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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
The abstract is object to because it includes the phrase “The present invention” in line 1 which is implied and should be deleted.
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.
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 1-15 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 1 recites, “wherein an upper end of the motor and an upper end of the control unit are positioned below an upper end of a rear surface of the portion of the hull to which the attachment part is attached”. The limitation is indefinite as the claim does not actually require the hull of a ship and is to the motor alone. The preamble states “An electric outboard motor” while the claim only functionally recites, “configured to attach the outboard motor body to the rear part of a hull”. It is unclear how the positioning requirement can be established absent the hull.
Claims 2-15 are rejected based on their dependency on 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 1-2, 9, 11-13, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by Suzuki (WO 2017/082248, see English translation provided herein).
For claim 1, Suzuki discloses an electric outboard motor (ship propulsion device 100) comprising:
an outboard motor body that comprises a propeller (blades 22), an electric motor (motor 10) configured to drive the propeller, and a controller (motor control unit 5) configured to control the motor and
an attachment part (bracket 7) configured to attach the outboard motor body to a rear part of a hull (hull of ship body 200),
wherein an upper end of the motor and an upper end of the control unit are positioned below an upper end of a rear surface of the portion of the hull to which the attachment part is attached (fig. 6 or 9).
For claim 2, Suzuki further discloses wherein the controller does not overlap the motor in top view (see fig. 4).
For claim 3, Suzuki further discloses wherein the controller is arranged behind the motor (see fig. 4).
For claim 9, Suzuki further discloses wherein the attachment comprises an L-shaped bracket in side view comprising a vertical part extending in a vertical direction (71) and a horizontal part (72) extending rearward from a lower end of the vertical part, and wherein the bracket supports the outboard motor body (figs. 1 and 6, translation page 4, 5th paragraph).
For claim 11, Suzuki further discloses wherein at least one of the motor or the controller is provided so that an upper end surface thereof is horizontal (see fig. 4).
For claim 12, Suzuki further teaches wherein the controller comprises a control circuit configured to control the motor (CPU 5), a controller case that houses the control circuit (casing 4b as per fig. 11), and a controller connector provided in the controller case (connecting 4b to 43, must allow connect the controller), wherein the motor comprises a rotor (23), a stator (11) configured to rotate the rotor, a motor case that houses the rotor and the stator (43, fig. 11), and a motor connector provided in the motor case (connecting 4b to 43, must connect the motor to controller 5), and wherein the controller connector and the motor connector engage with each other to electrically connect the controller and the motor (must electrically connect for the control to function).
For claim 13, Suzuki further discloses wherein the electric outboard motor further comprises a heat exchanger extending below a water surfac3e on which the hull floats, and
wherein the heat exchanger cools a cooling target by discharging heat generated in the cooling target including at least one of the motor or controller to water below the water surface (fig. 7, heat exchanger 41, page 3 of translation, para 7-9).
For claim 15, Suzuki further discloses a vessel comprising (description and figs.):
the electric outboard motor according to claim 1 (see claim 1 above);
the hull (see fig. 6, hull of 220);
the hull deck overlapping at least a portion of a rear part of the hull in top view (deck of hull 220, clearly overlaps the hull);
an outboard motor deck (72) provided above the outboard motor body and overlapping at least a portion of the outboard motor body in a top view (see fig. 6).
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) 4-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki.
For claim 4, Suzuki further discloses wherein the outboard motor body comprises a cover that houses the motor and the controller (housing 4 is a cover),
wherein the controller is located behind the motor (see fig. 4),
wherein there is a space between a ceiling surface of the cover and an upper surface of the motor (see annotated fig. below),
wherein the hull is equipped with a power source (at CPU 91), and wherein a cable that extends from the battery through the space to the controller is provided (through 3, see translation page 3, second paragraph).
Suzuki is silent about the power source is specifically a battery and the cable is a DC cable.
It would have been an obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made as substitution of functional equivalent to substitute power source and cable of Suzuki with a battery and DC cable, in order to effectively power the motor, and since a simple substitution of one known element for another would obtain predictable results. KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 127 S. Ct. 1727, 1739, 1740, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395, 1396 (2007).
