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 . 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.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2017-110741 (Tateno; the citations of which are taken from the attached translation).
Regarding claim 1, Tateno discloses a power transmission device (10) for a vehicle (see Figure 2), the power transmission device comprising: (a) a shaft assembly (18) constituted by an electric-motor rotor shaft (34) and a gear shaft (32) that are coaxial with each other; and (b) a bearing (35b) supporting the shaft assembly (see Figure 2),
wherein the shaft assembly includes a connection portion (see annotated Figure 1 below) in which one of axially opposite end portions of the gear shaft is introduced in one of axially opposite end portions of the rotor shaft such that the gear shaft and the electric-motor rotor shaft are connected to each other (see Figure 2);
wherein the connection portion includes: a spline engagement portion (52) in which an outer circumferential surface of the gear shaft is engaged with an inner circumferential surface of the rotor shaft through a spline engagement (see paragraph [0022]); a fitting portion (76) in which the outer circumferential surface of the gear shaft is fitted in the inner circumferential surface of the rotor shaft (see paragraph [0030]); and a damper portion (56) in which an elastic member (54) is disposed between the outer circumferential surface of the gear shaft and the inner circumferential surface of the rotor shaft (see Figure 2 and paragraphs [0025]-[0027]),
wherein the spline engagement portion, the fitting portion and the damper portion are arranged in an axial direction of the shaft assembly, such that the spline engagement portion is closer than the fitting portion and the damper portion to the other of the axially opposite end portions of the rotor shaft in the axial direction, and such that the damper portion is closer than the fitting portion and the spline engagement portion to the other of the axially opposite end portions of the gear shaft (see Figure 2), and
wherein the bearing supporting the shaft assembly is located in a position that overlaps with the connection portion of the shaft assembly as viewed in a radial direction of the shaft assembly (see annotated Figure 1 below).
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Figure 1. Annotated Figure 2 of Tateno
Regarding claim 2, Tateno discloses the position of the bearing (35b) overlaps with the damper portion (56) as viewed in the radial direction (see annotated Figures 2 and 3 below, where both the damper portion and the elastic member itself overlap with the bearing).
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Figure 2. Annotated Partial Figure 2 of Tateno Figure 3. Annotated Partial Figure 2 of Tateno
Regarding claim 3, Tateno discloses a pair of end bearings (35a, 36) in addition to the bearing (35b) as a central bearing that supports the connection portion of the shaft assembly (see Figure 2),
wherein one of the end bearings is provided in the other of the axially opposite end portions of the rotor shaft (34), and the other of the end bearings is provided in the other of the axially opposite end portions of the gear shaft (32; see Figure 2).
Conclusion
The prior art set forth in the attached Notice of References Cited (PTO-892) made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure in the field of power transmission devices.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Josh Skroupa whose telephone number is (571)270-3220. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Anderson can be reached on (571)270-5281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Josh Skroupa/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678
August 10, 2026
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