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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I (Claims 1-19); Species B (Figs 6-9); and Subspecies aa (Fig 3A) in the reply filed on 08/31/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim 20 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08/31/2026.
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.
Claims 1-3, 6-9, 14-16, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Foley 2018/0370594 in view of Haraughty 7,131,298.
Regarding claims 1 and 14, Foley discloses a multimodal transportation system (Fig 3) comprising:
a micromobility transit vehicle (Fig 3, #200) comprising a lock assembly [0064], the lock assembly [0064] comprising a lock cable (flexible lock, [0064]), and
a docking station (Fig 3, #306) adapted to secure the micromobility transit vehicle (Fig 3, #200), the docking station (Fig 3, #306) comprising at least one rack (Fig 3, #306) configured to dock the micromobility vehicle (Fig 3, #200), the rack (Fig 3, #306) comprising:
a platform (annotated Fig 3 below); and
a bollard (annotated Fig 3 below) extending from the platform (annotated Fig 3 below), the bollard (annotated Fig 3 below) comprising a hole (annotated Fig 3 below) disposed
therein, wherein the hole (annotated Fig 3 below) of the bollard (annotated Fig 3 below) is configured to receive the lock cable (flexible lock, [0064]) and permit
the lock cable (flexible lock, [0064]) to wrap around the bollard (annotated Fig 3 below) to lock the micromobility transit vehicle (Fig 3, #200) to the docking station (Fig 3, #306);
wherein the platform (annotated Fig 3 below) is configured to guide the micromobility transit vehicle (Fig 3, #200) into a predetermined docking position relative to the hole (annotated Fig 3 below) of the bollard (annotated Fig 3 below) so that the lock assembly (flexible lock, [0064]) is aligned with the hole (annotated Fig 3 below) in the bollard (annotated Fig 3 below) for securement when the micromobility transit vehicle (Fig 3, #200) is positioned in the predetermined docking position.
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Foley has been discussed above but does not explicitly teach wherein the multimodal transportation system comprises a locking pin coupled to a free end of the lock cable, and a pin latch configured to receive the locking pin in place.
Haraughty teaches that it is old and well known in the art for a bicycle lock assembly (Fig 1) to comprise a locking pin (Figs 3, #29) coupled to a free end of a lock cable (Fig 3, #22), and a pin latch (Fig 3, #26) (col 3, lines 22-24) configured to receive the locking pin (Figs 3, #29) in place.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace the lock cable (Foley, flexible lock, [0064]) with the lock cable (Haraughty, Fig 3, #22) of Haraughty having a locking pin (Haraughty, Fig 3, #29) and a pin latch (Haraughty, Fig 3, #26) because the substitution of one known bicycle lock for another would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Regarding claims 2 and 15, modified Foley discloses the multimodal transportation system wherein the platform (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above) comprises a ramp (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above) extending from a leading edge (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above) of the platform (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above) toward the predetermined docking position (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above).
Regarding claims 3 and 16, modified Foley discloses the multimodal transportation system wherein the ramp (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above)
comprises a sloped surface (Foley, shown in Fig 3) configured to provide an elevational or lateral positioning of the micromobility vehicle (Fig 3, #200) into the predetermined docking position (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above).
Regarding claims 6 and 19, modified Foley discloses the multimodal transportation system wherein a vertical position of the hole (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above) is configured to be at a height within a pre-determined distance from a height of the pin latch (Haraughty, Fig 3, #26) when the micromobility transit vehicle (Foley, Fig 3, #200) is positioned in the predetermined docking position.
Regarding claim 7, modified Foley discloses the multimodal transportation system wherein a lateral position of the hole (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above) is configured to align with the pin latch (Haraughty, Fig 3, #26) when the micromobility transit vehicle (Foley, Fig 3, #200) is positioned in the predetermined docking position.
Regarding claim 8, modified Foley discloses the multimodal transportation system wherein the platform (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above) elevates the micromobility transit vehicle (Foley, Fig 3, #200) to position the micromobility transit vehicle (Foley, Fig 3, #200) into the predetermined docking position.
