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 .
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 “first seal and the second seal, disposed at opposite axial ends of the sowing disc assembly, in direct contact with the sowing disc assembly and a mounting shaft” of claim 3 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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 3 recites “a first seal and a second seal, disposed at opposite axial ends of the sowing disc assembly, in direct contact with the sowing disc assembly and a mounting shaft”. Neither the specification nor the drawings as originally filed disclose the features claimed. The seals are not shown or disclosed as directly contacting a mounting shaft. The drawings explicitly show the seals contacting the inner rings and not the mounting shaft.
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 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Redekop U.S. 2015/0289434.
Re clm 1, Redekop discloses a disc assembly, comprising: a hub body (32 as well as outer rings, Fig. 6) having an inner face (inner surfaces of outer races) that constitutes a first external raceway and a second external raceway configured for direct mounting of a first tapered roller (at 30) and a second tapered roller (at 30), respectively; the disc assembly further comprising a first internal cone (one of inner rings of bearings) and a second internal cone (other of inner rings of bearings) that define a first inner bearing ring and a second inner bearing ring of the first tapered roller and the second tapered roller, respectively.
The limitations “sowing” and “of a seeding machine” is considered intended use of the disc and is given little or no patentable weight.
Re clm 2, Redekop further discloses said first internal cone fits within a first cage and said second internal cone fits within a second cage (both inner rings are radially within cages at 30, as shown in Fig. 6).
Re clm 4, Redekop further discloses said first internal cone and said second internal cone are arranged facing each other in a mirrored manner (inner rings face in opposing directions; put another way, the inner ring rib of each inner ring is located on the axially outer side and thus mirrored about a radial plane located axially between the two inner rings).
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fleischer EP 2664810.
Re clm 1, Fleischer discloses a sowing disc assembly (Fig. 2), comprising: a hub body (4 together with outer rings of bearings) having an inner face (inner surfaces of outer races) that constitutes a first external raceway and a second external raceway configured for direct mounting of a first tapered roller (at 6) and a second tapered roller (at 6), respectively; the disc assembly further comprising a first internal cone (one of inner rings of bearings) and a second internal cone (other of inner rings of bearings) that define a first inner bearing ring and a second inner bearing ring of the first tapered roller and the second tapered roller, respectively.
Re clm 2, Fleischer further discloses said first internal cone fits within a first cage and said second internal cone fits within a second cage (both inner rings are radially within cages at 6, as shown in Fig. 2).
Re clm 3, Fleischer further discloses a first seal (14 on left side, Fig. 2) and a second seal (unlabeled 14 or right side), disposed at opposite axial ends of the sowing disc assembly, in direct contact with the sowing disc assembly (via 4) and a mounting shaft (5 and 13 together can be considered the mounting shaft), jointly forming a sealing unit configured to retain a lubricant of the sowing disc assembly (the seals form a closed space at least capable of retaining a lubricant).
Re clm 4, Fleischer further discloses said first internal cone and said second internal cone are arranged facing each other in a mirrored manner (mirrored about E; [0016]).
Re clm 5, Fleischer further discloses the first internal cone comprises a first internal projection (axially central rib of one of inner rings) and a first outer projection (axially outer rib of one of inner rings), while the second internal cone comprises a second internal projection (axially central rib of the other of inner rings) and a second outer projection (axially outer rib of other of inner rings).
Re clm 6, Fleischer further discloses the first internal projection and the second internal projection and the first outer projection and the second outer projection define a first end of the first conical roller and a second end of the second conical roller (the projections of the inner rings bound the tapered rollers as shown in Fig. 2).
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fleischer EP 2664810 in view of GAO CN 112797069.
