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 .
Status of Claims
This Office action is in reply to filing by applicant on 04/10/2025.
Claims 1 – 20 are currently pending and have been examined.
This action is made non-final.
Claim Rejections – 35 USC 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 USC 102 and 103 is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis 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 USC 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 USC 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.
Claims 1 – 3, 5 – 7, and 14 – 20 are rejected pursuant to 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Farber (US20040158380A1) in view of Fratzke (US4708577A1) and in further view of Williams (US11603265B2).
Regarding claims 1, 14, and 18 (note that independent claim 14 (below mapped) reads on independent claims 1 and 18):
Farber discloses:
A material handling vehicle, comprising:
a hydraulic cylinder including a barrel, a piston, and a sensor at least partially disposed within the barrel; (“The present invention resides in a process and system for a lifting determining an actual load moment, weight, and location of the center of gravity of a weighted load on a lifting machine and determining if the safety parameters of the machine are exceeded.”, [009]) and (A conventional hydraulic control system 44 is connected to the control console 18. The hydraulic control system 44 is in fluid communication with each cylinder 30, 36, and regulates the ingress and egress of the hydraulic fluid 34 through the respective apertures 40, 42 of each cylinder 30, 36. A means for measuring pressure 46 is located between the control system 44 and each cylinder 30, 36. The control system 44 includes a directional control valve 48 that routes hydraulic fluid 34 into the top or bottom of a given hydraulic cylinder (i.e., above or below the piston) 30, 36 in order to cause the cylinder 30, 36 to expand or contract by moving the piston within each cylinder 32, 38.”, [034]) and, in addition to the above noted means for measuring pressure [i.e., a sensor], … (“claim 21. The system of claim 20, wherein the means for measuring pressure within the hydraulic lift is a lift pressure sensor in fluid communication with the hydraulic fluid within the lift cylinder,”, [claim 21, published 8/12/2004]);
wherein the hydraulic cylinder raises and lowers the carriage along the mast; (“When activated, a pump 56 moves the hydraulic fluid 34 from the tank 54 to the directional control valve 48 which then directs the hydraulic fluid 34 to, for example, below the lift piston 32 of the lift cylinder 30 if a user desires to raise a load. When a user desires to lower a load, the directional control valve 48 directs hydraulic fluid 34 into the lift cylinder 30 above the lift piston 32 in order to lower the load.”, [037]) and (“Attached to the main body 12 is a vertically extending mast 20. A load bearing member, in the form of a carriage 22, is movably attached to the mast 20 and includes a plurality of forks 24, extending perpendicular from the mast 20 away from the main body 12.”, [032]);
a display mounted to the body of the material handling vehicle; (“The control unit 50 is also electrically connected to an illuminated display 60 and audio alarm 62 on or near the control console 18.”, [039]);
a controller in communication with the sensor and the display and designed to determine whether an output value of an operational parameter of the hydraulic cylinder exceeds a threshold value based on input data from the sensor, and if the output value exceeds the threshold value, generate a warning message on the display; and (“The illuminated display 60 warns an operator of the lifting machine 10 if a predetermined operating parameter of the lifting machine 10 is being exceeded. The illuminated display 60 is in data communication with the processor and produces a visual representation of the weight, actual load moment, and center of gravity. The visual representation may be produced by a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitor, Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitor, dials, gauges, etc. If operating parameters are exceeded, warnings may be provided in the form of colored lights and/or audible alarms.”, [041]);
Farber does not expressly disclose, but Fratzke teaches:
a mast coupled to a body of the material handling vehicle and slidably engaged with a carriage, (“This invention presents a self-leveling fork lift apparatus for use with a lift truck which includes a wheel supported frame, a pair of primary load support wheels supported at a first front and portion of the truck frame to rotate on a common axis, and means to steer and propel the lift truck.”, [col. 2: 40 – 45]) and (“A fork lift truck includes a mast support bar to which the mast supporting carriage and fork lift tines are mounted. The mast support bar includes a central arc-shape segment on which a concentric arc-shape mast support sleeve is slidably mounted. The mast is mounted to the sleeve and power means are provided to slide the sleeve in either direction on the mast support bar. When the fork lift truck encounters uneven ground so that the wheels on one side of the truck are higher than the wheels on the other, the operator will slide the mast support sleeve with respect to the mast support bar to keep the mast in a vertical position over the truck.”, [Abstract, published Nov. 24, 1987]);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of this application to have modified Farber to incorporate the teachings of Fratzke because Farber would be more efficient and versatile should it employ a slideable body as done in Fratzke (“An arc-shape mast support sleeve 28 is hollow and congruent in cross sectional shape with the central guide portion 23 of the mast support bar 18. It is mounted around that arc-shape guide portion to be in sliding contacting relation to all four surfaces of the guide portion. The configuration of the hollow support sleeve 28 and the arc-shape guide portion 23 of the mast support bar 18 is such that movement of the sleeve along the arc-shape bar portion can occur without any rotational displacement of the sleeve around the bar.”, [col. 3: 64 – col. 4: 5]).
