DETAILED ACTION
This application is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Drawings
The drawings are acceptable.
Claim Objections
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 12: The Office recommends inserting a comma between the words “bracket and.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 102
The text of 35 U.S.C. § 102 not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 3-4, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2012/029687 to Aoki et al., which discloses:
Claim 1: A vehicle (see FIG. 13) performing wireless communication with a terminal apparatus 125, comprising:
an electrical component 64; and
a wireless communication unit 110 formed separately from the electrical component 64 and connected to the electrical component 64 via a signal line 111; and
an energy storage apparatus 54;
wherein the wireless communication unit 110 is located below the energy storage apparatus 54; and
wherein the wireless communication unit 110 is disposed at a position so as to be overlapped with the energy storage apparatus 54 along a vertical direction (see FIG. 13).
Claim 3: The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the electrical component 64 is a control unit controlling a power unit (“external power supply” in the attached machine translation) of the vehicle.
Claim 4: The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the electrical component 64 and the wireless communication unit 110 are disposed with a positional relationship so as to be at least partially overlapped with each other in a front-back direction of the vehicle,
wherein the electrical component 64 is a control apparatus, and
wherein the wireless communication unit 110 is located higher than the control apparatus 64 (see FIG. 12).
Claim 10: The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising[:]
a first side cover 57; and
a second side cover 58 located adjacent to the first side cover 57, wherein
in a side view, the wireless communication unit 110 is located away from a joint between the first side cover and the second side cover 57, 58.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 103
The text of 35 U.S.C. § 103 not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2012/029687 to Aoki et al., as applied to Claim 1, further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0080249 A1 to Yates, III et al.
Claim 2: Aoki discloses the vehicle according to claim 1, but does not disclose wherein the signal line 111 is a common signal line connecting the electrical component 64 and another electrical component.
Yates III teaches another vehicle which comprises a CAN network bus which “may also be used to connect the ECU to other components on the vehicle such as, for example, the rider dashboard display, a global positioning system (GPS), data acquisition system, and other similar types of electronics.” Paragraph [0125].
In view of the Yates III teaching, the Office finds that it would have been obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective date of filing to modify, with a reasonable expectation of success, the vehicle disclosed by Aoki, such that the signal line 111 is part of a CAN bus which connects the wireless communication unit 110 to other components of the vehicle such as a rider dashboard display, a data acquisition system, or other similar types of electronics, in order to consolidate and minimize the number of signal lines across the vehicle.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2012/029687 to Aoki et al., as applied to Claim 1.
Claim 9: Aoki discloses the vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:
a power unit (“external power supply” disclosed in the attached translation), and
a partition intervenes between the power unit and the wireless communication unit 110.
The Office submits that because the wireless communication unit 110 is disposed above the electrical component 64 in FIG. 4, and the disclosed external power supply is connected to the electrical component 64 via power supply coupler 113 shown in FIG. 3, it would have been obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective date of filing that the wireless communication unit 110 is also disposed above the power unit.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2012/029687 to Aoki et al., as applied to Claim 1, further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0205454 A1 to Kawabata et al.
Claim 11: Aoki discloses the vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising[:]
a radiator 55, and
a cylinder head 91 located between the radiator 55 and the wireless communication unit 110F (see FIG. 40; the Office notes that the position of wireless communication unit 110F is located below at least a portion of energy storage apparatus 54 and it’s disposed at a position so as to be overlapped with the energy storage apparatus 54 along a vertical direction),
wherein the wireless communication unit 110F is located away from the radiator 55 in a front-back direction of the vehicle.
Aoki does not disclose that the radiator 55 includes a radiator fan motor.
Kawabata teaches another vehicle which includes a radiator unit 30 comprising a radiator 31, a radiator fan 32, a fan motor 33, and a fan cover 34. See Paragraph [0030].
In view of the Kawabata teaching, the Office finds that it would have been obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective date of filing to modify, with a reasonable expectation of success, the vehicle disclosed by Aoki, such that it further comprises a radiator fan motor and a radiator fan, in order to cool the engine oil while the vehicle is stopped when less air is flowing over the radiator 55.
Claims 6-7 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2012/029687 to Aoki et al., as applied to Claim 1, in view of International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2023/139592 A1 to Datta Rajaram et al.
Claim 6: FIG. 3 of Aoki shows a single signal line 111. The written disclosure of Aoki does not disclose a first signal line and a second signal line.
The Office turns to Datta Rajaram, which teaches a CAN bus 217 which is analogous to the signal line 111 disclosed by Aoki. CAN busses generally include several signal lines. For example, one line may carry power, one line may be a ground, and other lines may carry a variety of signals between different control units. Each of these lines extend in a same direction.
In view of the Datta Rajaram teaching, the Office finds that it would have been obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective date of filing to modify, with a reasonable expectation of success, the vehicle disclosed by Aoki such that the signal line 111 is a CAN bus which includes at least a first signal line and a second signal line, both of which extend between the wireless communication unit 110 and the electrical component 64, and such that the first and second signal lines extend in the same forward direction (the way CAN busses do), and such that the first and second signal lines pass below the energy storage apparatus 54, in order to provide a cable that carries multiple signals between the wireless communication unit 110 and the electrical component 64.
Claim 7: Aoki discloses a connector 111a provided at a tip of the cable 111, and which is connected to a socket 117 of electrical component 64.
As Aoki is modified by Datta Rajaram above in the rejection of Claim 6, so as to provide a CAN bus in lieu of cable 111, the connector 111a is analogous to a “junction component” which branches the signal line into the first signal line and the second signal line. The connector 11a is also disposed with a positional relationship so as to be at least partially overlapped with the electrical component 64 and the wireless communication unit 110 in a front-back direction of the vehicle.
Thus, the vehicle recited in Claim 7 is rendered obvious over the combination of Aoki and Datta Rajaram.
Claim 12: Aoki discloses wherein the wireless communication unit 110 is disposed in a case below the energy storage apparatus 54 via a bracket 156.
In view of the Datta Rajaram teaching, the Office finds that it would have been obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective date of filing to modify the vehicle disclosed by Aoki, as modified by Datta Rajaram in the rejection of Claim 6 above, such that a junction component (i.e., a CAN bus connector) is provided at the wireless communication unit 110 at which the first signal line and the second signal line (taught above by Datta Rajaram in the rejection of Claim 6) are connected is attached to the bracket 156.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s 03/24/2026 arguments relating to Claim 1 are moot because they do not apply to the combination of the references cited in the current rejection.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RANDELL J KRUG whose telephone number is (313) 446-6577. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 9:00-14:00 AZ time.
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/RANDELL J KRUG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
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