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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-21 of US Application No. 18/636,811, filed on 16 April 2024, are currently pending and have been examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statements filed on 16 April 2024 and 03 December 2024 have been considered. An initialed copy of form 1449 for each IDS is enclosed herewith.
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 1-10, 14-16, and 19-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bertrand et al. (US 2019/0137993 A1, “Bertrand”).
Regarding claims 1 and 19, Bertrand discloses a handheld device for navigating a marine vessel and teaches:
a first propulsion device configured to propel the watercraft (trolling motor 120 – see at least Fig. 1 and ¶ [0033]);
a second propulsion device configured to propel the watercraft (primary motor 122 – see at least Fig. 1 and ¶ [0033]);
a processor (processor 204 of handheld device 200 – see at least Fig. 5A and ¶ [0038]); and
a memory including computer program code (memory 206 of handheld device 200 – see at least Fig. 5A and ¶ [0038]) configured to, when executed, cause the processor to:
receive data indicating a desired speed of the watercraft (user interface 220 of handheld device 220 may enable the user to select or enter a desired speed – see at least Fig. 6F and ¶ [0065]; directional and orientation measurements of handheld device 200 may be used to determine a desire speed of travel – see at least ¶ [0043]);
determine a first power input value for the first propulsion device and a second power input value for the second propulsion device such that a predicted speed of the watercraft equals the desired speed of the watercraft, wherein the first power input value is a non-zero value, wherein the second power input value is a non-zero value, wherein the predicted speed of the watercraft corresponds to when the first propulsion device is operating according to the first power input value and the second propulsion device is operating according to the second power input value (controller 202 may generate at least one control signal for a motor or for multiple motors – see at least ¶ [0043]; handheld deice 200 may send communications, e.g., control signals, to a motor, e.g., trolling motor 120, primary motor 122, and/or thruster 124 – see at least ¶ [0048]; controller 202 can be configured to cause the one or more motors to move the marine vessel a selected distance or speed based on a numeric entry received via the user input – see at least ¶ [0063]; operation of the one or more motors using the control signal received from the handheld device may cause the marine vessel to travel at a desired speed of travel – see at least ¶ [0041]); and
cause the first propulsion device to operate according to the first power input value and the second propulsion device to operate according to the second power input value such that the watercraft achieves the desired speed (operation of the one or more motors using the control signal received from the handheld device may cause the marine vessel to travel at a desired speed of travel – see at least ¶ [0041]).
Regarding claim 2, Bertrand further teaches:
wherein the first propulsion device is a trolling motor (trolling motor 120 – see at least Fig. 1 and ¶ [0033]).
Regarding claim 3, Bertrand further teaches:
wherein the second propulsion device is an outboard or an inboard motor (primary motor 122 – see at least Fig. 1 and ¶ [0033]).
Regarding claim 4, Bertrand further teaches:
wherein the system further comprises a third propulsion device (thruster 124 – see at least Fig. 4A and ¶ [0036]), and
wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine the first power input value for the first propulsion device, the second power input value for the second propulsion device, and a third power input value for the third propulsion device such that the predicted speed of the watercraft equals the desired speed of the watercraft, wherein the predicted speed of the watercraft corresponds to when the first propulsion device is operating according to the first power input value, the second propulsion device is operating according to the second power input value, and the third propulsion device is operating according to the third power input value (controller 202 may generate at least one control signal for a motor or for multiple motors – see at least ¶ [0043]; handheld deice 200 may send communications, e.g., control signals, to a motor, e.g., trolling motor 120, primary motor 122, and/or thruster 124 – see at least ¶ [0048]; controller 202 can be configured to cause the one or more motors to move the marine vessel a selected distance or speed based on a numeric entry received via the user input – see at least ¶ [0063]; operation of the one or more motors using the control signal received from the handheld device may cause the marine vessel to travel at a desired speed of travel – see at least ¶ [0041]); and
cause the first propulsion device to operate according to the first power input value, the second propulsion device to operate according to the second power input value, and the third propulsion device to operate according to the third power input value such that the watercraft achieves the desired speed (operation of the one or more motors using the control signal received from the handheld device may cause the marine vessel to travel at a desired speed of travel – see at least ¶ [0041]).
Regarding claim 5, Bertrand further teaches:
wherein the third propulsion device is a thruster (thruster 124 – see at least Fig. 4A and ¶ [0036]).
Regarding claim 6, Bertrand further teaches:
wherein the data indicating the desired speed of the watercraft comes from at least one of a remote, a wired or wireless joystick, or a mobile device (handheld device 200 may be a remote control or other mobile device – see at least ¶ [0038]).
