DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) 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.
Regarding Claim 10, there is insufficient antecedent basis for “the elastic lower support body part”.
Claim 11 is rejected as indefinite as it is dependent upon a rejected parent claim (See above).
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.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by D1 (KR 102254485 B1- Machine Translation and Original Patent Provided in Present OA)
Regarding claim 1, D1 anticipates a steering apparatus for a vehicle 1 (Fig 1), the steering apparatus comprising:
a housing 2 having an open end portion; and
a worm wheel 3 (Fig 1) [accommodated within the housing and mounted on a steering shaft] (See Fig 1);
a worm shaft 4,5 (Fig 1) [engaged with the worm wheel and configured to rotate by an actuator] (“a worm 4 and a worm wheel 3 meshed therewith rotate by driving a motor (not shown) while the vehicle is running. At this time, while rotating with the worm 4 and the worm wheel 3, the teeth are worn out, and rattle noise and vibration, which are metallic noises, are generated according to the gap between the teeth.” Para 0040);
a bearing 6 (Fig 1) mounted on the worm shaft 5 (Fig 1); and
a damper 100 (Fig 2) [that rotatably surrounds the bearing] (Fig 5 shows the damper 30 surrounding the outer face of the bearing) , [comes into contact with an inner surface of the housing] (“The electric steering device 1 includes a bearing bush 100 that surrounds the bearing 6 installed on one side of the worm shaft 5 of the worm 4 to suppress the flow of the bearing 6 and secure rattle performance” para 0023 and “the bearing bush 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a bearing guide 10 , an elastic member 20 , and a damper 30 .” para 0024), [and provides an elastic force to the worm shaft towards a worm wheel side] (“The electric steering device 1 includes a bearing bush 100 that surrounds the bearing 6 installed on one side of the worm shaft 5 of the worm 4 to suppress the flow of the bearing 6 and secure rattle performance… The bearing bush 100 according to the present invention is to solve the rattle noise generated by the bearing 6 flowing up and down in the electric steering device 1 while suppressing the flow by surrounding the bearing 6 .” para 0023).
Regarding claim 2, D1 anticipates wherein the damper 100 (Fig 2) includes:
a cover 13 (Fig 2, para 0028) [that closes the open end portion of the housing] (“The plug 13 is formed to protrude in an annular shape at the other end (left side of FIG. 3) of the bearing guide 10, and blocks the bearing 6 from the outside to prevent inflow of foreign substances from the outside and damage to the bearing 6 can be prevented” para 0028); and
an elastic part 30 (Figs 2 and 5) [that is configured so that a first side of the elastic part is mounted on the cover and a second side of the elastic part rotatably surrounds the bearing] (“The damper mounting part 11 is an outer peripheral surface formed along the circumferential direction A of the bearing guide 10 , and the damper 30 is mounted on the surface of the damper mounting part 11 .” para 0026),
[wherein the elastic part comes into contact with the inner surface of the housing, and elastically pressurizes the worm shaft towards the worm wheel side] (“Since the damper 30 surrounds the entire surface of the damper mounting part 11 of the bearing guide 10 , vibration and noise absorption may be achieved through the entire surface of the damper 30 .” para 0034).
Regarding claim 13, D1 anticipates the steering apparatus of claim 2, wherein the cover 13 (Fig 3) includes:
a cover body part 13 (Fig 3) [that closes the open portion of the housing] (“The plug 13 is formed to protrude in an annular shape at the other end (left side of FIG. 3) of the bearing guide 10, and blocks the bearing 6 from the outside to prevent inflow of foreign substances from the outside and damage to the bearing 6 can be prevented” para 0028); and
a cover support part 11 (Fig 3) [that is formed to protrude from the cover body part along a circumferential direction of the cover body part and mounts the elastic part on the cover support part] (“The damper mounting part 11 is an outer peripheral surface formed along the circumferential direction A of the bearing guide 10 , and the damper 30 is mounted on the surface of the damper mounting part 11” para 0026 and Fig 3 shows the protrusion of element 11 to support the bearing and damper parts).
