DETAILED ACTION
This is the First Office Action in response to the above identified patent
application filed on February 27, 2024.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-7 and 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schmitz et al. (USPub 2014/0090500) in view of Goncharov (WO 2020/185126).
Referring to Figure 2, Schmitz et al. teaches a bicycle transmission comprising: an input shaft (20); a counter shaft (36,46), and an output shaft (22), a first shifting and gear assembly (associated with 26); a second shifting and gear assembly (associated with 28), a first gear (38,48) rotationally mounted on the counter shaft, a second gear (39,49) rotationally mounted on the counter shaft, a third gear (30) mounted to the input shaft, the third gear being rotationally fixed relative to the input shaft, the first gear (38) of the first shifting and gear assembly engaging the third gear (30); a fourth gear (31) mounted to the input shaft, the fourth gear being rotationally fixed relative to the input shaft, the second gear (39) of the first shifting and gear assembly engaging the fourth gear (31); the output shaft is parallel to the counter shaft of the first and second shifting and gear assemblies, the output shaft being driven by the counter shaft of the first and second shifting and gear assemblies; a fifth gear (52) mounted to the output shaft, the fifth gear being rotationally fixed relative to the output shaft, the first gear (48) of the second shifting and gear assembly engaging the fifth gear (52); and a sixth gear (53) mounted to the output shaft, the sixth gear being rotationally fixed relative to the output shaft, the second gear (49) of the second shifting and gear assembly engaging the sixth gear (53), the counter shaft of the first and second shifting and gear assemblies being integrally formed as a single countershaft.
Schmitz does not teach the claimed shifting arrangement for connecting the rotatable gears to the counter shaft. However, the claimed shifting arrange was known. For example, Goncharov teaches (such as Figs. 2-4) a plurality of gears (5) supported on a hollow counter shaft (2), the hollow shaft defining at least one first aperture in axial alignment with a first gear; at least one first shift pawl (9) disposed in the at least one first aperture; a first spring ring (11) disposed around the hollow shaft, the first spring ring biasing the shift pawl radially inward; a second gear (5) rotationally mounted on the hollow shaft, the hollow shaft defining at least one second aperture in axial alignment with the second gear; at least one second shift pawl (9) disposed in the at least one second aperture; a second spring ring (11) disposed around the hollow shaft, the second spring ring biasing the at least one second shift pawl radially inward; a cam (8) disposed in the hollow shaft; the shift actuator selectively translating the cam in the hollow shaft, in response to the cam being axially aligned with the at least one first shift pawl, the cam displacing the at least one first shift pawl radially outward to engage the first gear to rotationally fix the first gear to the hollow shaft, in response to the cam being axially aligned with the at least one second shift pawl, and the cam displacing the at least one second shift pawl radially outward to engage the second gear to rotationally fix the second gear to the hollow shaft.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed device to configure the first and second shifting assemblies of Schmitz with the gear shift arrangement having pawls biased into a neutral position by a spring, as taught by Goncharov, motivation being to provide an effective gear engagement device that facilitates the disengagement of a pawl from the corresponding gear when the shift operator is moved to a predetermined position.
Claim 2: It was well known in the art to control a transmission shift device with an electric motor. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed device to provide the transmission arrangement of Schmitz with an electric shift motor, as was well known in the art, to provide a mechanized shifting arrangement.
Claim 3: The transmission of Schmitz modified with Goncharov includes two first apertures and two second apertures; the at least one first shift pawl is two first shift pawls; and the at least one second shift pawl is two second shift pawls.
Claim 4: The shift arrangement of Goncharov includes the first apertures positioned at 180 degrees from each other about a central axis of the hollow shaft; and the second apertures are positions at 180 degrees from each other about the central axis.
Claim 5: The shift arrangement of Goncharov teaches the gear assemblies having the first apertures that are positioned at 90 degrees from the second apertures about the central axis.
Claim 6: The shift arrangement of Goncharov illustrates (such as Fig. 2) the hollow shaft defines: a first circumferential groove, the first spring (11) ring being received in the first circumferential groove; and a second circumferential groove, the second spring ring (11) being received in the second circumferential groove.
Claim 7: Schmitz and Goncharov do not teach a spindle operatively connected to the shift actuator for controlling a position of the cam. It was well known to use screw actuators for shifting gears in a transmission. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed device to provide the transmission arrangement of Schmitz modified by Goncharov, as described above, with a spindle operatively connected to the shift actuator, as was well known in the art, to provide a mechanized shifting arrangement for controlling of the position of the cam.
Claim 13: The shift arrangement of Goncharov illustrates (such as Fig. 2) the cam defines: at least one first ramp and at least one second ramp on opposite sides thereof, the at least one first ramp and the at least one second ramp being circumferentially aligned with the at least one first shift pawl; and at least one third ramp and at least one fourth ramp on opposite sides thereof, the at least one third ramp and the at least one fourth ramp being circumferentially aligned with the at least one second shift pawl.
Claim 14: The transmission of Schmitz modified with Goncharov includes a seventh gear (such as 40 in Fig. 2 of Schmitz) rotationally mounted on the counter shaft, the hollow shaft (of Goncharov) defining at least one third aperture; at least one third shift pawl disposed in the at least one third aperture; and a third spring ring (11) disposed around the hollow shaft, the third spring ring biasing the at least one third shift pawl radially inward, in response to the cam being axially aligned with the at least one third shift pawl, the cam displacing the at least one third shift pawl radially outward to engage the seventh gear to rotationally fix the seventh gear to the hollow shaft.
Claim 15: Schmitz illustrates the second gear is between the first and seventh gears. Goncharov illustrates the at least one first aperture is circumferentially aligned with the at least one third aperture; and the at least one first aperture is positioned at 90 degrees from the at least one second aperture about a central axis of the hollow shaft.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-12 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not teach the bicycle transmission as defined by claim 1, including the hollow shaft having at least one first recess adjacent to the at least one first aperture; each of the at least one first shift pawl has a body having first and second ends, and a finger protruding from the body between the first and second ends, the finger extending in a corresponding one of the at least one first aperture, and the body being disposed at least in part in a corresponding one of the at least one first recess; the first gear has a plurality of first internal teeth; in response to the cam aligning with the at least one first shift pawl, the cam pushing the finger of the at least one first shift pawl radially outward such that the body of the at least one first shift pawl pivots about its first end in the at least one first recess and the second end of the at least one first shift pawl abuts one of the first internal teeth to rotationally fix the first gear to the hollow shaft; the hollow shaft defines at least one second recess adjacent to the at least one second aperture; each of the at least one second shift pawl has a body having first and second ends, and a finger protruding from the body between the first and second ends, the finger extending in a corresponding one of the at least one second aperture, and the body being disposed at least in part in a corresponding one of the at least one second recess; the second gear has a plurality of second internal teeth; and in response to the cam aligning with the at least one second shift pawl, the cam pushing the finger of the at least one second shift pawl radially outward such that the body of the at least one second shift pawl pivots about its first end in the at least one second recess and the second end of the at least one second shift pawl abuts one of the second internal teeth to rotationally fix the second gear to the hollow shaft.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Note the spindle and motor arrangement for shifting gears of Thery (USP 6978692).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM C JOYCE whose telephone number is (571)272-7107. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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/WILLIAM C JOYCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
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