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 was filed in this application after appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, but prior to a decision on the appeal. 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examination under 37 CFR 1.114 and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the appeal has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114 and prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 03/26/2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
Claims 2 and 13 have been canceled; and claims 21-23 are new. Therefore, claims 1, 3-12, and 14-23 are pending in the instant application.
Response to Amendment/Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 03/26/2026 have been fully considered as below.
Regarding to rejection under 35 USC 103, applicant's arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection provided below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(a)
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 3-12, and 14-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claims 1, 11, and 12, applicant provides claim limitation, “the controller is configured or programmed to maintain the orientation of the bow at the target orientation by rotating the hull by driving the auxiliary thruster while stopping the main thruster and allowing the hull to move by the external forces regardless of a direction of the external forces in the drift control”. This limitation is not supported by the original disclosure as there is nothing indicating the controller is configured or programmed to maintain the orientation of the bow at the target orientation by rotating the hull by driving the auxiliary thruster while stopping the main thruster and allowing the hull to move by the external forces regardless of a direction of the external forces in the drift control (emphasis added). Based on paragraph [0077] and figures 8-9 of the specification, the drift control is based on the external forces F from left to right direction. It is common knowledge that it is impossible to ignore direction of the external forces in boat control, especially drift control. Direction of the external forces is a factor to determine exactly how and where the boat will be pushed, and thus how much correction is needed to stay on course. Therefore, the claims are rejected under this section as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claims contain subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Accordingly, appropriate correction and/or clarification are earnestly solicited. The examiner assumes that “the controller is configured or programmed to maintain the orientation of the bow at the target orientation by rotating the hull by driving the auxiliary thruster while stopping the main thruster and allowing the hull to move by the external forces
Claims 3-10 and 14-23 are rejected for depending from a rejected claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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, 3-12, and 14-23 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 claims 1, 11, and 12, applicant provides claim limitation, “the controller is configured or programmed to maintain the orientation of the bow at the target orientation by rotating the hull by driving the auxiliary thruster while stopping the main thruster and allowing the hull to move by the external forces regardless of a direction of the external forces in the drift control”, however, the scope of the claims cannot be ascertained. Based on paragraph [0077] and figures 8-9 of the specification, the drift control is based on the external forces F from left to right direction. The scope of the claim contradicts the specification. Moreover, it is common knowledge that it is impossible to ignore direction of the external forces in boat control, especially drift control. Direction of the external forces is a factor to determine exactly how and where the boat will be pushed, and thus how much correction is needed to stay on course. Therefore, this renders the claims indefinite. Accordingly, appropriate correction and/or clarification are earnestly solicited. The examiner assumes that “the controller is configured or programmed to maintain the orientation of the bow at the target orientation by rotating the hull by driving the auxiliary thruster while stopping the main thruster and allowing the hull to move by the external forces
Claims 3-10 and 14-23 are rejected for depending from a rejected claim.
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.
(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 11 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Miller et al. (US 20190179318 A1, hereinafter “Miller”).
