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 .
Status of Claims
This office action is in response to the continued examination filed on 04/08/2026. Claims 1, 3-6, 8, 10, 12-13, 15-16, 18-19 are pending; claims 1 has been amended; claims 2, 7, 9, 11, 14 and 17 are canceled.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 04/08/2026 has been entered.
Claim interpretation
Regarding the word “portion” as used in various claims, the applicant does not provide a specific definition of the word “portion” in the specification, Accordingly, the word should be interpreted in its ordinary meaning, which is a part, segment, section of any whole.
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) 1, 3-6, 8, 10, 12-13, 15-16, 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Obata (US 20140285045 A1) in view of NAKAWATARI (US 20170067512 A1)
Claim 1: Obata discloses a vehicle drive device (500; fig.6) comprising:
a rotating electrical machine (504) including a rotor (504r) and a rotor shaft (524a) that rotates with the rotor (504) (¶0073]);
an input shaft (524b) including a first gear (506) and connected to the rotor shaft (524a) so as to rotate integrally with the rotor shaft (524a) such that the input shaft does not rotate relative to the rotor shaft (524a);
a pair of output members (550l, 550r), the output members (550r, 550l) being drivingly connected to wheels (left and right wheels, see ¶[0076]), respectively;
a counter gear mechanism (510, 508) including a second gear (508) meshing with the first gear (506), a third gear (510) that rotates with the second gear (508), and a connecting shaft (538) connecting the second gear (508) and the third gear (510);
a differential gear mechanism (514) that includes a fourth gear (512) meshing with the third gear (510) and that distributes rotation of the fourth gear (512) to the pair of output members (550l, 550r) (¶0076]); and
a case housing (502) the rotating electrical machine (504), the input shaft (524b), the counter gear mechanism (510, 508), and the differential gear mechanism (514),
wherein the input shaft (524b) includes a first supported portion (see annotated fig below) supported by the case (502) via a first bearing (534) located on a first side (left side) in an axial direction with respect to the first gear (506), a connection portion(see annotated fig below) located on the first side (left side) in the axial direction with respect to the first supported portion (see annotated Fig below) and connected to the rotor shaft (524a), and a small diameter portion (see annotated fig below) located between the first supported portion (see annotated fig below) and the connection portion (see annotated fig below) in the axial direction and having a diameter smaller than an outside diameter (see annotated fig below) of the first supported portion and an outside diameter (see annotated fig below) of the connection portion,
the axial direction is a direction along a rotation axis of the rotor (504r), the first side (left side) in the axial direction being a side in the axial direction on which the rotor is located with respect to the first gear (506), and a second side (right side) in the axial direction is an opposite side in the axial direction to the first side (left side) in the axial direction;
[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (rotor shaft supported portion)]
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the rotor shaft (524a) includes a rotor shaft supported portion (see annotated fig above) supported by the case (502) via a second bearing (528) located on the second side (right side) in the axial direction with respect to the rotor (504r) and on the first side (left side) in the axial direction with respect to the first bearing (534).
Obata does not disclose the small diameter is located so as to overlap the rotor shaft supported portion as viewed in a radial direction along a radial direction of the input shaft.
NAKAWATARI teaches a transmission device (10;Fig.1) having a rotor shaft (28; Fig.2) includes a rotor shaft supported portion (see annotated fig below) supported by a case (19) via a bearing (54); wherein a small diameter (see annotated Fig below) of input shaft (26) is located so as to overlap the rotor shaft supported portion (see annotated fig below) as viewed in a radial direction along a radial direction of the input shaft (26).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace rotor shaft (524a) of Obata with rotor shaft (28) as taught by NAKAWATARI such that the small diameter is located so as to overlap the rotor shaft supported portion as viewed in a radial direction along a radial direction of the input shaft in the device of Obata for the purpose increasing torsional stiffnesses and reducing vibration.
