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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 5-6, 8-10, 12-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dowe Guenter (DE – 102012103017 A1, from IDS, Examiner disclosed English machined translation for claims rejection reference) and further in view of Lang Johannes (DE – 102014206804 B3).
As per claim 1, Dowe discloses Bearing A Part Cylindrical Outer Surface Having Rotary Lever Against A pressure Piece comprising:
a rolling bearing (24A, 24B, Fig: 1) for a disc brake (Fig: 1), the disc brake having a brake cylinder (Fig: 1), a pivot lever (20A, Fig: 1) which, for driving purposes, is operatively coupled to the brake cylinder (Fig: 1), and a thrust piece (20, Fig: 1) which is supported on the pivot lever (20A) by way of the rolling bearing (24A, 24B), the rolling bearing comprising:
a bearing shell segment (33, Fig: 3-4, 7-8), and
a bearing cage (35, Fig: 13-16) having rolling members (30, Fig: 3-4, 14-16) that roll on the bearing shell segment (33), the bearing cage (35) being movable in the circumferential direction of the bearing shell segment (33) and releasably fixed in an assembly position in relation to the bearing shell segment ([0046] – [0050], Fig: 1).
Dowe disclose all the structural elements of the claimed invention but fails to explicitly disclose wherein the bearing cage has a detent face with at least one recess, and the bearing shell segment has at least one detent part, the recess and the detent part being assigned to one another and mutually engaged in the assembly position while generating a clamping effect.
Lang discloses Bearing Arrangement With A Cage comprising:
wherein the bearing cage (7, Fig: 1) has a detent face (Attached figure and Fig: 1) with at least one recess (18a, 18b, Fig: 1) and the bearing shell segment (5, Fig: 1) has at least one detent part (22a, 22b, Fig: 1), the recess (18a, 18b) and the detent part (22a, 22b) being assigned to one another and mutually engaged in the assembly position while generating a clamping effect ([0028]-[0032], Fig: 1).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the Bearing A Part Cylindrical Outer Surface Having Rotary Lever Against A pressure Piece of the Dowe to make the bearing cage has a detent face with at least one recess, and the bearing shell segment has at least one detent part, the recess and the detent part being assigned to one another and mutually engaged in the assembly position while generating a clamping effect as taught by Lang in order to provide a captive cage ensures even with segment cages or segment bearings that no rollers can be lost.
As per claim 2, Lang further discloses wherein the recess (18a, 18b) has clamping faces (Attached figure and Fig: 1) that correspond to the detent part (22a, 22b, Fig: 1) for generating the clamping effect.
As per claim 5, Lang further discloses wherein the recess (18a, Fig: 1) is a first recess, and a second recess (18b, Fig: 1) is provided on the detent face (Attached figure and Fig: 1), the second recess (18b) having a clearance (As per Fig: 1, to assemble 5 and 7, 18b and 22a must have some degree of clearance) in relation to an associated second detent part (22a, Fig: 1) on the bearing shell segment (5, Fig: 1).
As per claim 6, Lang further discloses wherein the recess (18a, Fig: 1) is a first recess, and a second recess (18b, Fig: 1) is provided on the detent face (Attached figure and Fig: 1),
wherein the second recess (8b) and the a second detent part (22a, Fig: 1) assigned to the second recess are mutually engaged in the assembly position while generating a clamping effect (Fig: 1).
As per claim 8, Lang further discloses wherein the bearing cage (7, Fig: 1), at least in the region of its first and/or second recesses (18a, 18b, Fig: 1) formed on the detent face (Attached figure and Fig: 1).
Lang also discloses bearing assembly with plastic cage (Field of Invention, paragraph 19) but fails to explicitly disclose cage is formed partially or completely from a composite material.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the Bearing A Part Cylindrical Outer Surface Having Rotary Lever Against A pressure Piece of the Dowe as modified by Lang to make the cage which is formed partially or completely from a composite material, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basic of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. MPEP – 2144.07.
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As per claim 9, Dowe discloses brake caliper (Fig: 1) for a disc brake, the brake caliper comprising:
a pivot lever (20A, Fig: 1) which is received so as to be movable on the brake caliper and adjustable by a brake cylinder (Fig: 1);
a thrust piece (20, Fig: 1) which by way of the pivot lever (20A) is movable substantially radially in relation to the pivot axis (S) of the pivot lever (Fig: 1); and
the rolling bearing (24A, 24B, Fig: 1) as claimed in claim 1, by which the thrust piece (20) is supported on the pivot lever (20A, Fig: 1).
As per claim 10, Dowe discloses A method for assembling the brake caliper, as claimed in claim 9, the method comprising the following steps:
pre-assembling a thrust piece (20, Fig: 1) and at least one rolling bearing (24A, 24B, Fig: 1) as claimed in claim 1 so as to form a pre-assembled module;
moving the bearing cage (35, Fig: 13-16) of the rolling bearing in the circumferential direction on the bearing shell segment (33, Fig: 3-4, 7-8) during pre-assembly; and
Lang further discloses establishing contact between the bearing cage (7, Fig: 1) and a detent part (18a, 18b, Fig: 1) of the bearing shell segment (5, Fig: 1) in such a way that the bearing cage (7) is held in a clamping manner in its assembled position on the bearing shell segment (5, via 18a, 18b and 22a, 22b, Fig: 1); and
installing the pre-assembled module in the brake caliper (Fig: 1).
As per claim 12, Dowe disclose wherein the bearing shell segment (33, Fig: 3-4) includes a hook (38, Fig: 3) configured for engagement with a fastening interface of the thrust piece (at least one radially inwardly projecting retaining element 38 respectively, [0050], Fig: 3).
As per claim 13, Dowe disclose wherein the bearing shell segment (33) and the hook (38) as formed in one piece (Fig: 3-4).
As per claim 14, Dowe disclose wherein the clamping effect is overcome in response to a first actuation of the pivot lever ([0050],
As per claim 15, Dowe disclose wherein the bearing cage is moveable to an operating position after the first actuation (see position of 33 in Fig: 3-4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4, 7 and 11 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.
Prior art and teaching reference fail to disclose wherein the recess has at least one clamping face that runs at an angle (ß) of approximately 60° to approximately 120° in relation to the detent face of the bearing cage for generating the clamping effect conjointly with the detent part received in the recess (Claim 3), wherein the clamping faces of the recess comprise two clamping faces that converge in a wedge-shaped manner in the direction of its base of the recess (Claim 4), wherein two clamping wedges are formed in the first recess as clamping faces which are disposed at a predetermined mutual spacing and extend from the base of the first recess in the direction of the detent face and have a tapered contour (Claim 7) and wherein two clamping wedges are formed in the first recess and the second recess as clamping faces which are disposed at a predetermined mutual spacing and extend from the base of the first recess and the second recess in the direction of the detent face and have a tapered contour (Claim 11).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
A: Klaas (US – 2017/0204903 A1),
B: Katayama et al. (US – 2010/0187051 A1),
C: Wimmer, Josef (DE – 10236606 A1),
D: Anger A (DE – 102014206803 B3), and
E: Neumann Arthur (DE – 102014112245 B4).
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.
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/SAN M AUNG/Examiner, Art Unit 3616
/Robert A. Siconolfi/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3616
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