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 .
Claims 1and 10 have been amended.
Claims 6-8 have been canceled.
Claim 16 has been added.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/01/2025 has been entered.
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, 10, 11 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu [CN 104565288] in view of Crump [US Pub # 2016/0003340].
Regarding claim 1: Liu disclose a method of manufacturing a gear, the method comprising: providing a shaft (1); forming a plurality of grooves (3) into the shaft (1) on a radially outward facing surface of the shaft (see fig 1);
inserting a plurality of teeth (4) into the plurality of grooves (3) such that the plurality of teeth (4) are retained in the groove by an interference fit (see translation [0007]); and
fixing a first retainer sleeve (15, see fig 3 and 6) and a second retainer sleeve (15, elements 15 is disposed on both side of the gear in the fixing groove 14) to the radially outward facing surface of the shaft
by a press fit connection which maintains an axial position of the retainer of the first and second retainer sleeves (15, 15) at opposing ends of the shaft each retainer sleeve abutting opposed axial ends, said so as to maintain an axially position of the plurality of teeth (4) and the plurality of teeth are retained in the plurality of groves in addition to the interference fit (see translation [0007]).
Liu does not show the retainer sleeve covering a tooth free portion of said radially outward facing surface of the shaft and abutting an axial end of the plurality of teeth, However Crump shows retainer sleeve (115) covering a tooth free portion of said radially outward facing surface of the shaft (111) and abutting an axial end of the plurality of teeth (103, see fig 24).
It would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filling date have modified the shaft and the retainer in Liu reference and the elongated the shaft portion and the retainer portion such that the retainer covers the tooth free shaft portion to have better secured the teeth on the shaft and prevent the displacement of the retainer on the shaft.
Regarding claim 10: Liu disclose a gear comprising: a shaft, the shaft comprising a plurality of grooves (3) formed on a radially outward facing surface of the shaft (1); a plurality of teeth (4) received in the plurality of grooves (3), wherein the teeth (4) are retained in the plurality of grooves (3) by an interference fit (see translation [0007]);
A first and second retainer sleeves (15, 15) to the radially outward facing surface of the shaft
by a press fit connection which maintains an axial position of the first and second retainer (15, 15), said reach retainer sleeve abutting opposed axial ends so as to maintain an axially position of the plurality of teeth (4) and the plurality of teeth are retained in the plurality of groves in addition to the interference fit (see translation [0007]).
Liu does not show the retainer sleeve covering a tooth free portion of said radially outward facing surface of the shaft and abutting an axial end of the plurality of teeth, However Crump shows retainer sleeve (115) covering a tooth free portion of said radially outward facing surface of the shaft (111) and abutting an axial end of the plurality of teeth (103, see fig 24).
It would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filling date have modified the shaft and the retainer in Liu reference and the elongated the shaft portion and the retainer portion such that the retainer covers the tooth free shaft portion to have better secured the teeth on the shaft and prevent the displacement of the retainer on the shaft.
Regarding claim 11: Liu disclose a gearbox comprising the gear of claim 10 ([0001]).
Regarding claim 16: Liu does explicitly show fixing a first retainer sleeve and a second retainer sleeve positioned at opposing ends of the shaft, each retainer sleeve covering a tooth-free portion of the radially outward facing surface of the shaft and each abutting opposing axial ends of the plurality of teeth. However, Crump shows fixing a first retainer sleeve (115) and a second retainer sleeve (115) positioned at opposing ends of the shaft, each retainer sleeve covering a tooth-free portion of the radially outward facing surface of the shaft (see fig 24) and each abutting opposing axial ends of the plurality of teeth.
It would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filling date have provided retainers on both sides to have securely fix the teeth on the shaft and prevent displacement.
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 2-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu [CN 104565288] in view of [JP 6660752].
Regarding claim 2 and 4: Liu does not explicitly disclose heating the shaft to a temperature T1 while inserting the tooth into the groove. Cooling the tooth to a temperature T2 while inserting the tooth into the groove. However [JP, 752] teaches quenching method such by heating the shaft to a temperature T1 while inserting the tooth into the groove. Cooling the tooth to a temperature T2 while inserting the tooth into the groove (see translation “…the rack bar 1 is disposed at a position facing the heating unit 11 in the axial direction, and the tooth unit 2 is heated, The tooth portion 2 heated to the quenching temperature by the heating unit 11 is extracted from the heating unit 11, and then the rack bar 1 is moved along the lines of the heating unit 11 and the cooling unit 12, and the cooling unit is moved in the axial direction. The rack bar 1 is arranged at a position opposite to the rack 12, the teeth 2 are into the cooling unit 12, and the teeth 2 cooled by the cooling unit 12 are extracted from the cooling unit 12. Through the above steps, the teeth 2 are quenched…”).
It would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in art at the time of the effective filling date to apply quenching process of heating and cooling steps to assemble the tooth to the shaft in Liu reference to increase the hardness and strength of the metal making it highly resistant to wear and tear, ideal for applications requiring high durability and strength.
Regarding claim 3 and 5: Liu does not explicitly disclose wherein T1 is greater than 75°C and wherein T2 is less than 0°C. However, it is common in quenching process to set the heating process temperature to high temperature above 75C and a cooling process temperature below zero.
It would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to recognize a suitable appropriate heating and cooling temperature values in the quenching process to assemble the tooth to the shaft in Liu reference to increase the hardness and strength of the metal
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu [CN 104565288] in view of [JP 6660752] in further view of Hofmann [ US Pub # 2014/0224050].
Regarding claim 9: Liu does not explicitly disclose wherein the tooth is formed of a metallic glass. However, Hofmann teaches a metallic glass-based strain gear (see abstract)
It would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to make the teeth taught in Liu with metallic glass material due to its high strength, wear resistance and smooth surface.
Claims 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu [CN 104565288] in view of Ehinger [US Pub # 2013/0098732].
Regarding claims 12-15: Liu does not explicitly disclose the application and the environment in aircraft power system, wherein the aircraft power system is a propulsion system. wherein the aircraft power system is a control system. However Ehinger teaches the application of the gear shaft (123) in aircraft domain, wherein the aircraft power system is a propulsion system. wherein the aircraft power system is a control system (see [0020]).
It would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to apply shaft gear in aircraft for highly effective mean of transmitting rotary motion to other rotating parts (such as propeller).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 03/17/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant argument that failed to teach the fixing of a first retainer and a second retained sleeve and furthermore to teach the fixing of such a first and second retainer sleeve through a press fit connection.
Liu shows first and second retainer sleeves (15, 15) at opposing ends of the shaft each retainer sleeve abutting opposed axial ends, said so as to maintain an axially position of the plurality of teeth (4) and the fixing of such a first and second retainer sleeve through a press fit connection (see translation [0007]).
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Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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
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