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 .
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 17 June 2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: On line 2, change “engaged” to –engage—. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 4-7 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.
In claim 4, “wherein the mounting portion of the support is corrugated in the circumferential direction and has alternating segments of small outside diameter and segments of large outside diameter…” is indefinite. With reference to Figs.1-2, the specification teaches “…the outside diameter D1 of the mounting portion 24 of the support is constant about the entire circumferential perimeter of the portion” (¶[0054]). It is unclear how the mounting portion is “corrugated”, with differing diameters, when its outside diameter is expressly described as “constant”. The sense of the phrase appears to be that the “corrugation” corresponding to the different diameters occurs after the support 22 is positioned in axial contact against the annular main body 30 of the mounting plate 18 such that the axial portion 42 of each retention tab 40 is in radial contact with and presses radially inward on the mounting portion 24 in such a way as to locally deform, or radially inwardly deflect, the support 22 of the brush 16, as taught in the published specification ¶[0067].
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 (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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3-4 & 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hubert et al. (US Pat.Pub.2019/0296617).
Regarding claim 1, Hubert teaches a method for assembling a grounding brush assembly, the grounding brush assembly including a grounding brush 10 and a brush mounting plate 30, the brush including a support 12 and a plurality of conductive fibers 18 disposed at least partially within the support, the support including a mounting portion (channel) 22, a first lateral rim (side edge) 20 extending from one axial side of the mounting portion 22, and a second lateral rim (other side edge) 20 extending from another axial side of the mounting portion, the first and second lateral rims axially gripping the conductive fibers 18 (Fig.1),
the mounting plate 30 including a main body (not numbered; Figs.3-4) and a plurality of retention tabs 42 for retaining the support 12 of the brush, each retention tab having an axial portion (axial wall) 44 extending axially from the main body, locally radially surrounding and being in radial contact with the support 12 of the brush, and a radially inwardly bent portion (radial wall) 46 located at a free end of the axial portion (i.e., each tab punched from mounting plate 30; ¶[0026]; Fig.3), the method comprising the steps of:
positioning the support 12 of the brush axially into axial contact against the main body of the mounting plate 30, the mounting portion 22 of the support 12 having, in a free state, an outside diameter (inherent);
forming each one of the plurality of retention tabs 42 of the mounting plate 30 by partially cutting the mounting plate and by bending a portion of the mounting plate (i.e., each tab punched from mounting plate 30; ¶[0026]; Fig.3); and
assembling the brush 10 and the mounting plate 30 by placing the retention tabs 42 of the mounting plate into radial contact against the mounting portion 22 of the support 12 of the brush (i.e., axial wall 44 projecting from rear of mounting plate 29 contacts mounting portion 22 of support 12), the outside diameter of the mounting portion 22 of the support 12 having, in an assembled state and in the area of the axial portion of each retention tab 42, an outside diameter less than the outside diameter in the free state (i.e., at regions where tabs 42 press the circumferentially spaces ends of the brush 10 toward each other to thereby decrease diameter; ¶[0027]; Figs.3-4&8).
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Regarding claim 3, the retention tabs 42 engag[e] with the mounting portion of the support 12 of the brush such that the outside diameter of each segment of the mounting portion 22 in contact with the retention tabs has the same value (inherent due to symmetrical arrangement of tabs 42; Fig.4).
Regarding claim 4, Hubert teaches a grounding brush assembly comprising:
a grounding brush 10 including a support 12 and a plurality of conductive fibers 18 disposed at least partially within the support, the support having a mounting portion (channel) 22, a first lateral rim (side edge) 20 extending from one axial side of the mounting portion 22, and a second lateral rim (other side edge) 20 extending from another axial side of the mounting portion 22, the first and second lateral rims axially gripping the conductive fibers 18 (Fig.1); and
a brush mounting plate 30 including a main body (flange) 36 and a plurality of retention tabs 42 for retaining the support 22 of the brush, each retention tab 42 having an axial portion (axial wall) 44 extending axially from the main body, locally radially surrounding and being in contact with the support 12 of the brush, and a radially inwardly bent portion (radial wall) 46 located at a free end of the axial portion 44;
wherein the mounting portion 22 of the support 12 is “corrugated” [sic] in the circumferential direction and has alternating segments of small outside diameter (corresponding to regions of contact with tabs 42 where axial walls 44 press radially inward, decreasing diameter of mounting portion 22) and segments of large outside diameter (correspond to regions between tabs 42, where there are no axial walls), the axial portion 44 of each retention tab 42 being in radial contact with a separate one of the segments of small outside diameter of the mounting portion 22 (Fig.3).
Regarding claim 6, the [brush] mounting plate 30 includes at least one centering portion extending at least axially from the main body of the mounting plate, the at least one centering portion being offset radially outwardly with respect to the support 12 of the brush 10 and has an outer surface (flange) 36 defining an outside diameter of the mounting plate 30 (Fig.3).
Regarding claim 7, Hubert further teaches an electric motor comprising: a casing 58 having a bore (not numbered, between casing 58 and shaft 60); a shaft 60; and a grounding brush assembly 31 according to claim 4 mounted radially between the casing 58 and the shaft 60, the conductive fibers 18 of the grounding brush assembly being in contact with the shaft 60 and the mounting plate 30 being in radial contact with the bore of the casing (e.g., the flange 36 could be inserted into a (not illustrated) circular slot on the motor housing 58 with the shaft 60 of the motor extending through the central opening 40; ¶[0030]; Fig.8).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is 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.
The prior art, in particular Hubert, does further teach the claimed method including, inter alia, “the plurality of retention tabs [40] are placed into contact with the mounting portion [24] of the support [22] of the brush such that an axial clearance [46] is defined between the bent portion [44] of each one of the retention tabs and the second lateral rim [28] of the support [22]” as described in the specification ¶[0052] & Fig.1.
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.
As noted with regard to claim 2, the prior art, in particular Hubert, does not further teach “an axial clearance [46] between the bent portion [44] of each retention tab [40] and the second lateral rim [28] of the support [22].”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BURTON S MULLINS whose telephone number is (571)272-2029. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tulsidas C Patel can be reached at 571-272-2098. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BURTON S MULLINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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