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
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 8 in Figure 1. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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. 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 Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: Line 3 should read “a time” as a time at which the request for providing the pushing aid is no longer present has not been previously introduced in the claims. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: Line 3 should read “a rear wheel” as a rear wheel of the bicycle has not been previously introduced in the claims. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: Line 3 should read “an angle of inclination of a subsurface” as an angle of inclination of a subsurface has not been previously introduced in the claims. 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.
Claim 11 is 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 11 is found to be indefinite for at least the following reasons:
The use of the word “also” in line 2, it is unclear if the pushing aid is provided only after the condition in claim 1 is met and additionally the condition in claim 11 or if the pushing aid is provided in the alternative either after the condition in claim 1 is met OR the condition in claim 11 is met.
The term “so great” is relative, and the conditions provided do not necessarily require a “great” angle, for instance if the bike hits a bump and the front wheel comes off of the ground, the conditions are met but the angle of inclination of the bike may be considered lower or not “so great”.
The term “only rests on the ground with its rear wheel” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear if the rear wheel is the only structure of the bicycle permitted to contact the ground, or if the bicycle merely requires a wheel while it is resting on the ground.
The term “and is held by the rider on the handlebars” renders the claim indefinite because “the rider” and “the handlebars” lack antecedent basis in the claims. Furthermore, it is unclear if this is a required step in the method, if the angle could still be “so great” while the bicycle is not being held by a user on the handlebars, or if the claim conditions are met if the handlebars are merely capable of being held by a rider.
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ohashi (US 2020/0180728 A1). Ohashi teaches a method for providing a pushing aid (Paragraph 0116) in a bicycle having motor support (Abstract first sentence), comprising:
activating a pushing aid in response to a request for providing the pushing aid being present (Paragraph 0116: “When the rider keeps pressing both of the alternate switch 81 and the walk-along switch 82 with fingers, while moving the electric assist bicycle 1 at a reduced speed with the hand(s) and without the feet stepping on the pedals 55, the controller 60 performs a control to cause the electric motor 53 to generate an assistance force.”), and
providing the pushing aid by a motor of the bicycle following activation of the pushing aid as long as the request for providing the pushing aid is present and independent of an angle of inclination of the bicycle (Paragraph 0116: “For example, the rider may keep pressing both of the alternate switch 81 and the walk-along switch 82 with the index finger and the thumb of the left hand, while pushing on the left grip 34 (FIG. 4) of the handle 14 with the left hand. To “move at reduced speed” means that the electric assist bicycle 1 is moving at a slow speed, e.g., greater than 0 km/h but smaller than about 6 km/h. Allowing the electric motor 53 to generate assistance force during a walk-along reduces the burden of the rider.” And Paragraph 0117 stating that the walk-along mode is ended when the rider ceases pressing switch 81 or 82). Examiner notes that the walk along mode is described as being fully dependent on user input and Ohashi does not teach the push-aid activation being dependent upon any other parameters except for the user input.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 3-10, 12, and 14-17 are allowed.
Claims 1 and 12 recite a pushing aid that is activated in response to a request and only activated when an angle of inclination of the bicycle lies below a specified threshold value, and then continuing to provide the pushing aid as long as the request is present even if the angle of inclination exceeds the specified threshold value. The prior art fails to teach this limitation in the claims. Ohashi does not teach that the push-aid can only be activated by the user if an angle of inclination is lower than a specified value. Additional art such as Wendt (US 2021/0188395 A1) teaches a push assist for helping a user to walk a bicycle over an obstacle such as stairs, but also fails to teach that the angle of inclination of the bicycle must lie below a specified threshold value in order for the pushing aid to be activated, and then remain activated when that threshold is exceeded. It would not be obvious to modify Wendt in this way, as Wendt rather teaches the opposite of activating the assist if the inclination is above a certain angle.
Claims 3-11, and 15-17 depend from claim 1 and are therefore considered to contain allowable subject matter.
Claim 14 depends from claim 12 and is therefore considered to contain allowable subject matter.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, specifically the objections to claims 5, 9, and 10, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Claim 11 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Baumgaertner (DE 10 2018 203 397 B3) teaches a pushing aid that is turned off in response to sensed parameters including pitch angle of the bike. Tsuchisawa (CN 108569365 A) teaches a bicycle control device with a pushing mode. Honda (FR 2768991 A1) teaches a push assist for a bicycle that is responsive to the pushing force applied by the user to the handlebars.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABIGAIL R HYMEL whose telephone number is (571)272-0389. The examiner can normally be reached Generally M-F 7:30-4:30.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Valentin Neacsu can be reached at (571)272-6265. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ABIGAIL R HYMEL/Examiner, Art Unit 3611
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