DETAILED ACTION
This is the first Office action on the merits of Application No. 18/731,172 filed on May 31, 2024. Claims 1-8 are currently pending.
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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on May 31, 2024 has been considered by the examiner.
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 “spring” (claim 3); “housing” and “drive unit” (claim 4); “housing portion”, “electric motor housing” and “(reduction) gearing housing” (claim 5); “parking lock” (claims 7 and 8); and “vehicle” (claim 8) must be shown or the features canceled from the claims. 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 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2, 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 2 recites “a stop” in line 7, and claim 4 recites “a stop” in line 1. Both of these claims are dependent upon claim 1 which recites “an assigned stop” in line 10. It is not clear whether the stops recited in claims 2 and 4 are the same element as the “assigned stop” recited in claim 1. If they are the same, then in claims 2 and 4 “a stop” should be changed to --the stop-- in order to eliminate a double inclusion of his element.
The recitation of “the stop” on claim 5, line 1, is vague since both “an assigned stop” and “a stop” were previously recited in claims 1 and 4, respectively.
In claim 5, line 2, it is unclear whether the parenthetically enclosed wording “(reduction)” is intended to form part of the claim limitation. It is suggested that “(reduction) gear” should be changed to --reduction gear--.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 2,619,211 A (Belden).
Regarding claim 1, Belden discloses a locking mechanism (the coupling in Figs. 1 and 3 which, when in the coupled position shown in Fig. 1, locks the shafts 11, 12 together for common rotation). No patentable weight is given to the intended use “for a vehicle” in the claim preamble. The locking mechanism of Belden comprises: a locking actuator (13, 18, 19); a rotatable lockable element (13A) with at least one recess (17A), an actuable form-fitting element (i.e., pin 18 in Fig. 1 or 40 in Fig. 11) of the locking actuator is movable between the locking actuator and the element in the recess in an axial stroke movement in portions in a form-fitting manner, in order to lock the element, wherein the locking actuator has, outside a form-fitting region between the form-fitting element and the lockable element, a degree of freedom of movement for the form-fitting element transverse to the axial stroke movement of the form-fitting element (due to the yieldable bushing 15 and/or the reduced diameter neck 41 and large diameter through holes 42 when the ring-shaped pin carrier is configured as shown in Fig. 11, see column 4, line 37 to column 5, line 3) as well as up to an assigned stop (bushing bore 14 in Fig. 1 and/or the wall of through hole 42 in Fig. 11), up to which the form-fitting element is deflected during a locking process and after an end of the locking process, in order to on one hand balance out positioning inaccuracies between the form-fitting element and the recess during the locking process (as described in column 4, lines 37-53) and on the other hand to dissipate dynamic torque loads of a drivetrain during the locking process and in particular after the end of the locking process (the yieldable bushings will absorb a certain amount of torque variations).
Regarding claim 2, the form-fitting element (pin 18 in Fig. 1 or 40 in Fig. 11) has a first form-fitting element portion (i.e., the portion of the pin 18 or 40 which is selectively received in the pin bore 17A), which is joined for the form fit, with a tapering in the region of its free end (as shown for example in Figs. 1 and 11) as well as a second form-fitting element portion (the portion between the “first portion” and the reduced diameter portion 20 or 41) which is wider (in the axial direction) in comparison with the first form-fitting element portion and longitudinally to the form-fitting element and which, if the tapering interacts with the recess (17A), is deflected transversely to the axial stroke movement, and indeed within play between the second form-fitting element portion and a stop (bushing bore 14 in Fig. 1 and/or the wall of through hole 42 in Fig. 11) of the locking actuator and up to against the stop.
Regarding claim 3, the form-fitting element is deflected against the stop acting counter to at least one spring (yieldable bushing 15).
Regarding claim 4, a stop is supported on a housing of a drive unit as broadly claimed. The coupling device in Fig. 1 can be broadly interpreted as a drive unit, to the extent that the coupling is a unit that transmits drive torque between the shafts 11, 12; the flange 13 houses the bushing 15; and the bore 14 defines a stop for limiting the amount of defection of the pin 18.