The combination of Farber and Fratzke do not expressly disclose, but Williams teaches:
a telematics system communicatively coupled to a processor of the controller and designed to monitor vehicle dynamics parameters and vehicle location data. (“A refuse collection vehicle includes a fork assembly that is operable to engage one or more fork pockets of a refuse container, a lift arm that is operable to lift a refuse container, and at least one sensor that is configured to collect data indicating a position of the one or more fork pockets of the refuse container. A position of at least one of the fork assembly or the lift arm is adjusted in response to the data collected by the at least one sensor.”, [Abstract, published 10,29,2020]) and (“In some implementations, the onboard computing device is a smartphone, tablet computer, and/or other portable computing device that includes components for recording video and/or audio data, processing capacity, transceiver(s) for network communications, and/or sensors for collecting environmental data, telematics data, and so forth.”, [031]) and (“The data captured by sensor 160 can be further processed by the onboard computing device 112 to determine the location of various components of the detected refuse container 130. In some implementations, a computing device 112 receives images or video captured by the sensor 160 and uses machine learning based image processing techniques to determine the position of one or more fork pockets 180 on a refuse container 130.”, [045]), both telematic and vehicle location data are gathered.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of this application to have modified Farber to incorporate the teachings of Williams because Farber would be more efficient and versatile should it employ location data and telematics as done in Williams (“In some implementations, the onboard computing device is a smartphone, tablet computer, and/or other portable computing device that includes components for recording video and/or audio data, processing capacity, transceiver(s) for network communications, and/or sensors for collecting environmental data, telematics data, and so forth.”, [031]).
Regarding claim 2:
The combination of Farber, Fratzke and Williams discloses the limitations of claim 1:
Williams further discloses
a telematics system in communication with a processor of the controller, wherein the controller is configured to transmit the operational parameter of the hydraulic cylinder, the input data from the sensor, the warning message, or a combination thereof to a remote computing device. (“In some implementations, a vehicle includes a body controller that manages and/or monitors various body components of the vehicle. The body controller of a vehicle can be connected to multiple sensors in the body of the vehicle. The body controller can transmit one or more signals over the J1939 network, or other wiring on the vehicle, when the body controller senses a state change from any of the sensors. These signals from the body controller can be received by the onboard computing device 112 that is monitoring the J1939 network.”, [030]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of this application to have modified Farber to incorporate the teachings of Williams because Farber would be more efficient and versatile should it employ location data and telematics as done in Williams (“In some implementations, the onboard computing device is a smartphone, tablet computer, and/or other portable computing device that includes components for recording video and/or audio data, processing capacity, transceiver(s) for network communications, and/or sensors for collecting environmental data, telematics data, and so forth.”, [031]).
