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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 8, and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ballard et al. (20200001446). Regarding claim 1, Ballard et al. discloses a hydraulic power tool system comprising: a hydraulic pump (Figs. 1-9), a hydraulic tool 112 coupled to the hydraulic pump 110; a user interface 114,147 configured to receive an input corresponding to a desired change (change in mode of operation, paragraphs [0053] and [0060]) in a set pressure of the hydraulic pump; and a controller 140 in communication with the user interface 114,147 and the hydraulic pump 110, the controller 140: updating the set pressure of the hydraulic pump 110 from a first set pressure to a second set pressure based on the desired change (paragraph [0053] and [0060]), and controlling the hydraulic pump 110 until the second set pressure is reached.
Regarding claim 8, Ballard et al. discloses a method of operating a hydraulic power tool system including a hydraulic pump 110, a controller 140, and a user interface 114,147, the method comprising: retrieving an input on the user interface corresponding to a desired change (change in mode of operation, paragraphs [0053] and [0060]) in a set pressure of the hydraulic pump 110; updating, via the controller 140, the set pressure of the hydraulic pump from a first set pressure to a second set pressure based on the desired change (change in mode of operation, paragraphs [0053] and [0060]); and operating the hydraulic pump 110, via the controller 140, until the second set pressure is reached.
Regarding claim 14, Ballard et al. discloses a hydraulic power tool system comprising: a hydraulic pump 110; a hydraulic tool 112 coupled to the hydraulic pump 110; a user interface 114,147 configured to receive at least one of a first user input or a second user input each corresponding to a desired change (change in mode of operation, paragraphs [0053] and [0060]) in a set pressure of the hydraulic pump 110; and a controller 140 in communication with the user interface 114,147 and the hydraulic pump 110, the controller increasing the set pressure by the desired change based on the first user input or decreasing the set pressure by the desired change (change in mode of operation, paragraphs [0053] and [0060]) based on the second user input.
Regarding claim 15, Ballard et al. discloses that the user interface 114 communicates with the controller 140 via a wireless connection 116 (paragraph [0056]).
Regarding claim 16, Ballard et al. discloses that the user interface 147 is integrated into a housing of the hydraulic pump 110 (Figs. 7 and 9A-9C).
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 2 -5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ballard et al., as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Vogelsanger (6,092,290). Regarding claim 2, Ballard et al. further discloses a bladder 136 that stores hydraulic fluid, a first work port 256 coupled to the bladder 136, and a switch assembly 142 (paragraph [0075], " controller 140 commands the electric motor 128 to stop and reverse the rotational motion to a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction.") controlled by the controller to change a direction of pressurized fluid flow through the first work port 256 based on the input at the user interface 114,147. Ballard et al. does not disclose a second work port.
Vogelsanger teaches for a hydraulic pump 226 with a bladder (Fig. 14, not numbered) that stores hydraulic fluid, a manifold 228 in fluid communication with the bladder and including a work port (lines 240,242), a pump assembly 226 that pumps hydraulic fluid from the bladder through the work port, a user interface (handle 376, hand switch 234), and a controller (Fig. 15) in communication with the user interface and the pump assembly 226, and that there is (claim 2) a first work port (line 240) and a second work port (line 242), wherein the controller controls the switch assembly (handle 376, cable 388) to control a direction of flow (valve 392) of the hydraulic fluid through the first work port 240 and the second work port 242 for the purpose of operating a double acting tool (Figs. 14, 20A, and 20B).
Since Ballard et al. and Vogelsanger are both in the same field of endeavor the purpose disclosed by Vogelsanger would have been recognized in the pertinent art of Ballard et al. It would have been obvious at a time before the invention was effectively filed to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the hydraulic pump of Ballard et al. to accommodate a first work port and a second work port for the purposes of operating a double acting tool.
Regarding claim 3, Ballard et al. discloses that the controller adjusts the switch assembly 142 when the second set pressure is reached.
Regarding claim 4, Ballard et al. and Vogelsanger discloses that the hydraulic pump can be removably coupled to the hydraulic tool, the hydraulic tool coupled to only the first work port 256 for a single acting hydraulic tool, or as taught by Vogelsanger, the hydraulic tool coupled to the first work port 240 and the second work port 242 for a double acting hydraulic tool.
Regarding claim 5, Ballard et al. discloses that the user interface is a remote user interface that communicates with the controller 140 via wireless or wired connection (paragraph [0056]).
Prior Art
Prior art made of record but not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure for showing other hydraulic pumps with user interface and controllers for hydraulic tools.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 7 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 improvement comprises (claim 6) that the user interface includes an up button and a down button, and the controller increases the set pressure from the first set pressure to the second set pressure when the input is received at the up button, and decreases the set pressure from the first set pressure to the second set pressure when the input is received at the down button, (claim 9) displaying the set pressure via a display of the user interface and (claim 17) that the first user input corresponds to pressing an up button and the second user input corresponds to a down button.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communication from the examiner should be directed to Thomas Lazo whose telephone number is (571) 272-4818. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor Nathaniel Wiehe, can be reached on (571) 272-8648. The fax phone number for this Group is (571) 273-8300.
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/THOMAS E LAZO/Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 3745
June 26, 2026
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