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 .
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.
Claims 31 – 37 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.
Claims 31, 32, 34 and 37 recite the limitation "the motor". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 35 and 36 depend from claim 34, include the same limitations, and therefore, are rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding Claim 33, there is insufficient antecedent basis for “the front wheel” (note singular form, contrasting with “a pair of front wheels” in plural form as previously introduced in parent claim 19).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 19, 20, 26 – 28 and 31 – 37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102 (a)(2) as being anticipated by patent number US 10,130,531 B1 to Laconis.
Regarding claims 19, 20, 26 – 28 and 31 – 37, Laconis discloses a manually propelled wheelchair (wheelchair 100) comprising:
[Claim 19] a chassis (lateral frame members 106 and 108) to accommodate a seat (wheelchair 170);
a pair of rear wheels (propulsive wheels 102 and 104) for manual propulsion arranged on either side of the chassis, with which a user may propel the wheelchair forwards and backwards by rotating the pair of rear wheels forwards and backwards (See Fig. 1A);
a pair of front wheels (motive wheels 25312 and 25412);
a drive system (electric driver hub motor driven hub 25400) for the pair of front wheels, and
a power-assist mechanism (external drive motor 25420) which complements the manual propulsion of the wheelchair using the hands, wherein each wheel within the set of front wheels is rotatable about a steering axis perpendicular to an axis of rotation for the wheel (See Figs. 3A and 3B), wherein the drive system comprises at least one motor (drive motor 25413) coupled to the pair of front wheels (motive wheels 25312 and 25412, See Fig. 2F), and wherein a torque applied to one or more of the pair of front wheels by the at least one motor (drive motor 25413) assists the propulsion of the wheelchair (Col. 10, Lns. 46 – 49);
[Claim 20] comprising:
a directional control system (handle bar assembly 410, Col. 11, Lns. 55 - 60) to adjust a direction of the wheelchair (wheelchair 100) by instructing a differential torque to be applied to one or more of the pair of front wheels (motive wheels 25312 and 25412), wherein the drive system (electric driver hub motor driven hub 25400) and the directional control system enable remote control of the wheelchair when a load is absent from the seat (wheelchair 170; when a wheelchair user is not sitting in the seat of the wheelchair, one may still be able to grasp the handle bar assembly 410 to operate the drive system of the wheelchair, Figs. 3A and 3B);
[Claim 26] wherein the drive system (electric driver hub motor driven hub 25400) is capable of providing a powered braking function when a sensed torque on one or more of the set of front wheels exceeds a pre-defined threshold (brake handle 284; Col. 9, Lns. 13 – 20);
[Claim 27] wherein the drive system (electric driver hub motor driven hub 25400) is capable of providing a power assist braking that is initiated by the user selecting a level, corresponding to a torque level in a range or a pre-defined torque range according to a pre-defined setting, via a controller (LCD assembly 204 and forward/reverse switch 208), which level may be optionally changed by the user (brake handle 284, Col. 9, Lns. 13 – 20);
[Claim 28] wherein the drive system (electric driver hub motor driven hub 25400) provides a powered braking function which allows independent braking of a left and a right front wheel, whereby through independently controlling a braking force applied to each wheel, the user may be better able to navigate cambered surfaces (wheel 25312 has brake disc 25306, and wheel 25412 has caliper 25409, Figs. 2E and 2F);
[Claim 31] wherein the motor (drive motor 25413) is a torque producing device and the wheels are torque driven and the motor is configured to provide variable torque or a torque according to one, two, three or more pre-defined settings defining ranges of torque (the motor is inherently capable of performing these functions when different speeds are selected);
[Claim 32] which comprises a controller (LCD assembly 204 and forward/reverse switch 208) for the motor (drive motor 25413), wherein the controller is configured with a user control switch or interface to select a variable torque or a pre-defined torque setting (forward and reverse are different torque settings);
[Claim 33] wherein an angle of attack for the front wheel is variable with respect to the wheelchair (wheelchair 100; See Figs. 3A and 3B);
[Claim 34] wherein the drive system (electric driver hub motor driven hub 25400) is arranged to power each front wheel and wherein a controller (LCD assembly 204 and forward/reverse switch 208) is provided for the motor (drive motor 25413), wherein the controller is configured for remote control operation (“computer mediated voice control”, Col. 16, Lns. 9 – 14);
[Claim 35] wherein the remote control operation (“computer mediated voice control”, Col. 16, Lns. 9 – 14) comprises a directional control system to adjust a direction of the wheelchair (wheelchair 100) by instructing a differential torque to be applied to one or more of the set of front wheels (the voice control is intended to be interchangeable with the other controls such as the joystick and would be capable of providing directional control. Steering would involve differential torque as each wheel turns at a slightly different rate while turning);
[Claim 36] wherein the controller (LCD assembly 204 and forward/reverse switch 208) is configured for remote control operation via a smartphone or portable computing device in wireless communication with the controller (“computer mediated voice control”, Col. 4, Lns. 34 – 40); and
[Claim 37] wherein a user may still propel the wheelchair (wheelchair 100) by rotating a rim of the rear wheels by hand (Col. 1, Lns. 9 – 12), but the motor (drive motor 25413) coupled to front wheels may take some of the load to ease the burden on the wheelchair user (Col. 3, Lns. 61 – 65).
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.
Claim 29 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Laconis, in view of patent number US 5,123,495 A to Littlejohn et al. (hereinafter referred to as Littlejohn).
Regarding claim 29, Laconis discloses the wheelchair of claim 28, but does not teach the wheelchair comprises an orientation sensor or gyroscope for measuring a lateral tilt for differentially controlling braking of each wheel when on a camber.
Littlejohn discloses a wheelchair stair climbing control system comprising an orientation sensor (seat tilt sensor 24) for measuring a lateral tilt for differentially controlling braking of each wheel when on a camber (the brakes are activated to prevent the wheelchair from tilting beyond a predetermined angle on an incline, Col. 6, Lns. 55 – 65). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Laconis’ wheelchair to include the tilt sensor taught by Littlejohn, to catch and prevent the wheelchair from tipping over.
Claim 30 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Laconis, in view of patent application publication number US 2003/0183427 A1 to Tojo et al. (hereinafter referred to as Tojo).
Regarding claim 30, Laconis, discloses the wheelchair of claim 19, but does not disclose a load sensor is provided within a wheel mount of the set of front wheels to determine a loading on the set of front wheels.
Tojo discloses a method of climbing up and down a step with a wheelchair using a bogie wherein a load sensor is provided within a wheel mount to determine a loading on the set of front wheels (“a load sensor on each wheel, as means for detecting an external force”; Paragraph [0052]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify Laconis, such that a load sensor is provided within a wheel mount of the set of front wheels of the wheelchair to determine the loads experienced by the wheel and use that information to determine power assist or braking.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 19, 20 and 26 – 37 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Felicia L Brittman-Alabi whose telephone number is (313)446-6512. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9-6.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Valentin Neacsu can be reached at (571)272-6265. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Felicia L. Brittman-Alabi/ Examiner, Art Unit 3611
/VALENTIN NEACSU, Ph.D./ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3611
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