Prior art

To identify the most relevant prior art for US Patent 9347554, I will examine the "Citations" section of the patent. These are documents that the patent examiner and/or applicant considered relevant during the prosecution of US9347554B2.

Most Relevant Prior Art for US Patent 9347554

Here are the prior art references cited in US Patent 9347554, along with their details and potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102:

1. US3271955A

• Full Citation: US3271955A, "Power transmission"
• Publication Date: 1966-09-13
• Brief Description: This patent describes a hydrostatic power transmission system.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference broadly relates to hydrostatic power transmissions. While the detailed control strategy of maintaining constant machine speed, acceleration, or deceleration during displacement adjustments, as claimed in US9347554, may not be explicitly disclosed, the fundamental components of a hydrostatic drive (pump, motor, control) could be considered foundational.

2. US3319419A

• Full Citation: US3319419A, "Constant speed drive"
• Publication Date: 1967-05-16
• Brief Description: This patent describes a constant speed drive system.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent focuses on maintaining constant speed, which is one of the objectives of the controller in US9347554. Depending on the specific mechanisms and control logic detailed, it could potentially anticipate aspects of claims related to maintaining constant machine speed during displacement adjustments.

3. US4766779A

• Full Citation: US4766779A, "Hydrostatic transmission assembly and method of increasing the torque and speed range thereof"
• Publication Date: 1988-08-30
• Brief Description: This patent discloses a hydrostatic transmission assembly and a method for increasing its torque and speed range.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is highly relevant as it addresses both hydrostatic transmissions and methods for enhancing their operating range, including aspects of speed control. The claims of US9347554 that involve adjusting pump and motor displacement to achieve desired speeds and accelerations could potentially be anticipated by the methods described in this prior art, particularly if it details coordinated control of pump and motor displacements to manage speed transitions.

4. US4848186A

• Full Citation: US4848186A, "Dual hydrostatic drive transmission"
• Publication Date: 1989-07-18
• Brief Description: This patent describes a dual hydrostatic drive transmission.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): While focusing on a "dual" system, the underlying principles of hydrostatic drive control for speed and torque, as well as the interaction between pump and motor, may be relevant to the broad scope of US9347554.

5. US4932502A

• Full Citation: US4932502A, "Hydraulic elevator system"
• Publication Date: 1990-06-12
• Brief Description: This patent describes a hydraulic elevator system.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent deals with hydraulic systems, but its application to elevators might be less directly relevant to the hydrostatic drive for a machine as described in US9347554, which typically implies a mobile work machine. However, fundamental principles of hydraulic control could still be broadly considered.

6. US5678463A

• Full Citation: US5678463A, "Process for the global control of a drive unit for a gearbox operated by a hydrostatic system"
• Publication Date: 1997-10-21
• Brief Description: This patent describes a process for the global control of a drive unit for a gearbox operated by a hydrostatic system.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is very pertinent due to its focus on "global control of a drive unit for a gearbox operated by a hydrostatic system." The control strategies for managing speed and acceleration/deceleration within such a system, particularly if they involve coordinating pump and motor displacement adjustments to achieve smooth transitions or desired performance, could directly anticipate aspects of claims in US9347554.

7. EP1008785A2

• Full Citation: EP1008785A2, "Automatic shift for a two speed hydrostatic motor of a compact agricultural tractor"
• Publication Date: 2000-06-14
• Brief Description: This European patent application discloses an automatic shifting arrangement for a hydrostatic motor, particularly for a two-speed motor in a compact agricultural tractor. It specifically mentions a controller monitoring pressure in a working line and signaling a solenoid to shift a pilot valve when pressure exceeds a predetermined value, thus shifting a torque valve and allowing fluid to cylinders to adjust the motor's swash plate and control speed.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This is a highly significant reference. It explicitly describes automatic shifting of a two-speed hydrostatic motor and the use of a controller to adjust motor speed (via swash plate) based on hydraulic pressure. While US9347554 focuses on maintaining constant machine speed, acceleration, or deceleration during both pump and motor displacement adjustments, EP1008785A2 clearly anticipates the concept of automatically shifting a hydrostatic motor's displacement to control speed. The specific coordination of pump and motor displacements in US9347554 to achieve smooth transitions might be a distinguishing feature, but the core idea of controlled motor displacement for speed change is present.

