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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 5, filed 05/11/2026, with respect to objections to the specification and rejections under 35 USC 112 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The objection to the specification and rejections under 35 USC 112 of claims 1-7 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to rejections under 35 USC 102 and 103 of claims 1-7 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-3 and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by ALFERMANN (US 20240413703).
Regarding claim 1, ALFERMANN discloses a vehicle comprising:
an engine 12 including a rotatable crankshaft 16;
a transfer shaft 50 attached to the crankshaft 16 so as to be rotatable with the rotatable crankshaft 16; and
a generator 20 (see para [0017]) coupled to the engine 12 via the transfer shaft 50, the generator 20 including a rotor 24 attached to a hollow rotor shaft 26 (para [0019]) and a stator 22 located radially outward from the rotor 24 (para [0018]), the hollow rotor shaft 26 being attached to the transfer shaft 50 so as to be rotatable along with the crankshaft 16 and the transfer shaft 50,
wherein the generator 20 includes a casing 28 including a first end attached to the engine 12 (Fig. 2) and an opposite second end that defines an opening positioned at a location where the hollow rotor shaft 26 is attached to the transfer shaft 50 (Fig. 3),
wherein the opening and the hollow rotor shaft 26 collectively define an axially extending visible path through the casing to the transfer shaft 50 (Fig. 3); and
the opening is closed by a removable access panel 46.
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Regarding claim 2, ALFERMANN discloses the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the crankshaft 16 includes a radially outwardly extending flange defining a first mating feature and the transfer shaft 50 includes a first end that includes a connection flange 52 defining a second mating feature that corresponds to and mates with the first mating feature (see Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 3, ALFERMANN discloses the vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the transfer shaft 50 includes a distal end defining a plurality of first splines 62 that are configured to mate with a plurality of second splines formed on the hollow rotor shaft 26 (see para [0022] and Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 5, ALFERMANN discloses the vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the hollow rotor shaft 26 includes a first leg 34 located at the first end of the transfer shaft 50 that extends axially away from the connection flange 52, an opposite second leg 32 located at the distal end of the transfer shaft 50 that extends axially toward the connection flange 52, a first disc (unlabeled; see annotated Fig. 3, below) extending radially outward from the first leg 34, a second disc 42 extending radially outward from the second leg 32, and a cylindrical section that connects the first disc to the second disc, the second splines being located on the second leg 32 (see Fig. 3).
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Regarding claim 6, ALFERMANN discloses the vehicle according to claim 5, further comprising an annular shaft seal connected to the first leg 34 between the first leg 34 and the casing 28 (see para [0028]).
Regarding claim 7, ALFERMANN discloses the vehicle according to claim 5, further comprising a static seal between the first leg 34 and the transfer shaft 50 (see para [0028]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ALFERMANN in view of MATSUMOTO (US 20170070127).
Regarding claim 4, ALFERMANN discloses the vehicle according to claim 3.
However, ALFERMANN does not disclose a crimp nut that fixes the hollow rotor shaft to the transfer shaft.
MATSUMOTO discloses a crimp nut 50 that fixes a rotor shaft 30 to a rotor core.
It 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 to provide the vehicle of ALFERMANN with a crimp nut that fixes the rotor shaft to the transfer shaft, similar to that of MATSUMOTO.
A person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains would have been motivated to make such modification in order to provide a secure connection between the rotor shaft and transfer shaft, restrain the nut from loosening, and restrain deterioration of thread strength (see MATSUMOTO para [0029])
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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20230313716 NUKADA discloses a crankshaft 21, transfer shaft 21c, a hollow rotor shaft 6a, and an opening 73a, wherein the opening and the hollow rotor shaft collectively define an axially extending visible path through a casing 70 to the transfer shaft.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN STEFANON whose telephone number is (703)756-4648. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday and alternate Fridays 8AM - 5PM EDT.
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, Oluseye Iwarere can be reached at (571) 270-5112. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JUSTIN STEFANON/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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