DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
This action is in response to the application No. 19/179353 filed on 4/15/2025. Claims 1-17 are pending for examination.
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 § 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(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CPT Autopilot1, http://cptautopilot.com/features.php.
As to claim 17, CPT Autopilot discloses a removable universal controller for a steering wheel, the controller comprising:
a body having rotating elements for hanging the body onto the rim of the steering wheel and for rotating the steering wheel (see at least first figure: wheel pulley and drive motor acting as rotating elements to turn the rim of the steering wheel); and
a navigation system coupled to at least one of the rotating elements to cause the rotation thereof according to a heading (see at least The Control Box: compass sensor and controls to toggle a hold heading and the autopilot will maintain the current heading).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-16 are allowed over the prior art of record.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The closest prior art of record is CPT Autopilot, as seen in the rejection of claim 17, above.
CPT Autopilot discloses a system and method for an aftermarket steering assist system that can be removably installed onto the steering wheel of a marine vessel, and includes a motor and pulley system to actuate the steering of the vessel according to the separate control box which includes autonomous control options such as keeping the heading of the vessel or other heading adjustments for the navigation of the boat, settable by the operator.
As to independent claim 1, however, the prior art of record fails to teach or suggest the following claimed subject matter:
“first and second rotating elements that are mounted to the body and that defines, with the body, hooks for mounting the body on the steering wheel via its outer edge; at least one of the two rotating elements being motorized; the body being configured for hanging from the front of the steering wheel while the first and second rotating elements are operatively mounted onto the outer edge of the steering wheel for transmission of rotation of the rotating elements to the steering wheel;”
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS P INGRAM whose telephone number is (571)272-7864. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6 ET.
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, Fadey Jabr can be reached at 571-272-1516. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Thomas Ingram/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3668
1 Web Archive has been utilized, see attached PDF, showing the CPT Autopilot features URL from at least October 20th, 2019: https://web.archive.org/web/20191020144819/http://cptautopilot.com/features.php
Prosecution Insights