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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1 – 10 have been examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 – 4 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang (CN214451404), cited by Applicant. In regard to claim 1, Wang discloses an electric scooter comprising a scooter body, the scooter body having a top surface allowing a driver to stand thereon (Fig. 1, item 11), and a handlebar being arranged on a front portion of the scooter body (Fig. 1, unnumbered front handle/steering member), wherein a rear mounting structure is arranged at a bottom of a rear portion of the scooter body (Fig. 1, item 131), which allows a user to select either one of two rear members, which are a driving wheel (Fig. 1, item 13) and a driving caterpillar track (Fig. 2, item 3), as a rear landing member to be detachably mounted on the rear mounting structure (Figs. 1 and 2).
In regard to claim 2, Wang discloses wherein a front mounting structure is arranged at a bottom of the front portion of the scooter body (Fig. 1, item 121), which allows the user to select either one of two front members, which are a driven wheel (Fig. 1, item 12) and a landing board (Fig. 2, item 2), as a front landing member to be detachably mounted on the front mounting structure (Figs. 1 and 2).
In regard to claim 3, Wang discloses wherein the front mounting structure comprises front mounting plates extending forward from the front portion of the scooter body, and front mounting grooves are formed in the front mounting plates to allow the front landing member to be clamped and mounted therein, and the rear mounting structure comprises rear mounting plates extending backward from the rear portion of the scooter body, and rear mounting grooves are formed in the rear mounting plates to allow the rear landing member to be clamped and mounted therein (Figs. 1 and 2, unnumbered mounting apertures in items 121 and 131).
In regard to claim 4, Wang discloses wherein the electric scooter comprises the driving wheel and/or the driving caterpillar track, the two rear members are provided with rear mounting blocks and are able to rotate around the corresponding rear mounting blocks, and each said rear member is clamped into the rear mounting grooves by means of the rear mounting block (Fig. 6, item 331).
In regard to claim 9, Wang discloses wherein the driving caterpillar track comprises a circular caterpillar track body (Fig. 6, items 31 and 32), a front driving pulley (Fig. 6, item 442) and a rear driven pulley (Fig. 6, item 41) are arranged in the caterpillar track body, and a diameter of the driven pulley is less than that of the driving pulley (Fig. 6).
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 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang (CN214451404) as applied to claims 1 – 4 and 9 above. Wang does not disclose the measurements as recited in claims. In regard to claim 10, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention provide the dimensions as recited, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 – 8 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Wang (CN214451404) discloses an electric scooter similar to the instant invention; however Wang, either alone or in combination, neither discloses nor suggests an electric scooter comprising a recognizer capable of recognizing the type of the rear landing member mounted on the rear mounting structure, and comprises a controller configured to control the rear landing member and connected to the recognizer. These limitations, in combination with each and every other independent claim limitation, are not shown in the currently cited prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Forbes (6,431,301) discloses a snow vehicle conversion kit;
Warren (6,474,660) discloses runner attachments for a scooter;
Moscaret et al. (6,983,941) disclose a snap-on ski attachment kit for a kick scooter;
Fernandez et al. (7,438,297) disclose a ski attachment for a cambering vehicle;
Yao et al. (CN215361723) disclose a scooter and mounting frame.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN DANIEL WALTERS whose telephone number is (571)272-8269. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8 am - 5 pm (PT).
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/JOHN D WALTERS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3613