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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. (GB 2111576.1 GB2202740.3) filed on (8/12/21 and 2/28/22).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on (2/12/24) is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: The term “can” should be removed to make the claim affirmative. Claims 2-15 depend from claim 1 and are objected to based on dependency. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 4-5 are objected to because of the following informalities: They should depend from claim 2 with introduces “turn motors”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: The words “vice versa” should be removed. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: Lines 1-2 and 4 recite a form of “the or each” which should recite “the”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: It recites “centre” but should recite “center”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities: It recites “utilise” but should recite “utilize”. 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 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, 3 and 6-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tuli (US PG PUB NO 2021/0015200).
[CLAIM 1] Regarding claim 1, Tuli discloses a footwear assembly for use in a virtual reality environment (Tuli can operate in any environment that is desired by the user) comprising a front platform portion (Tuli, annotated FIG 3) having an upper surface (Tuli, annotated FIG 3) adapted and configured for supporting and releasably retaining the forward part of a user's foot (Tuli, annotated FIG 3) and a rear platform portion (Tuli, annotated FIG 3) having an upper surface (Tuli, annotated FIG 3) adapted and configured for supporting and releasably retaining a rear part of the user's foot (Tuli, annotated FIG 3), the front and rear platform portions being joined by a transverse hinge (Tuli, FIG 5A discloses a hinge 501 and the other FIGS teach “a living hinge” which flexes to conform to the riders foot position) so that the platform portions can pivot relative to one another in the longitudinal plane to accommodate flexing of the user's foot, in which each platform portion (Tuli, annotated FIG 3) has mounted to a lower surface thereof at least one drive motor (At least motor 204 disclosed in paragraph [0051]) each drive motor driving a continuous belt (At least belt 201 which is exemplary, any number of belts and motors can be employed if desired for specific riding applications), and two continuous belts on each platform portion being arranged substantially in parallel (Tuli, annotated FIG 3) one located to each side of the platform portion, and in which the drive motor or motors and continuous belts of the front platform portion are mounted to a front drive module and the drive motor or motors and continuous belts of the rear platform portion are mounted to a rear drive module (Tuli, each belt and motor combination form separate systems/modules) the drive modules being mounted beneath their respective platform portions so each drive module may rotate in the horizontal plane relative to the platform portion it is mounted beneath (Tuli, annotated FIG 3).
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[CLAIM 3] Regarding claim 3, Tuli discloses the footwear assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the rotational movement of the drive modules is constrained to a maximum of 90° in either direction from the longitudinal plane (Any desired constraint can be employed to get a desired rider satisfaction).
[CLAIM 6] Regarding claim 6, Tuli discloses the foot wear assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which at least one motor (Tuli, FIG 2 motor 204) on each platform portion is located within a continuous belt (Tuli is exemplary and belt 201 can be modified for any boot application for adjustment to length).
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[CLAIM 7] Regarding claim 7, Tuli discloses the footwear assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the continuous belts on each drive module are of different lengths (Tuli is exemplary and belt 201 can be modified for any boot application/size for adjustment to length).
[CLAIM 8] Regarding claim 8, Tuli discloses the footwear assembly as claimed in claim 7, in which the shorter continuous track under the front platform portion is aligned longitudinally on the same side of the front platform portion as the longer continuous belts under the rear platform portion, and vice versa (Tuli is exemplary and belts 201 can be modified for any boot application/size for adjustment to length).
[CLAIM 9] Regarding claim 9, Tuli discloses the footwear assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which each continuous belt extends between at least one drive wheel (Motor 204 ultimately drives the boot belts) having axial ribs (Ribs are conventional in the art to join the belt ribs and engaging roller providing tractive engagement) and at least one pulley wheel (roller 202, Tuli, FIG 11) having axial ribs (Ribs are conventional in the art to join the belt ribs of the drive and driven component thus providing tractive engagement), in which an inner surface of each continuous belt has transverse ribs which are complementary to the ribs on the drive wheel and pulley wheel (Ribs are conventional in the art to join the belt ribs to drive ribs of the motor thus providing tractive engagement), and in which the inner surface of the continuous belt has a longitudinal rib extending longitudinally over substantially the entire inner surface of the belt (Either lateral or longitudinal ribs are known and can be used for any desired tractive structure).