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 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 2,619,211 A (Belden) in view of U.S. Patent No. 7,717,437 B2 (Adams, III).
Belden does not disclose the type of actuation force which is used to move the form-fitting pins 18 or 40. Adams, III provide evidence that before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it was known to employ an electromagnetic coil assembly 106 to control the engagement of a pin type coupling device 62 similar to that disclosed by Belden. Adams, III teaches that the use of this type of actuation system permits the coupling to be controlled in response to various automatic and/or manual inputs. See column 5, lines 40-47. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to electrically actuate the form-fitting pins of Belden in order to permit the coupling to be controlled in response to various automatic and/or manual inputs in view of the teaching of Adams, III.
Claims 7 and 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 6,435,320 B1 (Drennen) in view of U.S. Patent No. 2,619,211 A (Belden).
Drennen discloses a parking lock (electric park brake 5) for a vehicle (see column 1, lines 7-9). The parking lock of Drennen comprises a locking mechanism comprises a locking actuator (30) and a rotatable locking element (25) with recesses (27). An actuable form-fitting element (40) of the locking actuator is movable between the locking actuator and the element in the recess in an axial stroke movement in portions in a form-fitting manner, in order to lock the element (see column 2, lines 41-47). Drennen does not disclose that the locking actuator has, outside a form-fitting region between the form-fitting element and the lockable element, a degree of freedom of movement for the form-fitting element transverse to the axial stroke movement of the form-fitting element as well as up to an assigned stop, up to which the form-fitting element is deflected during a locking process and after an end of the locking process, in order to on one hand balance out positioning inaccuracies between the form-fitting element and the recess during the locking process and on the other hand to dissipate dynamic torque loads of a drivetrain during the locking process and in particular after the end of the locking process.
As discussed above with regards to claim 1, Belden discloses a locking mechanism (the coupling in Figs. 1 and 3 which, when in the coupled position shown in Fig. 1, locks the shafts 11, 12 together for common rotation). The locking mechanism of Belden comprises: a locking actuator (13, 18, 19); a rotatable lockable element (13A) with at least one recess (17A), an actuable form-fitting element (i.e., pin 18 in Fig. 1 or 40 in Fig. 11, which are similar to the pins 40 of Drennen) of the locking actuator is movable between the locking actuator and the element in the recess in an axial stroke movement in portions in a form-fitting manner, in order to lock the element, wherein the locking actuator has, outside a form-fitting region between the form-fitting element and the lockable element, a degree of freedom of movement for the form-fitting element transverse to the axial stroke movement of the form-fitting element (due to the yieldable bushing 15 and/or the reduced diameter neck 41 and large diameter through holes 42 when the ring-shaped pin carrier is configured as shown in Fig. 11, see column 4, line 37 to column 5, line 3) as well as up to an assigned stop (bushing bore 14 in Fig. 1 and/or the wall of through hole 42 in Fig. 11), up to which the form-fitting element is deflected during a locking process and after an end of the locking process, in order to on one hand balance out positioning inaccuracies between the form-fitting element and the recess during the locking process (as described in column 4, lines 37-53) and on the other hand to dissipate dynamic torque loads of a drivetrain during the locking process and in particular after the end of the locking process (the yieldable bushings will absorb a certain amount of torque variations). Belden suggests that by providing a degree of freedom of movement for the pins transverse to the axial stroke movement permits compensating alignment of the pins with the bushings when they are out of alignment (see column 4, lines 37-53). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to provide the pins 40 of Drennen with a degree of freedom of movement for pins transverse to the axial stroke movement of the pins outside a form-fitting region between the pins and the lockable element 25 in view of the suggestion of Belden.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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: Neither Belden nor any of the other prior art taken alone or in combination discloses or renders obvious a locking mechanism including a stop arranged together with the remainder of the recited structure in the manner set forth in claim 5, in particular wherein the stop is supported on a housing portion of an electric motor housing or a gear housing.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
WO 2021/244913 A1 discloses a parking lock 5b in Fig. 6 including a locking bolt 5.10 that engages a recess 5.8 of a ratchet wheel 5.1.
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/RICHARD M LORENCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617
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