Regarding claim 11, Miller discloses A marine propulsion system comprising:
a main propulsion device (Miller, see at least Fig. 3A, #122) including a main thruster (Miller, see at least Fig. 6B, #158) to generate a thrust, and operable to rotate in a right-left direction to change a direction of the thrust (Miller, see at least Figs. 3A, 5C, 6B, par. [0033], “the marine vessel 100 has at least one propulsion motor 122 that is the primary source of propulsion for navigating the marine vessel 100 through the water”; par. [0047, 0055], “the controller 152 can be configured to turn, change the rotational direction of … the propeller 158 by controlling the steering assembly 154 and/or actuator 156 based on control signals received from the control system 200”);
an auxiliary propulsion device (Miller, see at least Fig. 3A, #120) including an auxiliary thruster to generate a thrust (Miller, see at least Figs. 3A, 5C, 6A, par. [0033-0034, 0046], “The controller 132 can be configured to control a steering assembly 134 (e.g., electromechanical steering assembly) and/or an actuator 136 (e.g., motor) that drives the propeller 138 of the trolling motor 120”), and operable to rotate in the right-left direction to change a direction of the thrust (Miller, see at least Figs. 3A, 6A, par. [0046], “the controller 132 can be configured to turn, change the rotational direction of … the propeller 138 by controlling the steering assembly 134 and/or actuator 136 based on control signals received from the control system 200”) and having a maximum output smaller than a maximum output of the main propulsion device (Miller, see at least Fig. 3A, the trolling motor 120 is illustrated smaller than the propulsion motor 122; par. [0033], “… the trolling motor 120 may be operable instead of the propulsion motor 122 to navigate the marine vessel 100 at slower speeds and/or with greater precision (e.g., when navigating around obstacles, in shallow water, or the like)…”); and
a controller (Miller, see at least Fig. 5C, par. [0037], #200) configured or programmed to perform a drift control to move a hull by external forces including wind and water flow (Miller, see at least par. [0051], “… the marine vessel 100 may rotated or pivot about the position due to wind, water current, or other forces on the marine vessel 100 …”) while maintaining an orientation of a bow (Miller, see at least Fig. 1, #104) of the hull (Miller, see at least Fig. 1, #102) at a target orientation (Miller, see at least par. [0055], “… control the orientation of the marine vessel 100 (e.g., by maintaining the marine vessel 100 in a fixed or substantially fixed orientation) …”) by rotating the hull (Miller, see at least par. [0031], “…the trolling motor can actuate the marine vessel in a manner that maintains the trolling motor at a fixed (or substantially fixed) position in the water …”); wherein
the controller is configured or programmed to maintain the orientation of the bow at the target orientation by rotating the hull by driving the auxiliary thruster (Miller, see at least Figs. 3A, 8C, par. [0031, 0055-0056], the control system 200 is configured to maintain the orientation of the bow at the fixed orientation by receiving at least one orientation measurement for the marine vessel 100 and controlling the trolling motor 120 to actuate the marine vessel) while stopping the main thruster and allowing the hull to move by the external forces regardless of a direction of the external forces in the drift control (Miller, see at least par. [0030, 0051], “… a trolling motor may be used instead of the propulsion motor when navigating the marine vessel through environments that require precision (e.g., navigating around obstacles and/or in shallow water)”; par. [0051], “…when a fishing mode is selected the processing system 302, the processing system 302 may issue a command to shut down or idle the marine vessel's engine, start a trolling motor …”);
the main propulsion device is to be attached to a stern of the hull and is provided on a centerline of the hull in the right-left direction (Miller, see at least Fig. 3A, par. [0033], the propulsion motor 122 is mounted to stern 110 and is provided on a centerline of the hull); and
the auxiliary propulsion device is to be attached to the stern and is provided to only one side of the centerline of the hull in the right-left direction (Miller, see at least Fig. 3A, par. [0033-0034], the trolling motor 120 is mounted to one side of the stern 110).
Regarding claim 22, Miller teaches all the limitations of claim 11. Miller further teaches further comprising:
a mode switching operator (Miller, see at least Fig. 9A, #302) to receive an operation to switch (Miller, see at least Fig. 9A, par. [0059], “a mode selector 304 configured to select between a plurality of modes of operation”) between a normal drift mode in which the drift control is performed using only the external forces as a power source to move the hull directed to the target orientation while the main thruster of the main propulsion device is stopped (Miller, see at least par. [0033, 0084], when a first mode is selected, e.g. fishing mode, the marine vessel's engine is shut down, the trolling motor is operated to navigate the marine vessel; Figs. 3A, 8C, par. [0031, 0055-0056], maintaining the orientation of the bow at the fixed orientation by receiving at least one orientation measurement for the marine vessel 100 and controlling the trolling motor 120 to actuate the marine vessel)), and a drift track mode in which the drift control is performed to move the hull toward a target point using the thrust of at least one of the main thruster or the auxiliary thruster in addition to the external forces as the power source (Miller, see at least Fig. 8C, par. [0053-0054], “… the control system 200 can be configured to cause the trolling motor 120 … to actuate the marine vessel 100 in a direction and/or speed to cause a reference point (e.g., center) of the marine vessel 100 to be at a location corresponding to a position along path 101 that is subsequent to the measured position P0”); wherein the controller is configured or programmed to start the drift track mode in a first driving state in which the external forces and the main thruster are used as the power source to move the hull toward the target point (Miller, at least Figs. 8C, 9A-B, par. [0033, 0055], the marine vessel 100 has at least one propulsion motor 122 that is the primary source of propulsion for navigating the marine vessel 100 through the water toward a target point), from among the first driving state and a second driving state in which the external forces and the auxiliary thruster are used as the power source to move the hull toward the target point when the normal drift mode is switched to the drift track mode by the mode switching operator (Miller, at least Figs. 9A-B, 10, par. [0033, 0054], the control system 200 is configured to cause the trolling motor 120 to navigate the vessel 100 to the target point when switching to a second operation mode, e.g., slow speed mode and/or precision mode).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miller et al. (US 20190179318 A1, hereinafter “Miller”), and further in view of Huntt (US 7882791 B2).
