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. 18/843,007 filed on August 30th, 2024. Claims 17-36 are pending.
Priority
Examiner acknowledges the Applicant’s claim to priority of application IT 10 2022 0000 03986 filed on March 3rd, 2022. A certified copy was received on August 30th, 2024.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 30th, 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 20 (lines 2-3), please change the recitation of “a motor housing wall having a cylindrical shape” to - - a motor housing wall having [[a]] the cylindrical shape - - as antecedent basis has already been established in claim 20 (lines 1-2).
Regarding Claim 22 (lines 7-8), please change the recitation of “wherein the main electric connector faces a side of the at least one electronic board opposite to a side of the at least one electronic board” to - - wherein the main electric connector faces a first side of the at least one electronic board opposite to a second side of the at least one electronic board - - to correct minor informalities.
Regarding Claim 30 (line 18), please change the recitation of “and/or wherein the toothed wheel comprises a plurality of teeth” to - - and/or wherein the toothed wheel comprises [[a]] the plurality of teeth - - as antecedent basis has already been established in claim 30 (at least line 3).
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 22, 27 and 29-34 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 22 (lines 7-12), in the recitation of “wherein, optionally, the main electric connector is positioned on a rear side of the control housing facing away from the transmission housing, and/or wherein the main electric connector faces a side of the at least one electronic board opposite to a side of the at least one electronic board electrically connected to the electric motor, or wherein the main electric connector faces an edge of the at least one electronic board, at a position substantially coplanar to a plane defined by the at least one electronic board” (emphasis added) it is generally unclear what alternatives Applicant intends to recite. The lack of clarity renders the claim indefinite. Applicant could recite “wherein, optionally, the main electric connector is positioned on a rear side of the control housing facing away from the transmission housing, [[and/or]] or wherein the main electric connector faces a side of the at least one electronic board opposite to a side of the at least one electronic board electrically connected to the electric motor, or wherein the main electric connector faces an edge of the at least one electronic board, at a position substantially coplanar to a plane defined by the at least one electronic board” to clarify the recitation and Examiner will interpret the recitation as such during examination.
Regarding Claim 27 (lines 7-8), Applicant’s recited preferences in the recitation of “wherein the position sensor is preferably positioned inside the control compartment” (emphasis added) leads to confusion over the intended scope of claim 27. The lack of clarity renders the claim indefinite. Applicant could cancel the recitation or add the recitation as an alternative to clarify the recitation and Examiner will interpret the recitation as such during examination. See MPEP 2173.05(d) - Exemplary Claim Language ("for example," "such as").
Regarding Claim 29 (lines 6-7), Applicant’s recited preferences in the recitation of “wherein the toothed wheel comprises at least one tooth, preferably between one and eight teeth” (emphasis added) leads to confusion over the intended scope of claim 29. The lack of clarity renders the claim indefinite. Examiner recommends reciting a plurality of teeth to clarify the recitation and Examiner will interpret the recitation as such during examination. See MPEP 2173.05(d) - Exemplary Claim Language ("for example," "such as").
Regarding Claim 32 (lines 10-11 and 21-23), in the recitations of “wherein the first housing compartment and the second housing compartment are mutually parallel and extend in a direction parallel to the actuation axis” and “wherein, optionally, the first housing compartment has a substantially cylindrical shape coaxial to the drive shaft, and the second housing compartment has a substantially cylindrical shape coaxial to the actuation axis” (emphasis added) it is generally unclear how the second housing compartment (Fig. 8, 28) of the transmission housing (6) is parallel with the actuation axis (12) and coaxial with the actuation axis (12). The lack of clarity renders the claim indefinite. Applicant could recite “wherein the first housing compartment and the second housing compartment are mutually parallel and the first housing compartment extends in a direction parallel to the actuation axis” to clarify the recitation and Examiner will interpret the recitation as such during examination.
Claims 30-31 and 33-34 are rejected based upon their dependency to a rejected base claim.
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 17-18, 21-22, 27-30 and 35-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US 12,117,057), in view of Odaira (US 11,428,284).
