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 1 – 12 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, line 1, “Pedal-assisted bicycle” should be “A pedal-assisted bicycle”;
In claims 2 – 7, line 1, “Pedal-assisted bicycle” should be “The pedal-assisted bicycle”; and
In claim 8, line 1, “Method for controlling a pedal-assisted bicycle” should be “A method for controlling a pedal-assisted bicycle”; and
In claims 9 – 12, line 1, “Method for controlling a pedal-assisted bicycle” should be “The method for controlling a pedal-assisted bicycle”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1 – 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, line 3, it is unclear what is meant by the term “relative hub”. The term is also not defined or used in the specification. For the purpose of examination, this term is taken to mean “respective hub”.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 9 recite the limitation "the battery pack" throughout the claims. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "said battery pack" in lines 12 and 17. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of examination, “the battery pack” and “said battery pack” are taken to refer to the term the “at least one battery pack” recited in claim 1 on line 8. Claims 2 – 12 depend from claim 1, include the same limitations, and therefore, are rejected for the same reasons.
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.
Claims 1 – 3 and 6 – 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by patent document number WO 2018/113998 A1 to Keppens.
Regarding claims 1 – 3 and 6 – 12, Keppens discloses a pedal-assisted bicycle (Figs. 9a - 9e) comprising:
[Claim 1] -a frame (the frame of the bicycle in Figs. 9a - 9e),
- at least two wheels (the two wheels of the bicycle in Figs. 9a - 9e) each provided with a relative hub (as best understood; each wheel inherently has a hub),
- a pedal assembly (pedals 20),
- a transmission (belt 18 and crank 21) operatively interposed between said pedal assembly and one of said wheels (See Figs. 9a – 9e),
- a traction system (powertrain 1) comprising:
at least one battery pack (battery 10), a central electric motor (first motor 8), an electrical device (“the second motor 9 then works as a generator”; Page 8) configured to operate as an electric generator and a control unit (control unit 23) configured to control said electrical device and said central electric motor (Page 18, Lns. 5 – 6) and to manage the charge level of said battery pack (Page 8, Lns. 6 – 7), wherein said central electric motor is directly connected to the pedal assembly to provide a torque to the pedal assembly itself and is operatively connected to the battery pack to be powered by the battery pack itself (Page 18, Lns. 11 – 12),
wherein said electrical device is arranged at a hub of a wheel (front wheel, See Fig. 9d) of said wheels and is operatively connected to the battery pack to transfer current to the said battery pack, wherein said control unit is configured to receive a plurality of first input signals (torque signal 27, torque signal 28, input signal 29 and crank axle position signal 31) representative of an operating condition of the bicycle selectively variable between a servo operating condition and a charging operating condition (a regular drive mode or a generator mode, Page 19, Lns. 24 – 26), wherein said control unit is configured to receive a second input signal (“the position information of the crank axle”, Page 8, Ln. 18) representative of the state of charge of the battery pack (“used to determine how much regenerative braking is wanted”, Page 8, Lns. 19 – 20), and wherein said control unit is configured to:
- identify the operating condition of the bicycle as a function of the first input signals (torque signal 27, torque signal 28, input signal 29 and crank axle position signal 31) and
- emit, according to the second input signal (“the position information of the crank axle”, Page 8, Ln. 18) and the identified operating condition (“one or more of the position, the speed and/or the torque on the crank axle”; Page 8, Lns. 14 – 15), a driving signal structured to drive the electrical device, operating as an electric generator, so as to increase the charge level of the battery pack (“The regenerative braking can be controlled by the control unit using the actual or time history of either one or more of the position, the speed and/or the torque on the crank axle.”; Page 8, Lns. 6 – 20);
[Claim 2] wherein the driving signal is structured to drive the electrical device (“the second motor 9 then works as a generator”; Page 8) so that the state of charge of the battery pack (battery 10) follows a defined reference state of charge (the reference charge could be a full state of charge from the empty battery state, Page 14, Lns. 5 – 7), and
[Claim 3] wherein said first input signals (torque signal 27, torque signal 28, input signal 29 and crank axle position signal 31) comprise one or more of:
- a first input signal representative of the pedal speed,
- a first input signal representative of the torque applied to the pedal assembly (pedals 20; torque signal 27 and torque signal 28),
- a first input signal representative of the linear speed of the bicycle.
Regarding claim 6, Keppens, discloses the pedal-assisted bicycle (Figs. 9a - 9e) according to claim 1. However, Keppens further discloses:
- wherein said electrical device (“the second motor 9 then works as a generator”; Page 8) is an electric hub motor (Page 15, Lns. 26 – 27, Fig. 5) selectively drivable according to a first driving mode (power path for drive mode, Fig. 1, Page 12, Lns. 15 – 17), in which it operates as an actuator to provide a torque to the respective wheel, and according to a second driving mode (power path for regenerative braking, Fig. 3, Page 12, Lns. 19 – 20), in which it operates as an electric generator to transfer an electric current to the battery pack (battery 10), and
- wherein said control unit (control unit 23) is configured to modulate the driving signal so as to drive the electrical device in said first driving mode when the bicycle is in the servo operating condition and in said second driving mode when the bicycle is in the charging operating condition (regular drive mode and regenerative mode, Page 19, Lns. 24 – 26).
