lines 2-3, “the axis of the attachment bearing point” appears to lack proper antecedent basis.
In claims 10 and 11, lines 3 and 2-3, respectively, “the flattening” appears to lack proper antecedent basis.
Claims 3, 5, 6, 12, 13 and 15 are rejected based on their claim dependencies.
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 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Possinger (USP 4,542,929).
Regarding claim 1: Possinger discloses a mounting device (as seen in figures 1-5) for a stick (as seen in figure 2, at 12) of an excavator (column 1, line 34),
with a rotary device which comprises a drive housing (as seen in figure 1, area of 102) with an upper cover surface (as seen in figure 1, area of 43) formed at least in sections,
with a rotary drive by means (as seen in figure 1, at 100) of which a coupling is rotatable relative to the drive housing about a rotation axis,
with a coupling device (as seen in figure 2, area of 32) which is arranged at least partially on the upper cover surface of the drive housing (as seen in figure 1, area where top surface of the rotary device contacts 32) and which comprises an attachment bearing point for connection to the stick (as seen in figure 2, at 14) and a coupling bearing point (as seen in figure 2, at 26) for connection to a swivel kinematic arranged on the stick (as seen in figure 2, at 22),
wherein a plane of rotation is formed between the drive housing and the coupling (as seen in annotated figure 2 below),
a fictitious connection plane for the coupling device arranged there along is formed by the cover surface of the drive housing which is formed at least in sections; and (as seen in annotated figure 2 below),
the attachment bearing point of the coupling device is arranged in the fictitious connection plane or in the plane of rotation or between the fictitious connection plane and the plane of rotation and the coupling bearing point of the coupling device is positioned above the connection plane (as seen in annotated figure 2 below).
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Annotated Fig 2.
Regarding claim 2: Possinger discloses the mounting device of claim 1. Further, Possinger discloses wherein the coupling bearing point of the coupling device is positioned in a region above the rotary feedthrough to the drive housing (as seen in annotated figure 2 below).
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Regarding claims 3 and 4: Possinger discloses the mounting device of claim 1. Further, Possinger discloses wherein the coupling device is provided on the connection plane of the drive housing in a rotationally fixed and/or non-pivotable manner and wherein the coupling device is provided detachably on the fictitious connection plane, or in that the coupling device is provided integrally on the drive housing (as seen in figure 1, via securement between members 32 and top portion of 102).
Note: Due to the above rejections under 35 USC 112, no determination of allowable subject matter can be made at this time.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Cottingham et al. (USPGPub 2022/0282446) discloses a coupler device for a stick having multiple degrees of freedom and drive means.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT ERIC PEZZUTO whose telephone number is (703)756-1320. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7am-3:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph M. Rocca can be reached at 571-272-8971. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ROBERT E PEZZUTO/ Examiner, Art Unit 3671
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