Regarding Claim 17, Wu teaches a brake caliper (Figs. 5-7, “caliper” 20) for a disc brake, comprising:
a caliper body (body portion of 20) comprising:
two mutually distanced side walls (both side walls of 20 seen in Fig. 5) which delimit a disc space for accommodating a portion of a brake disc (between both brake pads seen in Fig. 5);
a connection structure (bridge between both side walls seen in Fig. 5) which extends straddling the disc space and connects the side walls to each other (see Fig. 5); and
at least one pad housing (for receiving both brake pads seen in Fig. 5) formed in each of said side walls and adapted to accommodate at least one pad (two brake pads seen in Fig. 5);
a transmission housing (“housing” 21) extending between a front wall (left front wall of 21 seen in Fig. 5) thereof and an opposite rear wall (right rear wall of 21 seen in Fig. 5) thereof,
wherein the transmission housing (21) is connected to the caliper body (20) so that the front wall of the transmission housing (left front wall of 21) faces the disc space (see Fig. 5);
thrust means (“mechanical brake mechanism” 22 and “transmission unit” 23) adapted to bias the pads along an actuation axis (actuation axis of 22) transverse to the side walls (both side walls of 20; col. 1, line 45-50 – “The mechanical brake mechanism 22 which may be connected to brake pads of the clamp 24 is housed by a housing 21, which housing 21 also accommodates the transmission unit 23. The brake force or torque generated by the motor 110 may be transmitted to the mechanical brake mechanism 22 via the transmission unit 23”),
said thrust means (22, 23) being at least partially accommodated within the transmission housing (6);
a control housing (“motor housing” 11) connected to the transmission housing (21) at the rear wall of the transmission housing (right rear wall of 21 seen in Fig. 5),
wherein the control housing (11) supports and accommodates:
an electric motor (“motor” 110) comprising a drive shaft (“drive shaft” 111),
wherein the electric motor (110) is configured to generate and transfer mechanical power to the thrust means (22, 23) through the drive shaft (111),
said electric motor (110) being at least partially housed inside a motor housing (11) formed by the control housing (11);
a brake control unit (“control module” 120) configured to control the electric motor (110; Abstract – “a control module (120) for controlling the motor (110)”),
said brake control unit (120) being housed within a control compartment (see Fig. 6) defined by the control housing (11);
wherein the electric motor (110) is electrically connected to the brake control unit (120; col. 1, lines 61-62 – “the control module 120 is connected to the motor 110 via cables 41 therebetween”),
wherein the drive shaft (111) extends in a direction parallel to the actuation axis (actuation axis of 22 seen in Fig. 5), and protrudes from a front side (left side in Fig. 5) of the electric motor (110) facing the caliper body (body portion of 20),
wherein the brake control unit (120) comprises at least one electronic board (“first printed circuit board” 121), and
wherein said at least one electronic board (121) extends in a transverse direction with respect to the actuation axis (actuation axis of 22 seen in Fig. 5).
Wu does not explicitly teach “thrust means adapted to bias the pads against the brake disc”. In other words, Wu does not explicitly disclose a brake disc arranged between the brake pads seen in Fig. 5.
Odaira teaches a thrust means (Fig. 3, at least “ball screw mechanism” 116 and “motor gear assembly” 73) adapted to bias brake pads (“brake pads” 3, 2) against a brake disc (“disk rotor” D; col. 14, lines 43-45 – “the disk rotor D is clamped between a pair of inner and outer brake pads 2 and 3 to generate frictional force and hence to generate braking force for the vehicle”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the brake caliper taught by Wu with the brake disc taught by Odaira, such that “thrust means adapted to bias the pads against the brake disc”, as one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized there was a reasonable expectation of success in combining known elements, and have the obvious advantage of reliably generating the braking force needed to safely stop the vehicle disclosed by Wu.
Regarding Claim 18, Wu and Odaira teach the brake caliper of claim 17,
Wu teaches wherein the electric motor (Figs. 5-7, 110) is entirely housed inside the motor housing (11; see Figs. 5-6).
Regarding Claim 21, Wu and Odaira teach the brake caliper of claim 17,
Wu teaches wherein at least one portion of the at least one electronic board (Figs. 4-7, 121) faces a rear side (right side in Fig. 5) of the electric motor (110) opposite to the front side (left side) of the electric motor (110) from which the drive shaft (111) extends, and
wherein electrical connectors (“cables” 41) extend from the rear side (right side) of the electric motor (110) to the at least one electronic board (121), to electrically connect the electric motor (110) to the at least one electronic board (121).
