DETAILED ACTION
This application is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The specification should be amended to include reference numbers associated with the disclosed “first rotational direction” and the “second rotational direction.” Appropriate correction is required.
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 “first rotational direction” and “second rotational direction” must be shown (for example, by providing replacement figures that include clockwise and counterclockwise icons with associated reference numerals that cite to corresponding directions disclosed in the specification) 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 U.S.C. § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claims 14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Regarding Claim 14: The limitation in which “the pawl (14) [is] adjustable by the actuating device (30) out of the released position into the engaged position only in a third angular position of the shift drum (10) when the shift drum (10) rotates in the second rotational direction (italics used for emphasis) is not enabled because, according to the Office’s best understanding of the disclosure, nothing prevents the pawl (14) from being adjustable by the actuating device (30) out of the released position into the engaged position in a third angular position of the shift drum (10) when the shift drum (10) rotates in the first rotational direction.
The issue described above with regards to Claim 14 is also present in Claim 16.
Turning to the Wands factors:
(A) The breadth of the claims is not found to be relevant;
(B) The nature of the invention appears to be inconsistent with the Claims, as described above;
(C) The state of the prior art is not relevant;
(D) The level of one of ordinary skill would expect the invention to operate in the manner the Office described above;
(E) The level of predictability in the art is not relevant;
(F) The amount of direction provided by the inventor – to support Claims 14 and 16 as presently presented – is insufficient;
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(G) The existence of working examples is not relevant; and
(H) The quantity of experimentation needed to make or use the invention based on the content of the disclosure is considered to be undue.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's 09/12/2025 arguments are persuasive.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-27 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The Office notes that 23-24 would be rejoined upon appropriate amendments to Claim 14 to overcome the enablement issue under 35 U.S.C. 112(a).
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The previously-cited art is the closest prior art.
Regarding Claim 14: The Office finds that the claim feature in which the “the actuating device (30) engaging with the shift drum (10) to adjust the pawl (14),” when considered in light of other existing claimed features, and how the Office expects the Claim to be amended to overcome the pending rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(a), is not disclosed or suggested by the closest art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RANDELL J KRUG whose telephone number is (313) 446-6577. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 9:00-14:00 AZ time.
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/RANDELL J KRUG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618