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 is the first action on the merits for application 18/266,526 filed on 06/09/2023. Claims 1-18 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/02/2024, 06/09/2023 have been considered by the examiner.
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 § 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, 4-6, 13, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Obata (US 20140285045 A1)
Obata discloses:
Claim 1: 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 with 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 being 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 being an opposite side in the axial direction to the first side (left side) in the axial direction.
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Claim 4: the vehicle drive device according to claim 1,wherein: an inner peripheral surface of the rotor shaft (524a) is provided with a spline engaging portion (see annotated fig below); 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: the vehicle drive device according to claim 1, wherein: an inner peripheral surface of the rotor shaft is provided with a spline engaging portion (see annotated fig below ); 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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Claims 6, 13, 16: wherein the input shaft (524b) 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).
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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) 2-3, 7-12, 14-15, 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Obata (US 20140285045 A1) in view of FUJIKAWA (US 20190264794 A1)
Claim 2: Obata discloses the vehicle drive device according to claim 1, wherein: the rotor shaft (524a) includes a rotor shaft supported portion (see annotated fig below) 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); and
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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.
FUJIKAWA teaches a drive device (4; Fig.2) having a rotor shaft (21) includes a rotor shaft supported portion (see annotated fig below) supported by a case (30) via a bearing (47); wherein a small diameter of input shaft (16) 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 (16).
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 of Obata with rotor shaft as taught by FUJIKAWA 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.
As the suggested modified device would be replace rotor shaft of Obata with rotor shaft of FUJIKAWA.
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Claim 3: Obata as modified by FUJIKAWA discloses the vehicle drive device according to claim 2, wherein: the first bearing (534) is supported by a bearing support portion (518) of the case (502); and the second bearing (528) is supported by the same bearing support portion (518) as the first bearing is.
Claims 7-8: wherein: an inner peripheral surface of the rotor shaft (524a) is provided with a spline engaging portion (see annotated fig below); 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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Claims 9-10: the vehicle drive device according to claim 1, wherein: an inner peripheral surface of the rotor shaft is provided with a spline engaging portion (see annotated fig below ); 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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Claims 11-12, 14-15, 17-18: wherein the input shaft (524b) 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).
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Mogi (US 6952061 B2) discloses a drive unit having rotor shaft and input shaft.
KIYOKAMI (US 20190081537 A1) discloses a drive unit having rotor shaft and 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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/ERNESTO A SUAREZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3655
/LILLIAN T NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3655