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 .
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 1-14 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.
Regarding claims 1-7, recitation “determine, based on the one or more of acceleration information, pitch information, or position information, to adjust damping of at least one of the plurality of adjustable shock absorbers” in claim 1 renders the claim indefinite for being unclear because it is not known the controller is configured to determine what parameter of the vehicle in order to adjust damping of the shock absorber.
Regarding claims 8-14, recitation “determining, based on the acceleration information and pitch information, to adjust damping of at least one of the one or more adjustable shock absorbers” in claim 8 renders the claim indefinite for being unclear because it is not known the step of determining what parameter of the vehicle in order to adjust damping of the shock absorber.
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.
Claims 1-2, as best understood by the examiner, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Oshita (U.S. 2014/0232082).
Oshita discloses a recreational vehicle, comprising: a plurality of ground engaging members; a frame (vehicle chassis) supported by the plurality of ground engaging members (2); a plurality of suspensions (see fig. 1), wherein each of the plurality of suspensions couples a ground engaging member (2), from the plurality of ground engaging members, to the frame, wherein the plurality of suspensions includes a plurality of adjustable shock absorbers (10); at least one sensor (30) positioned on the recreational vehicle and configured to provide acceleration information to a controller (see paragraph 0091); and the controller operatively coupled to the at least one sensor (30) and the plurality of adjustable shock absorbers (10), wherein the controller is configured to: receive, from the at least one sensor (30), the acceleration information; determine vehicle parameter, based on the one or more of acceleration information, to adjust damping (see fig. 7) of at least one of the plurality of adjustable shock absorbers (10); and provide, to the at least one of the plurality of adjustable shock absorbers (10), one or more commands (see paragraph 0095 and fig. 7) to result in an adjustment of a damping characteristic of the at least one of the plurality of adjustable shock absorbers (10); a stabilizer bar (352) coupled between a rear suspension of the plurality of suspensions and the frame.
Claims 8-10, as best understood by the examiner, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Oakden-Graus (U.S. 2018/0354336).
Oakden-Graus discloses a method of adjusting one or more adjustable shock absorbers (110) of a vehicle, the method comprising: receiving, from at least one sensor (152, 158) of the vehicle, acceleration information; determining, based on the acceleration information and pitch information, to adjust damping of at least one of the one or more adjustable shock absorbers (110); and providing, to the at least one of the one or more adjustable shock absorbers (110), one or more commands to cause an adjustment of a damping characteristic of the at least one of the one or more adjustable shock absorbers (110), wherein the at least one sensor (152) comprises at least one of: an accelerometer; wherein the damping characteristic comprises at least one of: a compression damping or a rebound damping (see paragraph 0053).
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oshita (U.S. 2014/0232082) in view of Bedard (U.S. 2013/0285339).
Oshita discloses every element of the invention as discussed above except that the recreational vehicle is a snowmobile, and wherein the plurality of ground engaging members include skis.
Bedard teaches the vehicle is a snowmobile, and wherein the plurality of ground engaging members include skis (12, 30).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the vehicle of Oshita by using teaching of Bedard in order to improve riding safety and comfort for an operator.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-7 and 11-14 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.
Claims 15-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claims 4-5, the closest prior art as to Oshita (U.S. 2014/0232082) and Oakden-Graus (U.S. 2018/0354336) discloses every element of the invention as discussed above except that the controller is further configured to: determine, based on the one or more of acceleration information, pitch information, and position information, that a rear loading event is occurring, wherein the one or more commands comprise a command to increase a compression damping characteristic of the at least one of the plurality of adjustable shock absorbers.
Regarding claims 6-7, the closest prior art as to Oshita (U.S. 2014/0232082) and Oakden-Graus (U.S. 2018/0354336) discloses every element of the invention as discussed above except that the controller is further configured to: determine, based on the one or more of acceleration information, pitch information, and position information that a rear unloading event is occurring, wherein the one or more commands comprise a command to increase a rebound damping characteristic of the at least one of the plurality of adjustable shock absorbers.
Regarding claims 11-12, the closest prior art as to Oshita (U.S. 2014/0232082) and Oakden-Graus (U.S. 2018/0354336) discloses every element of the invention as discussed above except that determining, based on the acceleration information and pitch information, that a rear loading event is occurring, by: calculating a rear loading event score based on the acceleration information and pitch information; and comparing the rear loading event score to one or more thresholds, wherein the one or more commands comprise a command to increase a compression damping characteristic of the at least one of the one or more adjustable shock absorbers.
Regarding claims 13-14, the closest prior art as to Oshita (U.S. 2014/0232082) and Oakden-Graus (U.S. 2018/0354336) discloses every element of the invention as discussed above except that determining, based on the acceleration information and pitch information, that a rear unloading event is occurring, wherein the one or more commands comprise a command to increase a rebound damping characteristic of the at least one of the one or more adjustable shock absorbers.
Regarding claims 15-20, the closest prior art as to Oshita (U.S. 2014/0232082) and Oakden-Graus (U.S. 2018/0354336) discloses every element of the invention as discussed above except that the controller operatively coupled to the at least one sensor and the plurality of adjustable shock absorbers, wherein the controller is configured to: receive, from the at least one sensor, the acceleration information and the pitch information; calculate an event score based on the acceleration information and the pitch information; compare the calculated event score to a threshold; and control at least one adjustable shock absorber of the plurality of adjustable shock absorbers to adjust a damping characteristic of the at least one adjustable shock absorber based on the comparison.
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/TOAN C TO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3614 March 31, 2026