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 Objections
Claim 7 is objected to because the word --rotation-- is misspelled (see claim 7, line 5, “rotatin”). Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-3 and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Dettenberger et al. (US 2013/0203554).
Regarding independent claim 1, Dettenberger discloses a case (3) for an electromechanical actuator (see Abstract, FIGS. 1-4), the case including a fastening face (A) (see Annotated FIG. 2, below) configured to couple the case to a motor vehicle disc brake caliper body (see e.g. ¶¶ 0002, 0003), an open face (B) (see Annotated FIG. 2, below) opposite the fastening face with respect to a main vertical direction (see Annotated FIG. 2, below), and on which said open face, a cover (4) is mounted on the open face (see FIG. 2), the cover being adapted to close an opening of said open face (see FIG. 2), the case further including damping elements (104b) associated to the cover (see FIG. 2), the damping elements being interposed between the cover and the case (see FIG. 2), each damping element extends according to the main vertical direction and includes a lower section (C) (see Annotated FIG. 2, below) which is received in an associated housing (20) of the case and an upper section which is received in an associated housing of the cover (see FIGS. 1, 2; upper portion of damping element received in recessed housing section of cover), the lower and upper sections being opposite to each other with respect to the main vertical direction (see FIG. 2).
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Regarding claim 2, Dettenberger discloses that said damping elements are compressed between the case and the cover (see FIG. 2, ¶ 0033).
Regarding claim 3, Dettenberger discloses two damping elements symmetrically distributed with respect to a middle main axis of the cover (see FIG. 3).
Regarding claim 7, Dettenberger discloses that an electromechanical actuator for a motor vehicle disc brake caliper (see Abstract; FIGS. 1-4), including a case according to claim 1 (see claim 1), further including a motor-drive assembly (10) and a mechanical reducer (12, 14) coupled thereto (see FIG. 2), wherein the motor-drive assembly includes an electric motor (see ¶ 0032), wherein elements of the reducer are rotatably mounted about axes parallel to an axis of rotation of the motor extending in said main vertical direction (see FIG. 2).
Regarding claim 8, Dettenberger discloses a motor vehicle disc brake caliper (see e.g. ¶¶ 0002, 0003), including an electromechanical actuator according to claim 7 (see claim 7, above).
Regarding claim 9, Dettenberger discloses a motor vehicle disc brake (see e.g. ¶¶ 0002, 0003), including a caliper according to claim 8 (see claim 8, above).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection noted above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6 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.
Regarding claim 4, Dettenberger does not disclose that each section of the damping element is compressed horizontally.
Regarding claim 5, Dettenberger does not disclose that the damping element is compressed in the main vertical direction by the case. Rather, Dettenberger discloses that the damping element is compressed by an associated housing (20) of the case (3).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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.
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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.
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/NICHOLAS J LANE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616
May 27, 2026
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