DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
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 .
Status of Claims
This is the first Office Action on the merits for application no. 18/806,005 filed on August 15th, 2024. Claims 1-14 are pending.
Priority
Examiner acknowledges the Applicant’s claim to priority of application DE 10 2023 121 911.1 filed on August 16th, 2023. A certified copy was received on March 7th, 2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 15th, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement was considered by the Examiner.
Claim Objections
Regarding Claim 8 (line 3), please change the recitation of “an electric motor and by the gearing mechanism” to - - an electric motor and by [[the]] a gearing mechanism - - to establish antecedent basis.
Regarding Claim 9 (line 3), please change the recitation of “having a brake actuator unit according to Claim 1” to - - having [[a]] the brake actuator unit according to Claim 1 - - as antecedent basis has already been established in claim 1.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-14 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 1, in the recitation of “wherein the brake housing has a brake calliper” the difference between the “brake housing” recited in claim 1 and the “calliper” recited in claim 1 is unclear. The lack of clarity renders the claim indefinite. Applicant could recite “wherein the brake housing [[has]] is a brake calliper” to clarify the recitation and Examiner will interpret the recitation as such during examination. See MPEP 2173.05(o) – Double Inclusion.
Claims 2-14 are rejected based upon their dependency to a rejected base claim.
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 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sakashita (US 10,626,941).
Regarding Claim 1, Sakashita teaches a brake actuator unit (see Fig. 8) for an electromechanical disc brake (“disc brake” 1c), comprising:
a brake housing (“caliper” 4), a spindle (“spindle rod” 80), a brake piston (“piston” 18), which is drive-coupled to the spindle (80) and is axially movable by the spindle (80), and
an axial spindle bearing (“first thrust bearing” 110 and “ring-shaped base plate” 100), which receives the spindle (80) and absorbs the axial reaction forces of the spindle (80) when the brake is applied (see Fig. 8),
wherein the brake housing (housing portion of 4) has a brake calliper (4; see 112(b) rejection above) having a pad support portion (“claw portion” 8) and a pot-shaped brake piston bearing portion (“cylinder” 15), which is integrally connected to the pad support portion (8) and has an axially extending circumferential wall (“opening” 9a and “opening” 9b) and a bottom (“bottom wall” 11), which extends radially inwards from the circumferential wall (9a, 9b) and through which the spindle (80) runs,
wherein, when the brake is operated, the spindle bearing (110, 100) is supported axially on the bottom (11), and
the circumferential wall (9a, 9b) forms, on its radial inner side (radial inner side of 9a, 9b), a sliding guide face (9a of 9a, 9b) for the brake piston (18) so that the brake piston (18) bears at least in some portions against the inner side (see Fig. 8).
Regarding Claim 2, Sakashita teaches the brake actuator unit according to claim 1, wherein that the brake housing (Fig. 8, 4) is designed as a single piece (see Fig. 8).
Regarding Claim 3, Sakashita teaches the brake actuator unit according to claim 1, wherein the brake actuator unit has a gear module (Fig. 8, “planetary gear speed reducer” 45 and “housing” 35), which is drive-coupled to the spindle (80) and has a gear housing (35) that is fastened directly to the brake calliper (4; see Fig. 8).
Regarding Claim 4, Sakashita teaches the brake actuator unit according to claim 3, wherein the gear housing (Fig. 8, 35) is an outer housing (35) of the gear module (45, 35).
Regarding Claim 5, Sakashita teaches the brake actuator unit according to claim 3, wherein the gear housing (Fig. 8, 35) is designed as a single piece (see Fig. 8).
Regarding Claim 6, Sakashita teaches the brake actuator unit according to claim 3, wherein the gear housing (Fig. 8, 35) has a centring hole (portion of 35 for receiving 11), which runs coaxially with a centring collar (collar portion of 11) of the brake calliper (4) and is connected thereto (see Fig. 8).
Regarding Claim 7, Sakashita teaches the brake actuator unit according to claim 3, wherein the gear module (Fig. 8, 45, 35) has a ring gear (“internal gear” 61), which is mounted by a press fit in a receptacle in the gear housing (35; col. 5, line 6 – “internal gear 61 is press-fitted in and fixed to the housing 35”),
wherein the ring gear (61) is part of a gearing mechanism (45) that is drive-connected to the spindle (80).
Regarding Claim 8, Sakashita teaches the brake actuator unit according to claim 3, wherein the gear housing (Fig. 8, 35) is designed such that all the torques applied by an electric motor (“electric motor” 40) and by the gearing mechanism (45) are directed via the gear housing (35) directly into the brake calliper (4; see Fig. 8).
Regarding Claim 9, Sakashita teaches an electromechanical brake (Fig. 8, 1c) having an electric motor (40) for operating the brake (see Fig. 8), which motor is torque-transmittingly coupled to the spindle (80), and having a brake actuator unit (see Fig. 8) according to claim 1.
Regarding Claim 10, Sakashita teaches the brake actuator unit according to claim 2, wherein the brake actuator unit has a gear module (Fig. 8, 45, 35), which is drive-coupled to the spindle (80) and has a gear housing (35) that is fastened directly to the brake calliper (4).
Regarding Claim 11, Sakashita teaches the brake actuator unit according to claim 4, wherein the gear housing (Fig. 8, 35) is designed as a single piece (see Fig. 8).
Regarding Claim 12, Sakashita teaches the brake actuator unit according to claim 5, wherein the gear housing (Fig. 8, 35) has a centring hole (portion of 35 for receiving 11), which runs coaxially with a centring collar (collar portion of 11) of the brake calliper (4) and is connected thereto (see Fig. 8).
Regarding Claim 13, Sakashita teaches the brake actuator unit according to claim 6, wherein the gear module (Fig. 8, 45, 35) has a ring gear (61), which is mounted by a press fit in a receptacle in the gear housing (35; see Fig. 8),
wherein the ring gear (45) is part of a gearing mechanism (45) that is drive-connected to the spindle (80).
Regarding Claim 14, Sakashita teaches the brake actuator unit according to claim 7, wherein the gear housing (Fig. 8, 35) is designed such that all the torques applied by an electric motor (40) and by the gearing mechanism (45) are directed via the gear housing (35) directly into the brake calliper (4; see Fig. 8).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure. The prior art of Fugel (US 2026/0055800), Kim (US 8,851,242), Sala (US 10,550,903) and Song (US 10,274,033) listed in the attached "Notice of References Cited" disclose similar brake actuator units comprising spindle bearings related to various aspects of the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to James J. Taylor II whose telephone number is (571)272-4074. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
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JAMES J. TAYLOR II
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3655
/JAMES J TAYLOR II/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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