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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 8, 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kazuya JP 2017-178010. Kazuya discloses an electric drive assembly, comprising a first wheel drive assembly DL configured to drive a first wheel WRL and a second wheel drive assembly configured to drive a second wheel WRR, one of the first wheel and the second wheel being a left side wheel, and the other one of the first wheel and the second wheel being a right side wheel; the first wheel drive assembly comprising a first motor 3L, a first gear reduction mechanism 4L , and a first disengaging mechanism SL; the first gear reduction mechanism being connected between the first motor and the first wheel; the first disengaging mechanism being configured to switch between an engagement position and a disengagement position of the first disengaging mechanism; when the first disengaging mechanism is switched to the engagement position of the first disengaging mechanism, power of the first motor being transmitted to the first wheel through the first gear reduction mechanism; and when the first disengaging mechanism is switched to the disengagement position of the first disengaging mechanism, power transmission between the first motor and the first wheel being interrupted; and the second wheel drive assembly DR comprising a second motor 3R, a second gear reduction mechanism 4R, and a second disengaging mechanism SR; the second gear reduction mechanism being connected between the second motor and the second wheel; the second disengaging mechanism being configured to switch between an engagement position and a disengagement position of the second disengaging mechanism; when the second disengaging mechanism is switched to the engagement position of the second disengaging mechanism, power of the second motor being transmitted to the second wheel through the second gear reduction mechanism; and when the second disengaging mechanism is switched to the disengagement position of the second disengaging mechanism, power transmission between the second motor and the second wheel being interrupted; wherein the engagement position of the first disengaging mechanism comprises a first engagement position of the first disengaging mechanism and a second engagement position of the first disengaging mechanism, when the first disengaging mechanism is switched to the first engagement position of the first disengaging mechanism, the power of the first motor is transmitted to the first wheel through a first gear transmission path 7H-9H of the first gear reduction mechanism, and when the first disengaging mechanism is switched to the second engagement position of the first disengaging mechanism, the power of the first motor is transmitted to the first wheel through a second gear transmission path 7L-9L of the first gear reduction mechanism; and the engagement position of the second disengaging mechanism comprises a first engagement position of the second disengaging mechanism and a second engagement position of the second disengaging mechanism, when the second disengaging mechanism is switched to the first engagement position of the second disengaging mechanism, the power of the second motor is transmitted to the second wheel through a first gear transmission path 7L-9L of the second gear reduction mechanism, and when the second disengaging mechanism is switched to the second engagement position of the second disengaging mechanism, the power of the second motor is transmitted to the second wheel through a second gear transmission path 7R-9R of the second gear reduction mechanism; wherein a locking mechanism C is disposed between the first wheel drive assembly and the second wheel drive assembly, and the locking mechanism is configured to switch between an engagement position and a disengagement position of the locking mechanism, when the locking mechanism is switched to the engagement position of the locking mechanism, the first motor is in power coupling with the second motor, and when the locking mechanism is switched to the disengagement position of the locking mechanism, the power coupling between the first motor and the second motor is interrupted; wherein the first motor 3L and the second motor 3R are coaxially disposed, and the first gear reduction mechanism DL and the second gear reduction mechanism DR are located between the first motor and the second motor; wherein a wheel shaft 5L of the first wheel and a wheel shaft 5R of the second wheel are coaxial, the first motor, the second motor, and the wheel shaft of the first wheel are parallel to and spaced from each other, and the first motor, the second motor, and the wheel shaft of the first wheel are disposed in a triangle.
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 16-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kazuya JP 2017-178010 in view of Huang et al. US 10,974,583 Kazuya discloses the claimed invention except it fails to disclose using the electric drive assembly as both a front drive and a rear drive. However, it is known in the art, as taught by Huang et al. (see col. 2 lines 59-63, “the power transmission system 1000 may further drive the rear wheels of the vehicle to rotate in combination with another driving system, so that the vehicle is a four-wheel drive vehicle, and the another system may be an electric driving system 700’) to provide two separate drive assemblies at the front and rear of the vehicle in order to increase traction in slippery conditions. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, with a reasonable expectation of success, to modify Kazuya by providing electric drive assemblies at both the front and rear of the vehicle, in order to increase traction in slippery conditions.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-7, 9, 11-15, and 19 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.
Conclusion
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/KEVIN HURLEY/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3611
February 4, 2026