[CLAIM 10] Regarding claim 10, Tuli discloses the footwear assembly according to claim 9, in which circumferential channels are provided in the drive wheel and the pulley wheel, the longitudinal rib being located and configured so as to fit within these channels (Ribbed components such as a pulley and belt conventionally have channels between the internal meshes/grooves for tractive engagement).
[CLAIM 11] Regarding claim 11, Tuli discloses the footwear assembly according to claim 10, in which each drive wheel and/or the or each pulley wheel is formed of a pair of separate, axially-spaced ribbed wheels, the circumferential channels being provided by the axial spacing of the or each pair of wheels (Tuli discloses ribs in paragraph [0049] which can be used to provide tractive structure between a drive and a belt).
[CLAIM 12] Regarding claim 12, Tuli discloses the Tuli discloses the footwear assembly as claimed in claim 10, in which the transverse size of the longitudinal rib is less than the axial size of the circumferential channels (Any desired axial size of the channels can be employed based on foot/boot application using conventional sizing of the foot/boot).
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
1. Claims 2 and 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tuli (US PG PUB NO 2021/0015200) in view of Pikulski (US 11,584,455).
[CLAIM 2] Regarding claim 2, Tuli discloses the footwear assembly as claimed in claim 1.
-However, it fails to disclose a front turn motor adapted to selectively rotate the front drive module relative to the front platform portion and a rear turn motor adapted to selectively rotate the rear drive module relative to the rear platform portion.
-Nevertheless, Pikulski discloses inter alia “However, when performing as a set of rollerblades, roller skates, or roller treads, the right motorized assembly 902 and the left motorized assembly 904, can perform a coordinated turn by simply leaning in one direction for gradual turns.” See Column 21, lines 23-40 which is exemplary and contemplates any turning structure for a particular application. The drives numbered 1090 include a front and rear assembly, if desired.
--Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified Tuli to have turning freedom as taught by Pikulski with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve ride-ability.
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[CLAIM 4] Regarding claim 4, Tuli discloses the footwear assembly as claimed in claim 1.
-However, it fails to disclose the turn motors are coupled to a position sensor.
-Nevertheless, the claim objection above regarding claim dependency where the dependent claims (Claims 4-5) should depend from claim 2 which first introduces the turn motors (Pikulski, FIG 2C illustrates an exemplary control sensor capable of providing plural feedback parameters to support turn navigation).- Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified Tuli to have motor control as taught by Pikulski with a reasonable expectation of success in order to control speed and turns.
[CLAIM 5] Regarding claim 5, Tuli/Pikulski disclose the footwear assembly as claimed in claim 1.
-However, it fails to disclose the turn motors are adapted to drive the two drive modules to rotate so that they remain aligned and parallel as they rotate. (Also see claim objection above).
-Nevertheless, Pikulski discloses inter alia “However, when performing as a set of rollerblades, roller skates, or roller treads, the right motorized assembly 902 and the left motorized assembly 904, can perform a coordinated turn by simply leaning in one direction for gradual turns.” See Column 21, lines 23-40 which is exemplary and contemplates any turning structure for a particular application including in parallel configuration (Roller blades). The drives numbered 1090 include a front and rear assembly, if desired.
-Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified Tuli to have turning freedom as taught by Pikulski with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve ride-ability.
2. Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tuli (US PG PUB NO 2021/0015200) in view of Walker (US PG PUB NO 2003/0214103).
[CLAIM 13] Regarding claim 13, Tuli discloses a system for use in a virtual reality environment comprising a pair of footwear assemblies as claimed in claim 1.
-However, each footwear assembly comprising a transmitter/receiver for transferring data between assemblies.
-Nevertheless, Walker discloses a transmitter/receiver to perform selective communication (See claims 1-2).
-Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified Tuli to have data transfer as taught by Walker with a reasonable expectation of success in order to provide external control/communication to user.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-15 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 and correction of the base claim objection (claim 1).
Tuli (US PG PUB NO 2021/0015200) represents the most similar walking motorized boot but fails to disclose the limitations in dependent claims 14-15.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and can be found on the attached Notice of References Cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to whose telephone number is (571)270-3411. The examiner can normally be reached on 9AM-6PM PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jason Shanske can be reached on (571)270-5985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMES J TRIGGS/Examiner, Art Unit 3614B
/JASON D SHANSKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3614