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, 2, 6, 15, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ishihara (US 11,958,547). Ishihara discloses:
With regard to claim 1 - A steering actuator comprising:
a first reducer including a worm 81 configured to rotate by receiving a rotational force of a motor 7 and a worm wheel 82 configured to rotate in engagement with the worm 81;
a pinion shaft 3 coupled to a center of the worm wheel 82 and configured to rotate together with the worm wheel 82;
a second reducer including a first gear 11a formed on the pinion shaft 3, and an output shaft 407 configured to operate a pitman arm 408 while rotating by receiving a rotational force through a second gear 406 engaged with the first gear 11a;
a first gear housing 9 configured to receive the worm 81 and coupled to the motor 7;
a second gear housing 10 provided with a first mounter 101a for receiving and mounting the pinion shaft 3 and a second mounter 101b formed apart to communicate with the first mounter 101a and configured to receive and mount the output shaft 407 (see Fig. 4), and coupled to the first gear housing 9; and
a holder 16 configured to rotatably support the pinion shaft 3 and having a rotational center axis eccentric with respect to a central axis of the pinion shaft.
Ishihara fails to explicitly disclose the holder as having a rotational center axis eccentric with respect to a central axis of the pinion shaft (see Fig. 6B).
With regard to claim 2 - wherein the holder 16 further comprises an upper bearing 14 coupled to the pinion shaft 3 and assembled at an upper side 16a of the holder 16 and a lower bearing 15 coupled to the pinion shaft and assembled at a lower side 16a of the holder (see Fig. 5).
With regard to claim 6 - further comprising a fixing device 122 configured to restrict an axial movement of the pinion shaft and fix the upper bearing 14 and the lower bearing to the holder.
With regard to claim 15 - a fixing member C configured to fix the output shaft 407 to the second mounter (see Fig. 2).
With regard to claim 16 - wherein the fixing member comprises:
a first fixer assembled with an upper portion of the output shaft with respect to the second gear and rotatably supporting the output shaft; and
a second fixer assembled with a lower portion of the output shaft with respect to the second gear and rotatably supporting the output shaft 407 (see marked up figure below).
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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.
Claim(s) 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishihara in view of Kim et al (US 10,427,713). With regard to claim 17, Ishihara fails to explicitly disclose wherein the first fixer comprises a needle bearing coupled to an upper end of the output shaft; and a bearing cover having the needle bearing installed at a center and press-fitted to the second mounter. Kim teaches a steering apparatus comprising an output shaft 317 and a fixer, wherein the fixer comprises a needle bearing 342 coupled to an upper end of the output shaft 317, and a bearing cover 314c having the needle bearing 342 installed at a center and press-fitted to a mounter.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the free play adjustment method of Ishihara with the teaching of Kim such that the fixer includes the needle bearing assembly to ensure as little wear as possible.
With regard to claim 18, Ishihara fails to explicitly disclose a second fixer. Kim teaches wherein a second fixer comprises: a fixed bearing 341 having an inner ring supported on a stepped portion of the output shaft 317 and an outer ring supported on a mounting hole of a second gear housing 345 (see Fig. 6);
a lock nut 371 screwed to the output shaft 317 to support the inner ring of the fixed bearing 341;
a plug 372 having an inner side receiving the lock nut 371 and an outer side screwed to the mounting hole of the second gear housing 345; and
a dust seal 371 interposed between the inner side of the plug 372 and the output shaft 317. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the free play adjustment method of Ishihara with the teaching of Kim so as to include a second fixer, with a reasonable expectation of success, to keep unwanted particles from invading the inner spaces of the output shaft.
Claim(s) 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishihara in view of Kuroumaru (US 8,727,065). Ishihara fails to explicitly disclose wherein the steering actuator adjusts a backlash between the first gear and the second gear by rotating the rotational center axis of the holder to change the central axis of the pinion shaft.
Kuroumaru teaches an initial free play adjustment method between reducer gears of a steering actuator, wherein the steering actuator comprises:
a pinion shaft 12 installed at a center of a worm wheel 21 engaged with a worm 20;
an output shaft 13 having a second gear 7a engaged with a first gear 11a formed on the pinion shaft 3; and
a holder 24 coupled to the pinion shaft 13 and having a rotational center axis C2 eccentric with respect to a central axis C1 of the pinion shaft (see Fig. 2), and the steering actuator adjusts a backlash between by rotating the rotational center axis C2 of the holder 24 to change the central axis C1 of the pinion shaft 13 (“According to the present embodiment, when the first housing 24 is rotated with respect to the second housing 25 in a state in which the lock member 38 has been loosened, the center of the worm wheel 21 supported by the first bearing holding section 33 of the first housing 24 through the output shaft 13 and the center of the worm shaft 20 supported by the second housing 25 through the bearings 39 and 40 are relatively moved in response to the rotation of the eccentric engagement section 34 of the first housing 24. Therefore, the center-to-center distance D between the worm shaft 20 and the worm wheel 21 can be adjusted, and, as a result, a backlash between tooth surfaces between the worm shaft 20 and the worm wheel 21 can be properly adjusted. After adjusting the backlash, the outer ring 28a of the second bearing 28 is fastened to the second bearing holding section 37 of the second housing 25 by tightening the lock member 38.” – column 7, Lines 41-56).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the free play adjustment method of Ishihara with the teaching of Kuroumaru such that the steering actuator adjusts a backlash between the first gear and the second gear by rotating the rotational center axis of the holder to change the central axis of the pinion shaft, with a reasonable expectation of success, to provide an electric power steering device that has an excellent steering feeling with a low noise and that is superior in durability.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 20 is allowed.
Claims 3-5 and 7-14 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 13 and 20 distinguish themselves from the prior art through the claimed structure of the free play attachment between portions of the housing. Claim 3 defines itself over the prior art by defining the holder arrangement to definitively hold first and second bearings, unlike the prior art. Claim 7 includes specific attachment of the combination of upper and lower bearings to the pinion shaft not found in the art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/TIMOTHY WILHELM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3614 December 23, 2025