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 .
Drawings
2. The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “C member” of claim 1 must be shown or the feature canceled from the claim. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
3. The following is a quotation of the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112:
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.
4. Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
a. Claim 1 recites the limitation "the steering column" in line 22. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Additionally, claim 1 recites the limitation “a front suspension” in line 8. It is unclear if the “a front suspension” is the same “a twin I beam suspension” recited previously in the claim or if it is an additional suspension. Additionally, claim 1 recites the limitation “installing a C member and installing the rear axle to the C member” in line 12. It is unclear if “the rear axle” is the same “rear axle” that was recited as removed previously in the claim, or if it is an additional rear axle.
5. In view of the rejections above under 35 USC § 112, the claims referred to in any and all rejections below are rejected as best understood.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
7. Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ta et al. (US Patent Publication 2018/0022387) in view of Kejha (US Patent Publication 2008/0308328), Pfister (US Patent Publication 2008/0093180), Rossi et al. (EP 3498511A1), and Calandruccio (US Patent Publication 2022/0194194).
a. Regarding claim 1, Ta teaches a method for converting an internal combustion vehicle having a flatbed and a twin I beam suspension comprising removing an internal combustion engine, transmission [removing combustion motor related parts from the vehicle consists of emptying the fluids of a donor vehicle 810, removing the combustion motor and transmission from the donor vehicle 812 and removing any other obsolete equipment from the donor vehicle 814, such as the fuel tank, muffler, alternator, vehicle management unit (VMU), etc., 0053]], drive shaft [removing the driveshaft from the transmission 1014 [0062]], differential, rear axle [The original vehicle drivetrain including the rear differential and rear axle is normally reused, or it can be replaced if desired. 0055]], fuel system, radiator, and exhaust system from the vehicle [removing any other obsolete equipment from the donor vehicle 814, such as the fuel tank, muffler, alternator, vehicle management unit (VMU), etc., 0053]], installing a C member, installing the rear axle to the C member [Figs. 5a-7d, ¶[0037]-[0050]], installing a battery pack in a void where the internal combustion engine resided [As further presented in FIG. 5a , the frame 120 has a frontal portion 510 and a rear portion 512. The frontal portion 510 is adapted to support at least one battery pack; [0037]]; installing an auxiliary battery connected to non-propulsion functions [the original belt driven alternator is replaced by an auxiliary battery adapted to be controlled by the auxiliary battery charger 1308 and adapted to provide a 12V DC current for operating various vehicle accessories such as the vehicle headlights, dashboard lights and cabin lights, the wipers, the heated rear windows, the power steering system or any other type of vehicle accessories requiring a 12V DC current, [0070]]; installing a dedicated cooling system including a circulating liquid coolant for cooling the electric motor [For the cooling hoses of the main circuits (i.e. the motor controller), those are connected to a small radiator (not the original radiator) and an electric pump. The cooling hoses are attached to the electric motor 106, motor controller and auxiliary charger in order to cool them down during operation, [0057]], installing an electric gear box on the steering column connected to a rack and pinion steering system [it is possible to modulate the power of the new pump 1314 according to an applied force on the steering system. Moreover, the skilled person will further recognize that the original hydraulic power steering system can be replaced by an electric power steering system, altogether, [0071]]; and installing an air conditioning system that includes an electric air conditioning compressor [mounting the air conditioning compressor to an original radiator frame and connecting the air conditioning compressor to the main battery system (602 and 604) for powering the air conditioning compressor, [0058]].
Ta does not specifically teach removing front suspension from the vehicle. Kejha teaches removing front suspension from the vehicle [The axles and suspension supporting the new wheel(s) with electric motor(s) may be preferably reinforced, or replaced with similar, stronger parts [0013]; axles and suspension supporting the new wheel(s) with the electric motors should be preferably reinforced or replaced with similar, stronger parts [0030]] for the purpose of providing for replacing the front suspension with similar, stronger parts to withstand the added weight of batteries during conversion of an internal combustion fueled vehicle into an electric vehicle with a minimal modification of the vehicle body.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method taught by Ta to include removing front suspension from the vehicle as taught by Kejha because doing so would have provided for replacing the front suspension with similar, stronger parts to withstand the added weight of batteries during conversion of an internal combustion fueled vehicle into an electric vehicle with a minimal modification of the vehicle body.
