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 1-14 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 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, 2 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fukunaga, K. (US 20160294253 A1).
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Regarding claim 1, Fukunaga discloses a linear drive mechanism (1, fig. 1), comprising:
a casing (casing, annotated fig. 2) with openings at both ends;
a front cover (front cover, annotated fig. 2) and a rear cover (rear cover, annotated fig. 2; see also the cover for the bearing) fixed at opposite ends of the casing (see annotated fig. 2);
a stator (casing, annotated fig. 2) arranged in the casing;
a hollow rotor (rotor, annotated fig. 2; roller screw is arranged inside the rotor) arranged in the stator (see annotated fig. 2) and rotatably connected to the stator (implied- see the bearings on the front and back); and
a roller screw arranged in the rotor, comprising:
a screw nut (screw nut, annotated fig. 2) fixed in the rotor (attached to the inner side of the rotor shaft); and
a center screw (center screw, annotated fig. 2) arranged on an inner peripheral side of the screw nut and arranged through the front cover (see annotated fig. 2);
wherein the screw nut is rotatably connected to the casing and the center screw (implied- see fig. 20); wherein the stator is configured to drive the rotor to rotate the screw nut, to drive the center screw to perform a linear telescopic motion (para [0007]: “a motor which converts a rotary motion into a linear motion by using a ball screw.”).
Regarding claim 2, Fukunaga discloses the linear drive mechanism of claim 1, wherein
the screw nut comprises a hollow nut body fixed in the rotor and a first threaded structure formed on an inner peripheral side of the nut body (see the screw nut in annotated fig. 2- the center screw goes through it);
the center screw comprises a center screw body arranged within the nut body and provided with a second threaded structure on its outer peripheral side, and an extending end formed by an extension of an end of the center screw body close to the front cover (see the center screw in annotated fig. 2);
the first threaded structure is screwed to the second threaded structure, and an end of the extending end close to the front cover is arranged through the front cover (see the end of the center screw extending through front cover in annotated fig. 2).
Regarding claim 7, Fukunaga discloses the linear drive mechanism of claim 1, wherein
the stator comprises a stator core (511, fig. 2) fixed on a side of the casing close to the roller screw and a coil winding (512, fig. 2) fixed in the stator core, wherein
the coil winding is spaced apart from the rotor (implied due to air gap; see also fig. 2), and the coil winding is configured to drive the rotor to rotate after being energized (implied).
Regarding claim 8, Fukunaga discloses the linear drive mechanism of claim 1, wherein
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the rotor is of a magnet-conducting hollow shaft structure (31, fig. 4), and a permanent magnet (32, fig. 4) mounted on the magnet-conducting hollow shaft structure is of a radial four-pole magnetic ring structure or a radial six-pole magnetic ring structure (see six poles in fig. 4).
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) 9 and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fukunaga, K. (US 20160294253 A1).
Regarding claim 9, Fukunaga discloses the linear drive mechanism of claim 1, wherein
the rotor is of a magnet-conducting hollow shaft structure (31, fig. 4);
a permanent magnet (32, fig. 4) mounted on the magnet-conducting hollow shaft structure is bonded to the magnet-conducting hollow shaft structure (para [0037]: “Each of the plurality of magnets 32 is fixed on an outer surface of the hollow shaft 31 by, for example, an adhesive.”) to form a radial four-pole magnetic field or a six-pole magnetic field (discussed regarding claim 8).
Fukunaga is silent about: the magnet is of a magnetic sheet structure. However, selecting a magnet type or shape is a design choice and is within the skills of a person having ordinary skills in the art. In the instance application, Applicant has not disclosed an unexpected result for using a particular type or shape of magnet.
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 magnet is of a magnetic sheet structure.
Regarding claim 12, Fukunaga discloses the linear drive mechanism of claim 1, further comprising a first bearing and a second bearing (23 and 24, fig. 2), wherein the first bearing and the second bearing are fixedly sleeved on the two ends of the screw nut (see fig. 2), respectively, and an outer peripheral side of the first bearing and an outer peripheral side of the second bearing are fixed in the casing (via the front and the back cover, see annotated fig. 2).
Regarding claim 13, Fukunaga discloses the linear drive mechanism of claim 1, wherein the casing is of a structure with openings at both ends (see fig. 1) but is silent about: the casing, the front cover, and the rear cover are connected into a single unit by bolts.
The back cover is already attached to the casing. In general, attaching mechanical parts of a housing using bolts is within the skills of a person having ordinary skills in the art.
To attach the various parts of a housing to each other, 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 casing, the front cover, and the rear cover are connected into a single unit by bolts.
Regarding claim 14, Fukunaga discloses the linear drive mechanism of claim 1, wherein the casing comprises a front section casing and a rear section casing (consider the casing as two parts- a front and a rear section); the rear section casing is fused into the rear cover as a single unit (see annotated fig. 2); and the front cover, the front section casing, and the rear cover fusing the rear section casing are connected into a single unit by bolts (see discussion regarding claim 13 regarding using bolts; in general making parts integral or sparable are considered not inventive- see MPEP 2144.04(V)(B)-(C)).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6 and 10-11 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.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Conclusion
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/MASOUD VAZIRI/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834