DETAILED ACTION
Application Status
Claims 1-20 are pending and have been examined in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 02/14/2024 fails to comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609 because no copy of Non-Patent Literature Document No. 1 has been provided by the applicant. All references except Non-Patent Literature Document No. 1 have been reviewed and considered by the examiner. The IDS has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered as to the merits. Applicant is advised that the date of any re-submission of any item of information contained in this information disclosure statement or the submission of any missing element(s) will be the date of submission for purposes of determining compliance with the requirements based on the time of filing the statement, including all certification requirements for statements under 37 CFR 1.97(e). See MPEP § 609.05(a).
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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “battery manager”, “second motor controller” and “second main battery” claimed in claim 19 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: “36”.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Figure 9 appears in the drawings submitted by the applicant but is not described in the specification.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 9, and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claims 1 and 9, “an attachment for mechanism…” appears to be a typographical error.
Claim 11, as presented, depends from claim 19. This appears to be a typographical error. For examination purposes, claim 11 is treated as if it depends from claim 9.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 19 is 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 19 claims, “a second main battery” but does not claim, “a first main battery”. Accordingly, it is unclear if the applicant intends for the scope of claim 19 to encompass “a first main battery”.
Claim 4 and 16 recite, “a generally ring shaped section”. The phrase renders the claims indefinite because the applicant does not provide means for determining whether a feature is “generally ring shaped”. For example, it would be unclear if an element having the shape of a flat hollow square would fall within the scope of the claim.
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 1-3, 8-9, 15, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grey (WO 2017009637 A1) in view of Huang (CN 102795306 A) and Zhang (CN 202529106 U).
With respect to claim 1, Grey discloses: an electric drive system for an assisted pedaling bicycle (10, Fig. 1), the system comprising: a battery holder (46) with an attachment portion for attaching the battery holder externally to a frame tube of a bicycle (“battery carrier 46 is rigidly secured to the downtube 40”, pg. 13, LL. 9-10), the battery holder comprising a battery holder portion (see “a battery housing 48 is removably connectable to the battery carrier 46”, pg. 13, LL. 10-11), a battery (48) arranged to e removably received in the battery holding portion of the battery holder, an electric hub motor (“an electric motor which cannot be seen but which is mounted within the hub 30”, pg. 13, LL. 7-9) for mounting on a front or rear wheel of the bicycle, a motor controller (50) for controlling power delivered to the hub motor from the battery (“determining the voltage…”, pg. 13, LL. 13-15), whereby the battery comprises an integral control interface (156, Fig. 4) for changing an assist level provided by the hub motor (see “switch from high-power mode to low-power mode”, pg. 16, LL. 32-33) and a display means (160) for displaying information relating to the motor assist level or a battery charge level (“representing the state of charge of the battery”, pg. 16, LL. 27).
Grey is silent in teaching that the motor controller comprises an attachment structured and arranged for attachment to the bicycle frame directly or indirectly via a controller holding bracket attached to the bicycle frame and is further silent in teaching a first cable connecting the motor controller to the hub motor, and a second cable for connecting the motor controller to the battery. Huang teaches a similar e-bike comprising: a battery (55, Fig. 1), a motor controller (29), a hub motor (30), a first cable (see annotated figure below) connecting the motor controller to a hub motor, and a second cable (see annotated figure below) connecting the motor controller to the battery. The vehicle disclosed by Huang also has the battery (55) disposed on the frame separately from motor controller (29).
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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 Grey in view of Huang by applying the cables disclosed by Huang to the vehicle disclosed by grey to arrive at the claimed invention and to ensure that the motor receives the correct power from the battery. It would have been obvious to further modify Grey in view of Huang to have the motor controller attached to the frame of the vehicle separately from the battery so that the battery or motor controller could be replaced independently of the other in the event that the battery or motor controller breaks.
Grey in view of Huang as modified above discloses a motor controller disposed on a frame separately from a battery but is silent regarding means for attaching the motor controller to the frame. Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art seeking to make and/or use the invention resulting from the combination of Grey and Huang would be motivated to look elsewhere in the prior art to find means for attaching the motor controller to the frame.
Zhang teaches another similar e-bike comprising a battery (5, Fig. 1) and a motor controller (9) mounted to a bicycle frame, wherein the motor controller comprises an attachment mechanism (8) structured an arranged for attachment to the bicycle frame directly or indirectly via a controller holding bracket attached to the bicycle frame (see paragraph [0023]).