Regarding Claim 22, Wu and Odaira teach the brake caliper of claim 17,
Wu teaches wherein the control housing (Fig. 4, 11) comprises a main electric connector (see Fig. 4) configured to be accessible from outside the brake caliper (20), to receive electrical power and signals from an electronic control unit (Fig. 4, “POWER AND SIGNAL INPUT”) installed in a vehicle (col. 1, lines 30-37 – “An EMB also generally comprises a control module which provides the control of the motor. For example, the control module may control the rotation of the motor and/or manage the power for the motor via various electrical connections such as cables or bus-bars. Detected signals from sensors for the motor, for example, temperature, rotational speed, etc., may be transmitted to the control module for adjusting the operation of the motor” and col. 10, lines 47-54 – “the motor housing 11 may include at least one cable channel 118 provided thereon, as shown in FIG. 9. Cables may be fixed and extended through the cable channel 118 provided on the motor housing 11. Optionally or alternatively, the side cover 130 may include at least one hole 132 through which the power and signal inputs out of the motor housing 11 may be passed into the inside of the motor housing 11, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7”), and to transfer the electrical power and signals to the brake control unit (120), wherein, optionally, the main electric connector is positioned on a rear side of the control housing facing away from the transmission housing, and/or wherein the main electric connector faces a side of the at least one electronic board opposite to a side of the at least one electronic board electrically connected to the electric motor, or wherein the main electric connector faces an edge of the at least one electronic board, at a position substantially coplanar to a plane defined by the at least one electronic board (emphasis added; see 112(b) rejection above).
Regarding Claim 27, Wu and Odaira teach the brake caliper of claim 17,
Wu teaches wherein the drive shaft (Figs. 5-7, 111) comprises a drive shaft rear end (right end of 111) that protrudes from a rear side (right side) of the electric motor (110) facing opposite to the transmission housing (21),
wherein the brake caliper (20) further comprises a position sensor configured to detect an angular positioning of the electric motor (110; col. 10, lines 24-45 – “In an aspect of any embodiment of the invention described herein, the electrical actuator 2 according to the present invention may comprise a sensing module (not shown) for sensing the operation state of the motor 110. The sensing module may comprise at least one sensor. In such case, the control circuit of the control module 120 may receive signals, indicating the operation state of the motor 110, from the sensing module, and adjust the operation state of the motor 110 in response to the detected signals. These signals may involve temperature, angle, torque, or speed of the motor 110. The control module 120 may also receive the inputs indicating the power state of the motor 110. In response to these power state inputs, the control module 120 may adjust the power state for the motor 110 to a desired state. In some examples, one or more sensors may be arranged close to or on the motor 110. Signals detected by the sensors may be transmitted to the control module 120 for adjusting the operation manner of the motor 110 in response to the detected signals. The sensors may be used to detect temperature, angle, torque, speed, etc. of the motor 110 in operation”),
wherein the position sensor (not shown) is positioned within the control housing (11) and is electrically connected to the brake control unit (120; see col. 10, lines 24-45 passage above),
wherein the position sensor is preferably positioned inside the control compartment, and wherein the position sensor is positioned at the drive shaft rear end, interposed between the electric motor and the at least one electronic board, or wherein the position sensor is mounted on the at least one electronic board, or wherein the control housing comprises a motor control board integrated into the electric motor, said motor control board being interconnected with the brake control unit and being configured to control the electric motor, and wherein the position sensor is mounted on said motor control board (emphasis added; see 112(b) rejection above).
Regarding Claim 28, Wu and Odaira teach the brake caliper of claim 17,
Wu teaches wherein the drive shaft (Figs. 5-7, 111) comprises a drive shaft rear end (right end of 111) that protrudes from a rear side (right side) of the electric motor (110) facing opposite to the transmission housing (21),
wherein the brake caliper (20) further comprises an electromechanical parking brake (“permanent magnetic brake” 140),
wherein the electromechanical parking brake (140) is housed inside the control compartment of the control housing (11), and
wherein the electromechanical parking brake (140) is electrically connected to the brake control unit (120) of the control housing (11; col. 9, lines 39-43 – “permanent magnetic brake 140 may provide for a brake torque for the drive shaft 111. The control module 120 may be connected to the permanent magnetic brake 140 via connections and may be configured to control the operation modes of the permanent magnetic brake 140”).
Regarding Claim 29, Wu and Odaira teach the brake caliper of claim 28,
Wu teaches wherein the drive shaft rear end (Figs. 5-7, right end of 111) extends through the at least one electronic board (121) in a through-hole made in the at least one electronic board (121; see Fig. 6).
