DETAILED ACTION
Application Status
Claims 1-15 are pending and have been examined in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) filed on 10/11/2024 and 02/26/2025 has been reviewed and considered.
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 § 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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 6-7 and 11-12 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.
Claim 6 recites, “the first bike rotation speed sensor senses the plurality of bike rotation speed target units to output the plurality of first bike rotation speed pulse signals, and the second bike rotation speed sensor senses the plurality of bike rotation speed target units to output the plurality of second bike rotation speed pulse signals.” It is unclear if the second instance of “plurality of bike rotation speed targets” is a “second plurality of bike rotation speed targets”. In other words, it is unclear if the first and second rotation speed sensors of claim 6 are sensing the same targets. Since claim 6 depends form claim 3 which claims that the first and second pulse signals are offset by 90°, claim 6 is interpreted to include two sets of speed targets so that the pulse signal offset claimed in claim 3 is possible.
Claim 11 recites, “the first reverse rotation speed sensor senses the plurality of reverse rotation speed target units…and the second reverse rotation speed sensor senses the plurality of reverse rotation speed target units”. It is unclear if the second instance of “plurality of reverse rotation speed targets” is a “second plurality of reverse rotation speed targets”. In other words, it is unclear if the first and second reverse rotation speed sensors of claim 11 are sensing the same targets. In claim 11, the second instance of “plurality of reverse rotation speed targets” is interpreted to be “a second plurality of reverse rotation speed targets” in accordance with the applicant’s disclosure.
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 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu (CN 217146283 U) in view of Janecek (US 20120234108 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Lu discloses a sensing ratchet set comprising: a ratchet base (2); a ratchet shell (1) rotatably disposed on the ratchet base; a bottom case (5) rotatably disposed at an end of the ratchet base; and a bike rotation speed sensor (702) disposed between the ratchet base and the bottom case, the bike rotation speed sensor being configured to sense a rotation speed of the ratchet base relative to the bottom case.
Lu appears to disclose twelve sensor magnets (see 701, Fig. 2). Accordingly, with a gear ratio of 1 between the cassette sprocket and chainring, one rotation of the chainring would result in twelve pulse signals. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lu by doubling the number of magnets to produce 24 pulse signals per rotation of the chainring to arrive at the claimed invention and to improve the data resolution provided by the speed sensor. Note, with the 24 magnets, and a gear ratio of 0.5, one rotation of the chainring would result in 48 signal pulses and would thus fall within the claimed range of 24-150.
Lu is silent in teaching the ratchet set as applied to a bike driving system comprising a chainring rotating with human input; a chain connected to the chainring; and a cassette sprocket comprising a plurality of sprockets coaxially stacked on a rear axle, the cassette sprocket being connected to the chain through one of the plurality of sprockets, such that the cassette sprocket is driven by the chain and synchronously linked with the chainring.
Janecek discloses a bike driving system comprising a chainring (“chain ring” [0054]) rotating with human input (see “pedaling force”, paragraph [0003]); a chain (“chain”, paragraph [0004]; also see Fig. 6) connected to the chainring; a cassette sprocket (514, Fig. 5b) comprising a plurality of sprockets coaxially stacked on a rear axle, the cassette sprocket being connected to the chain through one of the plurality of sprockets (see 512/514, Fig. 5B), such that the cassette sprocket is driven by the chain and synchronously linked with the chainring.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to further modify Lu by applying the sensing ratchet set to a bicycle such as the one taught by Janecek to provide a bicycle with an accurate speed sensor.
With respect to claim 2, Lu in view of Janecek as modified above teaches the bike driving system of claim 1, but is silent in teaching a percentage of the gear ratio to the number of pulse signals.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to further modify Lu in view of Janecek to arrive at the claimed invention by adjusting the available gear ratios of the bicycle. Such a person would have been motivated to provide lower gear ratios to increase the movement speed of the bicycle for a given cadence. Such a person would have been motivated to provide higher gear ratios to increase the torque output for a given pedaling force.
Claims 3-4, 6, 8-9, and 11 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu (CN 217146283 U) in view of Janecek (US 20120234108 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yin (WO 2016177084 A1) and Hsu (US 20200056951 A1).
