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 Objections
Claims 3 and 12-19 are objected to because of the following informalities:
(a) for claim 3, the period that appears after the recitation of “octagon shape” is objected to, as each claim must end with a period, and periods may not be used elsewhere in the claims except for abbreviations. See MPEP 608.01(m);
(b) In claim 18, the recitation of “air cooing subsystems” should be corrected to “air cooling subsystems” for comprehension of the claim; and
(c) claims 12-19 are objected to, as they seem to be incorrectly dependent upon claim 10, but should be dependent upon claim 11. Claims 12-19 mention the “vehicle of claim 10”, however the vehicle is recited in claim 11 and not in claim 10. For purposes of examination, claims 12-19 will be considered to be dependent upon claim 11.
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) 1, 3, 4, 6, 11-14, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Essex (US Patent No.: 7936097).
For claim 1, Essex discloses the claimed invention comprising: one or more pod units (reference numerals 90-93, figure 5), each pod unit of the one or more pod units comprises: an enclosure (i.e. top and bottom plates of unit 10, see figure 1) configured to provide a structural support to each pod unit of the one or more pod units (see figures 1, 5); one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores (i.e. electromagnet 22 can be considered a core) operatively positioned inside the enclosure (see figures 1, 2), configured to optimise the unidirectional force generated in each pod unit (i.e. unit 10, figure 2) of the one or more pod units along a thrust axis (see figures 1, 2, 5); one or more pairs of magnetic materials (i.e. electromagnets 21, 23 can be considered magnetic materials) operatively positioned on opposite sides of the one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores (electromagnets 21, 23 can be considered magnetic materials positioned on opposite sides of core 22, see figure 2), configured to provide a magnetic field; one or more electrically conductive elements (i.e. coil in each electromagnet, see column 4, lines 44-48) operatively positioned along a periphery of the one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores, configured to generate an optimum first force orthogonal to the magnetic field and the direct current (force generated by the coil in each electromagnet, see column 4, lines 44-48); a power source (reference numeral 51) electronically connected to the one or more pod units (see figure 2), configured to provide direct current to the one or more electrically conductive elements (see figure 2); and a control unit (reference numerals 50, 54, 55, 56) operatively connected to the one or more pod units and the power source (see figure 2), configured to control one or more parameters associated with the one or more pod units for generating the unidirectional force (see figures 1, 2, 5).
For claim 3, Essex discloses the pod unit being in a circle shape (see figure 1), i.e. the one or more pod units (reference numeral 10, figure 1) configured with a polygonal shape comprises one of a: rectangle shape, circle shape, pentagon shape, hexagon shape, and octagon shape. a shape of the one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores (i.e. electromagnet 22 can be considered a core) and the shape of the one or more electrically conductive elements (i.e. coil in each electromagnet, see column 4, lines 44-48) correlate with the polygonal shape of the one or more pod units (see figures 1, 2, 5).
For claim 4, Essex discloses the cores (reference numeral 22) being positioned in the enclosure by rods (reference numeral 30, figure 4), which would constitute the one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores operatively positioned in the enclosure through one or more pairs of fasteners, the one or more pairs of fasteners comprises screws, actuation units, magnetic clamps, spring-loaded pins, magnetic brackets, and snap-fit connectors.
For claim 6, Essex discloses each pair of magnetic materials (electromagnets 21, 23 can be considered magnetic materials positioned on opposite sides of core 22, see figure 2) of the one or more pairs of magnetic materials being positioned on opposite sides of the one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores (reference numeral 22, figure 2), with like poles directed towards the one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores (see figure 2), each magnetic material within each pair of magnetic materials (reference numerals 21, 23) positioned on the one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores (reference numeral 22) at a pre-defined distance and aligned in one of a: normal orientation and angular orientation (see figure 2).
