DETAILED ACTION
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Applicant’s arguments/amendments filed Mar. 16, 2026 have been fully considered but are moot in view of new ground(s) of rejection. Claims 24 and 28 had been canceled.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Claim 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uno (2002/0079851) in view of Mali et al. (2019/0103754) (hereinafter “Mali”).
Regarding claim 25, Uno discloses an electrical power storage device (4 in Fig.1, which includes a capacitor for electrical power storage “10”, please refer to the whole reference for detailed, at least ¶ 9) including an electrical power storage unit (10), the electrical power storage device (4) comprising: an activation processing unit (13) configured to switch a state of the electrical power storage device to an active state (when 11 or 12 is closed; please consider both conditions) in which the electrical power storage unit and an exterior (where 2 or 3 is placed, respectively, please consider both conditions) of the electrical power storage device (4) are electrically connectable (due to the switch 11 or 12 is turned on), or alternatively, an inactive state (when 11 or 12 is opened) in which the electrical power storage unit and the exterior of the electrical power storage device are not electrically connectable (due to the switch 11 or 12 is turned off); and another connection unit (2); wherein the other connection unit (2) is electrically connected to a mechanical-electrical conversion unit (1 and a bicycle) comprising an input unit (input unit connected to dynamo 1; for example “front wheel hub” or “bicycle” as stated in ¶ 2 and 8) disposed in a manner so as to receive an energy accompanying an input of human power (an energy accompanying an input of human power provided by a rider of the bicycle, please refer to at least ¶ 2 and 8), and a conversion unit (1) configured to convert the kinetic energy input to the input unit into electrical energy.
Uno doesn’t explicitly disclose a kinetic energy accompanying an input from human power.
For supporting purpose, Mali discloses an example of a kinetic energy generated by a bicycle (¶ 4, 42, 63 and 65).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to recognize Uno with the teaching of Mali that a kinetic energy generated by a bicycle as supported by Mali.
Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claims 1-23, 26, 27 and 29 are allowed.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICHARD TAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7455. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:30am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Menatoallah Youssef can be reached on 571-270-3684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Richard Tan/Primary Examiner 2849
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