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 § 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 1-9 are are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sakashita et al. (US 11117643 B2).
Sakashita et al. disclose a watercraft propulsion system comprising: a bow thruster [5] at a bow of a hull to generate a lateral propulsive force, at least two propulsion devices [4L, 4R] on a stern of the hull each having a variable steering angle; a translation operator [14] in the form of a joystick that is configured to be operated by a user to command a hull translation movement; and a controller [6] configured or programmed to control the bow thruster and the at least two propulsion devices, wherein the controller is configured or programmed to, in a translation watercraft maneuvering mode, control the steering angles of the at least two propulsion devices so that propulsive force action lines of the at least two propulsion devices cross each other in the hull, and drive one of the at least two propulsion devices forward and drive another of the at least two propulsion devices in reverse in response to the operation of the translation operator (see Fig. 5).
Applicant may note that when the translation operator, in the form of the joystick, is in a neutral position and not yet laterally tilted left or right, it is considered to be in a stand-by state. Further, as seen in Fig 1, when the joystick is in neutral position (i.e., there is no forward or reverse propulsion) and before a lateral translation command is input via the joystick, the two propulsion devices are considered as having translation standby steering angles. In such standby state, the controller is configured or programmed to prevent the bow thruster and the two propulsion devices from generating propulsive forces, and set the steering angles of the two propulsion devices to translation standby steering angles without the operation of the translation operator in the translation watercraft maneuvering mode.
Further, when the joystick is laterally tilted, the controller is configured or programmed to cause the bow thruster and the two propulsion devices to start generating the propulsive forces, and change the steering angles of the at least two propulsion devices from the translation standby steering angles to translation steering angles in response to the operation of the translation operator.
Re claim 2, steering speeds at which the steering angles of the at least two propulsion devices are respectively changed from the translation standby steering angles to the translation steering angles are set in accordance with a propulsive force increasing characteristic of the bow thruster.
Re claim 3, the translation standby steering angles are smaller in absolute value than the translation steering angles when the hull is translated without bow turning of the hull (see Figures 5-7)
Re claim 4, the controller includes a cooperative mode in which the bow thruster and the at least two propulsion devices are cooperatively driven (see Fig 5 and Fig 6) and a non-cooperative mode in which the bow thruster is stopped (see Fig 7), wherein the controller is configured or programmed to cause the at least two propulsion devices to generate the propulsive forces, and control the steering angles of the at least two propulsion devices to non-cooperative translation steering angles different from the translation steering angles in response to the operation of the translation operator when the translation watercraft maneuvering mode is effected in the non-cooperative mode.
Re claim 5, the controller is configured or programmed to prevent the at least two propulsion devices from generating the propulsive forces, and control the steering angles of the at least two propulsion devices to non-cooperative translation standby steering angles smaller in absolute value than the translation standby steering angles in the standby state without the operation of the translation operator when the translation watercraft maneuvering mode is effected in the non-cooperative mode.
Re claim 6, wherein when the hull is translated without bow turning of the hull in the non-cooperative mode, the non-cooperative translation steering angles are such that the propulsive force action lines of the at least two propulsion devices cross each other at a turning center of the hull (see Fig 7).
Re claim 7, at the precise moment when the joystick is brought back to a neutral position after being released from a lateral tilt to be placed in a stand-by mode, the propulsion devices would be considered to be in the translation standby steering angles, even though the propulsive force action lines of the propulsion devices would still cross each other at a turning center of the hull or on a rear side of the turning center of the hull (as seen in Fig 5 or Fig 6).
Re claim 8, the at least two propulsion devices are outboard motors.
Re claim 9, the propulsion system is attached to a hull of the watercraft.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kaji (US 8,190,316) discloses a control apparatus comprising a steering angle setting unit, and a control unit configured to control an output of the propeller system until a predetermined threshold of the steering angle is reached.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AJAY VASUDEVA whose telephone number is (571)272-6689. The examiner can normally be reached 6:00 am - 3:00 pm.
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/AJAY VASUDEVA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
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