DETAILED ACTION
Application Status
Claims 1-9 are pending and have been examined in this application.
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 2-3 and 5-7 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.
Claim 2 recites, “the rear wheel is engaged and secured by a second nut”. Neither claim 2 nor claim 1 claim, “a first nut”. Accordingly, the recitation of “a second nut” in claim 2 makes it unclear if the applicant intends for the scope of the claim to encompass a first nut.
Claim 5 recites, “a second mudguard”. Since neither claim 5 nor claim 1 claim “a first mudguard”, it is unclear if the applicant intends for claim 5 to encompass a first mudguard
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 1, 5, and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Apollo in view of Calfee (US 20120313407 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Apollo discloses: A shared electric bicycle (see screenshot below) comprising: a frame comprising a support tube (see annotated figure below), a handle connected at an end of the support tube, a first frame tube securely connected to the support tube, and a second frame tube, wherein a front lamp is embedded in one end of the first frame tube, the other end of the first frame tube is securely connected to one end of the second frame tube, and the other end of the second frame tube is securely connected to a seat tube, and wherein a rear lamp is embedded in an end of the seat tube, a set of wheels comprising a front wheel and a rear wheel, wherein the support tube is provided with a connecting tube connected to an axle of the rear wheel; and a battery (“low battery indicator”, Apollo; 5:00/6:58).
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Apollo does not disclose that the seat tube is provided with a mounting base for receiving the battery.
Calfee discloses an e-bike having a seat-tube (12, Fig. 1), wherein the seat tube is provided with a mounting base (16) for receiving the battery (20).
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 Apollo in view of Calfee to arrive at the claimed invention and to provide compact means for retaining the battery of the e-bike.
With respect to claim 5, Apollo in view of Calfee as modified above discloses: the shared electric bike according to claim 1, wherein the seat tube is securely connected to a mudguard at its bottom part, and wherein both sides of the second mudguard are provided with a reinforcing tube (see annotated figure below) for connecting the seat tube with the connecting tube. Note, two reinforcing tubes can be seen on either side of the mudguard at 3:35/6:58 in “Veo Launches Apollo - A Shared Two-Wheeler Designed to Carry Two Passengers”.
The annotated figure below comes from “Veo Launches Apollo - A Shared Two-Wheeler Designed to Carry Two Passengers” at approximately 4:16/6:58.
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With respect to claim 7, Apollo in view of Calfee as modified above discloses: the shared electric bike according to claim 5, wherein the seat tube is provided with a U-shaped rear support structure (see annotated figure below). Note, the U-shaped rear support structure is also shown at timestamp 3:35/6:58 in “Veo Launches Apollo - A Shared Two-Wheeler Designed to Carry Two Passengers”.
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With respect to claim 8, Apollo in view of Calfee as modified above discloses: the shared electric bike according to claim 1, wherein a bike seat is arranged above the mounting base (see annotated figure below).
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With respect to claim 9, Apollo in view of Calfee as modified above discloses: the shared electric bike according to claim 1, wherein the connecting tube is provided with a kickstand to provide support (see annotated figure below)
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Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Apollo in view of Calfee (US 20120313407 A1) as applied to claim 1 above and in further view of Urabe (US 20070024105 A1)
With respect to claim 2, Apollo in view of Calfee discloses the shared electric bike according to claim 1 but is silent regarding the connecting tube being provided with a limiting groove, in which the axle of the rear wheel is engaged and secured by a second nut
Urabe discloses a bicycle comprising a connecting tube (24, Fig. 1) provided with a limiting groove (24a) in which an axle (42, Fig. 2) of a rear wheel is engaged and secured by a nut (43).
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 Apollo in view of Calfee in further view of Urabe to arrive at the claimed invention and to provide means for securely attaching the rear wheel of the bicycle.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Apollo in view of Calfee (US 20120313407 A1) and Urabe (US 20070024105 A1) as applied to claim 2 above and in further view of Essinger (US 20020158441 A1)
With respect to claim 3, Apollo in view of Calfee and Urabe as modified above discloses: the shared electric bike according to claim 1 but is silent in teaching that the connecting tube is provided with a clamping groove proximal to the limiting groove, and wherein a footboard is mounted in the clamping groove, and a protective shell securely connects the footboard to the connecting tube.
Essinger discloses a two-seat saddle-type vehicle comprising a footboard (305, Fig. 6), wherein the footboard is mounted in a clamping groove (121) and a protective shell (129) securely connects the footboard to the frame of the vehicle.
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 Apollo in view of Calfee and Urabe in further view of Essinger to arrive at the claimed invention. Such a person would have been motivated to add the footboard to improve rider comfort of a second rider and motivated to add the protective shell to protect components of the bicycle from damage.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Apollo in view of Calfee (US 20120313407 A1) as applied to claim 1 above and in further view of Iteya (US 20060163961 A1).
With respect to claim 4, Apollo in view of Calfee as modified above discloses: the shared electric bike according to claim 1 and further discloses that the connecting arm is provided with a mudguard (see annotated figure below). Apollo is silent in teaching that the connecting arm is provided with a groove, in which the axle of the front wheel is engaged and secured by a first nut
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Iteya discloses a bicycle comprising a connecting arm (102a, Fig. 2) provided with a groove (illustrated at 102a, Fig. 4) in which the axle (15) of a front wheel is engaged and secured by a nut (25).
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 Apollo in view of Calfee in further view of Iteya to arrive at the claimed invention and to provide means for securely attaching the front wheel to the bike.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Apollo in view of Calfee (US 20120313407 A1) and Iteya (US 20060163961 A1) as applied to claim 5 above and in further view of Andreoni (WO 2023209513 A1).
With respect to claim 6, Apollo in view of Calfee as modified above discloses: the shared bike according to claim 1, and a mudguard (see annotated figure below) between the two connecting tubes. Apollo is silent in teaching a reinforcing block between the two connecting tubes securely connecting the second mudguard.
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JP’183 discloses a bicycle comprising two connecting tubes (R, Fig. 2) connected to an axle of a rear wheel, and wherein a reinforcing block (23) between the two connecting tubes is securely connected to a mudguard (20).
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 Apollo in view of Calfee and Iteya in further view of JP’183 to arrive at the claimed invention and to provide means for securely attaching the mudguard.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The YouTube clip entitled, “Veo Introduces The Apollo, An Urban Two-Seater Electric Bike”, uploaded on September 17 2022 by user “EVPedia” accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7FwclCC-s4 is of particular relevance to the instant application. The other prior art made of record discloses bicycles, e-bikes, and other similar vehicles in general.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Matthew D Lee whose telephone number is (571)272-6087. The examiner can normally be reached Mon. - Fri. (7:30 - 5:00 EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Paul Dickson can be reached at (571) 272-7742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW D LEE/ Examiner, Art Unit 3614
/PAUL N DICKSON/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3614