Assuming Applicant’s claims prevent the hub body as being defined as a grouping of multiple elements:
Re clm 1, Fleischer discloses a sowing disc assembly (Fig. 2), comprising: a hub body 4 having an inner face (inner surfaces of 4), a first external raceway (raceway of one outer ring) and a second external raceway (raceway of the other outer ring) configured for direct mounting of a first tapered roller (at 6) and a second tapered roller (at 6), respectively; the disc assembly further comprising a first internal cone (one of inner rings of bearings) and a second internal cone (other of inner rings of bearings) that define a first inner bearing ring and a second inner bearing ring of the first tapered roller and the second tapered roller, respectively.
Fleischer does not disclose the hub body and the first external raceway and the second external raceway are formed as a one-piece element such that the inner face constitutes a first external raceway and a second external raceway configured for direct mounting of a first tapered roller and a second tapered roller, respectively.
GAO discloses a hub body in which the outer rings of the tapered bearings are formed integrally with the hub (Fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the arrangement of Fleischer and provide the inner face constitutes a first external raceway and a second external raceway configured for direct mounting of a first tapered roller and a second tapered roller, respectively, since it has been held that the use of a one piece construction instead of the structure disclosed in the prior art would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice. In re Larson, 340 F.2d 965, 968, 144 USPQ 347, 349 (CCPA 1965). See MPEP §2144.04(V)(B). Furthermore, providing a one-piece structure would further provide the advantages of reducing the number of parts as well as reducing the number of assembly steps.
Re clm 2, Fleischer further discloses said first internal cone fits within a first cage and said second internal cone fits within a second cage (both inner rings are radially within cages at 6, as shown in Fig. 2).
Re clm 3, Fleischer further discloses a first seal (14 on left side, Fig. 2) and a second seal (unlabeled 14 or right side), disposed at opposite axial ends of the sowing disc assembly, in direct contact with the sowing disc assembly (via 4) and a mounting shaft (5 and 13 together can be considered the mounting shaft), jointly forming a sealing unit configured to retain a lubricant of the sowing disc assembly (the seals form a closed space at least capable of retaining a lubricant).
Re clm 4, Fleischer further discloses said first internal cone and said second internal cone are arranged facing each other in a mirrored manner (mirrored about E; [0016]).
Re clm 5, Fleischer further discloses the first internal cone comprises a first internal projection (axially central rib of one of inner rings) and a first outer projection (axially outer rib of one of inner rings), while the second internal cone comprises a second internal projection (axially central rib of the other of inner rings) and a second outer projection (axially outer rib of other of inner rings).
Re clm 6, Fleischer further discloses the first internal projection and the second internal projection and the first outer projection and the second outer projection define a first end of the first conical roller and a second end of the second conical roller (the projections of the inner rings bound the tapered rollers as shown in Fig. 2).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 14 June 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that “unlike Fleischer, in the present application, the outer rings or cups are eliminated as independent parts”. This is incorrect. Applicant is arguing limitations not found in the claims. There is no requirement that the hub body and the external raceways are formed as a one-piece integral element. As noted in the rejection, the hub body of Fleischer is interpreted as element 4 together with the outer rings of the bearing. There is no limitation in the claims which prevent such an interpretation of the art.
Even if Applicant could reasonably argue that the claims require a one-piece construction, the claims have been rejected by Fleischer in view of GAO as noted above. GAO discloses a hub device using tapered bearings in which the hub and the external raceways are formed as a one-piece unit. The examiner emphasizes that the claims do not actually require a one-piece arrangement as argued. The obviousness rejection has been provided to facilitate compact prosecution by showing that even if the claims were correctly argued/amended to require a one-piece construction, the use of a one-piece hub is well-known in the art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. DE 102013219118, DE 2001-2666, U.S. 9,107,340, U.S. 2018/0216667, U.S. 2015/0316103, U.S. 2010/0025057, and 2009/0095495 each disclose bearing arrangements in which a hub is formed integrally with the external raceways.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALAN B WAITS whose telephone number is (571)270-3664. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday from 6-4 EST.
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/ALAN B WAITS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617
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