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.
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 2, 9 and 15 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 2, 9 and 15 all recite “further instructions…to activate the electric motor to provide the intermittent forward thrust.” It is unclear how this differs from the “instructions to: activate the electric motor to rotate the impeller and provide an intermittent forward thrust” recited in parent claims 1 and 12. It is unclear if this is the same instruction, i.e. the users pushes the throttle, and the motor provides thrust.
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.
Claims 1-7, 9-13 and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sitar US 10,358,192.
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Figure 1- Sitar Figure 1
Regarding claim 1, Sitar discloses a system, comprising:
a cassette 2, 2’ removably coupleable to a board 1, the cassette including:
a power source 4;
an electric motor 5 in communication with the power source;
an impeller 7 coupled to the electric motor; and
a controller 8 in communication with the power source and the electric motor, the controller including a memory configured to store instructions and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to:
activate the electric motor to rotate the impeller and provide an intermittent forward thrust in response to an input from a user.
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Figure 2- Sitar Figure 7
Regarding claim 5, Sitar discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 1. Sitar also discloses that the board includes: a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; a mounting space in the first surface (the top hole); and an intake in the second surface (the bottom hole).
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Figure 3- Sitar Figure 6
Regarding claims 6 and 11, Sitar discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 5. Sitar also discloses one or more fins coupled to the bottom surface of the body, and that the cassette 2, 2’ is received in the mounting space in the first surface of the board and aligned with the first surface.
Regarding claims 2 and 12, Sitar discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claims 1 and 11. Sitar also discloses that the memory is configured to store further instructions, the at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to: activate the electric motor to provide the intermittent forward thrust to propel a rider on the board on a wake of a boat and increase a relative speed of the rider with respect to the boat (column 3, lines 43-49).
Regarding claims 3, 4, 17 and 18, Sitar discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claims 1 and 11. Sitar also discloses that the board 1 is a surf or wakesurf board, as it could be used in either scenario, and there are no particular structural features claimed.
Regarding claims 7 and 16, Sitar discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claims 5 and 11. Sitar also discloses that the cassette 2, 2’ is configured to intake water from the intake in the second surface of the board and output water from the impeller in a direction aligned with a central axis of the board between the first surface and the second surface of the board.
Regarding claims 9 and 15, Sitar discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claims 1 and 12. Sitar also discloses that the memory is configured to store further instructions, the at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to: repeatedly activate the electric motor to rotate the impeller and provide the forward thrust for the amount of time at several different instances during the operational time of the cassette in response to additional inputs from the user. Note that the motor will provide thrust whenever it is commanded.
Regarding claims 10 and 13, Sitar discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claims 1 and 12. Sitar also discloses a remote control device 9 in communication with the controller 8 of the cassette, the remote control device configured to receive the input from the user and transmit one or more signals to the controller (column 3, lines 43-49).
Claims 1-7, 9-13 and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tian US 10,953,957.
Regarding claim 1, Tian discloses a system, comprising:
a cassette 30, 10 removably coupleable to a board 20, the cassette including:
a power source 30;
an electric motor 22 in communication with the power source;
an impeller 4 coupled to the electric motor; and
a controller 21 in communication with the power source and the electric motor, the controller including a memory configured to store instructions and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to:
activate the electric motor to rotate the impeller and provide an intermittent forward thrust in response to an input from a user (column 7, lines 18-42).
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Figure 4- Tian Figure 1
Regarding claim 2, Tian discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 1. Tian also discloses that the memory is configured to store further instructions, the at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to: activate the electric motor to provide the intermittent forward thrust to propel a rider on the board on a wake of a boat and increase a relative speed of the rider with respect to the boat (column 7, lines 18-42).
Regarding claims 3 and 4, Tian discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 1. Tian also discloses that the board 20 is a surf or wakesurf board, as it could be used in either scenario, and there are no particular structural features claimed.
Regarding claim 5, Tian discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 1. Tian also discloses that the board includes: a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; a mounting space in the first surface (the top hole); and an intake in the second surface (the bottom hole).
Regarding claim 6, Tian discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 5. Tian also discloses that the cassette 30, 10 is received in the mounting space in the first surface of the board and aligned with the first surface.
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Figure 5- Tian Figure 3
Regarding claim 7, Tian discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 5. Tian also discloses that the cassette 30, 10 is configured to intake water from the intake in the second surface of the board and output water from the impeller in a direction aligned with a central axis of the board between the first surface and the second surface of the board.
