DETAILED ACTION
This is the first Office action on the merits of Application No. 18/795,339. Claims 1-18 are pending.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 2/11/2025 has been considered by the examiner.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 8-14, and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Dodman (US Patent Publication 20230068251, cited on the IDS)
Regarding claim 1, Dodman discloses a battery-electric system for a utility vehicle (paragraph [0006], bicycle has the utility of transporting people or package), the battery-electric system comprising: a wheel rim (22) and at least one toroidal battery arrangement (Figs. 6-8) that is accommodated in a free region of the wheel rim, wherein the at least one toroidal battery arrangement has, in a fastening region (Fig. 6-8, e.g. 45) that is designed for attachment to a vehicle axle, an interface (64) for releasably establishing one or more of a rotation-independent electrical or fluidic communication connection to a vehicle-based operating system.
Regarding claim 10, Dodman discloses a utility vehicle (paragraph [0006], bicycle has the utility of transporting people or package), comprising: a wheel rim (22) and at least one toroidal battery arrangement (Figs. 6-8) that is accommodated in a free region of the wheel rim, wherein the at least one toroidal battery arrangement has, in a fastening region (Fig. 6-8, e.g. 45) that is designed for attachment to a vehicle axle, an interface (64) for releasably establishing one or more of a rotation-independent electrical or fluidic communication connection to a vehicle-based operating system.
Regarding claim 2 and claim 11, Dodman discloses the battery-electric system of claim 1 or 10, wherein the at least one toroidal battery arrangement includes a concatenation of a multiplicity of battery modules designed as ring segments (Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 3 and claim 12, Dodman discloses the battery-electric system of claim 2 or claim 11, wherein the battery modules, at their end sides facing one another radially, have complementarily designed module interfaces for fitting together and for establishing an electrical or fluidic communication connection between them (Figs. 6 and 8).
Regarding claim 4 and claim 13, Dodman discloses the battery-electric system of claim 1 or claim 10, wherein, along a wheel-rim axis, at least two toroidal battery arrangements are arranged adjacent to one another in the form of a battery stack, wherein the battery arrangements have complementarily designed battery interfaces for establishing an electrical or fluidic communication connection between them (Figs. 6-8).
Regarding claim 5 and claim 14, Dodman discloses the battery-electric system of claim 1, wherein the at least one toroidal battery arrangement extends along an outer circumference (52) of the wheel rim which serves for the installation of a vehicle tire (Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 8 and claim 17, Dodman discloses the battery-electric system of claim 1 or 10, wherein a system housing (battery compartment 50) of the at least one toroidal battery arrangement is at the same time an integral constituent part of a load-bearing rim structure (Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 9 and claim 18, Dodman discloses the battery-electric system of claim 8 or 17, wherein the system housing is installed removably on the rim body (Fig. 6 and cover 50).
Claims 1-2, 6-7, 10-11, and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hunt (US Patent Publication 20240198784).
Regarding claim 1, Hunt discloses a battery-electric system for a utility vehicle (Fig. 1, 10), the battery-electric system comprising: a wheel rim (rim 120) and at least one toroidal battery arrangement (Figs. 4-7, 106) that is accommodated in a free region of the wheel rim, wherein the at least one toroidal battery arrangement has, in a fastening region (paragraph [0035]-[0036], “the stator 140 is fixedly coupled to the rim 120” and Fig. 4. Also, coupled to 146) that is designed for attachment to a vehicle axle (AR), an interface (e.g. 162) for releasably establishing one or more of a rotation-independent electrical or fluidic communication connection to a vehicle-based operating system.
Regarding claim 10, Hunt discloses a utility vehicle (Fig. 1, 10), comprising: a wheel rim (rim 120) and at least one toroidal battery arrangement (Figs. 4-7, 106) that is accommodated in a free region of the wheel rim, wherein the at least one toroidal battery arrangement has, in a fastening region (paragraph [0035]-[0036], “the stator 140 is fixedly coupled to the rim 120” and Fig. 4. Also, coupled to 146) that is designed for attachment to a vehicle axle (AR), an interface (e.g. 162) for releasably establishing one or more of a rotation-independent electrical or fluidic communication connection to a vehicle-based operating system.
Regarding claim 2 and claim 11, Hunt discloses the battery-electric system of claim 1 or 10, wherein the at least one toroidal battery arrangement includes a concatenation of a multiplicity of battery modules designed as ring segments (shown in Figs. 5-6).
Regarding claim 6 and claim 15, Hunt discloses the battery-electric system of claim 1, wherein the at least one toroidal battery arrangement extends along an inner circumference (tire interface 124 between flanges 126, e.g. Fig 4) of the wheel rim.
Regarding claim 7 and claim 16, Hunt discloses the battery-electric system of claim 1, wherein the at least one toroidal battery arrangement is arranged along an inner circumference of the wheel rim so as to be accessible from the outside (shown in Figs. 4-6).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Huang (US Patent Publication 20240082081) discloses a wheel with batteries.
Beal-Brown (US Patent Publication 20250256561) discloses electric wheel assemblies.
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/LORI WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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