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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 11th September 2023 fails to comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609 because it is a communication regarding a filed IDS rather than an IDS form itself. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered as to the merits. Applicant is advised that the date of any re-submission of any item of information contained in this information disclosure statement or the submission of any missing element(s) will be the date of submission for purposes of determining compliance with the requirements based on the time of filing the statement, including all certification requirements for statements under 37 CFR 1.97(e). See MPEP § 609.05(a). It should be noted there are two “IDS” files filed on 11th September 2023. The IDS filed properly has been considered, as annotated.
Election/Restriction
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicants Arguments, filed 27th July 2026, with respect to the distinction of Species C and Species D of the lack of unity election requirement, filed 27th May 2027, has been fully considered and are persuasive. The required distinction between Species C and Species D has been withdrawn. Thus, as applicant elected Species D, and corresponding Claims 1-12 and 17-18 as they read on the Species D in Applicants Arguments, filed 27th July 2026, examiner will also consider Species C as elected. Claims 13-16 drawn to non-elected embodiments are withdrawn.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-6, 8-12, and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cogswell (US 4403762 A) in view of Hiratsuka (JP H03249438 A).
Regarding Claim 1, Cogswell discloses a bush for isolating vibrations, the bush comprising: a first anchor part (40) defining a longitudinal axis; a second anchor part (42) disposed coaxially with respect to the first anchor part (40); a first resilient body (46) operably engaged with the first anchor part (40); a second resilient body (48) operably engaged with the second anchor part (42); and an inertial mass element (44) disposed between the first anchor part (40) and the second anchor part (42), wherein the inertial mass element (44) is independently connected to the first resilient body (46) and the second resilient body (48), wherein the first resilient body (46), second resilient body (48) and inertial mass element (44) are arranged to isolate vibrations between the first anchor part (40) and the second anchor part (42) within a predetermined operational frequency range, wherein the inertial mass element (44) is arranged to isolate the first anchor part (40) and second anchor part (42) from dynamic stiffness increases associated with eigenmodes of the first resilient body (46) and the second resilient body (48) in the predetermined operational frequency range (see Fig. 2, Fig. 5, Fig. 6, 6: 36-10: 14)
Cogswell does not disclose wherein the bush includes one or more snubber portions to physically limit an extent of relative radial movement between the first and second anchor parts, and wherein at least one of the first and second anchor parts includes the one or more snubber portions.
Hiratsuka teaches a bush wherein the bush (14) includes one or more snubber portions (15) to physically limit an extent of relative radial movement between the first (17) and second (18) anchor parts, and wherein at least one of the first (17) and second (18) anchor parts includes the one or more snubber portions (15) (see Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the snubber portion and axially extending passages teachings of Hiratsuka with the bush of Cogswell in order to improve shock absorption during sudden vibration events, such as acceleration or braking (see JP H03249438 A [Hiratsuka]; [0001]).
Regarding Claim 2, Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka teaches wherein the inertial mass element (44) occupies a non-resonant condition in the predetermined operational frequency range (see US 4403762 A [Cogswell]; “Engine Disturbance” Fig. 5) (see US 4403762 A [Cogswell]; Fig. 2, Fig. 5, Fig. 6).
Regarding Claim 3, Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka teaches wherein the inertial mass element (44) occupies a resonant condition at a frequency below the predetermined operational frequency range (see US 4403762 A [Cogswell]; “Engine Disturbance” Fig. 5) (see US 4403762 A [Cogswell]; Fig. 2, Fig. 5, Fig. 6).
Regarding Claim 4, Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka teaches having a dynamic stiffness characteristic that exhibits a single peak at a resonant frequency below the predetermined operational frequency range (see US 4403762 A [Cogswell]; “Engine Disturbance” Fig. 5) (see US 4403762 A [Cogswell]; Fig. 2, Fig. 5, Fig. 6).
Regarding Claim 5, Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka teaches wherein the resonant frequency is less than 1000 Hz (see US 4403762 A [Cogswell]; Fig. 2, Fig. 5, Fig. 6).
Regarding Claim 6, Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka teaches wherein the first resilient body (16) includes axially extending passages therethrough to facilitate relative movement between the first (17) and second anchor parts (18) during loading (see JP H03249438 A [Hiratsuka]; Fig. 3)
Regarding Claim 8, Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka teaches wherein the axially extending passages include the one or more snubber portions (15) which physically limit an extent of relative radial movement between the first (17) and second anchor parts (18) (see JP H03249438 A [Hiratsuka]; Fig. 3)
Regarding Claim 9, Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka teaches wherein the first anchor part (40) is a rod extending along the longitudinal axis, and wherein the second anchor part (42) is a sleeve surrounding the rod (see US 4403762 A [Cogswell]; Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 10, Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka teaches wherein the inertial mass element (44) is a rigid tubular body disposed coaxially with respect to the rod (40) in between the rod (40) and the sleeve (42) (see US 4403762 A [Cogswell]; Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 11, Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka teaches wherein the first resilient body (46) extends radially between an outer surface of the rod (40) and an inner surface of the rigid tubular body (44), and the second resilient body (48) extends radially between an outer surface of the rigid tubular body (44) and an inner surface of the sleeve (42) (see US 4403762 A [Cogswell]; Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 12, Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka teaches wherein the first resilient body (46) is a solid resilient member that fills an annular volume between the rod (40) and the rigid tubular body (44) (see US 4403762 A [Cogswell]; Fig. 2, Fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 17, Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka teaches wherein the first anchor part (40) is connectable to a first machine component and the second anchor part (42) is connectable to a second machine component, whereby the bush is operable to isolate vibrations between the first machine component and second machine component (see US 4403762 A [Cogswell]; Fig. 1, Fig. 4).
Regarding Claim 18, Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka teaches wherein the first machine component and second machine component are the engine and chassis of a vehicle (see US 4403762 A [Cogswell]; Fig. 1, Fig. 4).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cogswell (US 4403762 A) as modified by Hiratsuka (JP H03249438 A) in Claim 6, above, further in view of Maier (US 20020014730 A1).
Regarding Claim 7, Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka teaches a bush according to Claim 6.
Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka does not teach wherein both of the first and second resilient bodies include axially extending passages therethrough to facilitate relative movement between the first and second anchor parts during loading.
Maier teaches wherein both of the first (5) and second (4) resilient bodies include axially extending passages (7, 8) therethrough to facilitate relative movement between the first (3) and second (2) anchor parts during loading (see Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teaching of axially extending passages of Maier with the bushing of Cogswell modified by Hiratsuka in order to improve the loading, stiffness characteristics, and vibration decoupling abilities of both resilient bodies (see US 20020014730 A1 [Maier]; [0005-0007]).
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ebert et. al. (US 20090179362 A1) discloses a bushing having snubber portions to limit radial movement.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Shea Irvin whose telephone number is (571)272-9952. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30 - 17:00.
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, Robert Siconolfi can be reached at (571) 272-7124. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/S.W.I./
Examiner, Art Unit 3616
/DAVID R MORRIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616
Prosecution Insights