8. US6272950B1

• Full Citation: US6272950B1, "Drive train for a vehicle and method of controlling a drive train"
• Publication Date: 22001-08-14
• Brief Description: This patent describes a drive train for a vehicle and a method of controlling it.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This broad title suggests relevance to vehicle drive train control. If the disclosed control methods involve coordinated adjustments of hydrostatic components (pump and motor) to manage vehicle speed and acceleration/deceleration, it could potentially anticipate elements of US9347554's claims.

9. US20060230920A1

• Full Citation: US20060230920A1, "Hydrostatic transmission"
• Publication Date: 2006-10-19
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a hydrostatic transmission.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): As a general disclosure of a hydrostatic transmission, this document lays foundational knowledge. Its relevance would depend on whether it details control strategies for smooth transitions during displacement changes.

10. US7354368B2

• Full Citation: US7354368B2, "Method and means for shifting a hydromechanical transmission"
• Publication Date: 2008-04-08
• Brief Description: This patent describes a method and means for shifting a hydromechanical transmission.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent directly addresses shifting in hydromechanical transmissions, which often incorporate hydrostatic elements. The methods for smooth shifting and managing speed transitions could directly anticipate claims related to constant speed, acceleration, or deceleration during displacement adjustments.

11. US7390282B2

• Full Citation: US7390282B2, "Directional shift in hydrostatic drive work machine"
• Publication Date: 2008-06-24
• Brief Description: This patent focuses on directional shifts in hydrostatic drive work machines.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): While the emphasis is on directional shifts, the underlying control of the hydrostatic drive system during such maneuvers might involve coordinated pump and motor displacement changes to ensure smooth operation. This could be relevant to the general concept of controlled displacement adjustments in US9347554.

12. US20090145122A1

• Full Citation: US20090145122A1, "Hydraulic drive system"
• Publication Date: 2009-06-11
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a hydraulic drive system.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This broad disclosure of a hydraulic drive system would be relevant if it details specific control strategies for managing speed and acceleration/deceleration through pump and motor displacement adjustments in a manner similar to US9347554.

13. US8312716B2

• Full Citation: US8312716B2, "Hydraulic drive system"
• Publication Date: 2012-11-20
• Brief Description: This patent describes a hydraulic drive system.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to the previous general hydraulic drive system disclosures, its relevance depends on the specifics of its control strategy for displacement adjustments and maintaining smooth operation.

14. US20110178684A1

• Full Citation: US20110178684A1, "Speed Change System for Work Vehicle"
• Publication Date: 2011-07-21
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a speed change system for a work vehicle.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This is a strong candidate for anticipation as it explicitly addresses "Speed Change System for Work Vehicle." If the system utilizes a hydrostatic drive and details methods for smoothly changing speed (which would inherently involve managing acceleration/deceleration) by coordinating pump and motor displacements, it could directly anticipate claims 1 and 7 of US9347554.

15. US20140311463A1

• Full Citation: US20140311463A1, "Electric supercharging device"
• Publication Date: 2014-10-23
• Brief Description: This patent application describes an electric supercharging device.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference appears less directly relevant to the core hydrostatic drive control of US9347554 as it focuses on electric supercharging. Unless it integrates a hydrostatic drive system with its control for managing machine speed/acceleration/deceleration in a similar manner, its anticipation would likely be limited.

Most Relevant Prior Art (Summary):

Based on the titles and brief descriptions, EP1008785A2, US4766779A, US5678463A, and US20110178684A1 appear to be the most directly relevant prior art references. They explicitly deal with automatic shifting, increasing speed/torque range, global control of hydrostatic systems, and speed change systems for work vehicles, which directly touch upon the inventive concepts of US9347554. The key distinction for US9347554's claims likely lies in the specific coordination of both pump and motor displacement adjustments to maintain constant machine speed, constant acceleration, or constant deceleration during the overall shifting process.