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 .
Specification
The disclosure is further objected to because of the following informalities:
in ¶0028, “elongated seat 4” should be --elongated deck 2--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: in lines 2-3, “said the other end” should be --said other end--, or similar language.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kace Tech Review video, “How to convert Kids Scoot and Ride Highway Kick 1 Kids Scooter,” retrieved from YouTube.com, https://youtube.com/watch?v=HRBackaxlcs (see attached screenshots and annotated screenshots below; hereinafter “Scoot and Ride”).
Regarding claim 1, Scoot and Ride discloses a multifunctional wheeled vehicle, comprising: an elongated foot deck (1; see below annotated screenshots of the Scoot and Ride), wherein an upright rod (2) is provided at one end of said elongated foot deck along a lengthwise direction of said elongated foot deck, a bottom end of said upright rod has at least one front wheel (3), a first adapter member (4) is provided above said upright rod, a first positioning portion (see handle socket 5) is provided above said first adapter member (4), a rear wheel (6) is provided at the other end of said elongated foot deck along said lengthwise direction of said elongated foot deck; and
an elongated seat (7), wherein a second adapter member (8) is provided at one end of said elongated seat along a lengthwise direction of said elongated seat, said second adapter member (8) is connected to said first adapter member (4), such that said elongated seat (7) is rotated into a horizontal state or an upright state, said first positioning portion (5) is used for detachably positioning a bottom end of a handle (9) when said elongated seat is in said horizontal state, a second positioning portion (10) is provided at the other end of said elongated seat (7) along said lengthwise direction of said elongated seat, said second positioning portion (10) is used for detachably positioning said bottom end of said handle (9) when said elongated seat is in said upright state.
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Regarding claim 5, as shown in Fig. 3, the handle socket (5) is above the end of the seat (7) where the conversion adapter (4/8) is located.
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 of this title, 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 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Scoot and Ride.
Regarding claim 6, as discussed above with respect to claim 1, Scoot and Ride discloses that its detachable handlebar (9) is selectively mounted within two sockets (5, 10) on the elongated seat (7); the bottom end of the handlebar (9) including an elastic buckle (13) where each socket (e.g., transversely oriented groove 10) has an adjacent release button/pressing piece (e.g., button 14, below), but does not specifically disclose the mechanical connection that locks and unlocks the handle from the sockets.
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As shown in video and annotated screenshots, the handle’s elastic buckle (13) locks the handle into place in the grooves (10) formed in the end of seat (7). A positioning groove (e.g., adjacent mounting grooves for the release buttons, e.g., button 14) is located adjacent to the groove(s) and retains a pressing piece (e.g., button). The depression of the button results in the unlocking of the handle’s elastic buckle (13), implicit to which is that there is a through hole communicating between the two adjacent grooves and that a push rod must pass through this hole to have the inward depression of the pressing piece/button release the horizontally-oriented button (see annotated screenshot below). As shown in above annotated screenshots, implicit to the relative orientations of the buttons to the handle grooves is that the inward depression of the release button causes internally arranged structures, such as a press block or push rod, to engage the elastic buckle (13).
Even if the internal elastic-button engaging press block or push rod were not implicitly required by the operation shown in Scoot and Ride, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present application to modify the vehicle of Scoot and Ride combination to include interconnecting linkages and passageways between the depressible release buttons and the handle-retaining groove to arrive at the claimed device with a reasonable expectation of success. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine them at least because doing so constitutes applying a known technique (e.g., using a linkage to transfer a force from one location to another) to known devices (e.g., a scooter having a removable handle using known biased detents and release buttons) ready for improvement to yield predictable results (e.g., a reconfigurable scooter that can readily attach and detach its handle).
Claims 2-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scoot and Ride in view of McGowan et al. (10,953,949).
Regarding claim 2, Scoot and Ride further discloses that said first adapter member (4) comprises a base and a fixing member (e.g., a camming lever 11 and rod 12), a top end of said base has a first bevel portion (see joint surfaces between adapters 4/8), but does not disclose the interconnecting elements that form the beveled conversion adapter (4/8).