For claim 11, Essex discloses the claimed invention comprising: one or more pod units (reference numerals 90-93, figure 5) operatively form a structure of the vehicle in a pre-defined shape (see the Abstract), configured to generate the unidirectional force (see figures 1, 2, 5), wherein each pod unit of the one or more pod units comprises: an enclosure (i.e. top and bottom plates of unit 10, see figure 1) configured to provide a structural support to each pod unit of the one or more pod units (see figures 1, 5); one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores (i.e. electromagnet 22 can be considered a core) operatively positioned inside the enclosure (see figures 1, 2), configured to optimise the unidirectional force generated in each pod unit (i.e. unit 10, figure 2) of the one or more pod units along a thrust axis (see figures 1, 2, 5); one or more pairs of magnetic materials (i.e. electromagnets 21, 23 can be considered magnetic materials) operatively positioned on opposite sides of the one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores (electromagnets 21, 23 can be considered magnetic materials positioned on opposite sides of core 22, see figure 2), configured to provide a magnetic field; one or more electrically conductive elements (i.e. coil in each electromagnet, see column 4, lines 44-48) operatively positioned along a periphery of the one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores, configured to generate an optimum first force orthogonal to the magnetic field and the direct current (force generated by the coil in each electromagnet, see column 4, lines 44-48); a power source (reference numeral 51) electronically connected to the one or more pod units (see figure 2), configured to provide direct current to the one or more electrically conductive elements (see figure 2); and a control unit (reference numerals 50, 54, 55, 56) operatively connected to the one or more pod units and the power source (see figure 2), configured to control one or more parameters associated with the one or more pod units for propelling the vehicle in a defined direction (see figures 1, 2, 5).
For claim 12, Essex discloses the units in a circle shape (see figures 1, 4) which can be considered the pre-defined shape, i.e. the pre-defined shape is configured to provide a distributed propulsion and a control redundancy based on arranging the one or more pod units in defined geometries to form the structure of the vehicle.
For claim 13, Essex discloses the pod unit being in a circle shape (see figure 1), i.e. the one or more pod units configured with a polygonal shape comprises one of a: rectangle shape, circle shape, pentagon shape, hexagon shape, and octagon shape to form the structure of the vehicle.
For claim 14, Essex discloses the one or more pod units (reference numerals 90-93) configured to form one or more pod groups (see figure 5), the one or more pod groups configured to form a base component by a fastening mechanism (i.e. fastening mechanisms 30-33, see figure 1), the one or more pod groups symmetrically disposed about a centre of mass of the vehicle (i.e. arrangement shown in figure 5 of the pod units 90-93 can be considered symmetrically disposed), the one or more pod groups operatively connected to the control unit through a communication network for triggering the one or more parameters in a coordinated manner (Essex discloses a transmitter 80 being connected to the receiver 52 for transmitting signals to the unit 10, see figures 2, 3, teaching the pod groups being controlled through a communication network for triggering parameters); and the one or more pod units within the one or more pod groups configured to generate the unidirectional force independently (each of the pod units 90-93 can be considered to generate the force independently, see figure 5).
For claim 20, Essex discloses the claimed invention comprising: providing, by one or more pairs of magnetic materials (i.e. electromagnets 21, 23 can be considered magnetic materials), a magnetic field in one or more pod units (reference numerals 90-93, figure 5; unit 10, figures 1, 2); providing, by a power source (reference numeral 51), direct current to one or more electrically conductive elements (i.e. coil in each electromagnet, see column 4, lines 44-48); generating, by the one or more electrically conductive elements (i.e. coil in each electromagnet, see column 4, lines 44-48), an optimum first force orthogonal to the magnetic field and the direct current (force generated by the coil in each electromagnet, see column 4, lines 44-48); optimising by one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores (i.e. electromagnet 22 can be considered a core), the unidirectional force generated in the one or more pod units along a thrust axis based on the first force (see figures 1, 2); and controlling, by a control unit (reference numerals 50, 54, 55, 56), one or more parameters associated with the one or more pod units to generate the unidirectional force (see figures 1, 2, 5).
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) 2 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Essex as applied to claims 1 and 11 above, and further in view of Jahshan (US Patent No.: 10971970).
For claim 2, Essex discloses one or more pod units (reference numerals 90-93) configured to form one or more pod groups (see figure 5), the one or more pod groups configured to form a base component by a fastening mechanism (i.e. fastening mechanisms 30-33, see figure 1), but Essex however does not specifically disclose the one or more pod groups comprising one or more sensors and a transceiver module, the one or more sensors operatively positioned proximal to each pod unit, configured to generate sensor data containing operational data of an associated pod unit of the one or more pod units; and the transceiver module configured to transmit at least one of: telemetry data, the sensor data, system configuration data, status, and positioning data to the control unit through a communication network. Jahshan discloses a sensor and a transceiver module (i.e. sensors 95, 96 and transmitter 98, see figure 36), which when applied to the control unit of Essex would disclose the one or more pod groups comprising one or more sensors and a transceiver module, the one or more sensors operatively positioned proximal to each pod unit, configured to generate sensor data containing operational data of an associated pod unit of the one or more pod units; and the transceiver module configured to transmit at least one of: telemetry data, the sensor data, system configuration data, status, and positioning data to the control unit through a communication network. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the sensor and transceiver module as disclosed by Jahshan for the pod unit of Essex for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating the proper control of the device.
