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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention II and species Group VII in the reply filed on 22 January 2026 and during the interview held on 6 February 2026 is acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the greyscale renderings make details difficult to discern; proper black-and-white line drawings should be submitted. 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.
Claim Objections
Claims 11, 12, and 14 are objected to because of the following informalities: the recitation of “one or more safety equipment” is grammatically awkward; perhaps “piece” of safety equipment would be more clear. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 9-12 and 14-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cutri et al. (US Patent Application Publication Number 2021/0300495).
Regarding claim 9, Cutri discloses a scooter comprising: a main body including a seat assembly that includes a support member (at least of a main body and/or the “supporting structure” of paragraph 16), a seat frame portion (including 30), and a seat cushion portion (of 4); and a storage component (10), wherein the storage component is configured to be attached to the support member or the seat frame portion (it is attached to both and at least directly attached to the seat frame portion).
Regarding claim 10, Cutri further discloses the storage component is configured to be removable from the main body (10 is releasably fixed to 30 via 40).
Regarding claims 11 and 12, Cutri further discloses the storage component is configured to receive one or more safety equipment, wherein the one or more safety equipment is a helmet (a helmet is disclosed as storable in the box; see at least paragraph 32).
Regarding claim 14, Cutri further discloses the storage component includes a retention portion configured to retain the one or more safety equipment (cover 12 for instance would serve to retain the safety equipment).
Regarding claims 15 and 16, Cutri further discloses the seat frame portion includes a protruding portion (including 31-33) such that the storage component is configured to be attached to the protruding portion of the seat frame portion, wherein the storage component includes a mounting portion (at least 41A) such that the protruding portion of the seat frame portion mechanically couples to the mounting portion (this is the general arrangement).
Regarding claim 17, Cutri further discloses the storage component and the seat frame portion form a water-resistant container when the storage component is in a closed position (this is the general arrangement; i.e. the seat frame and storage component, with cover closed, would be water-resistant at least based on shape).
Regarding claim 18, Cutri further discloses the storage component is accessible for insertion of objects when the storage component is in an open position (i.e. by opening cover 12, objects could be inserted).
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(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cutri in view of Liu (WO 2021/169629; copy and machine translation attached). Cutri discloses a device as explained above including a lock (at least at 51) configured to be locked or unlocked but does not disclose instruction via a mobile network. Liu discloses a related device including locking configured to be locked or unlocked in response to an instruction received via a mobile network (see at least the paragraph beginning “FIG. 2 is an overall…” on page 9 of the translation). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide instruction via mobile network as taught by Liu in Cutri’s device because this could increase user convenience and security.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure because it shows a range of related devices.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHILIP F GABLER whose telephone number is (571)272-2155. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00 - 4:30.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Dunn can be reached at 571-272-6670. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PHILIP F GABLER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636