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For claim 5, Suzuki further teaches wherein an upper end surface of the motor is positioned lower than an upper end surface of the controller (see fig. 4).
For claim 6, Suzuki further discloses wherein the outboard motor body comprises a cover that houses the motor and the controller (housing 4 is a cover),
wherein the controller is located behind the motor (see fig. 4),
wherein there is a space between a ceiling surface of the cover and a side surface of the motor (see annotated fig. above),
wherein the hull is equipped with a power source (at CPU 91), and wherein a cable that extends from the battery through the space to the controller is provided (through 3, see translation page 3, second paragraph).
Suzuki is silent about the power source is specifically a battery and the cable is a DC cable.
It would have been an obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made as substitution of functional equivalent to substitute power source and cable of Suzuki with a battery and DC cable, in order to effectively power the motor, and since a simple substitution of one known element for another would obtain predictable results. KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 127 S. Ct. 1727, 1739, 1740, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395, 1396 (2007).
For claim 7, Suzuki further teaches wherein the outboard motor body comprises a cover that houses the motor and the controller (housing 4 is a cover),
wherein the cover has an upper part having a bulge protruding upward (upper portions of 4 extending from the base of 4 are a bulge, see annotated fig. below),
wherein the bulge has an inner side forming a space (see annotated fig. below),
wherein the hull is equipped with a power source (at CPU 91), and wherein a cable that extends from the battery through the space to the controller is provided (through 3, see translation page 3, second paragraph).
Suzuki is silent about the power source is specifically a battery and the cable is a DC cable.
It would have been an obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made as substitution of functional equivalent to substitute power source and cable of Suzuki with a battery and DC cable, in order to effectively power the motor, and since a simple substitution of one known element for another would obtain predictable results. KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 127 S. Ct. 1727, 1739, 1740, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395, 1396 (2007).
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Claim(s) 8 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki in view of Daikoku (JP 2010-228530, cited in IDS, see English translation provided herein).
For claim 8, Suzuki is silent about wherein the attachment supports a portion of the outboard motor body above a center of gravity of the motor, and a portion of the outboard motor body below the center of gravity of the motor.
Daikoku teaches an outboard motor (description and figs.) wherein the attachment part is supported at an upper portion (upper attachment hole 15A) of the outboard motor body and a lower portion (lower attachment hole 15B) of the outboard motor body (see figs. 5a and 8).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed make the outboard motor of Suzuki attached as taught by Daikoku, in order to support and balance the motor.
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to make the outboard motor of modified Suzuki such that it is positioned with the lower portion below the center of gravity of the motor in order to support and balance the motor since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
For claim 14, Suzuki is silent about wherein the electric outboard motor further comprises a drive shaft for transmitting power of the motor to the propeller, wherein the outboard motor body comprises an upper unit comprising the controller and the motor, and a lower unit comprising the propeller, and wherein the lower unit rotates about an axis of the drive shaft relative to the upper unit at a time of turning to change a traveling direction of the hull.
Daikoku teaches that the electric outboard motor has a drive shaft (drive shaft 82) for transmitting power from the motor to the propeller, wherein the outboard motor body comprises an upper unit comprising the motor and the controller and a lower unit (propulsion unit 86) comprising the propeller, wherein the lower unit rotates about an axis of the drive shaft relative to the upper unit at a time of turning to change a traveling direction of the hull (figures 8, 13, 14, 19-22, and 27-29).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed make the lower unit of Suzuki rotate with respect to the upper unit, as taught by Daikoku, in order to adjust the travelling direction of the boat.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The cited prior art of record is noted as it pertains to outboard motors and cable powering arrangements therefore.
Furthermore the office notes that claim 1 is also anticipated by Daikoku as per the written opinion.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAGDALENA TOPOLSKI whose telephone number is (571)270-3568. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joshua Huson can be reached at 5712705301. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MAGDALENA TOPOLSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642
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