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 1 has been amended.
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.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hirochi [JP 56147954] in view of Kato [US Pub # 2006/0243077].
Regarding claim 1: Hirochi shows a ball screw device comprising: a nut (10) including an internal thread (25) and two outer peripheral raceway surfaces (23, 24) arranged between the internal threads (see fig 4); a screw shaft (30) including an external thread and two inner peripheral raceway surfaces (32, 33) arranged between the external threads (31); a plurality of balls (22) arranged on two rolling paths (paths of 32, 33) between the two outer peripheral raceway surfaces (23, 24), the two rolling paths including a first rolling path (33) and a second rolling path (32),
and the two inner peripheral raceway surfaces (32, 33); and two circulation components , onfigured to circulate the plurality of balls (22), one of the two circulation components (46) being provided at one end of the nut (10) and another of the two circulation components being provided on another end of the nut (one end ( one end of 46) of the circulation components 12 is inserted in hole 14 and the other end of 46 in hole 16 ), wherein the internal thread and the external thread hold the plurality of balls (22), the nut includes: a cylindrical body (see fig 4) having a cylindrical shape and including the internal thread (25, see fig 4) and the two outer peripheral raceway surfaces (23, 24); and two return paths (12, 13, see fig 4) penetrating the cylindrical body (of 10) in an axial direction parallel to an axis of the screw shaft (30), the two return paths including a first return path (12) and second return path (13) and each of the two circulation components includes: a main body ( 46, 46 see fig 8 ) fixed to the cylindrical body of the nut; two communication paths (48, 49) penetrating the main body
and including a first communication path (48) an a second communication path (49), the first communication path (48) communicating the first rolling path (33) and the first return path (12) (see fig 11), and the second communication path communicating the second rolling path (32) and the second return path (13); and two tongues (47, 47) protruding from the main body (46, 46) to the two rolling paths.
Hirochi does not explicitly show a single communication path partition wall between the two communication paths so as to partition the first communication path and the second communication path communicating the second rolling path and the second return path; However, Kato shows a single communication path partition wall between the two communication paths so as to partition the first communication path and the second communication path communicating the second rolling path and the second return path; (see fig 1 and 2).
It would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filling date to have modified Kato reference to have communication path partition wall to efficiently facilitate the ball circulation in the ball screw assembly. A partition wall will simplify the manufacturing process by creating two paths in a single piece without the need of creating two separate pipe/ circulating path pieces.
Regarding claim 2: Kato shows wherein the cylindrical body of the nut (10) includes two housing grooves (20, see fig 9) recessed from both end surfaces in the axial direction, the two housing grooves configured to house the two circulation components, and the two circulation components are respectively disposed in the two housing grooves.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 08/19/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The added limitations are taught by Hirochi and Kato.
Hirochi shows the two return paths including a first return path (12) and second return path (13) and each of the two circulation components includes: a main body ( 46, 46 see fig 8 ) fixed to the cylindrical body of the nut; two communication paths (48, 49) penetrating the main body
and including a first communication path (48) an a second communication path (49), the first communication path (48) communicating the first rolling path (33) and the first return path (12) (see fig 11), and the second communication path communicating the second rolling path (32) and the second return path (13);
Kato shows a single communication path partition wall (W) between the two communication paths so as to partition the first communication path and the second communication path communicating the second rolling path and the second return path; (see annotated fig 1 below).
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Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 ZAKARIA ELAHMADI whose telephone number is (571)270-5324. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 10-6 EST.
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/ZAKARIA ELAHMADI/
Examiner, Art Unit 3618