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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 18 is objected to because of the following informalities: “a brake assembly” should be changed to “the brake assembly”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 5, 6 and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2015/0096847 A1 to Plantan et al.
Re-claim 1, Plantan et al. disclose a brake assembly, comprising: at least one first brake pad 19 and at least one second brake pad 22, the at least one first brake pad and the at least one second brake pad each comprise a braking surface arranged opposed to each other and facing each other (see figure 2); a brake caliper 5 is operatively connected to the at least one first brake pad and the at least one second brake pad, respective operative connections cause a movement of the brake caliper to move the at least one second brake pad toward the at least one first brake pad in response to a movement of the at least one first brake pad toward the at least one second brake pad in a braking direction (as known in the art); a brake caliper guide (such as pins 7) guide a relative movement of the brake caliper in the braking direction; an actuating member (such as lever 10) is operatively connected to the at least one first brake pad and moves the at least one first brake pad in the braking direction by being translationally or rotationally driven; at least one transfer mechanism (combined elements of 16, 17 and 20 that interact with rack 21) moves the brake caliper in an opposite direction of a moving direction of the at least one first brake pad in the braking direction, the operative connection between the brake caliper and the first brake pad comprises the at least one transfer mechanism, the at least one transfer mechanism is operatively connected to the brake caliper guide for a relative movement of the brake caliper with respect to the brake caliper guide, and wherein the actuating member is configured to drive the transfer mechanism for an opposite movement of the brake caliper along the brake caliper guide with respect to the at least one first brake pad being moved in the braking direction.
Re-claim 3, the actuating member 10 comprises at least one toothed rack surface 15 extending in the braking direction, the brake caliper guide 7 comprises at least one toothed rack surface 21, and the transfer mechanism comprises at least one input gear wheel 17 (the gear with teeth 16) pivotally supported about an input gear wheel rotational axis and operatively connected to the brake caliper in a fixed positional relationship and at least one output gear wheel (the gear with teeth 20) pivotally supported about an output gear wheel rotational axis, the at least one input gear wheel 16 is in engagement with the at least one toothed rack surface 15 of the actuating member 10 and the at least one output gear (teeth 20) is in engagement with the at least one toothed rack surface 21 of the brake caliper guidance 7.
Re-claim 5, the at least one input gear wheel is in engagement with the at least one output gear wheel, see figure 3.
Re-claim 6, the at least one input gear wheel 17 comprises a gear wheel configured to rotate together with the input gear wheel and having a non-constant diameter (see changing diameter, as shown in figures 2 and 3); the at least one input gear wheel 17 is in engagement with the at least one output gear wheel via the gear wheel of the at least one input gear wheel and/or via the gear wheel of the at least one output gear wheel. The gear wheel is interpreted as the interior annular portion of the gear.
Re-claim 17, the transfer mechanism provides a transfer ratio to move the brake caliper by a half stroke of the stroke of the bridge member.
Re-claim 18, the brake assembly is part of a brake system having a brake disc 2.
Re-claim 19, Plantan et al. disclose a method for operating a brake caliper of a brake assembly, the method comprising the steps of: actuating an actuating member 10 for a driving movement to move at least one first brake pad 19 in a braking direction towards at least one second brake pad 22; driving a transfer mechanism by the actuating member to transfer the driving movement to move the at least one first brake pad on the brake caliper for a driven movement of the brake caliper in the opposite direction (see various gearing); the driving movement of the actuating member is stopped (upon reaching a desired brake request); and restarting the transfer of the driving movement to move the at least one first brake pad 19 on the brake caliper when the actuating member and, thereby, the at least one brake pad is moved in the braking direction away from the at least one second brake pad 22 for a driven movement of the brake caliper in the opposite direction (as during a brake release request).
Re-claim 20, the vehicle is at least a commercial vehicle (see paragraph 1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Plantan et al. in view of US 2005/0109567 A1 to Baumann et al.
Plantan et al. fail to teach a torque limiter configured to stop the opposite movement of the brake caliper upon reaching a predetermined torque acting on the transfer mechanism.
Baumann et al. teach a brake assembly having a torque limiter 26 configured to stop the opposite movement of the brake caliper upon reaching a predetermined torque acting on the transfer mechanism. This prevents the brake assembly from releasing prematurely, and thus allowing the brake to function as a parking brake. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the brake assembly of Plantan et al. with a torque limiter of the type taught by Baumann et al., thus allowing the brake assembly to function as a parking brake and thus maintain a requested brake level.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 7-16 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Han, Park, Yang, Garnier and Park each teach a brake assembly with an actuating member and transfer mechanism.
Any inquiries concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
examiner should be directed to Thomas Williams whose telephone number is 571-272-7128.
The examiner can normally be reached on Tuesday-Friday from 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's
supervisor, Robert Siconolfi, can be reached at 571-272-7124. The fax phone number for the
organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding
should be directed to the receptionist whose telephone number is 571-272-6584.
TJW /THOMAS J WILLIAMS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616 July 20, 2026
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