With respect to claim 3, Lu in view of Janecek as modified above teaches the bike driving system of claim 1, wherein the bike rotation speed sensor comprises: a bike rotation speed sensing component (Lu; 701, Fig. 2) fixed to the ratchet base; and a bike rotation speed sensing module (702) fixed to the bottom case (5) and opposite to the bike rotation speed sensing component; wherein when the ratchet base rotates with respect to the bottom case, the bike rotation speed sensing module senses the bike rotation speed sensing component to output a plurality of first bike rotation speed pulse signals.
Lu in view of Janecek is silent in teaching a plurality of second bike rotation speed pulse signals, wherein a phase difference between the plurality of first bike rotation speed pulse signals and the second plurality of second bike rotation speed pulse signals is 90°.
Yin teaches a bike rotation speed sensing component comprising a speed sensing component (2041/2042) and a speed sensing module (“first Hall sensor and a second Hall sensor”, pg. 11), wherein when the speed sensing component rotates with respect to the speed sensing modules, the speed sensing module outputs a plurality of first speed pulse signals and a plurality of second speed pulse signals (“two pulses with a phase difference”, pg. 11) that are offset from each other.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lu in view of Yin to arrive at the claimed invention and to further increase the data resolution provided by the speed sensor.
Lu in view of Janecek and Yin as modified above is silent in teaching that the phase difference is 90°
Hsu teaches a speed sensing apparatus comprising a first and second Hall sensor (see paragraph [0020]) to provide a plurality of first pulse signals and a plurality of second pulse signals that are offset from each other by 90° (“phase angle difference of 90 degrees”, paragraph [0020]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lu in view of Janecek and Yin in further view of Hsu to have the phase difference be 90° to increase measurement accuracy as taught by Hsu (Hsu; see paragraph [0071]).
With respect to claim 4, Lu in view of Janecek, Yin and Hsu as modified above teaches the bike driving system of claim 3, wherein the bike rotation speed sensing module comprises: a first bike rotation speed sensor (Yin; “first hall sensor”, pg. 11) and a second bike rotation speed sensor (Yin; “second hall sensor”, pg. 11), the bike rotation speed sensing component comprises a plurality of first bike rotation speed target units (Yin; 2041, Fig. 6) and a plurality of second bike rotation speed targets (2042), the plurality of first bike rotation speed target units and the plurality of second bike rotation speed target units are arranged in two adjacent rings and are mutually offset, the first bike rotation speed sensor senses the plurality of first bike rotation speed target units to output the plurality of first bike rotation speed pulse signals (see pg. 36, LL. 7-16), and the second bike rotation speed sensor senses the plurality of second bike rotation speed target units to output the plurality of second bike rotation speed pulse signals (see pg. 36, LL. 7-16).
Lu in view of Janecek, Yin, and Hsu as modified above is silent in teaching that the first and second bike rotation speed sensor are arranged linearly along a radial direction of the bike rotation speed sensing module. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to further modify Lu in view of Janecek, Yin, and Hsu to have the sensors arranged linearly as claimed. Such a modification would be obvious because it is a simple rearrangement of parts that would not affect the operation of the device (see MPEP 2144.04 VI. C.). Further, since the second set of speed sensing targets disclosed by Yin are located radially inward with respect to the first set of speed sensing targets, such a person would have a reasonable expectation of success when making such a modification.
With respect to claim 6, Lu in view of Janecek, Yin, and Hsu as modified above teaches the bike driving system of claim 3, wherein the rotation speed sensing module (Yin; “first hall sensor” and “second hall sensor”, pg. 11) comprises a first bike rotation speed sensor (Yin; “first hall sensor”), a second bike rotation speed sensor (Yin; “second hall sensor”, pg. 11), the first bike rotation speed sensor and the second bike rotation speed sensor are arranged at an arc angle interval of 90 degrees (Hsu; “phase angle difference of 90 degrees”, paragraph [0020]), the bike rotation speed sensing component comprises a plurality of bike rotation speed target units (Yin; 2041/2042, Fig. 6), the plurality of bike rotation speed target units are arranged in a ring, the first bike rotation speed sensor senses the plurality of bike rotation speed target units to output the plurality of first bike rotation speed pulse signals, and the second bike rotation speed sensor senses the plurality of bike rotation speed target units to output the plurality of second bike rotation speed pulse signals (Yin; see pg. 36).