For claim 19, Essex discloses the claimed invention except for the vehicle comprising one or more sensors, the one or more sensors operatively positioned proximal to each pod unit, configured to generate sensor data containing positioning data, mapping data, navigation data, path planning data, waypoint navigation data, trajectory control data and course correction data. Jahshan discloses a sensor (i.e. sensors 95, 96, see figure 36), which when applied to the control unit of Essex would disclose the vehicle comprising one or more sensors, the one or more sensors operatively positioned proximal to each pod unit, configured to generate sensor data containing positioning data, mapping data, navigation data, path planning data, waypoint navigation data, trajectory control data and course correction data. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the sensor as disclosed by Jahshan for the device of Essex for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating the proper control of the device.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Essex as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Purvis (US Patent Application Pub. No.: US 2019/0168897 A1).
For claim 5, Essex discloses the one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores comprising a first surface (i.e. a surface on core 22, see figure 2), but Essex does not specifically disclose the first surface configured with a first material with a relative permeability ranging between 1 and 200000 positioned normal to the thrust axis, the first material being configured to generate an optimum magnetic field gradient. Having a particular relative permeability is a known skill as exhibited by Purvis (see claim 1 of Purvis), which when applied to the first surface of Essex would disclose the first surface configured with a first material with a relative permeability ranging between 1 and 200000 positioned normal to the thrust axis, the first material being configured to generate an optimum magnetic field gradient. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a relative permeability as disclosed by Purvis for the cores of Essex for predictably providing desirable configuration for optimizing the generation of magnetic field in the device.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Essex as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Schlicher et al. (US Patent No.: 5142861).
For claim 7, Essex discloses the claimed invention except for the one or more electrically conductive elements configured with a flat profile containing a defined number of windings, the one or more electrically conductive elements selected from a group of superconducting materials exhibiting a Meissner Effect. Having the electrically conductive elements made of flat windings with a Meissner Effect is a known skill as exhibited by Schlicher et al. (see column 10, lines 21-25), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the flat profile windings exhibiting the Meissner Effect as disclosed by Schlicher et al. for the electrically conductive elements of Essex for predictably providing desirable configuration for optimizing magnetic flux in the device.
Claim(s) 8, 9, 16, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Essex as applied to claims 1 and 11 above, and further in view of May (US Patent No.: 11411483).
For claim 8, Essex discloses the claimed invention except for electromagnetic propulsion device comprising one or more circuit components, the one or more circuit components configured to connect the one or more pod units with the power source for controlling a flow of the direct current and polarity within each pod unit of the one or more pod units, the one or more circuit components selected from a group comprises at least one of: diodes, metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), double-pole double-throw (DPDT) relays, solid-state switches, insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), and Semiconductor Controlled Rectifier (SCR). Having one or more circuit components is a known skill as exhibited by May which disclose circuits for controlling signals to the power units (see column 12, lines 14-27) with transistor elements (column 3, lines 56-59), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the circuit components as disclosed by May for the pod units of Essex for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating proper control of the device.
For claim 9, Essex discloses the claimed invention except for the one or more parameters comprising at least one of: activate and deactivate one or more pod units, regulate thrust levels, and change propulsion direction. May disclose the activation and deactivation of the components (see column 12, lines 19-27), which when applied to the pod units would disclose the one or more parameters comprising at least one of: activate and deactivate one or more pod units, regulate thrust levels, and change propulsion direction. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the activating and deactivating as disclosed by May for the parameters of Essex for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating proper control of the device.
For claim 16, Essex discloses the claimed invention except for the one or more parameters comprising at least one of: activate and deactivate one or more pod units, regulate thrust levels, and change propulsion direction. May discloses the activation and deactivation of the components (see column 12, lines 19-27), which when applied to the control unit of the pod units would disclose the one or more parameters comprising at least one of: activate and deactivate one or more pod units, regulate thrust levels, and change propulsion direction. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the activating and deactivating as disclosed by May for the parameters of Essex for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating proper control of the device.
