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 § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HUBER et al. (DE – 10-2021121683 A1, for English see US – 2025/0146547 A1) and further in view of Divakaruni et l. (US – 2021/0054892 A1).
As per claim 1, HUBER discloses Disc Brake For A Utility Vehicle, And Brake Lining For A Disc Brake comprising:
an air disc brake pad for (Fig: 1-3) inserting into a brake pad carrier (6, Fig; 1-3), the brake pad including a backplate (4, Fig: 1-3) and a friction material (5, Fig: 1-3) mounted on one side of the backplate (Fig: 1-3), the pad periphery including an inner side (Attached figure and Fig: 1-3), an outer side (Attached figure and Fig: 1-3) and first and second ends (Attached figure and Fig: 1-3);
in which at least a portion of the pad periphery includes a thickened edge (Attached figure and Fig: 1-3), the thickened edge extending in a direction opposing the friction material (Attached figure and Fig: 1-3); and
in which the air disc brake pad includes first and second abutment tabs (Attached figure and Fig: 1-3) for providing horizontal abutment with the brake pad carrier (Attached figure and Fig: 1-3), the first abutment tab extending from the first end and the second abutment tab extending from the second end (Attached figure and Fig: 1-3); and
in which at least a portion of the thickened edge extends along at least a portion of one of the first and second ends and a corresponding abutment tab (Attached figure and Fig: 1-3).
HUBER discloses all the structural elements of the claimed invention but fails to explicitly disclose at least one rear protrusion is provided, the at least one rear protrusion extending from the backplate in a direction opposing the friction material; and
in which the depth of the at least one rear protrusion being greater than the depth of the thickened edge.
Divakaruni discloses Vehicle Disc Brake Assembly Having A Brake Pad With A Shim Mechanically Restrained From Lateral Movement comprising;
at least one rear protrusion (Attached figure and Fig: 2-8) is provided, the at least one rear protrusion (Attached figure and Fig: 2-8) extending from the backplate in a direction opposing the friction material (Attached figure and Fig: 2-8); and
in which the depth of the at least one rear protrusion being greater than the depth of the thickened edge (Figure 8 showed that depth of the rear protrusion is greater than thicken edge (138), Fig: 8).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the Disc Brake For A Utility Vehicle, And Brake Lining For A Disc Brake of the HUBER to make the at least one rear protrusion is provided, the at least one rear protrusion extending from the backplate in a direction opposing the friction material; and in which the depth of the at least one rear protrusion being greater than the depth of the thickened edge as taught by Divakaruni in order to mechanically restrained from lateral shifting.
As per claims 2-4, HUBER as modified by Divakaruni discloses all the structural elements of the claimed invention but fails to explicitly disclose in which the at least one rear protrusion has a depth of at least 4 mm (Claim 2), a depth of at least 5 mm (Claim 3) and a depth of at least 6 mm (Claim 4).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to make the depth of the protrusion are 4 mm, 5 mm and 6 mm, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. (MPEP – 2144.05, III. C).
As per claim 5, Divakaruni further discloses in which the thickened edge and rear protrusion are spaced apart (Attached figure and Fig: 2-8).
As per claim 6, Divakaruni further discloses in which the at least one rear protrusion (Attached figure and Fig: 2-8) is disposed substantially adjacent to the inner side of the backplate (Attached figure and Fig: 2-8).
As per claim 7, HUBER discloses in which at least a portion of the thickened edge is substantially L-shaped (Fig: 2-3).
As per claim 8, HUBER discloses in which the air disc brake pad (3, Fig: 1-3) is substantially symmetrical about a central vertical axis extending from the inner side and the outer side (Fig: 1-3).
As per claim 9, HUBER discloses Disc Brake For A Utility Vehicle, And Brake Lining For A Disc Brake comprising:
an air disc brake pad (Fig: 1-3) for inserting into a brake pad carrier (6, Fig: -3), the brake pad including a backplate (4, Fig: 1-3) and a friction material (5, Fig: 1-3) mounted on one side of the backplate (Fig: 1-3), the pad periphery including an inner side (Attached figure and Fig: 1-3), an outer side (Attached figure and Fig: 1-3) and first and second ends (Attached figure and Fig: 1-3);
in which the brake pad includes first and second abutment tabs (Attached figure and Fig: 1-3) for providing horizontal abutment with the brake pad carrier (6, Attached figure and Fig: 1-3), the first abutment tab extending from the first end and the second abutment tab extending from the second end (Attached figure and Fig: 1-3).
HUBER discloses all the structural elements of the claimed invention but fails to explicitly disclose at least one rear protrusion extending from the backplate in a direction opposing the friction material.
Divakaruni discloses Vehicle Disc Brake Assembly Having A Brake Pad With A Shim Mechanically Restrained From Lateral Movement comprising;
at least one rear protrusion (Attached figure and Fig: 2-8) extending from the backplate in a direction opposing the friction material (Attached figure and Fig: 2-8).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the Disc Brake For A Utility Vehicle, And Brake Lining For A Disc Brake of the HUBER to make the at least one rear protrusion extending from the backplate in a direction opposing the friction material as taught by Divakaruni in order to mechanically restrained from lateral shifting.
PNG
media_image1.png
613
746
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
428
512
media_image2.png
Greyscale
As per claim 10, Divakaruni further discloses providing the air disc brake as claimed in claim 1, in which the at least one rear protrusion can only be accommodated by a corresponding gap in a backplate facing side of the brake caliper (As per Fig: 3-4, obviously two rear protrusion provide for only be accommodated by a corresponding gap in a backplate facing side of the brake caliper).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
A: Sahara et al. (US – 2023/0265902 A1),
B: Divakaruni et al. (US – 2022/0381305 A1),
C: Dresen et al. (US – 2018/0363718 A1),
D: Knoop (US – 2018/0347648 A1),
E: Osada (US – 2015/0354646 A1),
F: Miyake et al. (US – 2014/0367208 A1), and
G: Kobayashi et al. (US – 2014/0339028 A1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAN M AUNG whose telephone number is (571)270-5792. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM.
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, 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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SAN M AUNG/Examiner, Art Unit 3616
/Robert A. Siconolfi/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3616
Prosecution Insights