DETAILED ACTION
This is the First Office Action in response to the above identified patent
application filed on August 17, 2023.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the implied phrase “The present embodiments provide” (line 1) should be deleted. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Election/Restrictions
Claims 19-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on February 10, 2026.
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) 1-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Otsubo (JP 2009-8201).
Otsubo teaches a reducer of an electric power steering device, comprising: a boss (20) having a coupling hole (Figs. 2-3) formed in a central portion to allow a steering shaft to be coupled thereto; and a gear portion (21) on an outer circumferential side of the boss and having a tooth recess portion (23) engaged with a worm (1) on an outer circumferential surface thereof, wherein the tooth recess portion has a first end (23) and a second end (25) in an axial direction of the gear portion, the first end being axially opened, and the second end being closed.
Claim 2: Otsubo illustrates the closed second end of the tooth recess portion is larger in radial length than the opened first end of the tooth recess portion.
Claim 3: Otsubo illustrates (Fig. 2) a first gear portion (adjacent 23) formed to have a constant thickness (tooth thickness in an axial direction) and a constant radial length in the opened first end of the tooth recess portion; and a second gear portion (adjacent 25) formed to have a gradually reducing thickness (tooth thickness in an axial direction) and a constant radial length in the closed second end of the tooth recess portion, wherein the radial length of the second gear portion is larger than the radial length of the first gear portion.
Claim 4: Otsubo illustrates (Fig. 2) the gear portion further includes a connecting gear portion (24) axially connecting the first gear (23) portion and the second gear portion (25) at a constant thickness (at least a portion of the tooth thickness in an axial direction) and having a radial length increasing from the first gear portion to the second gear portion.
Claim 5: Otsubo illustrates (Fig. 2) the first gear portion is formed to have a constant circumferential width of the tooth recess portion (at least a portion thereof).
Claim 6: Otsubo illustrates (Fig. 2) the second gear portion is formed to have a circumferential width of the tooth recess portion (at least a portion thereof) gradually decreasing to the second end of the gear portion.
Claim 7: Otsubo illustrates (Fig. 2) the connecting gear portion is formed to have a constant circumferential width of the tooth recess portion (at least a portion thereof).
Claim 8: Otsubo illustrates (Fig. 4) the first gear portion is formed to have a constant depth of the tooth recess portion.
Claim 9: Otsubo illustrates (Fig. 4) the second gear portion is formed to have a depth (with respect to an outer circumference of 26) of the tooth recess portion gradually decreasing to the second end of the gear portion.
Claim 10: Otsubo illustrates (Fig. 4) the connecting gear portion is formed to have a constant depth (at least a portion thereof) of the tooth recess portion.
Claim 11: Otsubo illustrates (Fig. 4) the second gear portion is formed to have a curved tip (a curved surface corresponding to an outer circumference of the worm 1) in a direction toward the second end of the tooth recess portion.
Claim(s) 1 and 12-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee (KR 10-2017-0138659).
Lee teaches a reducer of an electric power steering device, comprising: a boss having a coupling hole (310) formed in a central portion to allow a steering shaft to be coupled thereto; and a gear portion (330) on an outer circumferential side of the boss and having a tooth recess portion (340) engaged with a worm on an outer circumferential surface thereof, wherein the tooth recess portion has a first end (330b) and a second end (330a) in an axial direction of the gear portion, the first end being axially opened, and the second end being closed.
Claim 12: Lee illustrates (Figs. 3-5) the boss includes: a gear portion coupling portion (350) having a spline groove (353,355) in an outer circumferential surface thereof and surrounded by the gear portion; a cylindrical shaft coupling portion (adjacent 310) having the coupling hole; and an annular boss connecting portion connecting the gear portion coupling portion and the shaft coupling portion.
Claim 13: Lee illustrates (Figs. 3-5) the gear portion coupling portion and the shaft coupling portion are formed to axially protrude beyond the boss connecting portion.
Claim 14: Lee illustrates (Figs. 6-7) the spline groove is formed to have a constant circumferential width (for example, the groove end portions in Fig. 7 have a constant width, wherein an intermediate portion of the grooves have a varying width).
Claim 15: Lee illustrates (Figs. 6-7) the spline groove is formed to have a constant depth.
Claim 16: Lee illustrates (Fig. 3) the gear portion coupling portion has a side protrusion axially protruding.
Claim 17: Lee illustrates (Fig. 3) the side protrusion is radially spaced apart from the spline groove and is disposed (at least one of them) between adjacent spline grooves.
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) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 10-2017-0138659), as applied to claims 1-2, in view of by Otsubo (JP 2008-309251).
Lee does not teach a key recess axially formed in an inner circumferential surface of the shaft coupling portion. Otsubo illustrates (Fig. 1) a gear (2) having an key groove formed in an inner circumferential surface (central hole) of a shaft coupling portion (20). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed device to form the inner circumferential surface of the shaft coupling portion of Lee with a groove for accepting a key, as taught by Otsubo, motivation being to securely connect the gear to a shaft.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Note the worm gear having an open end and a closed end of CN 216242139.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM C JOYCE whose telephone number is (571)272-7107. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Minnah Seoh can be reached at 571-270-7778. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM C JOYCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618