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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 8/7/26 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This office action is responsive to the amendment filed on 8/7/26. As directed by the amendment: claim 1 has been amended, claims 2-4 have been cancelled, and no new claims have been added. Thus, claims 1 and 5-11 are presently pending in this application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly
claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1 and 5-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, the claim initially recites “a driving wheel” and “at least one driving portion”. The claim then proceeds to more specifically claim that “the driving wheel is a single driving wheel” and that “the at least one driving portion comprises two driving portions”. It is unclear how having the broader and narrower limitations together in the same claim, for each of these situations, is to be interpreted to determine the scope of the claim. It is suggested to amend the claim to initially recite a single driving wheel and two driving portions, respectively, and to utilize this terminology consistently in the claims.
Regarding claim 8, it is unclear how the “one driving portion” recited relates to the “two driving portions” which now appear to be recited in claim 1 as amended. It is not clear if this would be an additional driving portion or one of the two driving portions from claim 1. Based on the claims and disclosure, Examiner interprets this to be a redundant limitation that should be removed from the claim in light of amendments made to claim 1.
Claims 5-7 and 9-11 are rejected as they depend from a claim rejected under this statute above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 and 5-11 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Applicant’s arguments on pg. 6-8 of the Remarks are found persuasive, regarding claim 1 as amended.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN R PRICE whose telephone number is (571)270-5421. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:00pm Eastern time.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Tsai can be reached at 571-270-5246. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NATHAN R PRICE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783
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