Regarding claim 7, Bertrand further teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to at least one of:
receive first data from the first propulsion device indicating at least one of a first direction of the first propulsion device, a first detected revolutions per minute value of the first propulsion device, or a first status of the first propulsion device (handheld device 200 may communicate with trolling motor 120, primary motor 122, and thruster 124 via communication links 131, 141, and 151, respectively – see at least Figs. 5B-5D and ¶ [0053]-[0055]; communication links may transmit or receive signals to or from handheld device, e.g., vessel speed, trolling motor speed, direction of motor housing 170, rotation direction of propeller 174, and operating mode – see at least ¶ [0054]);
receive second data from the second propulsion device indicating at least one of a second direction of the second propulsion device, a second detected revolutions per minute value of the second propulsion device, or a second status of the second propulsion device (data from sensors 152 of primary motor 122, e.g., speed, location, may be communicated to the handheld device – see at least ¶ [0054]); or
receive additional data from at least one of the first propulsion device, the second propulsion device, a marine electronics device on the watercraft, or a remote server (receiver 218B of handheld device 200 may receive location information, such as GPS coordinates – see at least ¶ [0048]).
Regarding claim 8, Bertrand further teaches:
wherein the first status is at least one of a first on/off status or a first operating mode, and wherein the second status is at least one of a second on/off status or a second operating mode (controller may activate a “heading hold” mode or “course over ground hold” mode – see at least ¶ [0059]; receiver 218B may receive information such as an operating mode – see at least ¶ [0048]).
The Examiner notes that claim 8 further defines one of several alternatives recited in claim 7, from which claim 8 depends. Bertrand teaches several of the recited alternatives, as indicated above in the rejection of claim 7. Therefore, even if Bertrand did not teach this particular limitation, claim 8 would not be allowable because Bertrand teaches at least one of the other alternatives.
Regarding claim 9, Bertrand further teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to: use at least one of the first data, the second data, or the additional data to determine the first power input value for the first propulsion device and the second power input value for the second propulsion device (control signals may be based at least partially on the user input, e.g., mode – see at least ¶ [0106]).
Regarding claim 10, Bertrand further teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to use at least one of the first data, the second data, or the additional data to determine at least one of a first new direction for the first propulsion device or a second new direction for the second propulsion device (controller 202 is configured to determine an adjustment to a direction of a propulsion motor housing 170 based on the directional measurement and cause transmitter 218A to transmit a control signal at least partially based on the determined adjustment – see at least ¶ [0053]).
Regarding claim 14, Bertrand further teaches:
wherein the data indicating the desired speed of the watercraft includes at least one of user input, a signal from an autopilot navigation assembly, or a signal from the processor (user interface 220 of handheld device 220 may enable the user to select or enter a desired speed – see at least Fig. 6F and ¶ [0065]; directional and orientation measurements of handheld device 200 may be used to determine a desire speed of travel – see at least ¶ [0043]).
Regarding claim 15, Bertrand further teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine a mode in which the watercraft is operating (controller may activate a “heading hold” mode or “course over ground hold” mode – see at least ¶ [0059]; receiver 218B may receive information such as an operating mode – see at least ¶ [0048]); and
use the mode to determine the first power input value for the first propulsion device and the second power input value for the second propulsion device (control signals may be based at least partially on the user input, e.g., mode – see at least ¶ [0106]).
Regarding claim 16, Bertrand further teaches:
wherein the mode is at least one of a fishing mode, a cruising mode, a trolling mode, a docking mode, a rough conditions mode, a low battery mode, a low fuel mode, or a customized mode (see ¶ [0082]-[0093]).
