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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election without traverse of Group I (Claims 1-16) in the reply filed on 12/30/2025 is acknowledged. The restriction requirement is now made FINAL with Claims 17-20 now withdrawn from further examination.
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 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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kirchhoff et al. (US 12,030,608 B2) hereinafter referred to as Kirchhoff.
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Regarding Claim 1, Kirchhoff discloses an integrated electric pontoon drive system, comprising:
a pontoon (body of marine vessel 1, figure 1 also reproduced above) configured to provide buoyancy operable for assisting in floating a marine vessel upon a body of water (intended use recitation, see figure 1), the pontoon including an elongated frame with an interior compartment (see figure 1); and
an electric propulsion system (2, figure 1) integrated within the interior compartment (see figure 1), the electric propulsion system including:
an energy storage module (16, figure 1) configured for storing and supplying electrical power (functional language recitation, see figure 1);
an onboard charging module (12, figure 1) configured for managing charging and discharging of the electrical power to and from the energy storage module (functional language recitation, see figure 1); and
an electric drive module (4-5,7-8, 10, figure 1) configured for converting the electrical power discharged from the energy storage module to mechanical power operable for propelling the marine vessel through the body of water (functional language recitation, see figure 1).
Regarding Claim 2, Kirchhoff discloses that the electric drive module includes an electric motor (see motor 4, figure 1) configured to convert the electrical power to mechanical power (functional language recitation, see figure 1).
Regarding Claim 3, Kirchhoff discloses an outdrive including a propeller (see propeller 10, figure 1) operably coupled to a driveshaft (5 figure 1), the driveshaft configured to be rotated by the electric motor (see figure 1), the propeller rotating with the driveshaft to provide thrust operable for propelling the marine vessel through the body of water (intended use recitation, see figure 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Internet/E-mail Communication
In order to permit communication regarding the instant application via email, Applicant is invited to file form PTO/SB/439 (Authorization for Internet Communications) or include the following statement in a filed document or remarks of a filed response (see MPEP 502.03 Il): Recognizing that Internet communications are not secure, I hereby authorize the USPTO to communicate with the undersigned and practitioners in accordance with 37 CFR 1.33 and 37 CFR 1.34 concerning any subject matter of this application by video conferencing, instant messaging, or electronic mail. I understand that a copy of these communications will be made of record in the application file. If such authorization is provided, please include an email address in the remarks of a filed response. The examiner’s e-mail address is sabbir.hasan@uspto.gov.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US11932367B1 discloses an outboard propulsion system for an electric boat (see 100, figure 1)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Sabbir Hasan whose telephone number is (571)270-7651. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 10:30 am-6:30pm.
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, Nathaniel Wiehe can be reached at 571- 272-8648. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Sabbir Hasan/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
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