Regarding claims 1 and 12, Miller discloses
(Claim 12) A marine vessel (Miller, see at least Fig. 1, #100) comprising:
a hull (Miller, see at least Fig. 1, #102); and
a marine propulsion system provided on or in the hull (Miller, see at least Figs. 1, 3A); wherein
the marine propulsion system includes:
(Claim 1) A marine propulsion system comprising:
a main propulsion device (Miller, see at least Fig. 3A, #122) including a main thruster (Miller, see at least Fig. 6B, #158) to generate a thrust, and operable to rotate in a right-left direction to change a direction of the thrust (Miller, see at least Figs. 3A, 5C, 6B, par. [0033], “the marine vessel 100 has at least one propulsion motor 122 that is the primary source of propulsion for navigating the marine vessel 100 through the water”; par. [0047, 0055], “the controller 152 can be configured to turn, change the rotational direction of … the propeller 158 by controlling the steering assembly 154 and/or actuator 156 based on control signals received from the control system 200”);
an auxiliary propulsion device (Miller, see at least Fig. 3A, #120) including an (Miller, see at least Fig. 6A, #136) to drive an auxiliary thruster to generate a thrust (Miller, see at least Figs. 3A, 5C, 6A, par. [0033-0034, 0046], “The controller 132 can be configured to control a steering assembly 134 (e.g., electromechanical steering assembly) and/or an actuator 136 (e.g., motor) that drives the propeller 138 of the trolling motor 120”), operable to rotate in the right-left direction to change a direction of the thrust (Miller, see at least Figs. 3A, 6A, par. [0046], “the controller 132 can be configured to turn, change the rotational direction of … the propeller 138 by controlling the steering assembly 134 and/or actuator 136 based on control signals received from the control system 200”), and having a maximum output smaller than a maximum output of the main propulsion device (Miller, see at least Fig. 3A, the trolling motor 120 is illustrated smaller than the propulsion motor 122; par. [0033], “… the trolling motor 120 may be operable instead of the propulsion motor 122 to navigate the marine vessel 100 at slower speeds and/or with greater precision (e.g., when navigating around obstacles, in shallow water, or the like)…”); and
a controller (Miller, see at least Fig. 5C, par. [0037], #200) configured or programmed to perform a drift control to move a hull by external forces including wind and water flow (Miller, see at least par. [0051], “… the marine vessel 100 may rotated or pivot about the position due to wind, water current, or other forces on the marine vessel 100 …”) while maintaining an orientation of a bow (Miller, see at least Fig. 1, #104) of the hull (Miller, see at least Fig. 1, #102) at a target orientation (Miller, see at least par. [0055], “… control the orientation of the marine vessel 100 (e.g., by maintaining the marine vessel 100 in a fixed or substantially fixed orientation) …”) by rotating the hull (Miller, see at least par. [0031], “…the trolling motor can actuate the marine vessel in a manner that maintains the trolling motor at a fixed (or substantially fixed) position in the water …”); wherein
the controller is configured or programmed to maintain the orientation of the bow at the target orientation by rotating the hull by driving the auxiliary thruster (Miller, see at least Figs. 3A, 8C, par. [0031, 0055-0056], the control system 200 is configured to maintain the orientation of the bow at the fixed orientation by receiving at least one orientation measurement for the marine vessel 100 and controlling the trolling motor 120 to actuate the marine vessel) while stopping the main thruster and allowing the hull to move by the external forces regardless of a direction of the external forces in the drift control (Miller, see at least par. [0030, 0051], “… a trolling motor may be used instead of the propulsion motor when navigating the marine vessel through environments that require precision (e.g., navigating around obstacles and/or in shallow water)”; par. [0051], “…when a fishing mode is selected the processing system 302, the processing system 302 may issue a command to shut down or idle the marine vessel's engine, start a trolling motor …”);
the main propulsion device is to be attached to a stern of the hull and is provided on a centerline of the hull in the right-left direction (Miller, see at least Fig. 3A, par. [0033], the propulsion motor 122 is mounted to stern 110 and is provided on a centerline of the hull); and
the auxiliary propulsion device is to be attached to the stern and is provided to only one side of the centerline of the hull in the right-left direction (Miller, see at least Fig. 3A, par. [0033-0034], the trolling motor 120 is mounted to one side of the stern 110).
