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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2465751 to Robins (hereinafter “Robins”).
-From Claim 1: Robins discloses a suspension for a vehicle, the suspension comprising:
a lower arm M and a knuckle 9’ disposed to be spaced apart from each other;
a ball joint including:
a first end having a ball part 4 and coupled to the lower arm, and
a second end corresponding to a stud part 12 and installed by being inserted into the knuckle; and
a bolt 15 fastened to the stud part 12 by penetrating the knuckle in a direction opposite to a direction in which the stud part is inserted, the bolt configured to enter the stud part in a longitudinal direction of the stud part.
-From Claim 3: Robins discloses wherein a screw groove 10 is formed at a center of the stud part and extends in the longitudinal direction of the stud part, and the screw groove is screw-fastened to a threaded portion of the bolt.
-From Claim 4: Robins discloses wherein the knuckle 9’ includes:
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Reproduced from Robins (Examiner Annotated)
a stud part insertion groove (above) into which the stud part of the ball joint is inserted,
a head part insertion groove (above) into which a head part of the bolt is inserted and seated, and
an intermediate hole (above) configured to connect the stud part insertion groove and the head part insertion groove, and wherein the stud part insertion groove, the head part insertion groove, and the intermediate hole are connected to each other on a same axis.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 5-10 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As to Claim 2, the prior art is lacking a teaching, suggestion, or motivation to modify Robins such that the stud part is spread outward and expanded in outer diameter when the bolt is fastened to the stud part, and wherein a restrictive force is implemented as a contact between the stud part and the knuckle increases when the outer diameter is expanded, such that the stud part and the knuckle are coupled..
As to Claim 8, the prior art is lacking a teaching, suggestion, or motivation to modify Robins such that a diameter of the screw groove of the stud part is smaller than a diameter of the threaded portion of the bolt before the bolt is fastened to the stud part, and wherein an outer diameter of the stud part is expanded, and the stud part is coupled to the knuckle when the threaded portion of the bolt is inserted and fastened into the screw groove of the stud part.
As to Claim 9, the prior art is lacking a teaching, suggestion, or motivation to modify Robins such that even though an axial force is applied in an axial direction to the ball joint when the bolt is fastened to the stud part in a state in which the stud part is inserted into the stud part insertion groove, a state in which the stud part is supported in the stud part insertion groove is maintained such that the ball joint does not move in the axial direction, and wherein a position of a hard point of the ball joint is not changed as the ball joint does not move in the axial direction at a time of fastening the bolt.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, as the cited references include structure similar to that of the presently claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL J WILEY whose telephone number is (571)270-7324. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Anderson can be reached at 5712705281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL J WILEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678 1/29/2026