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 .
Duplicate Claims
Applicant is advised that should claim 2 be found allowable, claim 11 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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 3 and 13 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.
Regarding claim 3, the phrase “a plurality of bearing journals connects the first transmission plate and the carrier component” is indefinite because it is unclear whether the plurality of bearing journals includes the previously recited “at least one bearing journal” or is in addition to the previously recited “at least one bearing journal.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 10-12 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Haustein et al. (US 2017/0335910).
Regarding claim 1, Haustein discloses an actuator assembly for a vehicle brake (see Abstract, FIGS. 1-3), comprising a carrier assembly (2, 7) (see also, annotated FIG. 1, below, element (A)), which comprises a first transmission plate (7) and a second transmission plate (A) (see Annotated FIG. 1, below), wherein the two transmission plates are connected to one another via a carrier component (2), are mounted in an actuator housing (1) and carry a transmission unit (5, 20), wherein the first transmission plate has a fastening interface (10) for an electric motor (4) (see ¶ 0027) and is mounted in an elastically damped manner on the carrier component (via (9)) (see, ¶ 0036), and the second transmission plate is rigidly coupled to the carrier component (see Annotated FIG. 2, below; element (5) is coupled to carrier component (2) without any intervening damping members).
PNG
media_image1.png
661
438
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
671
507
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 2, Haustein discloses that at least one bearing journal (25) for a gear wheel is arranged on the carrier component (see FIG. 2), and the first transmission plate and the carrier component and/or the second transmission plate and the carrier component are aligned with respect to one another, by the at least one bearing journal (see FIG. 2).
Regarding claim 4, Haustein discloses that at least one elastic arm (9) is formed on the first transmission plate (see FIG. 3), and the first transmission plate is coupled to the carrier component via the at least one elastic arm (see FIG. 4, ¶ 0036).
Regarding claim 10, Haustein discloses that an electric motor (4) is fastened to the first transmission plate (see ¶ 0030; FIG. 2), and the first transmission plate is mounted elastically in the actuator housing (see ¶ 0036; FIG. 4).
Regarding claim 11, Haustein discloses that at least one bearing journal (25) for a gear wheel is arranged on the carrier component (see FIG. 2), and the first transmission plate and the carrier component and/or the second transmission plate and the carrier component are aligned with respect to one another, by the at least one bearing journal (see FIG. 2).
Regarding claim 12, Haustein discloses that at least one elastic arm (9) is formed on the first transmission plate (see FIG. 3), and the first transmission plate is coupled to the carrier component via the at least one elastic arm (see FIG. 4, ¶ 0036).
Regarding claim 17, Haustein discloses that an electric motor (4) is fastened to the first transmission plate (see ¶ 0030; FIG. 2), and the first transmission plate is mounted elastically in the actuator housing (see ¶ 0036; FIG. 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-9 and 14-16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 3 and 13 would be allowable if rewritten 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 and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS J LANE whose telephone number is (571)270-5988. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
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.
/NICHOLAS J LANE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616
November 24, 2025