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 in view of FUECHSEL (DE102012103857A1- Machine Translation and Original Patent Provided in Present OA)
Regarding claim 3, D1 teaches the steering apparatus of claim 2 with an elastic part with an elastic deformation part 30 (Fig 3) [that is configured so that a first side of the elastic deformation part is mounted on the cover 13 (Fig 3)] (“The damper 30 surrounds the entire surface of the damper mount 11 from the plug 13 to the stopper 12 .” para 0034) [and a second side of the elastic deformation part rotatably surrounds the bearing] (Fig 5 shows a cutaway view on axis A where the elastic part 30 surrounds the bearing 6, “The damper 30 surrounds the entire surface of the damper mount 11 from the plug 13 to the stopper 12 . An elastic member 20 is positioned between the bearing guide 10 and the damper 30 . Since the damper 30 surrounds the entire surface of the damper mounting part 11 of the bearing guide 10 , vibration and noise absorption may be achieved through the entire surface of the damper 30 .” para 0034), [and includes an elastically deformable material] (“The damper 30 is an elastically deformable material and may be made of rubber, silicone, resin, or the like” para 0035)
D1 does not teach a leaf spring that is mounted on the elastic deformation part and provides the elastic force to the bearing in response that the elastic deformation part is elastically deformed by a tilting of the worm shaft.
FUECHSEL teaches an equivalent steering apparatus (Fig 1) with a damper 5,12 (Fig 4) that has a leaf spring 14 (Figs 4 and 6) that is mounted on the elastic deformation part 12 (Fig 4 and 6) [and provides the elastic force to the bearing in response that the elastic deformation part is elastically deformed by a tilting of the worm shaft] (“The toothing 16 is oriented such that a springing out of the spring tongues 14 is possible without problems. In this case, depending on the adjustment path, the spring tongue 14 sweeps over tooth by tooth of the pressure piece 5 and the pressure piece 5 is displaced in the direction of the helical pinion 1. An axial movement of the pressure piece 5 in the direction of the screw cap 13, on the other hand, is prevented by the positive connection between the toothing 16 of the pressure piece 5 and the spring tongues 14 of the screw cap 13.” para 0077).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to additionally use the leaf spring of FUECHSEL with the steering apparatus of D1 with a reasonable expectation of success because it would allow for an overall smaller and simpler design of the damper system to prevent tilting of the worm shaft. Leaf springs are well known in the art to be good at absorbing high bearing forces and are an overall smaller and simpler design compared to other spring types (i.e. compression springs).
Claims 4-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 in view of FUECHSEL in further view of Segawa (JP 5309670 B2-Machine Translation and Original Patent Provided in present OA).
Regarding claim 4, D1 and Fuechsel teach the steering apparatus with an elastic deformation part.
D1 and Fuechsel do not teach the elastic deformation part includes:
an elastic deformation body part that is mounted on the cover and is formed in a circular shape;
elastic side support parts that are formed to protrude from first and second sides of an inner surface of the elastic deformation body part, respectively and support the leaf spring;
an elastic lower support part that is formed to protrude from a lower side of the inner surface of the elastic deformation body part and supports the bearing; and
an elastic upper support part that is formed to protrude from an upper side of the inner surface of the elastic deformation body part and adjusts a tilting amount of the worm shaft by providing an elastic force when in contact with the bearing.