With respect to claim 8, Lu in view of Janecek as modified above teaches the bike driving system of claim 1, wherein the sensing ratchet set further comprises a reverse rotation speed sensor disposed between the ratchet base (2) and the ratchet shell (1), the reverse rotation speed sensor is configured to sense a rotation speed of the ratchet shell relative to the base, the reverse speed sensor comprises: a reverse rotation speed sensing component (302) fixed to the ratchet shell; and a reverse rotation speed sensing module (301) fixed to the ratchet base and opposite to the reverse rotation speed sensing component; wherein, when the ratchet shell rotates with respect to the ratchet base, the reverse rotation speed sensing module senses the reverse rotation speed sensing component to output a plurality of first reverse rotation speed pulse signals.
Lu in view of Janecek as modified above is silent in teaching a plurality of second reverse rotation speed pulse signals; a phase difference between the plurality of first reverse rotation speed pulse signals and the plurality of second reverse rotation speed pulse signals is 90°.
Yin teaches a bike rotation speed sensing component comprising a speed sensing component (2041/2042) and a speed sensing module (“first Hall sensor and a second Hall sensor”, pg. 11), wherein when the speed sensing component rotates with respect to the speed sensing modules, the speed sensing module outputs a plurality of first speed pulse signals and a plurality of second speed pulse signals (“two pulses with a phase difference”, pg. 11) that are offset from each other.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lu in view of Yin to arrive at the claimed invention by applying second speed targets and a second speed sensor to the reverse speed sensor and to further increase the data resolution provided by the reverse speed sensor.
Lu in view of Janecek and Yin as modified above is silent in teaching that the phase difference is 90°
Hsu teaches a speed sensing apparatus comprising a first and second Hall sensor (see paragraph [0020]) to provide a plurality of first pulse signals and a plurality of second pulse signals that are offset from each other by 90° (“phase angle difference of 90 degrees”, paragraph [0020]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lu in view of Janecek and Yin in further view of Hsu to have the phase difference be 90° to increase measurement accuracy as taught by Hsu (Hsu; see paragraph [0071]).
With respect to claim 9, Lu in view of Janecek, Yin, and Hsu as modified above teaches the bike driving system of claim 8, wherein the reverse rotation speed sensing module comprises: a first reverse rotation speed sensor (Yin; “first Hall sensor”, pg. 11) and a second reverse rotation speed sensor (Yin; “second Hall sensor”, pg. 11), the reverse rotation speed sensing component comprises a plurality of first reverse rotation speed target units (Yin; 2041, Fig. 6) and a plurality of second reverse rotation speed target units (Yin; 2042), the plurality of first reverse rotation speed target units and the plurality of second reverse rotation speed targets are arranged in two adjacent rings and are mutually offset, the first reverse rotation speed sensor senses the plurality of first reverse rotation speed target units to output the plurality of first reverse rotation speed pulse signals, and the second reverse rotation speed sensor senses the plurality of second reverse rotation speed target units to output the plurality of second reverser rotation speed pulse signals (Yin; see pg. 36, second paragraph).
Lu in view of Janecek, Yin, and Hsu as modified above is silent in teaching that the first and second bike rotation speed sensor are arranged linearly along a radial direction of the bike rotation speed sensing module. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to further modify Lu in view of Janecek, Lin, and Hsu to have the sensors arranged linearly as claimed. Such a modification would be obvious because it is a simple rearrangement of parts that would not affect the operation of the device (see MPEP 2144.04 VI. C.). Further, since the second set of speed sensing targets disclosed by Yin are located radially inward with respect to the first set of speed sensing targets, such a person would have a reasonable expectation of success when making such a modification.
With respect to claim 11, Lu in view of Janecek, Yin, and Hsu as modified above teaches: the bike driving system of claim 8, wherein the reverse rotation speed sensing module comprises a first reverse rotation speed sensor (Yin; “first Hall sensor”, pg. 11) and a second reverse rotation sped sensor (Yin; “second Hall sensor”, pg. 11), the first reverse rotation speed sensor and the second reverse rotation speed sensor are arranged at an arc angle interval of 90° (Hsu; “phase angle difference of 90 degrees”, paragraph [0020]), the reverse rotation speed sensing component comprises a plurality of reverse rotation speed target units (Yin; 2041), the plurality of reverse rotation speed target units are arranged in a ring, the first reverse rotation speed sensor senses the plurality of reverse rotation speed target units to output the plurality of first reverse rotation speed pulse signals, and the second reverse rotation speed sensor senses the plurality of reverse rotation speed target units (Yin; 2042) to output the plurality of second reverse rotation speed pulse signals.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu (CN 217146283 U) in view of Janecek (US 20120234108 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kitamura (US 9090300 B2).
