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 § 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.
Claims 1, 2, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US D910,791 A) in view of Dickie (US 11,103,394) and Mazzola et al. (USPub 2018/0286236).
With respect to claims 1 and 11, Xu et al. disclose a hoverboard comprising: a main body comprising a left main body and a right main body (Fig 1), wherein the left main body and the right main body are independently tiltable around a center axis of the main body (Fig 1); a left wheel and a right wheel attached to the left main body and the right main body, respectively (Fig 1); a first fender and a second fender attached to a top surface of the main body proximate to the left wheel and the right wheel (Fig 1), respectively; a carrying handle attached to a front side of the main body (Fig 1); but Xu et al. do not disclose at least two speakers at a bottom surface of the main body; a wireless communication circuit configured to be paired with a user device for streaming digital media via the user device; and a stereo control panel at the bottom surface of the main body, wherein the stereo control panel comprises a suite of buttons for controlling playback of the digital media. Dickie discloses an apparatus similar to a hoverboard for propelling a wheelchair connected therewith having a wireless communication circuit configured to be paired with a user device for streaming digital media via the user device through at least two speakers, wherein the bottom surface of the main body faces the ground when the mobility device is in a riding mode (322)(Fig 78)(column 37, lines 39-56). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was filed to modify the invention of Xu et al. in view of the teachings of Dickie to have the wireless electronic entertainment system located in the bottom surface of the hoverboard main body in order to allow the user to stream content such as music while operating the vehicle or receive alerts, notifications, or warnings. The combination of Xu et al. and Dickie do not specifically disclose a stereo control panel with a suite of buttons for controlling playback of the digital media. Mazzola et al., however, disclose a media device that may be any number of configurations such as one having a CPU and button inputs [0024], and the media device may be mounted in or part of a variety of different vehicles such as a hoverboard [0034]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was filed to further modify the invention of Xu et al. and Dickie to have a control panel with a suite of buttons in order to control the media on the actual hoverboard for convenience, for example, if the user is streaming music from a phone and the phone is in a backpack or otherwise inaccessible.
With respect to claim 2, further comprising: a first motor mechanically coupled to the left wheel; a second motor mechanically coupled to the right wheel; and a rechargeable battery pack (column 37, lines 23-35 of Dickie et al.).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-10, 12-16 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.
Claims 17-20 are allowed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DREW J BROWN whose telephone number is (571)272-1362. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday.
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DREW BROWN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3616
/DREW J BROWN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3614