DETAILED ACTION
This is the first Office action on the merits of Application No. 18,785,012 filed July 26, 2024. Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of the invention of Group I (claims 1-14) in the reply filed on December 18, 2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the Group II invention (claims 15-20) is drawn to a method of using a clutch which is specific to the clutch of Group I and cannot be practiced with a materially different apparatus. This is not found persuasive because the invention of Group II is not directed to a method of using a clutch. As pointed out on page 2 of the restriction requirement dated October 1, 2025 the two groups of inventions are directed to related products which are distinct since the inventions can have a materially different design, mode of operation, function, or effect; the inventions do not encompass overlapping subject matter and there is nothing of record to show them to be obvious variants.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 15-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on December 18, 2025.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on July 26, 2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because Fig. 7 includes the reference character “720” which is not mentioned in the description.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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. 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 § 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 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 5,525,642 (Cipriano).
Regarding claim 1, Cipriano discloses a clutch in Fig. 1 comprising: a stator plate (10 or 18); and a conductive plate (the other one of 18 and 20) comprising electrically conductive material (as described in column 6, lines 5-6, the plates can be electrically charged and are thus conductive), wherein the stator plate is selectively coupled to the conductive plate when a voltage is applied to the stator plate (note column 6, lines 20-26 “(w)hen current flows from the carbon brushes to the clutch plates, they acquire an equal, opposite charge. The invention polymeric film 20, sandwiched between the clutch plates, exhibits the Johnsen-Rahbeck effect thereby increasing the frictional force between the nesting, contacting surfaces of the clutch assembly”).
Regarding claim 2, the stator plate (10 or 18) comprises an electroadhesive (EA) polymer (20). Note column 5, lines 64-67 “(a) polymeric film 20 is interposed between these nesting clutch plate surfaces and may be attached to either of these clutch surfaces”; and column 6, lines 21-25 “polymeric film 20, sandwiched between the clutch plates, exhibits the Johnsen-Rahbeck effect”, i.e. the film 20 is an electroadhesive (EA) polymer.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 5,525,642 (Cipriano).
Cipriano does not specify the material from which the plates 10 and 18 are made, aside from the description in column 6, lines 5-6, which indicates that the plates can be electrically charged. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to form the plates 10, 18 from steel which was known to be conductive and to have sufficient strength to transmit or absorb torque without deforming.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6 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.
Claims 9-14 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
None of the prior art discloses or renders obvious a clutch having a stator plate comprising the specified EA polymer set forth in claim 3, specifically wherein the EA polymer comprises polybenzimidazole (PBI), an ionic additive, and a plasticizer.
None of the prior art discloses or renders obvious a clutch having the first and second interlocking fin half assemblies as set forth in claim 9, in particular wherein each fin from the first array of fins has at least a portion of at least one surface coated with an electroadhesive (EA) polymer, and wherein each fin from the second array of fins has at least a portion of at least one surface coated with a conductive material.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
WO 2024/112832 A2 discloses a polymer-ceramic hybrid material is adapted for use on electrostatic clutches.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Richard M. Lorence whose telephone number is 571-272-7094. The examiner can normally be reached Tuesday-Thursday from 11:00 AM-7:00 PM.
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/RICHARD M LORENCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617