Segawa teaches an equivalent elastic deformation part 13 (Fig 4) includes:
an elastic deformation body part 24 (Fig 4) [that is mounted on the cover and is formed in a circular shape] (Fig 4 shows a circular shaped guide part);
elastic side support parts 15 (Fig 4) [that are formed to protrude from first and second sides of an inner surface of the elastic deformation body part, respectively and support the leaf spring] (“a pair of bent portions 18, 18 formed by bending inward in the radial direction of the coil portion 17 at both end portions of the wire rod which constitutes the coil spring 11 which is an elastic member, is externally fitted to the biasing member 10; The locking recesses 19, 19 formed in the two guide wall portions 15, 15 are locked.” Para 0007);
an elastic lower support part 15 (Fig 4) [that is formed to protrude from a lower side of the inner surface of the elastic deformation body part and supports the bearing] (“Also, a through hole constituting the slide bearing 22 in which the proximal end portion of the distal end portion of the worm shaft 7 with respect to the portion where the biasing member 10 is externally fitted is provided in the main body portion 24 of the guide block 13a. It is inserted into 23.” para 0028); and an elastic upper support part 15 (Fig 4) [that is formed to protrude from an upper side of the inner surface of the elastic deformation body part and adjusts a tilting amount of the worm shaft by providing an elastic force when in contact with the bearing] (“Further, in the case of the present embodiment, since the biasing member 10 is guided by the guide wall portions 15, 15 integrally provided on the guide block 13a, the displacement of the worm shaft 7 is predetermined via the biasing member 10” para 0030). Segawa additionally teaches the upper support part 15 (Fig 4) [is formed to protrude from an upper side of the inner surface of the body part so as to be spaced apart at a distance from the spring] (Fig 4 shows the protrusions are protruding at a specific point to support the spring 11 via the slotted elements 19). Segawa additionally the upper support part 15 (Figs 3 and 4) is disposed outside the leaf spring 11 (Figs 3 and 4) in the guide part 13 (Figs 3 and 4 show the spring protrusions 18 sit inside the slots 19 that the protrusions sit on the exterior of). Further, Segawa teaches the elastic side support part includes:
elastic side contact parts 15,19 (Fig 4) [that are formed to protrude each pair from the first and second sides of the inner surface of the elastic deformation body part] (Fig 4 shows the contact parts 15 and 19 protruding from the surface of the part, para 0027) , respectively and come into contact with the leaf spring 18 (Fig 4, “Further, the bent portions 18, 18 of the coil spring 11, which is an elastic member, externally fitted to the biasing member 10 are engaged with the locking recesses 19, 19 formed in the both guide wall portions 15, 15.” para 0027); and
an elastic side stopper part 15 (Figs 3 and 4) [that is fixed to the elastic deformation body part and is disposed between a pair of the elastic side contact parts] (“Further, the bent portions 18, 18 of the coil spring 11, which is an elastic member, externally fitted to the biasing member 10 are engaged with the locking recesses 19, 19 formed in the both guide wall portions 15, 15.” para 0027). Additionally, Segawa teaches the elastic side support part 25 (Fig 4) [ is disposed outside the leaf spring in the elastic deformation body part] (Figs 3 and 4 show the side support part 25 is a cylinder that sits outside of the surface of the spring 11) and the elastic lower support body part includes: an elastic lower support body part 15 (Figs 3 and 4) [that is formed to protrude from the lower side of the inner surface of the elastic deformation body part] (para 0027); and
[an elastic lower contact part that is vertically connected to an end portion of the elastic lower support part and comes into contact with the bearing] (para 0028), and a first end of the leaf spring 18 (Figs 3 and 4) [is engaged to a first end of the elastic lower contact part and a second end of the leaf spring is engaged to a second end of the elastic lower contact part] (Figs 3 and 4 show the spring protrusions 18 interacting with grooves 19 that make contact with the protrusions 15- paras 0007 and 0027). Further, Segawa teaches the elastic deformation part further includes an elastic stopper part 19 (Figs 3 and 4) [that is mounted on the elastic deformation body part, disposed on an inner of the leaf spring and prevents the leaf spring from detaching therefrom when moving towards the worm shaft side by the elastic upper support part] (“The locking recesses 19, 19 formed in the two guide wall portions 15, 15 are locked. In this state, the inner peripheral surface of the coil spring 11 is in a state of being elastically in contact with the surface of the biasing member 10 opposite to the worm wheel 4. Then, the worm teeth 8 are pressed toward the worm wheel 4 by the coil spring 11 via the biasing member 10, and backlash between the worm teeth 8 and the worm wheel 4 is suppressed, and the teeth are suppressed. Suppresses the generation of beating sounds.” Para 0007).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to additionally use the protrusions and guide element of Segawa with the steering apparatus of D1 and FUECHSEL with a reasonable expectation of success because it would provide additional supports to control the positioning of the leaf spring. By including protrusions that protrude from a base element, the overall design of the damper element can be made as one piece, making the overall damper design smaller and easier to assemble.
