DETAILED ACTION
This is the First Office Action in response to the above identified patent
application filed on June 7, 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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-7 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li et al. (CN 210115933).
Referring to Figure 4, Li illustrates a robot arm comprising: a first arm (1) including a first insertion hole (positioned about 213 and adjacent 212) and a second insertion hole (positioned about 313) that internally communicate with each other; a bearing case (formed integrally with 212) inserted into the first insertion hole; a first gear (211) passed through the bearing case and inserted into the first insertion hole; a first bearing (supporting shaft 213) and a second bearing (supporting shaft 213) that are disposed inside the bearing case, that support so that the first gear rotates around a first rotation axis with respect to the first arm, and that are disposed separated from each other along the first rotation axis; and a second gear (311) that is inserted into the second insertion hole and that meshes with the first gear in the first arm.
Claim 2: Li illustrates the bearing case, the first gear, the first bearing, and the second bearing are unitized (forms a unit).
Claim 3: Li illustrates the first insertion hole includes a placement surface (adjacent 212) and the bearing case is placed on the placement surface.
Claim 4: Li illustrates the bearing case includes a first portion (212), a second portion (adjacent 212) located closer to the second gear side than the first portion and having a width (diameter) smaller than that of the first portion, and a mounting surface (flange surface), which is a stepped surface located at a boundary portion between the first portion and the second portion, and the mounting surface is placed on the placement surface.
Claim 5: Li illustrates an adjustment member (20) that is interposed between the placement surface and the bearing case and that adjusts the clearance between the placement surface and the bearing case.
Claim 6: Li illustrates a preload mechanism (spacer disposed between the inner races of the bearings, and shaft 213) that is housed in the bearing case and that preloads the first bearing and the second bearing along the first rotation axis.
Claim 7: Li illustrates the preload mechanism includes a preload member (such as wheel 8) configured to preload the first bearing along the first rotation axis and a preload transmitting member (spacer disposed axially between the inner races of the bearings) located between the first bearing and the second bearing and configured to transmit a force received by the first bearing from the preload member to the second bearing.
Claim 9: Li illustrates a second arm (5,51,52) coupled so as to rotate around the first rotation axis with respect to the first arm, wherein the second arm includes a through hole larger than the bearing case at a position overlapping with the bearing case in a plan view along the first rotation axis.
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) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (CN 210115933), as applied to claim 1 above.
Li illustrates the bearing case having a tapered leading edge surface (adjacent 211) that gradually decreases to facilitate the assembly of the bearing case into the first insertion hole. Li does not teach the first insertion hole formed with the guide section that gradually decreases for guiding the bearing case when inserted into the first insertion hole. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to configure the first insertion hole of Li with a gradually decreasing guide surface for facilitating assembly of the mating components, since forming the guide surface on either the bearing case or the insertion hole provides the same result, and involves only routine skill in the art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Torii et al. (USP 4,972,735) teaches (Fig. 4) a robot arm comprising: a first arm (20,21) including a first insertion hole (disposed about 52,53) and a second insertion hole (disposed about 61) that internally communicate with each other; a bearing case (disposed about the bearings supporting shaft 53) inserted into the first insertion hole; a first gear (52) passed through the bearing case and inserted into the first insertion hole; a first bearing (supporting shaft 53) and a second bearing (supporting shaft 53) that are disposed inside the bearing case, that support so that the first gear rotates around a first rotation axis with respect to the first arm, and that are disposed separated from each other along the first rotation axis; and a second gear (51,61) that is inserted into the second insertion hole and that meshes with the first gear in the first arm.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Fox can be reached on 571-272-6923. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM C JOYCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618