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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 06 May 2026 has been entered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “at least one of the two inner rings has an inner ring holding recess, and the inner ring holding recess is arranged as a radially encircling recess in the respective inner circumferential surface” of claim 11 and the “at least one further bearing” of claim 26 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) 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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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 Objections
Claims 1 and 12 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1: line 13 recites “a shaft component”. This should be --the shaft component--.
Claim 12: line 3 recites “a housing component”. This should be --the housing component--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claim 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 25 recites “the drive device is configured to provide drive power to overcome traveling resistance in a motor vehicle”. The limitation is considered unlimited functional language. See MPEP § 2173.05(g). Applicant has not disclosed what features/structures provide for this function. Furthermore, Applicant has only claimed a bearing arrangement as part of the “drive device”. Does the bearing arrangement perform this function?
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.
Claims 7, 10, 12-19, 22-23, 25 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dizlek U.S. 2010/0061672 in view of Koyama JP 2013-117252.
Re clm 7, Dizlek discloses a rolling bearing device (Fig. 1) comprising: a radial bearing (at 6) with a first multiplicity of rolling bodies (12) and an axial bearing (at 4) with a second multiplicity of rolling bodies (10), wherein the rolling bearing device is configured for rotatably mounting a shaft component (18) with respect to a housing component (22) about a bearing axis, and wherein: the first and the second multiplicity of rolling bodies contact a common bearing outer ring (8) which has an outer circumferential surface, the first multiplicity of rolling bodies contact a radial bearing inner ring (16), and the second multiplicity of rolling bodies contact an axial bearing inner ring (14), the common bearing outer ring, the axial bearing inner ring and the radial bearing inner ring are oriented concentrically to the bearing axis, the radial bearing inner ring is configured, at a radial bearing inner circumferential surface, to contact a shaft component (18; [0011]), the axial bearing inner ring has an axial bearing inner circumferential surface (at 6) which is arranged concentrically to the radial bearing inner circumferential surface and to the bearing axis, the axial bearing inner circumferential surface has a larger inside diameter than the radial bearing inner circumferential surface ([0031]), and the common bearing outer ring completely covers the first and the second multiplicity of rolling bodies in a longitudinal direction of the bearing axis (as shown in Fig. 1).
Dizlek does not disclose wherein the axial bearing is a four-point bearing.
Koyama discloses a similar bearing device with a radial bearing and an axial bearing in which the axial bearing is a four-point bearing ([0028]).
Since both Uchida and Koyama discloses similar bearing devices, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to substitute the two-point angle contact axial bearing of Uchida with the four-point contact bearing of Koyama for the purpose of receiving axial load in both directions of the axial bearing instead of only a single direction.
Re clm 10, the improvement of Koyama further discloses the axial bearing ring is a one-piece bearing ring (Fig. 1 and 3b).
Re clm 12, Dizlek further discloses a drive device (transmission shafts; [0002]) having a roller-bearing-mounted shaft component with a rolling bearing device according to claim 7, wherein the shaft component is rotatably mounted with respect to a housing component about the bearing axis by way of the rolling bearing device.
Re clm 13, Dizlek further discloses the first multiplicity of rolling bodies are cylindrical rollers (12).
Re clm 14, Dizlek further discloses the second multiplicity of rolling bodies are balls (10).
Re clm 15, Dizlek further discloses the first multiplicity of rolling bodies is guided by a first bearing cage (30).
Re clm 16, Dizlek further discloses the second multiplicity of rolling bodies is guided by a second bearing cage (28).
Re clm 17, Dizlek further discloses the common bearing ring is formed in one piece (8).
Re clm 18, Dizlek further discloses the common bearing outer ring has a cylindrical raceway (where 12 contacts 8) on which the first multiplicity of rolling bodies run.
Re clm 19, Dizlek further discloses the common outer bearing ring has an axial bearing raceway configured as an indentation in the radial direction (where 10 contacts 8).
Re clm 22, Dizlek further discloses the axial bearing inner ring is radially free such that a radial clearance exists between the axial bearing inner circumferential surface and the shaft component ([0016] and [0031]).
Re clm 23, Dizlek further discloses the four-point bearing bears only axial loads and not radial loads ([0015], [0016] and [0031]).
Re clm 25, as best understood, Dizlek further discloses the drive device is configured to provide drive power to overcome traveling resistance in a motor vehicle (this feature is provided by the bearing arrangement as best understood).
Re clm 27, Dizlek further discloses the radial bearing inner circumferential surface has a bearing inside nominal diameter, and the axial bearing inner circumferential surface has a diameter increased with respect to the bearing inside nominal diameter (Fig. 1; [0031] and “A” in Fig. 2-3).
