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 . Claims 7-10 are pending.
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.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koyama et al. (US 20110111622 A1).
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Regarding claim 7, Koyama discloses a machine provided with a hollow portion for electrical wiring (see title: “ELECTRIC WIRING STRUCTURE OF HOLLOW ROTATOR”), comprising:
a machine body (1, fig. 1);
a hollow shaft (5, fig. 1; para [0037]: “a hollow rotating shaft 5 formed integrally with the wave generator 4”) provided with the hollow portion extending through a central portion of the machine body in an axial direction (see fig. 1);
a shaft member (6,fig. 1, and 23, fig. 2) positioned in the hollow portion, and including
a first shaft end portion (24, fig. 2) exposed at a first open end on one side of the hollow portion, and
a second shaft end portion (25, fig. 2) exposed at a second open end on the other side of the hollow portion;
electrical wiring (23, fig. 2) positioned inside the shaft member or integrally molded with the shaft member ( para [0044]: “A relay connector 23 is integrally formed with the hollow hole forming member 22, so as to be positioned coaxially inside the hollow hole 21. A first connection section 24 is formed in one end of the relay connector 23 in the direction of the rotation central axis line 20a, and a second connection section 25 is formed in the other end thereof. The first and second connection sections 24, 25 include, for example, a large number of pinholes (not shown). The pinholes in each corresponding pair are electrically connected to each other.””), the electrical wiring extending from the first shaft end portion to the second shaft end portion (implied; the relay connector connects the wire group 26 to wire group 27- see fig. 2);
a first hard-wiring terminal (24, fig. 2) to which a first wiring end of the electrical wiring (28, fig. 2) is connected, the first hard-wiring terminal being attached to the first shaft end portion of the shaft member (implied for electric connectivity); and
a second hard-wiring terminal (25, fig. 2) to which a second wiring end of the electrical wiring (29, fig. 2) is connected, the second hard-wiring terminal being attached to the second shaft end portion of the shaft member (implied, see para [0044]: “The pinholes in each corresponding pair are electrically connected to each other.”), wherein
the machine body is at least one of a reducer and an electric motor (para [0001]: “The present invention relates to a wiring structure of a hollow rotator such as a hollow motor, a hollow reduction device, or a hollow actuator configured to connect a hollow motor and a hollow reduction device in coaxial fashion.”),
the hollow shaft is a hollow input shaft of the reducer in a case in which the machine body is the reducer (figs. 1-2), and is a hollow rotating shaft of the electric motor in a case in which the machine body is the electric motor (implied- see para [0001]),
the shaft member extends loosely (see the title: “hollow rotator”) through the hollow portion of the hollow shaft (implied otherwise the cable are twisted or torn; or as shown in fig. 4, a slip ring is used in the relay member 23 to have a fixed and rotation portion, see also: “[0021] at least one connection section among the first and second connection sections in the relay connector can be made capable of rotating around the rotation central axis line via a slip ring.”) and
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the first shaft end portion or second shaft end portion of the shaft member is attached to a fixed-side member of the reducer or the electric motor (para [0043]: “A cylindrical hollow hole forming member 22 (the cylindrical member 6 in the example of FIG. 1) in which the hollow hole 21 is formed is mounted, for example, on the fixed side of the hollow rotator 20 (mounted on the fixed-side frame 8 in the example of FIG. 1).”, see fixed end 27 in fig. 4, above).
Claim(s) 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koyama et al. (US 20110111622 A1) as evidenced by Yumoto T. (JP 2009273292 A).
Regarding claim 8, Koyama discloses the machine provided with the hollow portion for electrical wiring according to claim 7, wherein
the machine body is an actuator provided with the electric motor and the reducer that are positioned coaxially (“[0001] The present invention relates to a wiring structure of a hollow rotator such as a hollow motor, a hollow reduction device, or a hollow actuator configured to connect a hollow motor and a hollow reduction device in coaxial fashion.”); and
the first shaft end portion or second shaft end portion of the shaft member (see fixed end 27 in fig. 4, above) is attached to a fixed-side member of the actuator.
Koyama does not explicitly disclose: the hollow shaft is provided with the hollow rotating shaft of the electric motor and the hollow input shaft of the reducer, the hollow input shaft being coaxially linked to the hollow rotating shaft; and
the shaft member extends loosely through the respective hollow portions of the hollow rotating shaft and the hollow input shaft.
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With reference to Fig. 3, above, Yumoto teaches: the hollow shaft is provided with the hollow rotating shaft of the electric motor and the hollow input shaft of the reducer, the hollow input shaft being coaxially linked to the hollow rotating shaft; and the shaft member extends loosely through the respective hollow portions of the hollow rotating shaft and the hollow input shaft. As Koyama stated in para [0001], this configuration results in: a hollow actuator configured to connect a hollow motor and a hollow reduction device in coaxial fashion.
To have a hollow actuator configured to connect a hollow motor and a hollow reduction device in coaxial fashion, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that: the hollow shaft is provided with the hollow rotating shaft of the electric motor and the hollow input shaft of the reducer, the hollow input shaft being coaxially linked to the hollow rotating shaft; and the shaft member extends loosely through the respective hollow portions of the hollow rotating shaft and the hollow input shaft.
Regarding claim 9, Koyama discloses the machine provided with the hollow portion for electrical wiring according to claim 7, wherein
the shaft member is an insert-molded circuit component with which the electrical wiring is integrated through insert molding (implied, see: “[0044] A relay connector 23 is integrally formed with the hollow hole forming member 22, so as to be positioned coaxially inside the hollow hole 21.”),
a three-dimensionally molded circuit component with which the electrical wiring is integrally molded (in addition to para [0044], see also para [0045]: “The first electric wire side connector 28 includes a large number of connector pins (not shown), and is made insertable into and removable from the pinholes of the first connection section 24 of the relay connector 23. A second electric wire side connector 29 is mounted on the end of the second electric wire group 27 in the same manner. The second electric wire side connector 29 includes a large number of connector pins (not shown), and is made insertable into and removable from the pinholes of the second connection section 25 of the relay connector 23.”), or
a board-incorporating component in which is incorporated a printed wiring board on which the electrical wiring is printed.
Regarding claim 10, Koyama discloses the machine provided with the hollow portion for electrical wiring according to claim 8, wherein
the shaft member is an insert-molded circuit component with which the electrical wiring is integrated through insert molding (implied, see: “[0044] A relay connector 23 is integrally formed with the hollow hole forming member 22, so as to be positioned coaxially inside the hollow hole 21.”),
a three-dimensionally molded circuit component with which the electrical wiring is integrally molded (see paras [0044]-[0045]), or
a board-incorporating component in which is incorporated a printed wiring board on which the electrical wiring is printed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure are listed on PTO-892 Notice of References Cited.
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/MASOUD VAZIRI/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834