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 .
Response to Amendment
Claims 2, 4, 6, 12-13, and 22 have been amended. Claims 5, 8, 14, and 21 have been cancelled. Therefore, claims 2-4, 6-7, 10-13, 15-16, and 22 remain pending in the application. Applicant’s amendments to the Claims have overcome each and every objection and 112(b) rejection previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed October 1, 2025.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the feature of "such that the tubular outer shaft and the first and second sealed roller bearings are eccentric" in claims 2, 6, and 22 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 2, line 1, Examiner notes the status identifier indicates “(Currently Amened” and should read “(Currently Amended)”; see MPEP 714
Appropriate correction is required.
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 2-4, 6-7, 10-13, 15-16, and 22 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.
Claims 2 and 6 recites the limitation "the rotational motion" in lines 22 and 18, respectively. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of examination, claims 2 and 6 will be read as “the pure rotational motion”.
Claims 2 recites the limitation "the rotational " in line. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of examination, claims 2, 6, and 22 will be read as “the rotatable shaft”.
Claims 2 and 22 recites the limitation "the " in line. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of examination, claims 2 and 22 will be read as “the plurality of detent surfaces”.
Claims 2 and 22 recites the limitation "the " in line. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of examination, claims 2 and 22 will be read as “the plurality of compliant lobes”.
Claims 2 recites the limitation "the " in line. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of examination, claims 2, 6, and 22 will be read as “an outside environment”.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the" in line. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of examination, claim 3 will be read as “an axis”.
Regarding claim 6, line 17, the limitation of “in which the locking protrusion extends outside a perimeter of the tubular shaft” is unclear and renders the claim indefinite. Specifically, it is unclear which state, i.e. unlocked or locked, the limitation of “in which” is applicable. For the purpose of examination, claim 6 will be read as “in which the locking protrusion extends outside a perimeter of the tubular shaft in the locked state”.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the" in line. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of examination, claim 6 will be read as “the tubular outer shaft”.
Claim 15 recites the limitation "the" in line. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of examination, claim 15 will be read as “an axis”.
Allowable Subject Matter
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Claims 2-4, 6-7, 10-13, 15-16, and 22 would be allowable if rewritten or amended 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding amended independent claims 2, 6, and 22, as best understood, claims 2, 6, and 22 appear to be allowable based on the interpretation as set forth above, thus the prior art of record fails to anticipate or make obvious the entire combination of the claim recitations as set forth in amended independent claims 2, 6, and 22 and dependent claims 3-4, 7, 10-13, and 15-16.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 2, 6, and 22 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOCK WONG whose telephone number is (571)270-1349. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 5:00pm (ET).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kristina Fulton can be reached at (571)272-7376. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J.W./Examiner, Art Unit 3675 /KRISTINA R FULTON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3675
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