Regarding claim 7, Keppens discloses a pedal-assisted bicycle (Figs. 9a - 9e) according to claim 6, wherein said central electric motor (first motor 8) and said electrical device (“the second motor 9 then works as a generator”; Page 8) are configured to respectively provide a first and a second torque contribution (the first motor 8 and the second motor 9 are powering the rear and front wheels, respectively, See Figs. 9a – 9e), wherein in the first driving mode (power path for drive mode, Fig. 1, Page 12, Lns. 15 – 17) of the electrical device the control unit (control unit 23) is configured to modulate said first and second torque contributions according to the linear speed of the bicycle and the transmission ratio of the bicycle (the first mode is a driving mode).
Regarding claims 8 – 12, Keppens discloses a method for controlling a pedal-assisted bicycle (Figs. 9a - 9e) comprising:
[Claim 8] - providing a pedal-assisted bicycle (Figs. 9a - 9e) according to claim 1,
- detecting one or more quantities representative of a bicycle operating condition (torque signal 27, torque signal 28, input signal 29 and crank axle position signal 31), wherein said operating condition is selectively variable between a servo operating condition and a charging operating condition (a regular drive mode or a generator mode, Page 19, Lns. 24 – 26),
- detecting a value representative of the state of charge of the battery pack (battery 10; “empty battery”, Page 14, Lns. 5 – 7),
- identifying the operating condition of the bicycle and driving the electrical device (“the second motor 9 then works as a generator”; Page 8) operating as a generator as a function of the identified operating condition and the state of charge of the battery pack so as to increase the charge level of the battery pack (“Here the second motor 9 then works as a generator”, Page. 14, Lns. 10 – 12);
[Claim 9] wherein the electrical device (“the second motor 9 then works as a generator”; Page 8) is driven so that the state of charge of the battery pack (battery 10) follows a defined reference state of charge (the reference charge could be a full state of charge from the empty batter state, Page 14, Lns. 5 – 7);
[Claim 10] comprising detecting as quantities (torque signal 27, torque signal 28, input signal 29 and crank axle position signal 31) representative of an operating condition of the bicycle one or more of:
- the pedal speed
- the torque applied to the pedal assembly (pedals 20; torque signal 27 and torque signal 28, Page 18, Lns. 3 – 30)
- the linear speed of the bicycle.;
[Claim 11] comprising:
- providing pedal-assisted bicycle (Figs. 9a - 9e) providing a pedal-assisted bicycle
- driving the electrical device (“the second motor 9 then works as a generator”; Page 8) in said first driving mode (power path for drive mode, Fig. 1, Page 12, Lns. 15 – 17) when the bicycle is in the servo operating condition or in said second driving mode (power path for regenerative braking, Fig. 3, Page 12, Lns. 19 – 20) when the bicycle is in the charging operating condition; and
[Claim 12] wherein said central electric motor (first motor 8) and said electrical device (“the second motor 9 then works as a generator”; Page 8) respectively provide a first and a second torque contribution (the first motor 8 and the second motor 9 are powering the rear and front wheels, respectively, See Figs. 9a – 9e) and wherein, in the first driving mode (power path for drive mode, Fig. 1, Page 12, Lns. 15 – 17) of the electrical device, said first and second torque contributions are modulated as a function of the linear speed of the bicycle and the transmission ratio of the bicycle (the first mode is a driving mode).
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.
Claims 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keppens.
Regarding claim 4, Keppens discloses a pedal-assisted bicycle (Figs. 9a - 9e) according to claim 1, wherein said traction system (powertrain 1) comprises first sensor means (“crank axle position sensor”, Page 18, Lns. 18 – 19), operatively connected to the control unit (control unit 23), wherein said first sensor means are configured to detect one or more quantities representative of the operating condition of the bicycle and to generate a respective first input signal (Page 18, Lns. 16 – 22).
However, Keppens does not disclose a second sensor means, operatively connect to the control unit, wherein said second sensor means is configured to detect a value representative of the state of charge of the battery pack and to generate said second input signal. The court has held that a mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced. (MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B)) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date to modify Keppens’ bicycle to have two sensors, so that both the speed and the charge level can be detected.
Regarding claim 5, the modified Keppens discloses a pedal-assisted bicycle (Figs. 9a - 9e) according to claim 4, wherein said first sensor means (“crank axle position sensor”, Page 18, Lns. 18 – 19) comprise one or more of:
- a first sensor configured to detect a representative amount of pedal speed and/or torque applied to the pedal assembly (pedals 20; torque signal 27, torque signal 28)
- a second sensor configured to detect a representative amount of the linear speed of the bicycle (Page 18, Lns. 16 – 22).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Felicia L Brittman-Alabi whose telephone number is (313)446-6512. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9-6.
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/Felicia L. Brittman-Alabi/ Examiner, Art Unit 3611
/VALENTIN NEACSU, Ph.D./ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3611
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