Miller fails to explicitly teach an auxiliary propulsion device including an electric motor.
Huntt teaches a trolling motor (Huntt, see at least Fig. 1, #108) is located right next to main power motor (Huntt, see at least Fig. 1, #106) at the stern (Huntt, see at least Fig. 1, #104) of a marine vessel (Huntt, see at least Fig. 1, col. 4, lines 6-16, #100); the trolling motor includes a small electric motor (Huntt, see at least Fig. 2, #202) coupled to propeller (Huntt, see at least Fig. 2, #109) for guiding the marine vessel (Huntt, see at least Fig. 1, col. 4, lines 17-26).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the system of Miller to include, an auxiliary propulsion device including an electric motor, as taught by Huntt. This modification would allow to quietly adjust the position of craft at relatively slow speeds to allow greater maneuvering.
Regarding claims 3 and 14, the combination of Miller and Huntt teaches all the limitations of claims 1 and 12. The combination of Miller and Huntt further teaches wherein the controller is configured or programmed to rotate the hull by driving the auxiliary thruster while stopping the main thruster without rotating the main propulsion device in the right-left direction in the drift control (Miller, see at least par. [0030, 0051], “… a trolling motor may be used instead of the propulsion motor when navigating the marine vessel through environments that require precision (e.g., navigating around obstacles and/or in shallow water)”; par. [0051], “…when a fishing mode is selected the processing system 302, the processing system 302 may issue a command to shut down or idle the marine vessel's engine, start a trolling motor …”).
Regarding claims 4 and 15, the combination of Miller and Huntt teaches all the limitations of claims 1, 3, 12, and 14. The combination of Miller and Huntt further teaches wherein the main propulsion device is operable to maintain a rudder angle of the main thruster at a rudder angle along a centerline of the hull in the right-left direction while stopping the main thruster when the hull is rotated by driving the auxiliary thruster in the drift control (Miller, see at least Figs. 3A, 6A, par. [0046], “the controller 132 can be configured to turn, change the rotational direction of … the propeller 138 by controlling the steering assembly 134 and/or actuator 136 based on control signals received from the control system 200”).
Regarding claims 6 and 17, the combination of Miller and Huntt teaches all the limitations of claims 1 and 12. The combination of Miller and Huntt further teaches further comprising: a mode switching operator (Miller, see at least Fig. 9A, #302) to receive an operation to switch (Miller, see at least Fig. 9A, par. [0059], “a mode selector 304 configured to select between a plurality of modes of operation”) between a normal drift mode in which the drift control is performed using only the external forces as a power source to move the hull directed to the target orientation while the main thruster of the main propulsion device is stopped (Miller, see at least par. [0033, 0084], when a first mode is selected, e.g. fishing mode, the marine vessel's engine is shut down, the trolling motor is operated to navigate the marine vessel; Figs. 3A, 8C, par. [0031, 0055-0056], maintaining the orientation of the bow at the fixed orientation by receiving at least one orientation measurement for the marine vessel 100 and controlling the trolling motor 120 to actuate the marine vessel)), and a drift track mode (Miller, see at least par. [0059], second mode of a plurality of modes) in which the drift control is performed to move the hull toward a target point using the thrust of at least one of the main thruster or the auxiliary thruster in addition to the external forces as the power source (Miller, see at least Fig. 8C, par. [0053-0054], “… the control system 200 can be configured to cause the trolling motor 120 … to actuate the marine vessel 100 in a direction and/or speed to cause a reference point (e.g., center) of the marine vessel 100 to be at a location corresponding to a position along path 101 that is subsequent to the measured position P0”).