Wu does not teach “wherein the electromechanical parking brake comprises a toothed wheel integrally fixed to the drive shaft rear end, wherein the toothed wheel comprises at least one tooth, preferably between one and eight teeth, wherein the electromechanical parking brake comprises an electromechanical actuator configured to translate in a direction of the teeth of the toothed wheel, transversely to a rotation axis of the toothed wheel, and wherein the electromechanical actuator is configured to wedge itself between the teeth of the toothed wheel, following a control of the brake control unit, to prevent a rotation of the toothed wheel and to stop a rotation of the drive shaft” (emphasis added; see 112(b) rejection above).
Odaira teaches an electromechanical parking brake (Figs. 4 and 6, at least “thrust holding part” 120 and “ratchet gear” 170) comprises a toothed wheel (170) integrally fixed to a drive shaft rear end (“rotating shaft” 32) of an electric motor (“electric motor” 31), wherein the toothed wheel (170) comprises at least one tooth (see Fig. 6).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the parking brake taught by Wu with the parking brake taught by Odaira, such that “wherein the electromechanical parking brake comprises a toothed wheel integrally fixed to the drive shaft rear end, wherein the toothed wheel comprises at least one tooth, preferably between one and eight teeth, wherein the electromechanical parking brake comprises an electromechanical actuator configured to translate in a direction of the teeth of the toothed wheel, transversely to a rotation axis of the toothed wheel, and wherein the electromechanical actuator is configured to wedge itself between the teeth of the toothed wheel, following a control of the brake control unit, to prevent a rotation of the toothed wheel and to stop a rotation of the drive shaft” (emphasis added; see 112(b) rejection above), as one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized there was a reasonable expectation of success in substituting known elements, and have the obvious advantage of reliably providing a parking brake function with the brake caliper taught by Wu.
Regarding Claim 30, Wu and Odaira teach the brake caliper of claim 29,
Odaira teaches wherein the electromechanical actuator (Figs. 4 and 6, at least 120 and 170) comprises a coupling element (“level member” 171) configured to be elastically biased against the toothed wheel (170) to engage between the teeth of the toothed wheel (170) and stop the rotation of the toothed wheel (170; see Fig. 6),
wherein the teeth of the toothed wheel (170) and the coupling element (171) are shaped so that the coupling element (171) allows the rotation of the toothed wheel (170) in one direction of rotation, but prevents the rotation of the toothed wheel (170) in an opposite direction of rotation (col. 15, lines 26-39 – “activate the parking brake, for example, with the above-described electric motor-driven brake apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, when the parking brake switch is actuated, the control board 74 generates commands to generate braking force to be applied to the disk rotor D from the inner and outer brake pads 2 and 3 by the piston 53, as has been explained above, and to activate the solenoid actuator 181 to engage the lever member 171 with the gear portion 174 of the ratchet gear 170 (gear body portion 175) press-fittingly secured to the rotating shaft 32 of the electric motor 31. As a result, the rotating shaft 32 of the electric motor 31 is allowed to rotate in the forward direction for generating braking force but restrained from rotating in the reverse direction for releasing the braking force” emphasis added),
wherein the electromechanical actuator (at least 120 and 170) comprises a selector element (“solenoid actuator” 181) slidable between a first position, in which the selector element (181) biases the coupling element (171) into a coupling position (position seen in Fig. 6) between the teeth of the toothed wheel (170), and a second position (not shown in Fig. 6), in which the selector element (181) biases the coupling element (171) into an uncoupling position (not shown in Fig. 6), spaced apart from the teeth of the toothed wheel (170; col. 7, lines 52-55 – “Referring also to FIG. 6, the lever member 171 is reciprocated by a solenoid actuator 181 so as to engage with or disengage from the gear portion 174 of the ratchet gear 170 (gear body portion 175)”),
wherein, optionally, the electromechanical actuator comprises a cam member configured to allow the selector element to slide into the first position, and actuate a mechanical lock which prevents the selector element from returning to the second position, and preserve a parking braking operation, and/or wherein the toothed wheel comprises a plurality of teeth distributed along a periphery of the toothed wheel, mutually equidistant according to a pitch having a predetermined value, and/or wherein the teeth of the toothed wheel are substantially equal to each other (emphasis added).
