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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 11, and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (CN 110667719 A) hereinafter, Wang.
Regarding claim 1, Wang teaches a wall-traversing vehicle (Fig 1-3) comprising:
a vehicle body (1);
a first wheel (2, Front) and a second wheel (2, Rear) that are attached to the vehicle body (Fig 1-2), that are attractable to a contact surface, and that are switchable between an attracted state and an attraction release state (Fig 3);
a traveling motor (3) that rotates the first wheel and the second wheel (Fig 1); and
a control unit (embedded controller) that switches each of the first wheel and the second wheel between the attracted state and the attraction release state and that controls rotation of the first wheel and the second wheel (Firs to fifth Para of Page 3),
wherein the first wheel and the second wheel are attached at an interval in a traveling direction that is a direction in which the vehicle body moves when the first wheel and the second wheel are rotated (Fig 2), and
the control unit implements
a first traveling mode for traveling on a first surface in a direction from the second wheel toward the first wheel (Fig 3a), and
a second traveling mode for traveling by setting the first wheel to the attraction release state and setting the second wheel to the attracted state in a state where the second wheel is in contact with the first surface (Fig3c), and rotating the second wheel until the first wheel comes into contact with a second surface rising from the first surface in a state where the first wheel is lifted off the first surface (Fig 3d).
Regarding claim 2, Wang teaches that the vehicle body includes a first distal end portion (9) that protrudes from the first wheel in a direction from the second wheel toward the first wheel (Fig 2), and the control unit implements the second traveling mode in a state where the first distal end portion is in contact with the second surface (Fig 3).
Regarding claim 3, Wang teaches that the vehicle body includes a first auxiliary wheel provided at the first distal end portion (Fig 2-3).
Regarding claim 4, Wang teaches that wherein a first contact sensor is attached to the first distal end portion for detecting that the first auxiliary wheel comes into contact with an obstacle (Fifth Para of Page 3).
Regarding claim 5, Wang teaches that the control unit executes control of switching of an attracted state of the first wheel based on a detection result of the first contact sensor (Fifth Para of Page 3).
Regarding claim 11, Wang teaches that the control unit further implements
a third traveling mode for traveling by setting the first wheel to the attracted state and rotating the first wheel in a state where the first wheel is in contact with the second surface and the second wheel is in contact with the first surface (Step C-2 Page 3, and Fig 3 between c and d).
Regarding claim 16, Wang teaches that the control unit further implements a wall surface traveling mode for traveling by setting both the first wheel and the second wheel to the attracted state and rotating the first wheel and the second wheel in a state where the first wheel and the second wheel are in contact with the second surface (Fig 3d).
Claim(s) 1, 6-11, and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Asada et al. (US 2023/0087850 A1) hereinafter, Asad.
Regarding claim 1, Asad teaches a wall-traversing vehicle (1) comprising:
a vehicle body (2);
a first wheel (5FR) and a second wheel (5RR) that are attached to the vehicle body, that are attractable to a contact surface, and that are switchable between an attracted state and an attraction release state (Para [0050] and Fig 10A-F);
a traveling motor (56) that rotates the first wheel and the second wheel (Fig 4 and Para [0043]); and
a control unit that switches each of the first wheel and the second wheel between the attracted state and the attraction release state and that controls rotation of the first wheel and the second wheel (Para [0038]),
wherein the first wheel and the second wheel are attached at an interval in a traveling direction that is a direction in which the vehicle body moves when the first wheel and the second wheel are rotated (Fig 10A), and
the control unit implements
a first traveling mode for traveling on a first surface in a direction from the second wheel toward the first wheel (Fig 10A), and
a second traveling mode for traveling by setting the first wheel to the attraction release state and setting the second wheel to the attracted state in a state where the second wheel is in contact with the first surface (Fig 10C), and rotating the second wheel until the first wheel comes into contact with a second surface rising from the first surface in a state where the first wheel is lifted off the first surface (Fig 10F).
Regarding claim 6, Asad teaches that the first wheel includes a first rotating body (51), a first oscillating magnet (52), and a first axle (54), and the traveling motor applies a rotation force to the first rotating body (Para [0042] and Fig 5).
Regarding claim 7, Asad teaches that the first oscillating magnet oscillates about the first axle as an oscillation center independently of rotation of the rotating body (See Fig 10A-C).
Regarding claim 8, Asad teaches that a first oscillating magnet posture control motor (57) that controls a posture of the first oscillating magnet (Para [0043] and Fig 10A-C).
Regarding claims 9-10, Asad teaches all the features as discussed in claims 6-7 above.
Regarding claim 11, Asad teaches that the control unit further implements a third traveling mode for traveling by setting the first wheel to the attracted state and rotating the first wheel in a state where the first wheel is in contact with the second surface and the second wheel is in contact with the first surface (Fig 10C).
Regarding claim 16, Asad teaches that the control unit further implements a wall surface traveling mode for traveling by setting both the first wheel and the second wheel to the attracted state and rotating the first wheel and the second wheel in a state where the first wheel and the second wheel are in contact with the second surface (Fig 10F).
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.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asada et al. (US 2023/0087850 A1) in view of Fukashi (JP 2008-127622 A).
Regarding claim 17, Asad teaches the vehicle of claim 1. However, Asad does not teach a metal lamination mechanism capable of laminating metal.
Fukashi teaches a metal lamination mechanism capable of laminating metal (Fifth Para of Page 8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the invention, to modify Asad’s vehicle, in view of Fukashi, with a metal lamination mechanism, for performing heat treatment on the object surface (Fifth Para of Page 2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12-15 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: Claim 12 teaches that the control unit further implements a fourth traveling mode for traveling by setting the first wheel to the attracted state and setting the second wheel to the attraction release state in a state where the second distal end portion is in contact with the first surface and the first wheel is in contact with the second surface, and rotating the first wheel in a state where the second wheel is lifted off the first surface.
Since the prior art (e.g. Wang) teaches wall-traversing vehicle that lack said features, the prior art does not anticipate the claimed subject matter.
For illustration purposes, Fig 17 of the examined disclosure shows the fourth traveling mode, which is different than the traveling modes taught by the prior art of record (Fig. 3 of Wang and Fig. 10 of Asad, etc.)
Furthermore, it would not have been obvious to a skilled artisan to have modified the prior art in order to arrive at the claimed invention without resorting to impermissible hindsight.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The references noted on the attached PTO=892 form teach wall-traversing vehicles of interest.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOSAM SHABARA whose telephone number is (571)272-5495. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 am-5 pm.
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/HOSAM SHABARA/Examiner, Art Unit 3618
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