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 § 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 1-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aregger (WO 2017/076783 A1) in view of Araki et al. (EP 3812255 A1) and Doerksen et al. (USPub 2020/0262263).
With respect to claim 1, Aregger discloses an electric vehicle ([0009] of attached translation) comprising: a frame portion having a first side and a second side with a channel therebetween (Figs 1-3); a first rear wheel (11) disposed rearward relative to the frame portion at the first side; a second rear wheel (12) disposed rearward relative to the frame portion at the second side; a tilt control axle (9) coupled to the channel of the frame portion (Fig 3); and a tilt blade (8) having a first end and a second end, and extending along a longitudinal axis perpendicular to an axis of rotation of the tilt control axle (Fig 3), the tilt blade being coupled to the tilt control axle (Fig 3), the tilt control axle controlling an amount of tilt of the tilt blade in an up direction or a down direction (via 4); wherein the first end of the tilt blade is operably coupled to the first rear wheel (via 4 on left side of vehicle in Fig 3), and the second end of the tilt blade is operably coupled to the second rear wheel (via 4 on right side of vehicle in Fig 3), wherein the first rear wheel and the second rear wheel is configured to move in the up direction or the down direction based on the amount of tilt ([0012-0014] of attached translation), but Aregger does not disclose wherein the tilt control axle is configured to control the tilt blade in at least three modes based on a speed of the electric vehicle or a mode selected by a rider. Araki et al., however, disclose wherein a tilt control axle is configured to control the tilt blade in at least three modes based on a speed of the electric vehicle ([0099]-0100] based on speed; “drive” – speed > 0, “parking” – speed = 0) or a mode selected by a rider ([0029] – switch 47; driver selecting between “driving,” “neutral,” “parking,” and “reverse”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was filed to modify the invention of Aregger in view of the teachings of Araki et al. to have the tilt axle control the tilt blade in at least three modes based on a speed or mode selected by the rider in order to balance stability, safety, and agile cornering at different speeds. Aregger also does not disclose a tilt control caliper coupled to the tilt control axle, wherein the tilt control caliper may be selectively engaged to lock the tilt control axle in a rotational position in accordance with which one of the at least three modes is currently engaged. Doerksen et al., however, disclose a tilt control caliper (1432) coupled to the tilt control axle, wherein the tilt control caliper may be selectively engaged to lock the tilt control axle in a rotational position in accordance with which one of the at least three modes is currently engaged ([0173-0174]; may be locked at a subset of angles such as for a storage mode. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was filed to further modify Aregger and Araki et al. in view of the teachings of Doerksen et al. to have a caliper that may be selectively engaged to lock the tilt control axle in a rotational position in accordance with which one of the at least three modes in order to enhance stability, safety, and operator control during modes such as parking, low-speed maneuvers, heavy load handling, etc.
With respect to claim 2, wherein, in a first mode of the at least three modes, the tilt control caliper is configured to lock the tilt blade at a particular angle about a pivot point between the tilt control axle and the tilt blade when the speed of the electric vehicle is less than a speed threshold (such as in a parking mode, the speed would be below a “driving” mode). It also would have been obvious to have specific speed thresholds, since it was old and well known in the art to control a tilting aspect of a vehicle in order to balance centrifugal forces and gravity.
With respect to claim 3, while the combination does not specifically disclose wherein the tilt control caliper is configured to lock the tilt blade at the particular angle corresponding to banking of a road surface, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was filed to control the caliper to lock it at a particular angle during banking in order to keep the vehicle stable; locking it stops the body from leaning too far or swinging back and forth. This balance helps the tires keep a strong grip on the road and makes the turn smooth and safe.
With respect to claims 4 and 5, it would have been obvious to have a second mode wherein the tilt control caliper is configured to unlock the tilt blade and control the amount of tilt within a 6 degree range about a pivot point between the tilt control axle and the tilt blade, the amount of tilt balancing a shift in load when the speed of the vehicle is less than a speed threshold and to have a third mode wherein the tilt control caliper is configured to unlock the tilt blade and control the amount of tilt within a 30 degree range about a pivot point between the tilt control axle and the tilt blade when the speed of the vehicle is greater than a speed threshold, wherein the control of the tilt blade causes the first rear wheel and the second rear wheel to offset form each other in the up direction or the down direction during a turn, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. It also would have been obvious to control the amount of tilt when the speed is less than or greater than a speed threshold in order to balance centrifugal forces and gravity.
With respect to claim 6, wherein the tilt control axle is directly connected to the tilt blade at a center of the tilt blade (Fig 3 of Aregger).
With respect to claims 7 and 8, the combination does not disclose wherein the tilt control axle is coupled to the tilt blade via a gear and pulley mechanism or a gear mechanism. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was filed to try coupling the tilt control axle to the tilt blade via a gear or a gear and pulley mechanism or any other suitable mechanism, since they are all old and well known means for connecting an axle to a blade that allows them to pivot relative to each other.
With respect to claim 9, wherein the tilt control axle is pivotably connected to the channel of the frame portion such that the tilt control axle moves in the up direction or the down direction, the channel preventing the tilt control axle from moving in a horizontal direction (Figs 3-4 of Aregger).
With respect to claim 10, wherein the tilt control axle comprises an axle of a tilt control motor (as modified by Araki et al., tilt control axle comprises an axle of a tilt control motor 25 in order to control the axle tilt).
With respect to claim 11, wherein operation of the tilt control axle in the at least three modes is controlled by a processor (126c of Araki et al.).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DREW J BROWN whose telephone number is (571)272-1362. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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DREW BROWN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3616
/DREW J BROWN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617
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