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 Grey in view of Huang in further view of Zhang to arrive at the claimed invention and to provide means for securely attaching the motor controller to the frame of the bicycle.
With respect to claim 2, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang as modified above discloses; the electric drive system according to claim 1, wherein the motor controller (Zhang; 8, Fig. 1) has an elongated shape with a longitudinal axis and first and second longitudinal ends (see annotated figure below) but is silent in teaching that the first and second cable extend from a first end of the motor controller facing in a longitudinal direction of the longitudinal axis.
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Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to further modify Grey in view of Huang and Zhang to have the first and second cable extend from a first end of the motor controller facing in a longitudinal direction of the longitudinal axis because such a modification would be a mere rearrangement of parts that would not modify operation of the device (see MPEP 2144.04 VI. C.). Such a person may have been motivated to modify the location of the cable-motor controller connections to improve access to said connections.
With respect to claim 3, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang discloses: the electric drive system according to claim 2, further comprising a pedaling sensor (Grey; “sensor”, pg. 13, LL. 19-20) for sensing pedaling motion connected via a third cable (“wires”, pg. 13, L. 21) to the motor controller.
Grey in view of Huang and Zhang as modified above is silent in teaching connecting the third cable to the first longitudinal end of the motor controller.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to further modify Grey in view of Huang and Zhang to have the third cable connected to the first longitudinal end of the motor controller because such a modification would be a mere rearrangement of parts that would not modify operation of the device (see MPEP 2144.04 VI. C.). Such a person may have been motivated to modify the location of the cable-motor controller connections to improve access to said connections.
With respect to claim 8, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang as modified above discloses: the bicycle according to claim 9, wherein the attachment mechanism (Zhang; 8, Fig. 2) in the motor controller for attachment of the motor controller to the bicycle frame directly or indirectly comprises holes for receiving screws (see paragraph [0023]).
Grey in view of Huang and Zhang are silent regarding the holes in the attachment mechanism being threaded. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to further modify Grey in view of Huang and Zhang to have threaded holes because said holes are used with threaded fasteners (Zhang; see “screws”, paragraph [0023]). Such a person would have been motivated to add threads to improve the engagement between the fastener and attachment mechanism.
With respect to claim 9, Grey discloses: A bicycle (10, Fig. 1) comprising: a front wheel (18) and a rear wheel (20), a bicycle frame having a plurality of frame tube parts including a down tube (40), a seat tube (36), a chain stay (32), and an electric drive system, the system comprising: a battery holder (46) with an attachment portion for attaching the battery holder externally to a frame tube of a bicycle (“battery carrier 46 is rigidly secured to the downtube 40”, pg. 13, LL. 9-10), the battery holder comprising a battery holder portion (see “a battery housing 48 is removably connectable to the battery carrier 46”, pg. 13, LL. 10-11), a battery (48) arranged to be removably received in the battery holding portion of the battery holder, an electric hub motor (“an electric motor which cannot be seen but which is mounted within the hub 30”, pg. 13, LL. 7-9) for mounting on a front or rear wheel of the bicycle, a motor controller (50) for controlling power delivered to the hub motor from the battery (“determining the voltage…”, pg. 13, LL. 13-15), whereby the battery comprises an integral control interface (156, Fig. 4) for changing an assist level provided by the hub motor (see “switch from high-power mode to low-power mode”, pg. 16, LL. 32-33) and a display means (160) for displaying information relating to the motor assist level or a battery charge level (“representing the state of charge of the battery”, pg. 16, LL. 27).
Grey is silent in teaching that the motor controller comprises an attachment structured and arranged for attachment to the bicycle frame directly or indirectly via a controller holding bracket attached to the bicycle frame and is further silent in teaching a first cable connecting the motor controller to the hub motor, and a second cable for connecting the motor controller to the battery. Huang teaches a similar e-bike comprising: a battery (55, Fig. 1), a motor controller (29), a hub motor (30), a first cable (see annotated figure below) connecting the motor controller to a hub motor, and a second cable (see annotated figure below) connecting the motor controller to the battery. The vehicle disclosed by Huang also has the battery (55) disposed on the frame separately from motor controller (29).
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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 Grey in view of Huang by applying the cables disclosed by Huang to the vehicle disclosed by grey to arrive at the claimed invention and to ensure that the motor receives the correct power from the battery. It would have been obvious to further modify Grey in view of Huang to have the motor controller attached to the frame of the vehicle separately from the battery so that the battery or motor controller could be replaced independently of the other in the event that the battery or motor controller breaks.