Regarding claims 3 and 19:
The combination of Farber, Fratzke and Williams discloses the limitations of claims 1 and 18, respectively:
Farber further discloses
wherein the output value of the operational parameter of the hydraulic cylinder is one of a mast height value, mast stroke cycles, a load weight value, an oil temperature value, an oil pressure value, and an oil cleanliness value, or a combination thereof. (“The location of a center of gravity of the weighted load is also determined by measuring a lift pressure within a hydraulic lift cylinder of the lifting machine, and then calculating the weight of the weighted load from the lift pressure.”, [Abstract, published 8/12/2004]).
Regarding claims 5 and 20:
The combination of Farber, Fratzke and Williams discloses the limitations of claim 3 and 18, respectively:
Farber further discloses
wherein the warning message includes one or more of: overextension of the hydraulic cylinder, max stroke count exceeded, a load is to heavy, the oil temperature value is too high, the oil pressure value is too high, the oil cleanliness value is poor, speed is too fast, poor stability, and/or poor traction. (“For example, when the pressure on the rod side of the tilt cylinder(s) 36 is below a set pressure, the actual load moment is below a specified rated load moment (e.g., 90% of the rated load moment), a first warning, in the form of a green light 64 located on the display 60 will be illuminated. If the actual load moment is above the specified rated load moment and below a specified overload rated load moment (e.g., 110% of the rated load moment), a second warning, in the form of a yellow light 66 and a low frequency alarm 68 will be activated (the green light is not illuminated). If the actual load moment is above the specified overload rated load moment, a third warning, in the form of a red light 70 will be illuminated (green and yellow lights 64, 66 are not illuminated) and a high frequency alarm 72 will be activated, in addition to the lift function being disabled”, [041]).
Regarding claim 6:
The combination of Farber, Fratzke and Williams discloses the limitations of claim 1:
Farber further discloses
wherein the controller is configured to log the warning message in a memory of the controller. (“The illuminated display 60 warns an operator of the lifting machine 10 if a predetermined operating parameter of the lifting machine 10 is being exceeded. The illuminated display 60 is in data communication with the processor and produces a visual representation of the weight, actual load moment, and center of gravity. The visual representation may be produced by a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitor, Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitor, dials, gauges, etc. If operating parameters are exceeded, warnings may be provided in the form of colored lights and/or audible alarms.”, [041]).
Regarding claim 7:
The combination of Farber, Fratzke and Williams discloses the limitations of claim 1:
Farber further discloses
wherein a processor of the controller is configured to execute programmable instructions to: aggregate the output value of the operational parameter of the hydraulic cylinder of a period of time; and analyze a lift and tilt activity of the mast over the period of time. (“The lift pressure sensor measures pressure of the hydraulic fluid within the lift cylinder for a period of time and creates electrical signals corresponding thereto, defining at least one pressure measurement within the lift cylinder, with the pressure within the lift cylinder being related to the lift force associated with the load bearing member. The tilt pressure sensor measures pressure of the hydraulic fluid within the tilt cylinder for a period of time and creates electrical signals corresponding thereto, defining at least one pressure measurement within the tilt cylinder, with the pressure being related to the tilt force associated with the load bearing member.”, [019]).
Regarding claim 15:
The combination of Farber, Fratzke and Williams discloses the limitations of claim 14:
Farber further discloses
wherein the vehicle dynamics parameters include one or more of an overall speed of the material handling vehicle, an acceleration of the material handling vehicle, wheel rotational speed values, a steering angle value, a direct of travel, and a wheel slip value. (“The control system 44 includes a directional control valve 48 that routes hydraulic fluid 34 into the top or bottom of a given hydraulic cylinder (i.e., above or below the piston) 30, 36 in order to cause the cylinder 30, 36 to expand or contract by moving the piston within each cylinder 32, 38.”, [034]).
Regarding claim 16:
The combination of Farber, Fratzke and Williams discloses the limitations of claim 14:
Farber further discloses
wherein the controller restricts a lift height of the carriage along the mast based on a location of the material handling vehicle. (“ When there is an overload condition that could cause the lifting machine 10 to tip over (e.g., weight of the load exceeds the capacity of the lifting machine; the actual load moment exceeds the rated load moment, etc.), the control unit 50 sends an electrical impulse to the pressure switch 58, opening the valve thereby disabling the lifting function of the lifting machine 10 by diverting the hydraulic fluid 34 from the directional control unit 48 to the tank 54.”, [038]).
