DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: 3. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 4-5 recite the limitation "the locking member" in lines 2 and 1, respectively. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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, 2 and 7-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Karajgi et al. (WO 2021091112 A1).
Re claim 1, Karajgi et al. disclose a locking device for an electromechanical brake, comprising: a ratchet gear (21) and a ratchet wheel (110) fixedly coupled in a coaxial manner; a pivotable pawl (120) component pivotable between a working position interlocked with the ratchet wheel and an idle position detached from the ratchet wheel, wherein the pawl component restricts rotation of the ratchet wheel in a first direction and the ratchet wheel rotating in a second direction will release the pawl component when the pawl component and the ratchet wheel are interlocked; a spring member (130) coupled to the pawl component to tend to rotate the pawl component toward the idle position; and an electromagnetic actuator (140) acting on the pawl component when operating in a first polarity causes the pawl component to rotate from the idle position to the working position against the elastic force of the spring member. (Fig. 1-2, Abstract)
Re claim 2, Karajgi et al. disclose wherein the locking device comprises a base (30) defining a first plane and a second plane, the electromagnetic actuator (140) being fixed to the first plane of the base, and the pawl component (120) being pivotally fixed to the second plane of the base by a pivot shaft (150).
Re claim 7, Karajgi et al. disclose wherein the electromagnetic actuator (140) is further configured to operate with a second polarity to exert a force to the pawl component (120) for holding it in the idle position.
Re claim 8, Karajgi et al. disclose electromechanical brake, comprising: a brake motor (10); a transmission device (23) coupled with the brake motor; the locking device according to claim 1, wherein the ratchet gear of the locking device is coupled to the transmission device; and a brake actuator coupled to the transmission device to receive a brake torque and perform a brake operation.
Re claim 9, Karajgi et al. disclose wherein the brake motor (10) and the ratchet gear (21) of the locking device are coupled to a hub gear (23) of the transmission device such that the rotation of the ratchet gear (21) and the ratchet wheel (110) in the first direction corresponds to the reverse rotation of the releasing brake torque of the brake motor and the transmission device, while the rotation of the ratchet gear and the ratchet wheel in the second direction corresponds to the forward rotation of the establishing brake torque of the braking motor and the transmission device, wherein the hub gear is connected to the input shaft of the brake actuator by a planetary carrier (25) of a planetary gear set (24).
Re claim 10, Karajgi et al. disclose a control method for a locking device, comprising: controlling the brake motor (10) to rotate forwardly to establish a predetermined braking torque when the parking brake signal is received; controlling the electromagnetic actuator (140) to act on the pawl (120) component to pivot the pawl component from an idle position separated from the ratchet wheel to a working position; controlling the reverse rotation of the brake motor to pivot the pawl component to the working position to interlock with the ratchet wheel (110), and deactivating the electromagnetic actuator and the brake motor. (Abstract)
Re claim 12, Karajgi et al. disclose controlling the brake motor (10) to rotate forwardly to release the pawl (120) component upon receiving the released parking brake signal such that the pawl component returns to the idle position under the action of the spring member (130); and controlling the reverse rotation of the brake motor to release the braking force upon detecting the return of the pawl component to the idle position.
Re claim 13, Karajgi et al. disclose controlling the electromagnetic actuator (140) to act on the pawl component (120) with a first polarity to provide buffering when the pawl component rotates from the working position to the idle position under the action of the spring member.
Re claim 14, Karajgi et al. disclose controlling the electromagnetic actuator (140) to act on the pawl component (120) with a second polarity opposite to the first polarity to maintain the pawl component in the idle position when no parking brake signal is received and the pawl component is detected to leave the idle position.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 3, 4, 6 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karajgi et al. (WO 2021091112 A1) in view of Stohr et al. (US 2021/0239211 A1).
Re claim 3, Karajgi teaches wherein: the pawl component (120) comprises a shaft bore (121) connected to the pivot shaft (150), a pawl portion extending from the shaft bore in a first direction, a rocker arm (120) extending from the shaft bore in a second direction, and the electromagnetic actuator (140) is configured to act on the rocker arm.
Karajgi does not teach wherein the magnet is connected to the end of the rocker arm by a pin. Stohr et al. teach a pawl component (20) comprising a magnet (in pocket 28, Fig. 5b). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide a magnet connected by a pin in on the rocker arm since magnets are known alternatives to metal used in combination with electromagnets. Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to connect a magnet with a pin since pins are well known means for connecting elements.
Re claim 4, Karajgi does not teach a position sensor configured to detect the position of the pawl component, and the position sensor is configured to detect the position of the pawl component by sensing a magnetic field of the magnet at the end of the rocker arm. Stohr et al. teach a position sensor (70) configured to detect the position of a pawl component (20), and the position sensor is configured to detect the position of the pawl component by sensing a magnetic field of the magnet at the end of the rocker arm. ([0064])
Re claim 6, Karajgi as modified teaches wherein the spring member (130) comprises a first end, a winding portion and a second end, the first end of the spring member being mounted to an additional opening in the first plane of the base of the locking device, the winding portion surrounding the pivot shaft, the second end of the spring member being fixed to the end of the rocker arm of the pawl component (120), the spring member being preloaded with an elastic force such that the spring member exerts a force to hold the pawl component in the idle position when the pawl component is in the idle position. (Fig. 2)
Re claim 11, Karajgi et al. as modified teach detecting the position of the pawl component by a position sensor (Stohr – 70) and deactivating the electromagnetic actuator and the brake motor when the pawl component is in the working position. (Karajgi, translation – Page 7, 4th Par.)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Danne et al., Jungbecker et al. and Usui teach similar locking devices.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MELANIE TORRES WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)272-7127. The examiner can normally be reached Tuesday - Friday 7:00AM-3:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MELANIE TORRES WILLIAMS/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3616
MTWDecember 10, 2025