For claim 17, Essex discloses the claimed invention except for the control unit being configured to: orchestrate synchronized operation of the vehicle by controlling the one or more pod units configured at least one of: homogenously and heterogeneously to achieve a stepwise thrust control, desired trajectory, manoeuvres, acceleration, deceleration, and maintenance of constant speed; remotely trigger the activation and deactivation of the one or more pod units for controlling the vehicle; and alter the direction of propulsion by selectively activating the one or more pod units asymmetrically about a central body axis of the vehicle to produce a torque about the centre of mass of the vehicle for manoeuvring the vehicle. Orchestrating the operation of the pod units would merely involve the activation and deactivation of the components as disclosed by May (see column 12, lines 19-27), which when applied to the control unit of the pod units would disclose homogenously and heterogeneously achieving a stepwise thrust control, desired trajectory, manoeuvres, acceleration, deceleration, and maintenance of constant speed; remotely triggering the activation and deactivation of the one or more pod units for controlling the vehicle; and altering the direction of propulsion by selectively activating the one or more pod units asymmetrically about a central body axis of the vehicle to produce a torque about the centre of mass of the vehicle for manoeuvring the vehicle. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the activating and deactivating as disclosed by May for controlling the pod units of Essex for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating proper control of the device.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Essex as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Underbrink et al. (US Patent No.: 9278849).
For claim 10, Essex discloses the claimed invention except for the electromagnetic propulsion device being formed by fabrication on a printed circuit board (PCB) as one or more Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) unit, the one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores associated with the one or more Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) units comprising at least one of: ferrite rings, thin films, and ferromagnetic material; and the one or more electrically conductive elements associated with the one or more Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) units etched on a first surface and a second surface of the printed circuit board (PCB). Underbrink et al. disclose printed circuit board (reference numeral 14) with a MEMS unit (reference numeral 12, see figure 1c) that can be comprised of thin films (see figure 1c), and when associated with the electrically conductive elements of Essex this would disclose the electromagnetic propulsion device being formed by fabrication on a printed circuit board (PCB) as one or more Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) unit, the one or more magnetic flux-controlling cores associated with the one or more Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) units comprising at least one of: ferrite rings, thin films, and ferromagnetic material; and the one or more electrically conductive elements associated with the one or more Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) units etched on a first surface and a second surface of the printed circuit board (PCB). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the printed circuit board fabricated as one or more Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) unit as disclosed by Underbrink et al. for the device of Essex for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating proper control of the device.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Essex as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Silva (US Patent No.: 10704508).
For claim 15, Essex discloses the claimed invention except for the one or more pod units operatively forming the structure of the vehicle exterior to a cabin, the cabin being selected from a group of magnetic shielding materials comprising at least one of: ferromagnetic materials, mu-metal alloys, and superconducting materials configured to mitigate electromagnetic interference. Having a cabin formed of magnetic shielding materials is a known skill as exhibited by Silva which disclose shielding from electromagnetic interference using metal alloys (see column 7, lines 3-21), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the magnetic shielding as disclosed by Silva for the pod units of Essex for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating the proper functioning of the device.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Essex as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Melvin et al. (US Patent No.: 9744878).
For claim 18, Essex discloses the claimed invention except for the vehicle comprising a cooling subsystem, the cooling subsystem configured to dissipate heat generated by the one or more pod units, the cooling subsystem selected from a group comprising at least one of: air cooing subsystems, liquid cooling subsystems, and thermoelectric cooling subsystems. Having a cooling component is a known skill as exhibited by Melvin et al. (see column 36, lines 38-43), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to having the cooling as disclosed by Melvin et al. for the device of Essex for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating the proper functioning of the device.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following references disclose embodiments of magnetic field/propulsion apparatus configurations: US 11632031 B2 (May; Lutz), US 11488757 B2 (Seng; Sin Soon), US 11383850 B2 (Verna; Raffaelo et al.), US 11096272 B2 (Spivak; Alexander), US 10211702 B2 (Jahshan; David Elias), US 10144507 B2 (Chretien; Pascal), US 10135323 B2 (Purvis; James Wayne), US 10008910 B2 (Jahshan; David Elias), US 9748051 B2 (Maruyama; Yutaka et al.), US 9390875 B2 (Kohlhafer; Dennis John), US 8847720 B2 (Goldbaum; Harold J.), US 7224252 B2 (Meadow, Jr.; William D. et al.), US 6492784 B1 (Serrano; Hector L.), US 5868077 A (Kuznetsov; Stephen B.), US 20220084729 A1 (ARSHAVSKIY; Maksim), US 20190222141 A1 (Fearing; Ronald S. et al.), US 20170264181 A1 (Purvis; James Wayne), US 20100244590 A1 (ESSEX; JAMES O.), US 20090127951 A1 (SHIBANO; Masayoshi).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEX W MOK whose telephone number is (571)272-9084. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-4pm.
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/ALEX W MOK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834