Grey in view of Huang as modified above teaches a motor controller disposed on a frame separately from a battery but is silent regarding means for attaching the motor controller to the frame. Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art seeking to make and/or use the invention resulting from the combination of Grey and Huang would be motivated to look elsewhere in the prior art to find means for attaching the motor controller to the frame.
Zhang teaches another similar e-bike comprising a battery (5, Fig. 1) and a motor controller (9) mounted to a bicycle frame, wherein the motor controller comprises an attachment mechanism (8) structured an arranged for attachment to the bicycle frame directly or indirectly via a controller holding bracket attached to the bicycle frame (see paragraph [0023]).
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 Grey in view of Huang in further view of Zhang to arrive at the claimed invention and to provide means for securely attaching the motor controller to the frame of the bicycle.
With respect to claim 15, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang as modified above discloses: the bicycle according to claim 9, further comprising a pedaling sensor (Grey; “sensor”, pg. 13, LL. 19-20) for sensing a pedaling motion connected via a third cable (“wires”, pg. 13, L. 21) to the motor.
With respect to claim 20, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang as modified above discloses: the bicycle according to claim 9, wherein the attachment mechanism (Zhang; 8, Fig. 2) in the motor controller for attachment of the motor controller to the bicycle frame directly or indirectly comprises holes for receiving screws (see paragraph [0023]).
Grey in view of Huang and Zhang are silent regarding the holes in the attachment mechanism being threaded. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to further modify Grey in view of Huang and Zhang to have threaded holes because said holes are used with threaded fasteners (Zhang; see “screws”, paragraph [0023]). Such a person would have been motivated to add threads to improve the engagement between the fastener and attachment mechanism.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grey (WO 2017009637 A1) in view of Huang (CN 102795306 A) and Zhang (CN 202529106 U) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of DE 202021104588 U; hereinafter, DE’588.
With respect to claim 4, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang discloses: the electric drive system according to claim 1, further comprising: a pedaling sensor (Grey; “sensor”, pg. 13, LL. 19-20) for sensing a pedaling motion but is silent in teaching that said sensing happens by way of changing magnetic field and a sensor body, and a sensor holder for holding the pedaling sensor, wherein the sensor holder comprises a generally ring shaped section with opposing first and second flat faces with a central opening for receiving an axle of the hub motor, and a sensor holding section protruding radially from the generally ring shaped section, the sensor holding section comprising a locating groove for receiving the sensor body, and a screw provided in the sensor holding section for fixing the sensor body in the locating groove.
DE’588 teaches a pedaling sensor for sensing a pedaling motion via a changing magnetic field (see paragraph [0042]), the pedaling sensor having a sensor body (51, Fig. 1), and a sensor holder (1) for holding the pedaling sensor, wherein the sensor holder comprises a generally ring shaped section with opposing first and second flat faces (see annotated figure below) with a central opening (21) for receiving an axle of the hub (see paragraph [0039]), and a sensor holding section (see annotated figure below) protruding radially from the generally ring shaped section, the sensor holding section comprising a locating groove (see annotated figure below) for receiving the sensor body, and a screw (32) provided in the sensor holding section for fixing the sensor body in the locating groove.
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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 Grey in view of Huang and Zhang in further view of DE’588 to arrive at the claimed invention and to provide means for securely attaching a pedaling sensor to the bicycle.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grey (WO 2017009637 A1) in view of Huang (CN 102795306 A) and Zhang (CN 202529106 U) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Tan (TW M594575 U).
With respect to claim 5, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang as modified above discloses: the electric drive system according to claim 1 but is silent in teaching: a controller holding bracket, the controller holding bracket and the attachment portion of the battery holder each comprising one or more first elongate openings or slits for attaching the controller holding bracket and the attachment portion of the battery holder to a frame tube of a bicycle via at least one screw which penetrates through one of the first elongate openings or slits in both the controller holding bracket and the attachment portion of the battery holder.
Tan teaches a similar bicycle comprising a battery holder (61, Fig. 1) having an attachment portion comprising one or more first elongate openings or slits (621) for attaching the attachment portion of the batter holder to a frame tube (12) of a bicycle via at least one screw (67) which penetrates through one of the first elongate openings or slits in the attachment portion of the battery holder. The battery holder (61) disclosed by Tan is also configured as a controller (62) holding bracket
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 Grey in view of Huang and Zhang to include the battery holder disclosed by Tan to arrive at the claimed invention and to provide means for securing a removable battery to a frame of the bicycle. It would have been further obvious to duplicate the battery holder disclosed by Tan to serve as a controller holding bracket to arrive at the claimed invention and to securely hold the controller in a location separate from the battery. As discussed above, it would be advantageous to dispose the battery separately from the controller, as is done by Huang, so that the battery and motor controller can be replaced independently of each other.
