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 Objections
Claims 1 & 3 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, Line 1, “The work machine” should be --A work machine--;
Claim 3, Lines 13 & 17, “if” should be --when--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Amano et al (11781285) in view of Matsuzaki et al (JP 2016169570 A) and Takahashi et al (8919109).
Amano et al disclose a work machine (e.g. Figs. 1-3) comprising: a hydraulic pump (e.g. 10) that discharges pressure oil; a swing body (e.g. 2) capable of swing operation; a hydraulic actuator (e.g. 17) that swing-drives the swing body by supplying pressure oil from the hydraulic pump; an operating device (e.g. 20) that outputs an operation signal instructing an operation of the swing body; and a speed sensor (e.g. 18) that detects a driving speed of the hydraulic actuator, wherein the work machine further comprises, a pressure adjustment device (e.g. 10a, 12) capable of adjusting a driving pressure of the hydraulic actuator, and a controller (e.g. 19) that controls the pressure adjustment device; and the controller is configured to: calculate a target speed of the hydraulic actuator based on the operation signal from the operating device (e.g. Fig. 3 at C2), and calculate a target pressure of the hydraulic actuator based on a speed deviation, which is a difference between the calculated target speed and an actual driving speed of the hydraulic actuator detected by the speed sensor (e.g. Fig. 3 at C6). Amano et al do not teach that the controller is configured to limit the calculated target pressure so that an input horsepower to the hydraulic actuator does not exceed a limit value, the input horsepower being estimated when it is assumed that the driving pressure of the hydraulic actuator reaches the calculated target pressure after a predetermined time, and control the pressure adjustment device based on the limited target pressure.
Matsuzaki et al teach a work machine (e.g. Figs. 1, 5, & 7) including a controller (e.g. 30) configured such that the input horsepower being estimated when it is assumed that the driving pressure of the hydraulic actuator reaches the calculated target pressure after a predetermined time, and control the pressure adjustment device based on the target pressure (e.g. Paras. [0067]-[0074]).
Takahashi et al teach a work machine (e.g. Figs. 1-4) including a controller (e.g. 17, 49) configured to limit the calculated target pressure so that an input horsepower to the hydraulic actuator does not exceed a limit value, and control the pressure adjustment device based on the limited target pressure.
Amano et al, Matsuzaki et al, and Takahashi et al all seek to control a pump of a work machine such that consumer demand does not exceed the available power supply, thus it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the controller of Amano et al to be configured to limit the calculated target pressure so that an input horsepower to the hydraulic actuator does not exceed a limit value, the input horsepower being estimated when it is assumed that the driving pressure of the hydraulic actuator reaches the calculated target pressure after a predetermined time, and control the pressure adjustment device based on the limited target pressure, as taught by Matsuzaki et al and Takahashi et al, for the purpose of controlling the pump such that the hydraulic actuator demand does not exceed the available power supply.
Amano et al, as modified, further teaches the controller estimates the input horsepower to the hydraulic actuator after the predetermined time by estimating the driving speed of the hydraulic actuator after the predetermined time based on the actual driving speed and an actual driving acceleration of the hydraulic actuator obtained from a detection value of the speed sensor (e.g. Para. [0070]).
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. Additional references listed on form PTO-892 are cited for their relevance to the disclosed invention and demonstration of the state of the art.
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/MICHAEL LESLIE/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
September 5, 2026