Ta in view of Kejha does not specifically teach installing disc brakes on each wheel. Pfister teaches installing disc brakes on each wheel 80 [FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an assembled disc brake system of the present invention housed in a wheel rim [0035]; Referring to FIG. 1, a wheel rim 1 houses a disc brake system of the present invention [0043]; Turning to FIG. 8, an exploded view of the brake system is shown in relation to a wheel station 80 comprising a suspension element 81 and an axle 82. The mounting ring 23 is bolted to the suspension element 81 through bolt holes 59 (only one labeled) on the mounting ring and bolt holes 83 (only one labeled) on the suspension element 81 [0049]] for the purpose of providing a disc brake system that is particularly useful in retrofitting a brake system on existing vehicles particularly motorized vehicles, for example automobiles, trucks, buses, and military vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method taught by Ta in view of Kejha to include installing disc brakes on each wheel as taught by Pfister because doing so would have provided a disc brake system that is particularly useful in retrofitting a brake system on existing vehicles.
Ta in view of Kejha and Pfister does not specifically teach installing an electric fan to cool the battery pack and installing a charging plug. Rossi teaches installing an electric fan to cool the battery pack [one or more cooling chambers, in contact with the battery pack. The cooling chambers are shaped to guide a flow of cooling air through a ventilation duct and system, to pass over the batteries, so as to keep them cool below a threshold temperature (both during charging and as they discharge due to vehicle traction). The cooling air may be external air. The cooling air may be air cooled by the conditioning system (in this case, a portion of the flow of air coming out of the evaporator is diverted towards the cooling chambers, through a movable panel) [0051]; the conditioning system includes an evaporator. The evaporator is positioned inside an evaporation box (disposed in the front assembly), also containing a blower fan [0096]] and installing a charging plug [the conversion kit includes a battery charger. The battery charger is configured to be connected to a power socket outside the vehicle for charging the batteries [0035]] for the purpose of providing a method for converting a vehicle with an internal combustion engine into an electric vehicle with a blower fan to guide a flow of cooling air over the batteries to keep them cool below a threshold temperature and a battery charger to be connected to a power socket outside the vehicle for charging the batteries.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method taught by Ta in view of Kejha and Pfister to include installing an electric fan to cool the battery pack and installing a charging plug as taught by Rossi because doing so would have provided for converting a vehicle with an internal combustion engine into an electric vehicle with a blower fan to guide a flow of cooling air over the batteries to keep them cool below a threshold temperature and a battery charger to be connected to a power socket outside the vehicle for charging the batteries.
Ta in view of Kejha, Pfister, and Rossi does not specifically teach installing an electric motor in a void where the differential resided and coupling said electric motor directly to wheels of the vehicle.
Calandruccio teaches installing electric motor 112 in a void where the differential resided and coupling said electric motor directly to wheels of the vehicle [rear e-axle 104 may be used in embodiments having four wheel drive and rear wheel drive configurations. Such embodiments may include a solid axle, an independent rear suspension, or any other type of rear suspension geometry; rear e-axle 104 may include an electric motor 112 and axle 114. The electric motor 112 may be mounted inline or transverse with respect to the axle 114 [0036]; FIGS. 3A and 3B are a top schematic view and side schematic view respectively of an electric vehicle conversion kit 300 (adapted from the kit 100) in a rear wheel drive configuration in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. FIGS. 3A and 3B depict the frame (or chassis) 102 and associated rails 120 of the vehicle, the rear e-axle 104, and the batteries 108. The tray 110 is shown in FIG. 2B. The tires 306 and arrows 308 and 310 are also shown for reference [0043]] for the purpose of providing an electric vehicle conversion kit for internal combustion vehicles with an electric motor directly coupled to an axle that distributes power for propulsion directly to the wheels to increase the efficiency of the electric vehicle powertrain.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method taught by Ta in view of Kejha, Pfister, and Rossi to include installing an electric motor in a void where the differential resided and coupling said electric motor directly to wheels of the vehicle as taught by Calandruccio because doing so would have provided an electric motor directly coupled to an axle that distributes power for propulsion directly to the wheels to increase the efficiency of the electric vehicle powertrain.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jeffrey Ryan Larsen whose telephone number is (571) 270-5458. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday 8am-4pm est.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amy Weisberg can be reached on (571) 270-5500. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J. R. L./
Examiner, Art Unit 3612
/AMY R WEISBERG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3612
Prosecution Insights