Claim 8 and 20-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dizlek U.S. 2010/0061672 in view of Koyama JP 2013-117252 as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Muranaka US 2005/0105840.
Dizlek in view of Koyama discloses all the claimed subject matter as described above.
Re clm 8, Dizlek does not disclose the common bearing outer ring has a holding recess in the outer circumferential surface, and the holding recess is a radially encircling recess.
Muranaka teaches the common bearing outer ring has a holding recess (11, Fig. 3) in the outer circumferential surface, and the holding recess is a radially encircling recess.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to substitute the outer ring mounting means of Dizlek with that of Muranaka and provide the common bearing outer ring has a holding recess in the outer circumferential surface, and the holding recess is a radially encircling recess for the purpose of axially locating the bearing.
Re clm 20, the improvement of Muranaka further discloses an elastic securing ring (aluminum is considered elastic since it undergoes elastic deformation; [0028]) inserted into the holding recess.
Re clm 21¸ the improvement of Muranaka further discloses the elastic securing ring is configured to engage in a corresponding groove in the housing component for form-fitting connection (as shown in Fig. 3).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dizlek U.S. 2010/0061672 in view of Koyama JP 2013-117252 as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of DE 1938389.
Dizlek in view of Koyama discloses all the claimed subject matter as described above.
Re clm 11, Dizlek does not disclose at least one of the two inner rings has an inner ring holding recess, and the inner ring holding recess is arranged as a radially encircling recess in the respective inner circumferential surface.
DE ‘389 teaches a similar bearing device in which one ring (10, Fig. 1) of the raceway ring that is split (8 and 10) comprises a ring holding recess (13), and the ring holding recess is arranged as a radially encircling recess in the respective circumferential surface for the purpose of axially locating the bearing.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to substitute the mounting means of Dizlek with that of DE ‘389 and provide at least one of the two inner rings has an inner ring holding recess, and the inner ring holding recess is arranged as a radially encircling recess in the respective inner circumferential surface for the purpose of axially locating the bearing ring.
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dizlek U.S. 2010/0061672 in view of Koyama JP 2013-117252 as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Bensch U.S. 2,839,343.
Dizlek in view of Koyama discloses all the claimed subject matter as described above.
Re clm 24, Dizlek does not disclose the radial bearing inner ring and the axial bearing inner ring are configured to be fastened on the shaft component by a securing ring in conjunction with a shaft shoulder of the shaft component.
Bensch discloses a mounting means comprising the radial bearing inner ring (7’, Fig. 5) and the axial bearing inner ring (8’) are configured to be fastened on the shaft component by a securing ring (at right of 8’) in conjunction with a shaft shoulder (to left of 7’) of the shaft component.
Since both Dizlek and Bensch disclose a radial bearing and axial bearing arrangement, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to substitute the mounting means of Dizlek with any well-known mounting means, such as that of Bensch and provide the radial bearing inner ring and the axial bearing inner ring are configured to be fastened on the shaft component by a securing ring in conjunction with a shaft shoulder of the shaft component to achieve the predictable result of axially fixing the bearing inner rings relative to the shaft.
Claims 26 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dizlek U.S. 2010/0061672 in view of Koyama JP 2013-117252 as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Kawaguchi U.S. 2007/0242913.
Dizlek in view of Koyama discloses all the claimed subject matter as described above.
Re clm 26, Dizlek is silent as to the features outside of the bearing arrangement and does not disclose at least one further bearing for rotatable mounting of the shat component with respect to the housing component.
Kawaguchi teaches a drive device (differential) having a radial and axial bearing arrangement (Fig. 6), the drive device comprising at least one further bearing (25, Fig. 7) for rotatable mounting of the shat component with respect to the housing component.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to substitute the radial and axial bearing of Dizlek into any well-known device having a radial and axial bearing arrangement such that at least one further bearing for rotatable mounting of the shat component with respect to the housing component to achieve the predictable result of providing a bearing arrangement capable of providing axial and radial loads.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection. Specifically, Dizlek has replaced Uchida as the primary reference. While the examiner maintains that Applicant’s arguments against Uchida are well outside what one of ordinary skill in the art would consider to be reasonable, Dizlek has been provided to further compact prosecution.
Specifically, Dizlek was previously cited in the rejection of the Final Office Action dated 04 May 2026 as evidence that the examiner’s position regarding Uchida is what one of ordinary skill in the art would understand. Applicant has ignored the evidence cited in the previous office action and has made no comment regarding the Dizlek reference or the evidence provided therein. As such, Applicant has only provided arguments regarding Uchida and has not addressed Dizlek in any way.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALAN B WAITS whose telephone number is (571)270-3664. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday from 6-4 EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, John R Olszewski can be reached at 571-272-2706. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ALAN B WAITS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617
Prosecution Insights