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.
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.
Claims 11-13, and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takizawa (US 20050139432 A1) in view of Neutsch (US 20170151833 A1) and further in view of Scott Sports (DE 202016004707 U1).
Regarding claim 11, Takizawa discloses a wheel unit, the wheel unit comprising:
a hub (12) which is rotatable about a rotational axis (hub axle 31);
a rim (25) which is rotatable about the rotational axis, the hub (12) and the rim (25) being connected to one another via spokes (24);
a fastening device comprising:
a mounting element (rotor attachment boss 28, supported on brake rotor attachment unit 34) which is non-rotatably arranged on the hub (12), and
a clamping nut (29) which is fastenable to the hub (12) or to the mounting element (rotor attachment boss 28, supported on brake rotor attachment unit 34) via a screw connection (29e/34d);
a brake disc (23) which is non-rotatably connected to the hub (12) via the fastening device, wherein,
the brake disc (23) is interlockingly connected to the mounting element (rotor attachment boss 28, supported on brake rotor attachment unit 34) in a direction of rotation (28c/34c), and
the brake disc (23) is clampingly attached via the clamping nut (29) in the direction of the rotational axis between the hub (12) or the mounting element (rotor attachment boss 28, supported on brake rotor attachment unit 34) and the clamping nut (29).
Takizawa does not explicitly disclose a wheel unit for a pedelec, comprising a sensor ring.
Neutsch teaches a pedelec (10, see ¶ 0009), comprising a sensor ring (612) which is connected to the hub (102) in a rotationally fixed manner; the sensor ring (612) comprising a scanning area (616) which is scannable by a speed sensor (614).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Takizawa to include the pedelec wheel-speed sensing arrangement taught by Neutsch in order to provide wheel-speed detection for pedelec operation in a compact manner while preserving brake-disc mounting (see ¶¶ 0014-17).
However, Takizawa in view of Neutsch does not expressly teach the remaining limitations of the sensor ring.
Scott Sports teaches a sensor ring (10, magnet holder adapter 10 carrying magnet 8; see second embodiment, Figs. 4a-4b, and ¶¶ 0023 & 0043) arranged to be directly fixed to the clamping nut (11) (see Fig. 4a-4b), and the sensor ring (10) is fastenable together with the clamping nut (11) to the hub (see ¶¶ 0030 & 0041) or to the mounting element (see ¶ 0005) via the screw connection (3,3’).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Takizawa as modified by Neutsch so that the sensor ring structure is directly fixed to the clamping nut and is fastenable together with the clamping nut via the screw connection, as taught by Scott Sports, in order to improve reliability of speed measurement by relocating the speed-measurement element from vulnerable spoke-mounted positions to the clamping nut of the central locking system (see ¶¶ 0002-06, and 0010).
Regarding claim 12, Scott Sports teaches the sensor ring (7, magnet holder section 7 carrying magnet 8; see first embodiment, Figs. 1a-3b) is arranged on a side of the clamping nut (1) which faces away from the brake disc (see Figs. 1a-3b).
Regarding claim 13, Scott Sports as modified by Takizawa and Neutsch, teaches the wherein the sensor ring (10, magnet holder adapter 10 carrying magnet 8, see second embodiment, Figs. 4a-4b) is directly fixed to the clamping nut (11) by being screwed to the clamping nut (in the form of three grub screws 13, see ¶ 0045).
Regarding claim 15, Scott Sports as modified by Takizawa and Neutsch, teaches the sensor ring (7, see Figs. 1a-3b) is configured in one piece with the clamping nut (1).
Regarding claim 16, Takizawa teaches the brake disc (23) comprises an internal toothing (28c), and the mounting element (rotor attachment boss 28, supported on brake rotor attachment unit 34) comprises an external toothing (34c) which is complementary to the internal toothing (28c) of the brake disc (23).
Regarding claim 17, Takizawa teaches the clamping nut (29) comprises anti-loss toothing on a side facing the mounting element (fastener rotation inhibiting unit 29f), the brake disc (23) comprises anti-loss toothing on a side facing the clamping nut (rotation inhibiting structure 23h), and the anti-loss toothing of the clamping nut (29f) interacts with the anti-loss toothing of the brake disc (23h).
Regarding claim 18, Takizawa teaches a tool coupling structure (29b), wherein, the clamping nut (29) comprises a bore (29a), and the tool coupling structure (29b) is arranged on a circumferential surface of the bore (29a) or on an outer circumferential surface of the clamping nut (29).
Regarding claim 19, Neutsch as modified by Takizawa, teaches the sensor ring (612) has a center plane (622), the brake disc (206) has a center plane (252), and the center plane (622) of the sensor ring (612) and the center plane (252) of the brake disc (206) are arranged to be offset relative to one another.
Regarding claim 20, Neutsch as modified by Takizawa, teaches a pedelec (10, see ¶ 0009) comprising: the wheel unit as recited in claim 11;
and a speed sensor (614) which is configured to interact with the sensor ring (612) of the wheel unit (see ¶ 0223).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 14 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 Karem Akram Algarash whose telephone number is (571)272-5789. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8am-5pm.
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/K.A.A./ Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3616
/Robert A. Siconolfi/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3616
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