Regarding Claim 35, Wu and Odaira teach the brake caliper of claim 17,
Wu teaches wherein the brake control unit (Figs. 5-7, 120) comprises at least one auxiliary electronic board (122),
wherein the at least one auxiliary electronic board (122) is housed inside the control housing (11), transversely relative to the at least one electronic board (121),
wherein the auxiliary electronic board (122) extends at least partially above the transmission housing (21), adjacent to the connection structure (bridge portion of 20),
wherein the control housing (11) defines an auxiliary control compartment (for receiving 122) extending in a substantially transverse direction relative to the control compartment (axially transverse),
wherein the at least one auxiliary electronic board (122) is housed inside the auxiliary control compartment (portion of 11; see Figs. 5-7), wherein, optionally, the at least one auxiliary electronic board is connected to the at least one electronic board at an edge of the at least one electronic board so that the brake control unit comprising the at least one electronic board and the at least one auxiliary electronic board is substantially “L”-shaped, and wherein, optionally, the at least one electronic board is a power board and the at least one auxiliary electronic board is a logic board (emphasis added).
Regarding Claim 36, Wu and Odaira teach a disc brake (col. 11, line 25 – “a specific sliding disc brake caliper is shown in FIG. 5”) comprising the brake caliper (20) of claim 17.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US 12,117,057), in view of Odaira (US 11,428,284), and in view of Eikelberger (US 4,175,646).
Regarding Claim 19, Wu and Odaira teach the brake caliper of claim 17.
Wu or Odaira do not teach “wherein the electric motor is welded to the control housing, inside the motor housing”.
Eikelberger teaches an electric motor (“electric motor” 26) is welded to a control housing (“housing” 24) inside a motor housing (24) formed by the control housing (24; col. 5, lines 49-52 – “An electric motor 26 is confined within a cylindrical metal canister which is mounted atop the irregular shaped housing 24. The motor canister of the motor 26 may be welded to the top of the irregular shaped housing 24”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to securely fasten the electric motor taught by Wu as suggested by Eikelberger, such that “wherein the electric motor is welded to the control housing, inside the motor housing”, as one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized there was a reasonable expectation of success in doing so, and have the obvious advantage of reliably fixing the electric motor taught by Wu.
Claim 31 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US 12,117,057), in view of Odaira (US 11,428,284), and in view of Knop (US 2023/0151861).
Regarding Claim 31, Wu and Odaira teach the brake caliper of claim 29,
Wu teaches wherein the electromechanical parking brake (taught in combination with Odaira) is electrically connected to the brake control unit (120; col. 9, lines 40-43 – “control module 120 may be connected to the permanent magnetic brake 140 via connections and may be configured to control the operation modes of the permanent magnetic brake 140”).
Wu or Odaira do not teach “wherein the electromechanical parking brake is electrically connected to the brake control unit through a conductive track overmolded on the control housing, and wherein the conductive track is electrically connected to the electromechanical actuator of the electromechanical parking brake”. In other words, Wu does not explicitly disclose how the electromechanical parking brake is connected to the brake control unit.
Knop teaches “the components of the plug-connector half are integrated at least partially in the housing. In this case, the components of the plug-connector half can be pressed into the housing or overmoulded with portions of the housing. Both variants can be produced in a technically simple manner” [0022] and “In order to supply the control assembly 12 and in particular the electrical and electronic components 140 with electric energy, a plug-connector half 152 is integrally provided on the housing 16, and more precisely on the housing base part 18 (see FIGS. 1 and 4). In this case, the plug-connector half 152 is electrically connected to the circuit board 138 via a plurality of lines which are collectively referred to as the first electric line 154” (emphasis added; [0142] – [0143]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to overmold the electrical connections taught by Wu as suggested by Knop, such that “wherein the electromechanical parking brake is electrically connected to the brake control unit through a conductive track overmolded on the control housing, and wherein the conductive track is electrically connected to the electromechanical actuator of the electromechanical parking brake”, as one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized there was a reasonable expectation of success in doing so, and have the obvious advantage electrically connecting the electromechanical parking brake to the brake control unit in a technically simplified manner.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 20 and 23-26 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 32-34 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office Action and rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Reasons for allowance, if applicable, will be the subject of a separate communication to the Applicant or patent owner, pursuant to 37 CFR § 1.104 and MPEP § 1302.14.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, Applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure. The prior art of Yasui (US 10,759,408), Wu (US 12,117,057), and Kim (US 12,109,988) listed in the attached "Notice of References Cited" disclose similar brake calipers comprising housings 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