McGowan teaches another scooter-type vehicle having a handle that is reconfigurable from a vertical position to a horizontal positive through a pivot joint formed by two cooperating angled/bevel surfaces (144, 180; see Fig. 3). As shown best in Figs. 3, 4, 6A, 6B, and 7, the pivot joint has at a center of one of the bevel portions (144) has a first sleeve portion (200 in Fig. 6B); a fixing member (172/196) comprises a connecting rod (196), said connecting rod passes through said first sleeve portion (200), and one end of said connecting rod has a fixing piece (172), the other end of said connecting rod has a linking piece (204); said second adapter member (180) has a second bevel portion (see Fig. 3), a center of said second bevel portion has a second sleeve portion (184), said second sleeve portion (184) is used for sleeving on said first sleeve portion (200; see e.g., Fig. 6B showing the coaxial alignment of the adapter sleeves allowing for relative rotation movement) such that said first bevel portion (144) and said second bevel portion (180) are capable of rotating relative to each other coaxially, one end of said second sleeve portion (184) has a limiting groove (see groove retaining anchor 204 in Fig. 6A), said limiting groove is used for accommodating and limiting said linking piece (204).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present application to modify the vehicle of Scoot and Ride to include a captured cam-locking pivot pin to couple its beveled pivoting surfaces as taught by McGowan to arrive at the claimed device. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine them at least because doing so constitutes applying a known technique (e.g., securing an axially-compressing pin to couple pivoting elements together) to known devices (e.g., scooters having angled handle pivots using a camming lock) ready for improvement to yield predictable results (e.g., a handle that is repeatably converted between desired positions).
Regarding claim 3, while Scoot and Ride discloses that the vehicle has two distinct modes of operation by rotating the beveled end of the handle/seat (7), it does not disclose that the pivoting handle joint has limit features.
McGowan further teaches that its beveled pivot surfaces (180, 144; see Figs. 3-4) are configured wherein a peripheral edge of one of its bevel portions (180) has a first stop portion (193) and a second stop portion (195), said first stop portion and said second stop portion are respectively located at two opposite sides of said bevel portion (see Fig. 3), a peripheral edge of the other bevel portion (144) has a stopping part (212), said stopping part is selectively abutted against said first stop portion or said second stop portion (193/195) such that said elongated member is rotated and positioned into said horizontal state or said upright state (see bottom of Col. 8 to top of Col. 9).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present application to modify the vehicle of Scoot and Ride to include a pivot stop elements on its beveled pivoting surfaces as taught by McGowan to arrive at the claimed device. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine them at least because doing so constitutes applying a known technique (e.g., using dedicated abutting surfaces at desired positions to limit rotational movement of a joint) to known devices (e.g., scooters having angled handle pivots) ready for improvement to yield predictable results (e.g., a handle that can be readily converted between certain desired positions).
Regarding claim 4, as discussed above with respect to claim 6, Scoot and Ride discloses that its detachable handlebar (9) is selectively mounted within two sockets (5, 10) on the elongated seat (7); the bottom end of the handlebar (9) including an elastic buckle (13) where each socket (e.g., socket 5) has an adjacent release button/pressing piece (e.g., button akin to button 14 above), but does not specifically disclose the mechanical connection that locks and unlocks the handle from the sockets.
As shown in video and annotated screenshots, the handle’s elastic buckle (13) locks the handle into place in either the grooves/sockets formed in the seat. A positioning groove (e.g., adjacent mounting grooves for the release buttons, e.g., button 14) is located adjacent to the groove(s) and retains a pressing piece (e.g., buttons). The depression of the button results in the unlocking of the handle’s elastic buckle, implicit to which is that there is a through hole communicating between the two adjacent grooves and that a pressing block/push rod must pass through this hole to have the inward depression of the pressing piece/button release the horizontally-oriented button. As shown in above annotated screenshots, implicit to the relative orientations of the buttons to the handle grooves is that the inward depression of the release button causes internally arranged structures, such as a press block or push rod, to engage the elastic buckle (13).
