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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election without traverse of Invention A (Claims 1-12) in the reply filed on 11/03/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 13-19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/03/2025.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9/14/2023 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “all-electric vehicle” (Claim 9) and “off-highway vehicle” (Claim 10) must all be shown and labeled or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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 § 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 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.
Claim(s) 1-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Versini et al. (US 11,655,863 also published as US PG PUB 20230151856 A1).
[Claim 1] Regarding Claim 1, Versini discloses: An electric drive system (See, e.g. Fig.1-4, 100+102+300+302), comprising:
a gearbox (See, e.g. Fig.1-4, 136+304) including: a first shaft (See, e.g. Fig.1-4) rotationally coupled to a higher voltage electric motor (See, e.g. Fig.1-4, 341+306+308); and a second shaft (See, e.g. Fig.1-4) rotationally coupled to a lower voltage electric generator and motor assembly (See, e.g. Fig.1-4, 343+308+310); and
an inverter (See, e.g. Fig.1-4, 341) electrically coupled to the higher voltage electric motor (See, e.g. Fig.1-40) and an energy storage device (See, e.g. Fig.1-4, 330); and wherein the lower voltage electric generator and motor assembly is configured to rotationally couple to an auxiliary device (See, e.g. Fig.1-4, 344+342+319).
[Claim 2] Regarding Claim 2, Versini discloses: wherein the lower voltage electric generator and motor assembly includes: a lower voltage generator that is rotationally coupled to the second shaft (See, e.g. Fig.1-4, 343); and a lower voltage electric motor electrically coupled to the lower voltage generator and rotationally coupled to the auxiliary device (See, e.g. Fig.1-4, 343).
[Claim 3] Regarding Claim 3, Versini discloses: wherein the first shaft is an input shaft (See, e.g. Fig.1-4).
[Claim 4] Regarding Claim 4, Versini discloses: wherein the second shaft is an intermediate shaft (See, e.g. Fig.1-4).
[Claim 5] Regarding Claim 5, Versini discloses: further comprising an output shaft and a gear train which includes gears on the input shaft, the intermediate shaft, and the output shaft that mesh with one another (See, e.g. Fig.1-4).
[Claim 6] Regarding Claim 6, Versini discloses: further comprising a disconnect clutch configured to selectively disconnect the lower voltage electric generator and motor assembly from the second shaft (See, e.g. Fig.1-4, 345+346+141+etc.).
[Claim 7] Regarding Claim 7, Versini discloses: further comprising a controller (See, e.g. Fig.1-4, 193+332+334) including instructions that when executed, when a power demand from the auxiliary device is less than a threshold value, cause the controller to: disengage the disconnect clutch (See, e.g. Fig.1-4).
[Claim 8] Regarding Claim 8, Versini discloses: wherein the higher voltage electric motor is a higher voltage traction motor (See, e.g. Fig.1-4, 341).
[Claim 9] Regarding Claim 9, Versini discloses: wherein the electric drive system is included in an all-electric vehicle (See, e.g. Fig.1-4).
[Claim 10] Regarding Claim 10, Versini discloses: wherein the all-electric vehicle is an off-highway vehicle (See, e.g. Fig.1-4).
[Claim 11] Regarding Claim 11, Versini discloses: wherein the gearbox is a single speed gearbox (See, e.g. Fig.1-4).
[Claim 12] Regarding Claim 12, Versini discloses: wherein the auxiliary device is an electric pump, an electric actuator, an electric steering device, or an electric parking brake (See, e.g. Fig.1-4, 344+342+319).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, and can be found on the attached Notice of References Cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES M DOLAK whose telephone number is (571)270-7757. The examiner can normally be reached on 9-530 EST Monday-Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, J ALLEN SHRIVER can be reached on 303-297-4337. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMES M DOLAK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3613