Regarding claim 5, D1, Fuechsel and Segawa fully teach the elastic upper support part is formed to protrude from the upper side of the inner surface of the elastic deformation body part so as to be spaced apart at a predetermined distance from the leaf spring (See modifications in claim 4 above) .
Regarding claim 6, D1, Fuechsel and Segawa disclose the claimed invention except for the upper protrusions being hollow It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the claimed invention to make the protrusion a hollow protrusion since it has been held that the configuration or shape of an invention is a matter of personal choice. See In re Dailey, 149 USPQ 47. Please note that in the instant application, the Applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitation.
Regarding claim 7, D1, Fuechsel and Segawa fully teach the elastic upper support part is disposed outside the leaf spring in the elastic deformation body part (See modifications in claim 4 above).
Regarding claim 8, D1, Fuechsel and Segawa fully teach he elastic side support part includes:
elastic side contact parts that are formed to protrude each pair from the first and second sides of the inner surface of the elastic deformation body part, respectively and come into contact with the leaf spring; and
an elastic side stopper part that is fixed to the elastic deformation body part and is disposed between a pair of the elastic side contact parts (See modifications of claim 4 above) .
Regarding claim 9, D1, Fuechsel and Segawa fully teach the elastic side support part is disposed outside the leaf spring in the elastic deformation body part (See modifications in claim 4 above).
Regarding claim 10, D1, Fuechsel and Segawa fully teach the elastic lower support body part includes:
an elastic lower support body part that is formed to protrude from the lower side of the inner surface of the elastic deformation body part; and
an elastic lower contact part that is vertically connected to an end portion of the elastic lower support part and comes into contact with the bearing (See modifications in claim 4 above).
Regarding claim 11, D1, Fuechsel and Segawa fully teach a first end of the leaf spring is engaged to a first end of the elastic lower contact part and a second end of the leaf spring is engaged to a second end of the elastic lower contact part (See modifications in claim 4 above).
Regarding claim 12, D1, Fuechsel and Segawa fully teach the elastic deformation part further includes an elastic stopper part that is mounted on the elastic deformation body part, disposed on an inner of the leaf spring and prevents the leaf spring from detaching therefrom when moving towards the worm shaft side by the elastic upper support part (See modifications in claim 4 above).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Cho (US 20200116249 A1) teaches a noise reduction structure of a power steering apparatus including a rubber holder coupled to a semi-cylindrical damper holder formed on a side surface of the damper unit for making a close contact between the worm shaft and the worm wheel, and a plug unit including a plug holder formed on a lower end of a side surface of the plug unit for coupling to the rubber holder and fixed to the housing on the other side of the plug unit.
Hama (US 20130025960 A1) teaches An electric power steering system includes a shaft coupling that drivably couples a worm gear to an output shaft such that the worm gear is tiltable with respect to the output shaft. A coupling part that is inserted in the cylindrical part and that has an outer periphery in non-circular cross section, engageable with the inner periphery, is formed at a proximal end part of the worm gear, and the outer periphery is ridged such that gaps that allow the coupling part to tilt are provided inside the cylindrical part.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MORGAN M KNAUF whose telephone number is (703)756-4532. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 AM -4:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Valentin Neacsu can be reached at (571) 272-6265. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M.M.K./Examiner, Art Unit 3611 /VALENTIN NEACSU, Ph.D./Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3611
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