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 § 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(s) 1, 2, 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (CN 106882341 A) in view of Kang (KR 101816136 B1).
Regarding Claim 1, Zhang discloses a water vehicle comprising an underwater propulsion module (Element 206-208), an upper platform (Element 205) and a vertical support, in the form of a mast or a pylon (motor pylons, Fig 1), connecting and fixed at both ends to the propulsion module and to the upper platform, an energy source (Element 204) and an electronic control unit (Element 203), the propulsion module having at least two propeller groups are mounted, each of which comprising an electric motor and a water screw propeller with two to five blades (See Fig. 1.), wherein the propeller groups are arranged symmetrically with respect to the central vertical axis of the housing (See Fig. 1.) and are designed in working state to generate vertical thrust such that the upper platform plus maximum payload to be lifted above the water surface, wherein rotational axes of the propeller groups are arranged vertically or at an angle to the central vertical axis of the housing. (top of page 4). Zhang does not explicitly disclose the propulsion unit is in a housing.
Kang discloses wherein the propulsion unit is in a housing (Element 11), and the propulsion unit is underwater”(“Propeller (13b) of the balance portion (23) together is always desirable to under water”). It would have been obvious at the time of filing for a person of ordinary skill in the marine art to add a housing to the propulsion unit of Zhang which can be accomplished with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify Zhang, is to provide fairing to the underwater propulsion modules of Zhang.
Regarding Claim 2, Zhang in view of Kang discloses a water vehicle according to claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose in the combination proposed wherein there are at least four of the propeller groups.
Kang discloses wherein there are at least four of the propeller groups. (Element 23, Fig. 4.) It would have been obvious at the time of filing for a person of ordinary skill in the marine art to scale up the number of propellers of Zhang to four which can be accomplished with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify Zhang is spread out the forces to reduce the righting moments for at least axes.
Regarding Claim 6, Zhang in view of Kang discloses a water vehicle according to claim 1, the water screw propellers have a constant pitch. (Constant pitch are normal propellers and would be implicitly disclose. See MPEP 2144.04.)
Regarding Claim 7, Zhang in view of Kang discloses a water vehicle according to claim 1, the energy source and the electronic control unit being mounted in the housing of the underwater propulsion module. (See rejection Claim 1. This is suggested by the arrangement of Zhang Fig. 1.)
Regarding Claim 8, Zhang in view of Kang discloses a water vehicle according to claim 1, further including a sensor unit for orientation and positioning comprising one or more of the following devices: ultrasonic distance sensors, a gyroscope, a GPS module and/or an accelerometer. (top of page 3).
Claims 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (CN 106882341 A) in view of Kang (KR 101816136 B1) and further in view of Schibli (US 20190106190 A1)
Regarding Claim 5, Zhang in view of Kang discloses a water vehicle according to claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose the propeller groups comprising BLDC electric motors which are controlled by pulse width modulation.
Schibil discloses a battery operated water vehicle wherein the propeller groups comprising BLDC electric motors which are controlled by pulse width modulation. (Paragraphs 46 and 146) It would have been obvious at the time of filing for a person of ordinary skill in the marine art to select BLDC electric motors which are controlled by pulse width modulation for the motors of Zhang which can be accomplished with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify Zhang is to use known motors recognized as suitable for propelling a battery operated water vehicle.
Claim 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (CN 106882341 A) in view of Kang (KR 101816136 B1) and further in view of Wengreen (US 10358194 B1)
Regarding Claim 9, Zhang in view of Kang discloses a water vehicle according to claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose further comprising a communication module and a remote control.
Wengren disclose further comprising a communication module and a remote control. (C14, L14). It would have been obvious at the time of filing for a person of ordinary skill in the marine art to add the remote and communications module of Wengren to the vehicle of Zhang which can be accomplished with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify Zhang is to facilitate control.
Claims 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (CN 106882341 A) in view of Kang (KR 101816136 B1) and further in view of Montague (WO 2019050570 A)
Regarding Claim 10, Zhang in view of Kang discloses a water vehicle according to claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose the upper platform having a positive buoyancy which is greater than the total negative buoyancy of the other structural elements plus the maximum payload.
Montague discloses the upper platform having a positive buoyancy which is greater than the total negative buoyancy of the other structural elements plus the maximum payload. (paragraph 45 ) It would have been obvious at the time of filing for a person of ordinary skill in the marine art to mke the displacement of the upper platform of Zhang such that the upper platform having a positive buoyancy which is greater than the total negative buoyancy of the other structural elements plus the maximum payload which can be accomplished with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify Zhang is to keep it from sinking when you board it.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4 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.
Conclusion
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/ANDREW POLAY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615 10 Dec 2025