Regarding claim 9, Tian discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 1. Tian also discloses that the memory is configured to store further instructions, the at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to: repeatedly activate the electric motor to rotate the impeller and provide the forward thrust for the amount of time at several different instances during the operational time of the cassette in response to additional inputs from the user. Note that the motor will provide thrust whenever it is commanded.
Regarding claim 10, Tian discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 1. Tian also discloses a remote control device in communication with the controller 21 of the cassette, the remote control device configured to receive the input from the user and transmit one or more signals to the controller (column 7, lines 18-42).
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.
Claims 3, 4, 8, 14, 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sitar US 10,358,192.
Regarding claims 3, 4, 17 and 18, Sitar discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claims 1 and 11. Sitar does not specifically teach that the board is a surf or wakesurf board, however it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to make the different portions of the board tailored for surfing or wakesurfing or of whatever form or shape was desired or expedient in order to use it in a wider variety of scenarios. A change in form or shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art, absent any showing of unexpected results. In re Dailey et al., 149 USPQ 47.
Regarding claims 8 and 14, Sitar discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claims 1 and 12. While the operating time of Sitar can be whatever a user commands, Sitar does not teach a specific thrust force. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to size the components in order to provide 100 to 600 Newtons or whatever thrust was desired in order to provide the optimum assistance, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tian US 10,953,957.
Regarding claim 8, Tian discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 1. While the operating time of Tian can be whatever a user commands, Tian does not teach a specific thrust force. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to size the components in order to provide 100 to 600 Newtons or whatever thrust was desired in order to provide the optimum assistance, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Claims 11-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tian US 10,953,957 in view of Railey US 8,870,614.
Regarding claim 11, Tian teaches a system, comprising:
a board 20, including:
a body with a top surface and a bottom surface opposite to the top surface;
a mounting space in the top surface of the body (the top hole);
an intake in the bottom surface of the body (the bottom hole); and
a cassette 30, 10 removably coupled to the board, the cassette receivable in the mounting space in the body of the board with at least a portion of an outer surface of the cassette planar with the top surface of the body of the board, the cassette including:
a power source 30;
an electric motor 22 in communication with the power source; and
an impeller 4 coupled to the electric motor.
Tian does not teach one or more fins coupled to the bottom surface of the body. Railey teaches a board 1602 with a mounting space 1608 for a propulsion cassette 1620, wherein the board comprises one or more fins 1612 coupled to the bottom surface of the body. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the board of Tian with fins as taught by Railey in order to give more directional control to a rider.
Regarding claim 12, Tian and Riley teach the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 11. Tian also teaches that the cassette 30, 10 further includes a controller 21 in communication with the power source 30 and the electric motor 22, the controller including a memory configured to store instructions and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to: activate the electric motor to rotate the impeller and provide an intermittent forward thrust in response to an input from a user (column 7, lines 18-42).
Regarding claim 13, Tian and Riley teach the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 12. Tian also teaches a remote control device in communication with the controller 21 of the cassette, the remote control device configured to receive the input from the user and transmit one or more signals to the controller (column 7, lines 18-42).
Regarding claim 14, Tian and Riley teach the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 12. While the operating time of Tian can be whatever a user commands, Tian does not teach a specific thrust force. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to size the components in order to provide 100 to 600 Newtons or whatever thrust was desired in order to provide the optimum assistance, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 15, Tian and Riley teach the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 12. Tian also teaches that the memory is configured to store further instructions, the at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to: repeatedly activate the electric motor to rotate the impeller and provide the forward thrust for the amount of time at several different instances during the operational time of the cassette in response to additional inputs from the user. Note that the motor will provide thrust whenever it is commanded.
Regarding claim 16, Tian and Riley teach the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 11. Tian also teaches that the cassette 30, 10 is configured to intake water from the intake in the second surface of the board and output water from the impeller in a direction aligned with a central axis of the board between the first surface and the second surface of the board.
Regarding claims 17 and 18, Tian discloses the invention as claimed as detailed above with respect to claim 11. Tian also discloses that the board 20 is a surf or wakesurf board, as it could be used in either scenario, and there are no particular structural features claimed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Lind US 10,981,633 and Quendez US 2023/0356808 teach a powered surfboard with a cassette that sits flush to the upper edge.
Walworth US 7,930,985 teaches a powered watersports board in which the propulsion unit is located in-between top and bottom layers.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Marc Burgess whose telephone number is (571)272-9385. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 08:30-15:00.
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/MARC BURGESS/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3615