Claim 7 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grey (WO 2017009637 A1) in view of Huang (CN 102795306 A) and Zhang (CN 202529106 U) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of DE 202015002905 U1; hereinafter, DE’905
With respect to claim 7, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang discloses the electric drive system according to claim 1 but is silent in teaching that the battery is configured as a range extender battery.
DE’905 teaches a bicycle comprising a first battery (7) and a second battery (10) configured as a range extender (see paragraph [0022]). DE’905 further teaches that the use of a secondary battery configured as a range extender battery is advantageous compared to a single battery with a larger capacity, because the use of an extender battery can provide increased range without requiring a complete discharge of a battery and accordingly, the lifespan of the batteries can be improved (see paragraph [0008]).
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 Grey in view of Huang and Zhang in further view of DE’905 to have at least two batteries, wherein the one battery is configured as a range extender battery to arrive at the claimed invention and to increase the range of the vehicle without sacrificing battery lifespan.
Claims 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grey (WO 2017009637 A1) in view of Huang (CN 102795306 A) and Zhang (CN 202529106 U) as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of DE 202022105187 U1; hereinafter, DE’187.
With respect to claim 11, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang as modified above discloses: the bicycle according to claim 9, but is silent in teaching that the motor controller is arranged in the down tube.
DE’187 teaches an e-bicycle comprising a motor controller (50, Fig. 1) arranged in a downtube (14) of the bicycle.
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 Grey in view of Huang and Zhang in further view of DE’187 to arrive at the claimed invention and to protect the motor controller from damage.
With respect to claim 12, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang as modified above discloses: the bicycle according to claim 9, but is silent in teaching that the motor controller is arranged in the seat tube.
DE’187 teaches an e-bicycle comprising a motor controller (50, Fig. 1) arranged in a seat tube (12) of the bicycle.
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 Grey in view of Huang and Zhang in further view of DE’187 to arrive at the claimed invention and to protect the motor controller from damage.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grey (WO 2017009637 A1) in view of Huang (CN 102795306 A) and Zhang (CN 202529106 U) as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Chen (US 20060232041 A1).
With respect to claim 13, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang discloses the bicycle according to claim 9 but is silent in teaching that the first cable is arranged within one of the chain stay tubes.
Chen teaches routing a cable (50, Fig. 1B) through a chain stay tube (17) of a bicycle (also see paragraph [0010]).
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 Grey in view of Huang and Zhang in further view of Chen to arrive at the claimed invention and to protect the cable from damage.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grey (WO 2017009637 A1) in view of Huang (CN 102795306 A) and Zhang (CN 202529106 U) as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Negoro (US 20170151998 A1).
With respect to claim 14, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang as modified above discloses the bicycle according to claim 9 but is silent in teaching a torque sensor for sensing the torque applied on a crankshaft connected via a third cable to the motor controller.
Negoro teaches a similar bicycle comprising a motor controller (95) and a torque sensor (57) for sensing the torque applied on a crankshaft (41). Negoro further discloses that the torque sensor is used to calculate an appropriate torque assist command (see paragraph [0009]).
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 Grey in view of Huang and Zhang in further view of Negoro to include a torque sensor to allow the motor controller to calculate an assist level based on the torque output of the rider. It would have been further obvious to connect the torque sensor to the motor controller via a third cable so that the torque sensor can send torque values to the motor controller for calculation of an assist level.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grey (WO 2017009637 A1) in view of Huang (CN 102795306 A) and Zhang (CN 202529106 U) as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of DE 202021104588 U1; hereinafter, DE’588.
With respect to claim 16, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang as modified above discloses the bicycle according to claim 9 comprising a pedaling sensor for sensing a pedaling motion but is silent in teaching that the sensing happens by way of a changing magnetic field and a sensor body, and a sensor holder for holding the pedaling sensor, wherein the sensor holder comprises a generally ring shaped section with opposing first and second flat faces with a central opening for receiving an axle of the hub motor, and a sensor holding section protruding radially from the generally ring shaped section, the sensor holding section comprising a locating groove for receiving the sensor body, and a screw provided in the sensor holding section for fixing the sensor body in the locating groove.