With respect to claim 13, Lu in view of Janecek as modified above teaches the bike driving system of claim 1, wherein the sensing ratchet set further comprises a processor (801) and a torque measuring module (13), the torque measuring module is configured to measure a torque applied to the sensing ratchet set, and the processor obtains a pedaling force based on the torque (Lu; “primary processor 801 determines the pedal force”, paragraph [0013]). Note, Lu also discloses obtaining a pedal frequency (cadence) speed signal (see paragraph [0013]).
Kitamura teaches that pedaling power can be calculated with the pedaling torque and pedaling cadence (see Col. 7, LL. 15-20).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lu in view of Janecek in further view of Kitamura to arrive at the claimed invention and to provide a pedaling power estimate to a rider of the bicycle.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu (CN 217146283 U) in view of Yin (WO 2016177084 A1) and Hsu (US 20200056951 A1).
With respect to claim 14, Lu discloses a sensing ratchet set comprising: a ratchet base (2); a ratchet shell (1) rotatably disposed on the ratchet base; a bottom case (5) rotatably disposed at an end of the ratchet base; and a bike rotation speed sensor (702) disposed between the ratchet base and the bottom case, the bike rotation speed sensor being configured to sense a rotation speed of the ratchet base relative to the bottom case, the bike rotation speed sensor comprising: a bike rotation speed sensing component (701) fixed to the ratchet base; and a bike rotation speed sensing module (702) fixed to the bottom case and opposite to the bike rotation speed sensing component; wherein, when the ratchet base rotates with respect to the bottom case, the bike rotation speed sensing module senses the bike rotation speed sensing component to output a plurality of first bike rotation speed pulse signals.
Lu is silent in teaching a plurality of second bike rotation speed signals, and a phase difference between the plurality of first bike rotation speed pulse signals and the plurality of second bike rotation speed pulse signals is 90 degrees.
Yin teaches a bike rotation speed sensing component comprising a speed sensing component (2041/2042) and a speed sensing module (“first Hall sensor and a second Hall sensor”, pg. 11), wherein when the speed sensing component rotates with respect to the speed sensing modules, the speed sensing module outputs a plurality of first speed pulse signals and a plurality of second speed pulse signals (“two pulses with a phase difference”, pg. 11) that are offset from each other.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lu in view of Yin to arrive at the claimed invention and to further increase the data resolution provided by the speed sensor.
Lu in view of Janecek and Yin as modified above is silent in teaching that the phase difference is 90°
Hsu teaches a speed sensing apparatus comprising a first and second Hall sensor (see paragraph [0020]) to provide a plurality of first pulse signals and a plurality of second pulse signals that are offset from each other by 90° (“phase angle difference of 90 degrees”, paragraph [0020]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lu in view of Janecek and Yin in further view of Hsu to have the phase difference be 90° to increase measurement accuracy as taught by Hsu (Hsu; see paragraph [0071]).
With respect to claim 15, Lu in view of Yin and Hsu as modified above teaches the sensing ratchet set of claim 14, wherein, when the ratchet base rotates once in a full circle with respect to the bottom case, a number of pulse signals output by the bike rotation speed sensor is between 24 and 150.
Note, Yin appears to teach at least twelve magnets in the plurality of first speed sensing components and at least twelve magnets in the plurality of second speed sensing components. Accordingly, with a gear ration of 1 between the chainring and active sprocket, on rotation of the chain ring would correspond to one rotation of the bottom case which would result in at least 24 speed sensor pulse signals as at least 24 magnets would pass the Hall sensors.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 7, 10, and 12 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.
Regarding claims 5, 7, 10, and 12, the closest prior art made of record is Lu (CN 217146283 U). , Lu discloses a sensing ratchet set comprising: a ratchet base (2); a ratchet shell (1) rotatably disposed on the ratchet base; a bottom case (18) rotatably disposed at an end of the ratchet base; and a bike rotation speed sensor (702) disposed between the ratchet base and the bottom case, the bike rotation speed sensor being configured to sense a rotation speed of the ratchet base relative to the bottom case.
With respect to claims 5, 7, 10, and 12, Lu does not disclose the position sensor as claimed. Suggestions to modify Lu to arrive at the claimed inventions were not reasonably found in the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and discloses speed sensors and other sensors for bicycles in general.
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/MATTHEW D LEE/ Examiner, Art Unit 3617
/JOHN OLSZEWSKI/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3617
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