Regarding claim 9, modified Foley discloses the multimodal transportation system wherein the hole (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above) is sized and shaped to interface with the lock cable (Haraughty, Fig 3, #22).
Claims 4-5 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Foley 2018/0370594 and Haraughty 7,131,298; and further in view of Szabo 4,050,583.
Regarding claims 4 and 17, modified Foley has been discussed above but does not explicitly teach wherein the platform comprises a tire recess that is configured to align, position, or secure the micromobility transit vehicle in the predetermined docking position.
Szabo discloses a multimodal transportation system (Fig 1, #12) comprising
a platform (annotated Fig 1 below); wherein the platform (annotated Fig 1 below) comprises a tire recess (Fig 1, #18) that is configured to align, position, or secure a micromobility transit vehicle in a predetermined docking position.
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form a recess (Szabo, Fig 1, #18) in the platform (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above) of modified Foley in order to prevent the tire (Foley, rear tire, shown in Fig 3) of the micromobility transit vehicle (Foley, Fig 3, #200) from unintentionally rolling off the platform (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above) of modified Foley.
Regarding claims 5 and 18, modified Foley discloses the multimodal transportation system wherein the tire recess (Szabo, Fig 1, #18) is configured to receive a portion of a tire (Foley, rear tire, shown in Fig 3) of the micromobility transit vehicle (Foley, Fig 3, #200) when the micromobility transit vehicle (Foley, Fig 3, #200) is in the predetermined docking position.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Foley 2018/0370594 and Haraughty 7,131,298; and further in view of Wang CN108035577.
Regarding claim 10, modified Foley has been discussed above but does not explicitly teach wherein the platform comprises a durable rubber mat.
Wang discloses a multimodal transportation system comprising a platform (Fig 3, #71) that comprises a durable rubber mat [0044] to prevent a micromobility transit vehicle or bicycle from slipping [0044].
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 platform (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above) of modified Foley to have a rubber mat (Wang, [0044]) in order to prevent the tire (Foley, Fig 3, rear tire) of the micromobility transit vehicle (Foley, Fig 3, #200) from slipping on the platform (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above).
Claims 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Foley 2018/0370594 and Haraughty 7,131,298; and further in view of Gwak KR20190031957.
Regarding claim 11, modified Foley has been discussed above but does not explicitly teach the multimodal transportation system wherein the platform
comprises one or more sensors to detect a presence of the micromobility transit vehicle.
Gwak discloses a the multimodal transportation system (Figs 1 & 2) comprising a platform (Figs 2 & 3, #1); wherein the platform (Figs 2 & 3, #1) comprises one or more sensors (Fig 3, #6 or #61) to detect a presence of the micromobility transit vehicle [0024].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to attach a sensor (Gwak, Fig 3, #6 & #61) to the platform (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above) of modified Foley in order to detect the presences of the micromobility transit vehicle (Gwak, [0024]) and relay the information such as theft status to a user’s mobile phone (Gwak, [0027]).
Regarding claim 12, modified Foley discloses the multimodal transportation system wherein the platform (Foley, annotated Fig 3 above) comprises one or more sensors (Gwak, Fig 3, #6 & #61) to detect an unwarranted removal of the micromobility transit vehicle (Foley, Fig 3, #200) for determining a tampering condition of the micromobility transit vehicle (Foley, Fig 3, #200) (Gwak, [0027]), and wherein the tampering condition comprises when the micromobility transit vehicle is vandalized or when the micromobility transit vehicle (Foley, Fig 3, #200) is stolen (Gwak, [0027]).
Regarding claim 13, modified Foley discloses the multimodal transportation system wherein a tampering signal (Gwak, [0027]) is generated and sent to a computing device (Gwak, [0027], mobile phone H or server #8) when the tampering condition is determined to be met.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEVIN K BARNETT whose telephone number is (571)270-1159. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jonathan Liu can be reached at 571-272-8227. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DEVIN K BARNETT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3631
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