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 .
1. Claims 1-15 and 26-28 are presented for examination and claims 16-25 are cancelled.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
2. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/05/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment/Response to Arguments
3. 3.1 The rejection under claim interpretation and 112 (b) and 112(a) has been withdrawn since applicant’s amendments, see claims filed on 10/27/2025 and remarks are persuasive and overcome the rejection.
3.2 The rejection under 103 has been withdrawn in light of the amendments made.
the amendment, filed 10/27/25 was added in response to the final rejection made by the Office. As a result, the previous rejection has been withdrawn and a new rejection has been made in its place, see the rejection below.
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.
4. 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.
4.1 Claim(s) 1-2, 4-6, 8, 11-15 and 27-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1)as being anticipated by Littlejohn et al. (US 5123495 A).
Regarding claim 1, Littlejohn discloses method of managing a device (Fig. 1, managing the staircase wheelchair) comprising:
determining a status of a feature (determine by a sensor for detecting the angle of an incline, such as a staircase, before it is reached by the wheelchair);
enabling feature based on trigger (a control signal is provided to a motor for tilting the seat to cause the seat to be tilted to a predetermined minimum safe angle before the wheelchair reaches the staircase);
recognizing exercising the controlling (column 3, lines 50-54, opened by a controller 68 to allow the fluid to be pushed rapidly into reservoir); and
controlling the feature based on said recognizing (column 4, lines 30-35, Drivers 126 also control the position of the seat and the tilt of the seat. These drivers are controlled through a pulse width modulator generator 128 coupled to system bus 82);
wherein said enabling depends on the status and a condition and/or likelihood of the condition (Fig. 4A-Fig. 4E, column 4, lines 18-62, Upon detection of an upward vertical slope of sufficient incline, the wheelchair moves into the stairs or ramp mode D, shown in FIG. 4D. Upon detection of a vertical decline for a staircase or ramp, the wheelchair moves into state E in its program, shown in more detail in FIG. 4C).
Regarding claims 2, Littlejohn discloses correlating a mode of the device with the feature wherein the mode has a mode status based on the controlling (Fig. 4A-4E, column 5-column 6, lines 19, (20) After the easy down is deployed, the chair is moved forward and starts to roll over (step L). During roll over, the angle is detected by the inclinometer and the seat is adjusted accordingly to keep the user horizontal with respect to gravity. During roll over, forward movement of the wheelchair is prohibited until it assumes its new angle. After the chair has settled at the angle of the staircase, the easy down is retracted (step M). This is done by forcing air into the lower end of the piston and cylinder apparatus, and opening the bypass valve as shown in FIG. 2. Another bypass valve on the air compressor is also activated to prevent air release while the compressor is running. At other times, the air release valve in the air compressor allows the stored air pressure to vent).
Regarding claim 4, Littlejohn discloses the condition comprises an unsafe condition (column 5, lines 3-5, column 1, lines 60-66, If the ramp or steps are too steep, further forward movement is prohibited).
Regarding claim 5, Littlejohn discloses controlling comprises disabling the feature(Fig. 4E, step W, column 6, lines 25, column 6, lines 38-40, During roll over, forward movement of the wheelchair is prohibited until it assumes its new angle, turned off (step W) so that the easy down is ready for the next deployment).
Regarding claim 6, Littlejohn discloses enabling the feature (Fig. 4A-4F, able the operation of the wheelchair to ascend or to descend the stairs).
Regarding claim 8, Littlejohn discloses the status comprises active (column 4, lines 18-26, the wheelchair moves along horizontal ground. An interface 110 couple bus 82 through drivers 112 to actuators and solenoids 114. Included in the actuators and solenoids are the solenoid latches for releasing for the easy downs 30 and 32. Other actuators include the actuator for the air compressor 42 and an actuator for the bypass valve 66. Motor drivers 116 are coupled to motors 118 and 120 for driving the wheels).
Regarding claim 11, Littlejohn discloses the device comprises a wheelchair (Fig. 1, a wheelchair 10).
Regarding claim 12, Littlejohn discloses adjusting a speed of the wheelchair based on the trigger (column 2, lines 40-42,Fig.4a, speed up or slower speed to easy-down mechanism which simplifies operation of the wheelchair during stair climbing or descending).
Regarding claim 13, Littlejohn discloses the feature comprises stair-climbing (column 4, lines 10-11, column 4, line 34, Fig. 1, The operation of the stair-climbing wheelchair. An inclinometer for detecting the degree of inclination of the wheelchair frame).
Regarding claim 14, Littlejohn discloses correlating the feature with a second feature (column 4, lines 24-47, Fig. 4A-4F, transition between a wheel mode A and a track mode B); and modifying the feature based on changes to the second feature (Fig. 4A-Fig. 4F, column 4, lines 24-74, In the wheel mode, the wheelchair moves with four wheels and does not have the capability to ascend or descend stairs. In the track mode, the tracks are lowered upon detection of an incline of sufficient steepness by the ultrasonic transducers).