Regarding claim 17:
The combination of Farber, Fratzke and Williams discloses the limitations of claim 14:
Farber further discloses
wherein the controller is configured to send a signal to the hydraulic cylinder to move the carriage along the mast to a predetermined height based on the input data from the sensor. (“At least one hollow lift cylinder 30 housing a lift piston 32 and hydraulic fluid 34 is attached to the mast 20, with one end of the lift-chains 26 being attached to the cylinder 30. The piston 32 is connected to the sprockets 28 by a rod and movement of the cylinder 30 causes the carriage 22 to move along the mast 20.”, [032]).
Regarding claim 19:
The combination of Farber, Fratzke and Williams discloses the limitations of claim 18:
Farber further discloses
wherein the output value of the operational parameter of the hydraulic cylinder is one of a mast height value, mast stroke cycles, a load weight value, an oil temperature value, an oil pressure value, and an oil cleanliness value, or a combination thereof. (“For example, when the pressure on the rod side of the tilt cylinder(s) 36 is below a set pressure, the actual load moment is below a specified rated load moment (e.g., 90% of the rated load moment), a first warning, in the form of a green light 64 located on the display 60 will be illuminated. If the actual load moment is above the specified rated load moment and below a specified overload rated load moment (e.g., 110% of the rated load moment), a second warning, in the form of a yellow light 66 and a low frequency alarm 68 will be activated (the green light is not illuminated). If the actual load moment is above the specified overload rated load moment, a third warning, in the form of a red light 70 will be illuminated (green and yellow lights 64, 66 are not illuminated) and a high frequency alarm 72 will be activated, in addition to the lift function being disabled”, [041]).
Regarding claim 20:
The combination of Farber, Fratzke and Williams discloses the limitations of claim 18:
Farber further discloses
wherein the warning message includes one or more of: overextension of the hydraulic cylinder, max stroke count exceeded, a load is to heavy, an oil temperature value is too high, oil pressure is too high, an oil cleanliness value is poor, speed is too fast, poor stability, and/or poor traction. (“The illuminated display 60 warns an operator of the lifting machine 10 if a predetermined operating parameter of the lifting machine 10 is being exceeded. The illuminated display 60 is in data communication with the processor and produces a visual representation of the weight, actual load moment, and center of gravity. The visual representation may be produced by a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitor, Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitor, dials, gauges, etc. If operating parameters are exceeded, warnings may be provided in the form of colored lights and/or audible alarms.”, [041]);
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 8 – 13 would be allowable if rewritten or amended in independent claim form. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Independently, while the claims' limitations most recently set forth herein may individually be disclosed by the prior art, the claims as a whole are not obvious because the examiner would have to improperly use their separate limitations as a road map to combine them.
CONCLUSION
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see attached form 892.
Suzuki (US20130001492A1) - A first cutoff valve is disposed in a main duct ranging between a control valve and a bottom chamber of a hydraulic cylinder. A sequence valve in the first cutoff valve is disposed along such a direction as to control outflow of a hydraulic fluid from the bottom chamber and the hydraulic pressure in a rod chamber is applied to the sequence valve as an external pilot pressure. A second cutoff valve is disposed in a main duct ranging between the control valve and the rod chamber of the hydraulic cylinder. A sequence valve in the second cutoff valve, disposed along such a direction as to control outflow of the hydraulic fluid from the rod chamber, and the hydraulic pressure in the rod chamber is applied to the sequence valve as an internal pilot pressure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW COBB whose telephone number is (571) 272-3850. The examiner can normally be reached 9 - 5, M - F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Peter Nolan, can be reached at (571) 270-7016. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/MATTHEW COBB/Examiner, Art Unit 3661
/PETER D NOLAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3661
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