DETAILED ACTION
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
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 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.
Claims 1 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kokubo (WO 2018173695 A1).in view of Li (CN 108506432 A).
For claim 1, Kokubo discloses a hub assembly comprising:
a hub shaft 11;
a hub H [rotatably sleeved on the hub shaft] (page 17, paragraph [0020]);
a planetary gear assembly 22 – 25 [arranged on the hub shaft and in the hub] (page 24, paragraph [0029]), [wherein the planetary gear assembly is configured to transmit a driving force to the hub] (page 25, paragraph [0030]);
a power input member 21 [rotatably sleeved on the hub shaft] (page 24, paragraph [0029]) and [configured to provide the driving force to the planetary gear assembly] (page 25, paragraph [0030]);
a control assembly S [configured to act on the planetary gear assembly, to switch a transmission path of the driving force] (page 24, paragraph [0029]]);
a shifting assembly 72 [configured to act on the control assembly, to switch the transmission path of the driving force] (pages 41 and 42, paragraph [0047]); and
a driving motor M [arranged in the hub and configured to provide the driving force to the hub] (page 17, paragraph [0020]), but does not explicitly disclose the shifting assembly is an electric shifting assembly.
Li discloses [a control ring 52 can be connected and controlled via an external gear shifting mechanism of the bicycle, such as a cable control mechanism, or it can be electrically controlled for gear shifting] (page 40, paragraph [0061]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to alternatively use the electrical control of Li with the shifting assembly of Kokubo with a reasonable expectation of success because it would allow for autonomous shifting of the hub assembly, thus reducing overall strain on the operator.
For claim 10, Kokubo modified as above discloses [a bicycle U comprising the hub assembly] (page 17, paragraph [0020]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 – 9 and 11 – 18 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art fails to disclose:
For claim 2 – 8 and 11 – 18: a mounting seat is provided in the hub, the mounting seat is provided with an annular cavity, and the electric shifting assembly is arranged in the annular cavity; and
For claim 9: the power input member comprises a flywheel seat mounted on the hub shaft through a first bearing and a transmission gear mounted on the flywheel seat, and the flywheel seat is provided with a mounting cavity, and the hub is mounted in the mounting cavity through a second bearing.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
CN-1178874 – comprising a bicycle comprising an input member; a planetary gear system; a switch; a shift operating device; and a motor.
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/JACOB D KNUTSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3611