DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 10 recites the limitation “first and second axles” which should be changed to “first and second drive axles”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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, 7, 13, 14, 16, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jacobsson (WO 2016204668 A1) in view of Nassiri (US 4,512,613) and Masse et al. (US 4,614,246).
For claim 1, Jacobsson discloses a wheelchair propulsion system 1 comprising:
[first 15 and second 16 rotatable hubs for mounting to first 6 and second 7 wheels of a wheelchair 2 respectively] (fig. 1, page 9, lines 21 – 22), [a central bore being defined within each of the first and second hubs, each one of the central bores extending from a first end of the respective first and second hubs to an opposing second end thereof along a longitudinal axis of the respective first and second hubs] (fig. 11);
an elongated axle housing 10, 17, 18, 19 [arranged between the first and second hubs] (fig. 3);
first 13, 13a and second 14, 14a motors [arranged within the axle housing extending from opposing ends thereof] (page 8, lines 27 – 30);
first and second axles 24, 28 [removably insertable into the respective one of the central bores] (fig. 11), and
a power source 23 being configured to provide a source of power to the first and second motors] (page 9, lines 25 – 27),
[wherein actuation of the first and second motors transfers a torque to the first and second drive axles and to the first and second hubs, thereby rotating the first and second wheels respectively] (page 9, lines 21 – 32); but does not explicitly disclose
wherein the first and second drive axles each comprises a torque transferring member on a surface of the drive axle, the torque transferring member being shaped to engage with a torque receiving member disposed in the respective first and second rotatable hubs; and
the power source removably coupleable to the axle housing.
Nassiri discloses a wheelchair 10 comprising an axle 12 having a key 20; a hub mechanism includes, in addition to a modified hub 13, a bearing member 16 comprised of a tubular portion 17 having a groove 21; [the key and corresponding groove in the axle and inside of the tubular portion of the bearing member are provided for locking the bearing member to the axle for power rotation therewith] (col. 2, lines 55 – 59); but does not explicitly disclose the power source removably coupleable to the axle housing.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to alternatively use the key and groove of Nassiri in place of the bearings of Jacobsson with a reasonable expectation of success because it would allow for simple maintenance, replacement, and alignment while reducing slippage, thus providing for an improved overall torque transmission.
Masse et al. discloses a wheelchair comprising a chassis 10 has a front portion 15; front wheels 11 are coaxially mounted at opposite sides of the front portion] (col. 5, lines 14 – 17); and [motor 23 and other electrical devices are powered from a pair of storage batteries 24 that are mounted on the chassis, rearwardly adjacent to a box-like portion 22 and adjacent to opposite sides of a rigid spar 17] (col. 5, lines 36 – 41).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to additionally use the batteries mounted on a chassis of Masse et al. in place of the single battery of Jacobsson modified as above with a reasonable expectation of success because it would allow for a redundancy system, thus providing reliability of the wheelchair operation in case of battery failure or damage of one of the batteries.
For claim 7, Jacobsson modified as above discloses the wheelchair propulsion system [wherein the power source comprises two battery units 24].
For claim 13, Jacobsson modified as above discloses the wheelchair propulsion system [wherein the torque receiving member is integrally formed within the respective first and second hubs] (fig. 2, col. 2, lines 55 – 59).
For claim 14, Jacobsson modified as above discloses the wheelchair propulsion system [wherein the torque receiving member is defined by one or more flat faces contoured on surfaces of the respective first and second hubs at the central bore] (fig. 2).
For claim 16, Jacobsson modified as above discloses the wheelchair propulsion system [wherein the first and second drive axles are each contoured with one or more flat surfaces along the lengths thereof, wherein the one or more flat surfaces are shaped to complement the one or more flat faces contoured on the surface of the respective first and second hubs at the central bore] (fig. 2, col. 2, lines 55 – 59).
For claim 17, Jacobsson modified as above discloses a wheelchair 2 having a wheelchair propulsion system according to claim 1 operatively mounted thereon.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 – 6, 8 – 12, and 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: the prior art fails to disclose:
For claims 2 – 6: a driving mechanism housing positioned between the first and second axle housings, the first and second axle housings each having a first end and an opposing second end, the first ends contacting opposing ends of the driving mechanism housing and the second ends contacting the first and second hubs respectively;
For claims 8 – 12: the torque receiving member comprises a torque bushing fitted inside the central bore of the respective first and second hubs; or
For claim 15: wherein the first and second drive axles each comprises a nut, wherein the nut comprises one or more flat faces arranged on an outer periphery thereof.
.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jacob D. Knutson whose telephone number is (571)270-5576. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
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/JACOB D KNUTSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3611
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