Accordingly, the final modified structure of Obata would replace rotor shaft (524a) with rotor shaft (28) as taught by NAKAWATARI.
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Claim 3: Obata as modified by NAKAWATARI discloses the vehicle drive device according to claim 1, wherein: the first bearing (534- Obata) is supported by a bearing support portion (518- Obata) of the case (502- Obata); and the second bearing (528- Obata) is supported by the same bearing support portion (518-Obata) as the first bearing is.
Claim 4: Obata as modified by NAKAWATARI discloses the vehicle drive device according to claim 1,wherein: an inner peripheral surface of the rotor shaft (NAKAWATARI -28) is provided with a spline engaging portion (inner spline of 28); an outer peripheral surface of the connection portion is provided with a spline engaged portion (see annotated fig below); and the small diameter portion has a smaller diameter than a diameter of an imaginary circle connecting tops of protrusions of the spline engaged portion (see annotated fig below).
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Claim 5: Obata as modified by NAKAWATARI discloses the vehicle drive device according to claim 1, wherein: an inner peripheral surface of the rotor shaft (NAKAWATARI: 28) is provided with a spline engaging portion (inner spline of 28); an outer peripheral surface of the connection portion is provided with a spline engaged portion (see annotated fig below); and the small diameter portion has a smaller diameter than a diameter of an imaginary circle connecting bottoms of recesses of the spline engaged portion (e.g. the spline engaged portion of connection portion).
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Claim 6: Obata as modified by NAKAWATARI discloses the vehicle drive device according to claim 1, wherein the input shaft (524b- Obata) includes a first bearing positioning portion (see annotated fig below) located on the second side (right side) in the axial direction with respect to the first bearing (534- Obata).
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Claim 8: Obata as modified by NAKAWATARI discloses the vehicle drive device according to claim 3, wherein: an inner peripheral surface of the rotor shaft (NAKAWATARI: 28) is provided with a spline engaging portion (inner spline of 28); an outer peripheral surface of the connection portion is provided with a spline engaged portion (see annotated fig below rejection of claim 4); and the small diameter portion has a smaller diameter than a diameter of an imaginary circle connecting tops of protrusions of the spline engaged portion (see annotated fig below rejection of claim 4).
Claim 10: Obata as modified by NAKAWATARI discloses the vehicle drive device according to claim 3, wherein: an inner peripheral surface of the rotor shaft (NAKAWATARI: 28) is provided with a spline engaging portion (spline of 28); an outer peripheral surface of the connection portion is provided with a spline engaged portion (see annotated fig below rejection of claim 5); and the small diameter portion has a smaller diameter than a diameter of an imaginary circle connecting bottoms of recesses of the spline engaged portion (see annotated fig. below rejection of claim 5).
Claim 12, 13, 15,16, 18: Obata as modified by NAKAWATARI discloses wherein the input shaft (524b-Obata) includes a first bearing positioning portion (see annotated fig below) located on the second side (right side) in the axial direction with respect to the first bearing (534-Obata).
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Claim 19: Obata as modified by NAKAWATARI discloses the vehicle drive device according to claim 1, wherein the second bearing (528- Obata) is located so as to overlap the rotor shaft supported portion (see annotated Fig below) as viewed in the radial direction along the radial direction of the input shaft (Obata: 524b).
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Response to Amendment
Applicant' s arguments with respect to the rejection under 35 USC 103 have been considered but are moot because the present rejections relied on Obata (US 20140285045 A1) in view of NAKAWATARI (US 20170067512 A1); wherein both Obata and NAKAWATARI discloses an input shaft rotate integrally with the rotor shaft such that the input shaft does not rotate relative to the rotor shaft.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Ito (US 20190229582) discloses motor shaft spline with input shaft.
Tokushima (US 5715901 A) discloses motor shaft spline with input shaft.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Lillian T Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)270-5404. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ernesto Suarez can be reached at (571)270-5565. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LILLIAN T NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3655A
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