Regarding claims 15 and 27, Littlejohn discloses system for managing a feature comprising a processor, non-transient computer-readable media configured for executing (Fig. 3, Fig. 1, column 4, lines 1-11, wheelchair of FIG. 1. A serial interface 80 provides a link to a command module (not shown) which processes user inputs and controls the display. The user inputs can be in the form of push-buttons on a keypad or movements of a joystick. Interface 80 is coupled to an internal bus 82, which in turn is coupled to a microprocessor 84, a RAM 86 and a PROM 88), the method of claim 1 (see claim 1 rejection).
Regarding claim 28, Littlejohn discloses processor comprises a management component configured for determining the trigger (Fig. 1-Fig. 4E, column 3, lines 64-column 6, lines 19, the electronics of the wheelchair of FIG. 1. A serial interface 80 provides a link to a command module processes user inputs and controls the display).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
5.1 Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Littlejohn et al. (US 5123495 A) in view of Schmidt et al. (US 20220051513 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Littlejohn discloses the limitations of claim 1, but fails to disclose the limitations of claim 7. However, Schmidt discloses the limitation of claim 7, as follow:
Regarding claim 7, Schmid discloses the status comprises available ([0082], displayed on the stroller available for rental).
Littlejohn and Schmid are analogous art. They relate to a user interface to interact with a user. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify wheelchair rental transaction over the wireless communication network, taught by Schmid, incorporated with a processes user input and controls the display, taught by Littlejohn in order to improve for guest visitors to rent, access, and control storage lockers and mobility devices such as electric convenience vehicles (ECVs), wheelchairs and strollers, and related services, without compromising the park or venue experience.
5.2 Claim(s) 9-10 and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Littlejohn et al. (US 5123495 A) in view of Perkins (US 20210383483 A1).
Regarding claims 9-10 and 26, Littlejohn discloses the limitations of claims 1 and 2, but fails to disclose the limitations of claims 9-10 and 26. However, Perkins discloses the limitation of claims 9-10 and 26, as follow:
Regarding claim 9 and 10 discloses Perkins the trigger comprises non-payment for the feature and payment for the feature (0153], [0163]-[0165], The furniture screen may include furniture rental details and a furniture rental history including past and future rental payments. adjusted monthly rent, a checkbox to indicate whether the lease is billed monthly, a do not pay dropdown box, etc. The button for payable transactions, a non-payable button for non-payable transactions,).
Regarding claim 26, Perkins discloses the mode status is selected from: expired; current; and future ([0157], The rent screen 800 may include a rental history including past and future rental payments).
Littlejohn and Perkin are analogous art. They relate to a user interface to interact with a user. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify a user interface to control the rental device, taught by Perkin, incorporated with a processes user input and controls the display, taught by Littlejohn in order to track payments to the claims processing system made on invoices. The deposits screen may include a list of unpaid invoices, a new deposit form, and a deposit history. The list of unpaid invoices may include fields for the invoice date in real time.
Citation Pertinent prior art
6. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Schmidt et al. (US 20220051511 A1) discloses a wireless-networked stroller access control system includes a plurality of wireless-networked strollers, each having stroller framework for carrying a passenger, and having a set of wheels mounted on an axle. A device-level machine-readable code is displayed on a surface associated with the stroller system.
Yang (US10249128B1) discloses a mobility device rental system that is operable to facilitate the rental of a plurality of mobility assistance devices. The mobility device rental system includes a plurality of rental terminals that are installed at publicly accessible locations.
A reference to specific paragraphs, columns, pages, or figures in a cited prior art reference is not limited to preferred embodiments or any specific examples. It is well settled that a prior art reference, in its entirety, must be considered for allthat it expressly teaches and fairly suggests to one having ordinary skill in the art. Stated differently, a prior art disclosure reading on a limitation of Applicant's claim cannot be ignored on the ground that other embodiments disclosed wereinstead cited. Therefore, the Examiner's citation to a specific portion of a single prior art reference is not intended to exclusively dictate, but rather, to demonstrate an exemplary disclosure commensurate with the specific limitations being addressed. In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33,216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006, 1 009, 158 USPQ 275, 277 (CCPA 1968)). In re: Upsher-Smith Labs. v. Pamlab, LLC, 412 F.3d 1319, 1323, 75 USPQ2d 1213, 1215 (Fed. Cir. 2005); In re Fritch, 972 F.2d 1260, 1264, 23 USPQ2d 1780, 1782 (Fed. Cir. 1992); Merck& Co. v. Biocraft Labs., Inc., 874 F.2d804, 807, 10 USPQ2d 1843, 1846 (Fed. Cir. 1989); In re Fracalossi, 681 F.2d 792,794 n.1, 215 USPQ 569, 570 n.1 (CCPA 1982); In re Lamberti, 545 F.2d 747, 750, 192 USPQ 278, 280 (CCPA 1976); In re Bozek, 416 F.2d 1385, 1390, 163USPQ 545, 549 (CCPA 1969).
Conclusion
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed Kidest Worku whose telephone number is 571-272-3737. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Ali Mohammad can be reached on 571-272-4105. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KIDEST WORKU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2119