DE’588 teaches a pedaling sensor for sensing a pedaling motion via a changing magnetic field (see paragraph [0042]), the pedaling sensor having a sensor body (51), and a sensor holder (1) for holding the pedaling sensor, wherein the sensor holder comprises a generally ring shaped section with opposing first and second flat faces (see annotated figure below) with a central opening (21) for receiving an axle of the hub (see paragraph [0039]), and a sensor holding section (see annotated figure below) protruding radially from the generally ring shaped section, the sensor holding section comprising a locating groove (see annotated figure below) for receiving the sensor body, and a screw (32) provided in the sensor holding section for fixing the sensor body in the locating groove.
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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 Grey in view of Huang and Zhang in further view of DE’588 to arrive at the claimed invention and to provide means for securely attaching a pedaling sensor to the bicycle.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grey (WO 2017009637 A1) in view of Huang (CN 102795306 A) and Zhang (CN 202529106 U) as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of DE 202015002905 U1; hereinafter, DE’905.
With respect to claim 18, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang discloses the electric drive system according to claim 9 but is silent in teaching that the battery is configured as a range extender battery.
DE’905 teaches a bicycle comprising a first battery (7) and a second battery (10) configured as a range extender (see paragraph [0022]). DE’905 further teaches that the use of a secondary battery configured as a range extender battery is advantageous compared to a single battery with a larger capacity, because the use of an extender battery can provide increased range without requiring a complete discharge of a battery and accordingly, the lifespan of the batteries can be improved (see paragraph [0008]).
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 Grey in view of Huang and Zhang in further view of DE’905 to have at least two batteries, wherein the one battery is configured as a range extender battery to arrive at the claimed invention and to increase the range of the vehicle without sacrificing battery lifespan.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grey (WO 2017009637 A1) in view of Huang (CN 102795306 A) and Zhang (CN 202529106 U) as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Griffith (WO 2020257480 A1).
With respect to claim 19, Grey in view of Huang and Zhang as modified above discloses the bicycle according to claim 9 but is silent in teaching that the battery comprises a battery manager configured to communication with a second motor controller of a second main battery.
Griffith teaches an electric bicycle comprising first and second motor controllers (1120ab, Fig. 11), at least two batteries (250; also see “one or more 33batteries”, paragraph [0059]), and a battery manager (1130) configured for communication with the second motor controller of a second battery (see paragraph [0068]). Element 1130 is considered to be a battery manager because it can be configured to control the batteries (see paragraph [0071]).
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 Grey in view of Huang and Zhang in further view of Griffith to arrive at the claimed invention, to increase the total power available to the bike, and to improve the range of the bike.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 10, and 17 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.
With respect to claims 6, 10, and 17, the closest prior art made of record is Grey (WO 2017009637 A1). Grey discloses: an electric drive system for an assisted pedaling bicycle (10, Fig. 1), the system comprising: a battery holder (46) with an attachment portion for attaching the battery holder externally to a frame tube of a bicycle (“battery carrier 46 is rigidly secured to the downtube 40”, pg. 13, LL. 9-10), the battery holder comprising a battery holder portion (see “a battery housing 48 is removably connectable to the battery carrier 46”, pg. 13, LL. 10-11), a battery (48) arranged to be removably received in the battery holding portion of the battery holder, an electric hub motor (“an electric motor which cannot be seen but which is mounted within the hub 30”, pg. 13, LL. 7-9) for mounting on a front or rear wheel of the bicycle, a motor controller (50) for controlling power delivered to the hub motor from the battery (“determining the voltage…”, pg. 13, LL. 13-15), whereby the battery comprises an integral control interface (156, Fig. 4) for changing an assist level provided by the hub motor (see “switch from high-power mode to low-power mode”, pg. 16, LL. 32-33) and a display means (160) for displaying information relating to the motor assist level or a battery charge level (“representing the state of charge of the battery”, pg. 16, LL. 27).
Regarding claims 6 and 17, Grey is silent in teaching: a plug connector cover which holds and substantially covers the plug connector of the second cable for protecting the plug connector from the environment when the plug connector is not connected to the battery.
Regarding claim 10, Grey is silent in teaching: a controller holding bracket being arranged between the attachment portion of the battery holder and a tube part of the frame, the controller holding bracket and attachment portion of the battery holder being releasably attached via at least two screws to the tube part of the frame.
Suggestions to modify Grey to arrive at the inventions as claimed in claims 6, 10, and 17 were not reasonably found in the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and discloses pedal-assist bicycles 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, John Olszewski can be reached at (571) 272-2706. 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 3617
/JOHN OLSZEWSKI/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3617