Regarding claims 20 and 21, Bertrand discloses a handheld device for navigating a marine vessel and teaches:
a first propulsion device configured to propel the watercraft (trolling motor 120 – see at least Fig. 1 and ¶ [0033]);
a second propulsion device configured to propel the watercraft (primary motor 122 – see at least Fig. 1 and ¶ [0033]);
a control device configured to control at least one of an actual speed or an actual direction of the watercraft by communicating with at least the first propulsion device and the second propulsion device;
a processor (processor 204 of handheld device 200 – see at least Fig. 5A and ¶ [0038]); and
a memory (memory 206 of handheld device 200 – see at least Fig. 5A and ¶ [0038]) including computer program code configured to, when executed, cause the processor to:
receive information from at least one of the first propulsion device or the second propulsion device (handheld device 200 may communicate with trolling motor 120, primary motor 122, and thruster 124 via communication links 131, 141, and 151, respectively – see at least Figs. 5B-5D and ¶ [0053]-[0055]; communication links may transmit or receive signals to or from handheld device, e.g., vessel speed, trolling motor speed, direction of motor housing 170, rotation direction of propeller 174, and operating mode – see at least ¶ [0054]) including at least one of:
one or more of a first direction of the first propulsion device and a second direction of the second propulsion device (e.g., direction of motor housing 170 – see at least ¶ [0054]);
one or more of a first revolutions per minute value of the first propulsion device and a second revolutions per minute value of the second propulsion device (e.g., trolling motor speed – see at least ¶ [0054]); or
one or more of a first status of the first propulsion device and a second status of the second propulsion device (e.g., mode – see at least ¶ [0054]);
receive data from the control device indicating at least one of a desired direction or a desired speed of the watercraft (user interface 220 of handheld device 220 may enable the user to select or enter a desired speed – see at least Fig. 6F and ¶ [0065]; directional and orientation measurements of handheld device 200 may be used to determine a desire speed of travel – see at least ¶ [0043]; controller 202 receives directional measurements and orientation measurements – see at least ¶ [0041]);
automatically determine instructions to send to each of the first propulsion device and the second propulsion device to achieve the at least one of the desired direction or the desired speed of the watercraft (controller 202 may generate at least one control signal for a motor or for multiple motors – see at least ¶ [0043]; handheld deice 200 may send communications, e.g., control signals, to a motor, e.g., trolling motor 120, primary motor 122, and/or thruster 124 – see at least ¶ [0048]; controller 202 can be configured to cause the one or more motors to move the marine vessel a selected distance or speed based on a numeric entry received via the user input – see at least ¶ [0063]; operation of the one or more motors using the control signal received from the handheld device may cause the marine vessel to travel at a desired direction and a desired speed of travel – see at least ¶ [0041]); and
cause the first propulsion device and the second propulsion device to operate according to the instructions such that the at least one of the actual speed or the actual direction of the watercraft is equal to the at least one of the desired speed or the desired direction of the watercraft, respectively (operation of the one or more motors using the control signal received from the handheld device may cause the marine vessel to travel at a desired direction and a desired speed of travel – see at least ¶ [0041]).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bertrand in view of Snyder et al. (US 2021/0255627 A1, “Snyder”).
Regarding claim 11, Bertrand fails to teach but Snyder discloses systems and methods for controlling operations of marine vessels and teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to use machine learning methods for at least one of: determining the first power input value for the first propulsion device and the second power input value for the second propulsion device; or determining at least one of the first new direction for the first propulsion device or the second new direction for the second propulsion device (controller 102 to control operations of one or more marine devices 104, e.g., propulsion system 110 – see at least ¶ [0037]; machine learning algorithm for detecting when gestures and/or orientation changes are unintended by the user to command the controller 102 – see at least ¶ [0081]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the handheld device for navigating a marine vessel of Bertrand to provide for using machine learning, as taught by Snyder, with a reasonable expectation of success, because machine learning can detect unintended gestures and orientations of the user and stop or pause processing of the orientation changes (Snyder at ¶ [0081]).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bertrand in view of Salmon (US 2012/0015566 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Bertrand further teaches:
wherein the additional data includes at least one of battery life data for at least one of the first propulsion device or the second propulsion device, depth data, tide data, wind data, weather data, boat profile data, or user defined data (wireless remote control device 108 may be configured to display the GPS map, including waypoints and tracks, that are stored and displayed on GPS-equipped mapping device 102 – see at least Figs. 1 and 5 and ¶ [0033]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the handheld device for navigating a marine vessel of Bertrand to provide for additional data such as user defined data, as taught by Salmon, with a reasonable expectation of success, because receiving the user defined data at the remote control would allow the user to see the data on the remote control without viewing the GPS mapping device (Salmon at ¶ [0033]).
The Examiner notes that claim 12 further defines one of several alternatives recited in claim 7, from which claim 12 depends. Bertrand teaches several of the recited alternatives, as indicated above in the rejection of claim 7. Therefore, even if Salmon did not teach this particular limitation, claim 12 would not be allowable because Bertrand teaches at least one of the other alternatives of claim 7.
Claims 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bertrand in view of Tagata et al. (US 2024/0152146 A1, “Tagata”).