Regarding claims 7 and 18, the combination of Miller and Huntt teaches all the limitations of claims 1, 6, 12, and 17. The combination of Miller and Huntt further teaches wherein the controller is configured or programmed to start the drift track mode in either a first driving state in which the external forces and the main thruster are used as the power source to move the hull toward the target point (Miller, at least Figs. 8C, 9A-B, par. [0033, 0055], the marine vessel 100 has at least one propulsion motor 122 that is the primary source of propulsion for navigating the marine vessel 100 through the water toward a target point), or a second driving state in which the external forces and the auxiliary thruster are used as the power source to move the hull toward the target point when the normal drift mode is switched to the drift track mode by the mode switching operator (Miller, at least Figs. 9A-B, 10, par. [0033, 0054], the control system 200 is configured to cause the trolling motor 120 to navigate the vessel 100 to the target point when switching to a second operation mode, e.g., slow speed mode and/or precision mode).
Regarding claims 8 and 19, the combination of Miller and Huntt teaches all the limitations of claims 1, 6, 7, 12, 17 and 18. The combination of Miller and Huntt further teaches further comprising: a thrust adjustment operator to receive an operation to adjust thrust magnitudes of the main propulsion device and the auxiliary propulsion device (Miller, at least Figs, 6A-B, par. [0056], “the controller system 200 can be configured to generate one or more control signals that cause the first motor(s) or the second motor(s) to ramp up to an operating speed and direction slowly (e.g., by gradually increasing the motor speed and/or gradually adjusting the steering”); wherein the controller is configured or programmed to:
start the drift track mode in the first driving state when the normal drift mode is switched to the drift track mode by the mode switching operator (Miller, at least Figs. 8C, 9A-B, par. [0033, 0059, 0096], the control system 200 is configured to cause the propulsion motor 122 to navigate the vessel 100 to the target point at high speed by implementing a mode selector 304); and
switch the first driving state to the second driving state based on the thrust adjustment operator receiving an operation to change the thrust magnitudes to predetermined levels or less in the drift track mode (Miller, at least Figs. 9A-B, 10, par. [0033, 0056, 0059, 0096], the control system 200 is configured to cause the trolling motor 120 to navigate the vessel 100 to the target point when switching to a second operation mode, e.g., slow speed mode and/or precision mode by gradually increasing the motor speed and/or gradually adjusting the steering).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Miller and Huntt teaches all the limitations of claim 1. The combination of Miller and Huntt further teaches wherein the main propulsion device is an engine outboard motor including an engine to drive a main propeller corresponding to the main thruster (Miller, at least Figs. 1, 3A, 6B, par. [0047], the marine propulsion system comprising the main propulsion motor 122 including a main propeller 158 to generate a thrust); and the auxiliary propulsion device is an electric outboard motor including the electric motor to drive an auxiliary propeller corresponding to the auxiliary thruster (Miller, at least Figs. 3A, 6A, par. [0046], the trolling motor 120 including a motor 156 to drive an auxiliary propeller 138 to generate a thrust; Huntt, see at least Fig. 1, col. 4, lines 17-26, the trolling motor includes a small electric motor 202 coupled to propeller 109 for guiding craft).
