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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 3-10, 12 and 15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected embodiment, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 3/31/2026.
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Matsumara et al (US# 2018/0172096).
Matsumara et al disclose all the limitations of the instant claim including; a carrier 12 on which a pair of pad plates 13 are installed to be able to move forward to and backward from a disc; a caliper housing 20 slidably installed on the carrier and provided with a cylinder 25; a piston 10 installed in the cylinder and provided to be able to move forward to and backward from the pair of pad plates by braking hydraulic pressure; a seal groove 38 formed to be recessed in an inner surface of the cylinder; a seal member 40 accommodated in the seal groove to be in close contact with an outer surface of the piston; and a support member 39 interposed between the inner surface of the cylinder and the outer surface of the piston and disposed adjacent to a center of gravity of the piston. [0045] “Therefore, the position of the center of gravity of the piston 10 is brought close to the piston seal 39, which is the main support position of the piston 10, and the brake noise suppression effect is increased.”
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 1-2, 11 and 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cortinovis et al (US# 7905336) in view of Klein (US# 4858516) and Matsumara et al (US# 2018/0172096).
Cortinovis et al disclose a caliper brake comprising: a carrier 4 on which a pair of pad plates 25/26 are installed to be able to move forward to and backward from a disc; a caliper housing 5 slidably installed on the carrier and provided with a cylinder 9; a piston 10 installed in the cylinder and provided to be able to move forward to and backward from the pair of pad plates by braking hydraulic pressure, a seal groove 20 formed to be recessed in an inner surface of the cylinder; a seal member 100 accommodated in the seal groove to be in close contact with an outer surface of the piston. Cortinovis et al lack the disclosure of a support member being interposed between the inner surface of the cylinder and the outer surface of the piston and disposed adjacent to a center of gravity of the piston. Klein discloses a brake and further teaches a piston having a support member 12/23 interposed between the inner surface of the cylinder and the outer surface of the piston. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the piston/support arrangement of Klein in the caliper of Cortinovis et al to provide a piston of low-cost, weight, stability at high temperatures and high corrosion resistance (col. 1, lines 21-30), thereby improving performance. As the support member taught by Klein runs almost the entire length of the piston, the support member is at least “adjacent” to a center of gravity of the piston. Additionally, Matsumara et al disclose a similar brake and further teach that brake noise suppression is enhanced when the center of gravity of the piston is brought close to the main support of the piston [0045]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to locate the support member of Cortinovis et al and Klein at or adjacent to the center of gravity of the piston, as taught by Matsumara et al to enhance noise suppression.
Regarding claim 2, in locating the support of Cortinovis et al and Klein at the center of gravity as set forth above, the support member would be disposed on an extension line perpendicular to an axial direction of the piston and passing through the center of gravity of the piston.
Regarding claim 11, Klein teaches a plurality of support members 12/23 provided to be disposed spaced apart from each other around an outer circumferential surface of the piston. Figures 8-9.
Regarding claim 13, the support members 12/23 are radially symmetrically disposed with respect to an axis of the piston. Figure 9.
Regarding claim 14, the support members are provided in a form of a rib extending in an axial direction of the piston.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRADLEY T KING whose telephone number is (571)272-7117. The examiner can normally be reached 10:30-5:00 PM.
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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.
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/BRADLEY T KING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616
BTK
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