Even if the internal elastic-button engaging press block or push rod were not implicitly required by the operation shown in Scoot and Ride, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present application to modify the vehicle of Scoot and Ride combination to include interconnecting linkages and passageways between the depressible release buttons and the handle-retaining groove to arrive at the claimed device with a reasonable expectation of success. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine them at least because doing so constitutes applying a known technique (e.g., using a linkage to transfer a force from one location to another) to known devices (e.g., a scooter having a removable handle using known biased detents and release buttons) ready for improvement to yield predictable results (e.g., a reconfigurable scooter that can readily attach and detach its handle).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Scoot and Ride in view of Song et al. (11,999,432).
Regarding claim 7, Scoot and Ride does not disclose that the scooter includes a selectively deployable pivoting pedals.
Song teaches another scooter including an elongated foot deck (10) and including a pair of left and right pedals (61), a bottom surface of said elongated foot deck (e.g., the portion of the deck under the top foot surface 11) has a left limiting piece and a right limiting piece (see the abutting side wall edges that stop the pivoting arms 61 in Fig. 2), one end of said pedals is pivoted to said elongated foot deck (at 61a, see Fig. 5), and said one end of said pedals has a limiting portion (e.g., the side wall of each pedal 61), said limiting portion corresponds to and limits said limiting piece such that said pedal is fixed at a rotation angle (e.g., extending perpendicularly from the deck - see Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present application to modify the vehicle of Scoot and Ride combination to include pivoting support pedals/arms as taught by Song to arrive at the claimed device with a reasonable expectation of success. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine them at least because doing so constitutes applying a known technique (e.g., providing additional load-carrying capacity on a vehicle) to known devices (e.g., a scooter having a load-supporting platform/deck) ready for improvement to yield predictable results (e.g., a vehicle having increased carrying capacity and/or better support of a load).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Scoot and Ride in view of McGowan, Christian (4,515,385) and Jeong (KR 101951178, see attached machine translation) and.
Regarding claim 8, Scoot and Ride does not disclose that the scooter includes a detachable push handle or that the rear end of the vehicle includes deployable wheels that raise the rear wheel off the ground.
McGowan teaches that a push handle (456, see Fig. 20) can be mounted within a rear socket of a vehicle (see Fig. 22) to allow another person to push/control the scooter (see Fig. 20).
Christian teaches that a pushable vehicle that typically uses straight/fixed rear wheels (21) can include deployable auxiliary caster-type wheels (29; see Figs. 1-3), wherein the deployment of the auxiliary wheels (29) results in the primary wheel (21) raised up off the ground to allow for the increased maneuverability/control of the vehicle.
Jeong teaches that a scooter-type vehicle can include rear auxiliary wheels having two rotating wheels (11; see Fig. 8), the two rotating wheels are respectively connected to the rear end of an elongated foot deck (1) and located at two sides of a rear wheel (see Fig. 8).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present application to modify the vehicle of Scoot and Ride to include an auxiliary push handle that can be seated in a socket as taught by McGowan and to include rear deployable auxiliary wheels as taught by Jeong that lift the rear wheels off the ground for maneuverability as taught by Christianto arrive at the claimed device with a reasonable expectation of success. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine them at least because doing so constitutes applying known techniques (e.g., providing additional maneuverability and control features to a vehicle intended for less-than-fully-able-bodied individuals, such as children or the infirm) to known devices (e.g., a scooter having multiple control handle sockets and fixed/straight rear wheels) ready for improvement to yield predictable results (e.g., a scooter that can have an adult-controlled push handle that is readily steered via more maneuverable wheels at the point of control, e.g., the rear of the scooter).
Conclusion
The examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record in the body of this action for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. Applicant should consider the entire prior art as applicable as to the limitations of the claims. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the response, to consider fully the entire reference(s) as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Namely Chinese Pat. Doc. No. 218703618 discloses a scooter having a handle socket and adjacent push-button socket with interconnecting control linkages.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVE CLEMMONS whose telephone number is (313)446-4842. The examiner can normally be reached on 8-4:30 EST Monday-Friday.
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/STEVE CLEMMONS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618