Regarding claims 21 and 23, the combination of Miller and Huntt teaches all the limitations of claims 1 and 12. The combination of Miller and Huntt further teaches further comprising: a mode switching operator (Miller, see at least Fig. 9A, #302) to receive an operation to switch (Miller, see at least Fig. 9A, par. [0059], “a mode selector 304 configured to select between a plurality of modes of operation”) between a normal drift mode in which the drift control is performed using only the external forces as a power source to move the hull directed to the target orientation while the main thruster of the main propulsion device is stopped (Miller, see at least par. [0033, 0084], when a first mode is selected, e.g. fishing mode, the marine vessel's engine is shut down, the trolling motor is operated to navigate the marine vessel; Figs. 3A, 8C, par. [0031, 0055-0056], maintaining the orientation of the bow at the fixed orientation by receiving at least one orientation measurement for the marine vessel 100 and controlling the trolling motor 120 to actuate the marine vessel)), and a drift track mode in which the drift control is performed to move the hull toward a target point using the thrust of at least one of the main thruster or the auxiliary thruster in addition to the external forces as the power source (Miller, see at least Fig. 8C, par. [0053-0054], “… the control system 200 can be configured to cause the trolling motor 120 … to actuate the marine vessel 100 in a direction and/or speed to cause a reference point (e.g., center) of the marine vessel 100 to be at a location corresponding to a position along path 101 that is subsequent to the measured position P0”); wherein the controller is configured or programmed to start the drift track mode in a first driving state in which the external forces and the main thruster are used as the power source to move the hull toward the target point (Miller, at least Figs. 8C, 9A-B, par. [0033, 0055], the marine vessel 100 has at least one propulsion motor 122 that is the primary source of propulsion for navigating the marine vessel 100 through the water toward a target point), from among the first driving state and a second driving state in which the external forces and the auxiliary thruster are used as the power source to move the hull toward the target point when the normal drift mode is switched to the drift track mode by the mode switching operator (Miller, at least Figs. 9A-B, 10, par. [0033, 0054], the control system 200 is configured to cause the trolling motor 120 to navigate the vessel 100 to the target point when switching to a second operation mode, e.g., slow speed mode and/or precision mode).
Claims 5 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miller et al. (US 20190179318 A1, hereinafter “Miller”), in view of Huntt (US 7882791 B2) as applied to claims 1 and 12 above, and further in view of Osara et al. (US 20210139123 A1, hereinafter “Osara”).
Regarding claims 5 and 16, the combination of Miller and Huntt teaches all the limitations of claims 1 and 12. The combination of Miller and Huntt fails to explicitly teach wherein the auxiliary propulsion device has a right-left rotatable angle range to change the direction of the thrust larger than a right-left rotatable angle range of the main propulsion device.
Osara teaches the auxiliary propulsion device (Osara, see at least Figs. 1A, 1B, #32R/32L) has larger steering angle to change the direction of the thrust than the steering angle of the main propulsion device since the controller is configured to control the steering angle only for the auxiliary propulsion device (Osara, see at least par. [0017], “… the left-right direction becomes larger in a case where the steering angle is controlled only for the left propulsion unit and the right propulsion unit, compared to a case in which the steering angle is controlled only for the central propulsion unit that is placed at the center”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the combination of Miller and Huntt to include, wherein the auxiliary propulsion device has a right-left rotatable angle range to change the direction of the thrust larger than a right-left rotatable angle range of the main propulsion device, as taught by Osara. This modification would allow to provide better control of the vessel thereby improving the safety characteristics due to the improved maneuverability.
Claims 9 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miller et al. (US 20190179318 A1, hereinafter “Miller”), in view of Huntt (US 7882791 B2) as applied to claims 1, 6 ,12, and 17 above, and further in view of Koike et al. (JP2000344193A, hereinafter “Koike”).
Regarding claims 9 and 20, the combination of Miller and Huntt teaches all the limitations of claims 1, 6 ,12, and 17. The combination of Miller and Huntt fails to explicitly teach wherein the controller is configured or programmed to automatically switch from the drift track mode to the normal drift mode when the hull reaches the target point and another target point is not specified.
Koike teaches when the boat reaches a target point, the boat automatically switches from the return mode to the drifting mode (Koike, see at least par. [0049]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the combination of Miller and Huntt to include, wherein the controller is configured or programmed to automatically switch from the drift track mode to the normal drift mode when the hull reaches the target point and another target point is not specified, as taught by Koike. This modification would allow the boat to automatically return to a destination such as a fishing spot.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Behrendt et al. (US 11531341 B2) discloses a system for navigating a marine vessel by way of first and second motors.
Jopling (US 20160334792 A1) discloses a system and method for navigating the watercraft to the desired location or on the desired bearing while maintaining the desired heading.
Salmon et al. (US 8761976 B2) discloses a system and method for executing functions of the trolling motor control system based on data stored on the GPS-equipped mapping device.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRANG DANG whose telephone number is (703)756-1049. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00.
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/TRANG DANG/ Examiner, Art Unit 3656 /KHOI H TRAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3656
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