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 Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “a first work device” in claims 1 and 3, “a release unit” in claims 1 and 3, “a second work device” in claim 2,
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hayashi et al. (5,946,910). Regarding claim 1, Hayashi et al. discloses a work vehicle with a first hydraulic pump 2, a second hydraulic pump 3, a first work device 8, a first oil supply passage 2a causing hydraulic oil in the first hydraulic pump 2 to be supplied to the first work device 8, a mixing valve 10 to which hydraulic oil in the second hydraulic pump 3 is supplied, a second oil supply passage 12 connected to the first oil supply passage 2a and the mixing valve 10, and a release unit 18 configured to switch the mixing valve 10 from a mixing position B to a diverting position A based on a load (P2) applied to the first work device 8, the mixing position B being a position allowing the hydraulic oil in the second hydraulic pump 3 to be supplied to the first oil supply passage 2a through the second oil supply passage 12, the diverting position A being a position preventing the hydraulic oil in the second hydraulic pump 3 from being supplied to the first oil supply passage 2a and the second oil supply passage 12. See Hayashi et al. col. 10, lines 31-58.
Regarding claim 3, Hayashi et al. discloses that the load applied P2 to the first work device 8 is hydraulic pressure in the second oil supply passage 12, and the release unit 18 switches the mixing valve 10 to the diverting position B in response to the hydraulic pressure in the second oil supply passage 12 becoming higher than a setting pressure determined in advance (pressure set by spring 19). See Hayashi et al. col. 10, lines 31-58.
Prior Art
Prior art made of record but not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure for showing other multiple pump and work device work vehicles with mixing valves.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 4-8 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 that (claim 2) the hydraulic oil in the second hydraulic pump is supplied to the second work device and then supplied to the mixing valve from the second work device and (claim 4) a selector valve, and a pilot oil passage connected to the switching section of the mixing valve and the selector valve, the selector valve is switchable between (i) a first position allowing the pilot hydraulic oil to be supplied from the pilot oil passage to the switching section of the mixing valve to switch the mixing valve to the mixing position and (ii) a second position causing the pilot hydraulic oil to be discharged from the switching section of the mixing valve through the pilot oil passage to switch the mixing valve to the diverting position, and the release unit is a relief valve configured to switch the mixing valve to the diverting position by discharging the pilot hydraulic oil from the pilot oil passage in response to the hydraulic pressure in the second oil supply passage becoming higher than the setting pressure.
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 13, 2026
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