Regarding claim 17, Bertrand further teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to:
receive data indicating a desired direction of the watercraft (controller 202 receives directional measurements and orientation measurements – see at least ¶ [0041]);
determine first instructions [ ] (controller 202 may generate at least one control signal for a motor or for multiple motors – see at least ¶ [0043]; handheld deice 200 may send communications, e.g., control signals, to a motor, e.g., trolling motor 120, primary motor 122, and/or thruster 124 – see at least ¶ [0048]; controller 202 can be configured to cause the one or more motors to move the marine vessel a selected distance or speed based on a numeric entry received via the user input – see at least ¶ [0063]; operation of the one or more motors using the control signal received from the handheld device may cause the marine vessel to travel at a desired direction and a desired speed of travel – see at least ¶ [0041]);
determine second instructions [ ] (controller 202 may generate at least one control signal for a motor or for multiple motors – see at least ¶ [0043]; handheld deice 200 may send communications, e.g., control signals, to a motor, e.g., trolling motor 120, primary motor 122, and/or thruster 124 – see at least ¶ [0048]; controller 202 can be configured to cause the one or more motors to move the marine vessel a selected distance or speed based on a numeric entry received via the user input – see at least ¶ [0063]; operation of the one or more motors using the control signal received from the handheld device may cause the marine vessel to travel at a desired direction and a desired speed of travel – see at least ¶ [0041]);
cause the first propulsion device to operate according to the first instructions, [ ] (controller 202 may generate at least one control signal for a motor or for multiple motors – see at least ¶ [0043]; handheld deice 200 may send communications, e.g., control signals, to a motor, e.g., trolling motor 120, primary motor 122, and/or thruster 124 – see at least ¶ [0048]; controller 202 can be configured to cause the one or more motors to move the marine vessel a selected distance or speed based on a numeric entry received via the user input – see at least ¶ [0063]; operation of the one or more motors using the control signal received from the handheld device may cause the marine vessel to travel at a desired direction and a desired speed of travel – see at least ¶ [0041]); and
cause the second propulsion device to operate according to the second instructions, [ ] (controller 202 may generate at least one control signal for a motor or for multiple motors – see at least ¶ [0043]; handheld deice 200 may send communications, e.g., control signals, to a motor, e.g., trolling motor 120, primary motor 122, and/or thruster 124 – see at least ¶ [0048]; controller 202 can be configured to cause the one or more motors to move the marine vessel a selected distance or speed based on a numeric entry received via the user input – see at least ¶ [0063]; operation of the one or more motors using the control signal received from the handheld device may cause the marine vessel to travel at a desired direction and a desired speed of travel – see at least ¶ [0041]).
Bertrand fails to teach a first vector associated with the first propulsion device; a second vector associated with the second propulsion device; wherein the first vector corresponds to the first power input value such that causing the first propulsion device to operate according to the first instructions also causes the first propulsion device to operate according to the first power input value; wherein the second vector corresponds to the second power input value such that causing the second propulsion device to operate according to the second instructions also causes the second propulsion device to operate according to the first power input value.
However, Tagata discloses a watercraft propulsion system and teaches:
a first vector associated with the first propulsion device (magnitude and direction of propulsive force and steering angle for each outboard motor necessary to generate the propulsive force command generated via the joystick – see at least Fig. 4A and ¶ [0048]);
a second vector associated with the second propulsion device (magnitude and direction of propulsive force and steering angle for each outboard motor necessary to generate the propulsive force command generated via the joystick – see at least Fig. 4A and ¶ [0048]);
wherein the first vector corresponds to the first power input value such that causing the first propulsion device to operate according to the first instructions also causes the first propulsion device to operate according to the first power input value (magnitude and direction of propulsive force and steering angle for each outboard motor necessary to generate the propulsive force command generated via the joystick – see at least Fig. 4A and ¶ [0048]);
wherein the second vector corresponds to the second power input value such that causing the second propulsion device to operate according to the second instructions also causes the second propulsion device to operate according to the first power input value (magnitude and direction of propulsive force and steering angle for each outboard motor necessary to generate the propulsive force command generated via the joystick – see at least Fig. 4A and ¶ [0048]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the handheld device for navigating a marine vessel of Bertrand to provide for using vectors, as taught by Tagata, with a reasonable expectation of success, because using vectors can produce the desired resultant propulsive force to provide the desired translation of the vessel (Tagata at ¶ [0008]).
Regarding claim 18, Tagata further teaches:
wherein the first instructions comprising the first vector include a first direction and the first power input value, and wherein the second instructions comprising the second vector include a second direction and the second power input value, and wherein the first instructions and the second instructions are determined such that the watercraft as a whole travels at the desired speed and in the desired direction when the first propulsion device operates according to the first instructions and the second propulsion device operates according to the second instructions (magnitude and direction of propulsive force and steering angle for each outboard motor necessary to generate the propulsive force command generated via the joystick – see at least Fig. 4A and ¶ [0048]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the handheld device for navigating a marine vessel of Bertrand to provide for using vectors, as taught by Tagata, with a reasonable expectation of success, because using vectors can produce the desired resultant propulsive force to provide the desired translation of the vessel (Tagata at ¶ [0008]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 13 is 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AARON L TROOST whose telephone number is (571)270-5779. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:30am-4pm.
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/AARON L TROOST/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3666