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 allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). 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, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on June 9, 2026 has been entered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show “a second projection extending in the axial direction and the second projection is configured to be in sealing contact with the inner ring” (claims 10 and 20) as described in the specification. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d). 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 6, 11 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 6, line 12, “a sealing carrier and a sealing element arranged on the sealing carrier” should read - - wherein the sealing unit has a sealing carrier and a sealing element arranged on the sealing carrier - -.
Claim 11, line 9, “a sealing carrier and a sealing element arranged on the sealing carrier” should read - - wherein the sealing unit has a sealing carrier and a sealing element arranged on the sealing carrier - -.
Claim 20, line 1, “theencoder” should read - - the encoder - -.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 – 4, 6, 7, 11 – 14, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Nakamura JP H11304827 (incl. machine translation).
Claims 1, 6 and 11, Nakamura discloses a wheel bearing (Fig. 1) for a wheel bearing hub 18 )[0014], l. 10) of a vehicle (“automobile”)([0014], l. 11), the wheel bearing comprising: a rotatable inner ring (“inner ring 19, which together with the hub 18 constitutes the rotating wheel”)([0014], ll. 8 – 9) having an inner ring race (raceway 20)([0014], l. 11), a fixed outer ring (“outer ring 9a, which is a stationary ring”)([0014], l. 3) having an outer ring race (outer ring raceway 16)([0014], l. 4), a plurality of rolling elements (multiple rolling elements 23)([0015], l. 2) arranged between the rotatable inner ring and the fixed outer ring so as to roll along the inner ring race and the outer ring race when the rotatable inner ring rotates relative to the fixed outer ring, and a sealing assembly configured to seal the wheel bearing, the sealing assembly (see Fig. 2) having: a sealing unit (seal ring 26)(Fig. 2)([0017], l. 1) connected to the fixed outer ring of the wheel bearing for conjoint rotation, wherein the sealing unit has a sealing carrier (second core metal 28)([0018], l. 1) and a sealing element (seal material 7)([0018], l. 2) arranged on the sealing carrier, a centrifugal disc (first metal core 12)([0017], l. 5) connected to the rotatable inner ring of the wheel bearing for conjoint rotation, the centrifugal disc having an encoder (encoder 13a)([0017], l. 6) on an outer end face, the encoder: configured to provide magnetic fields ([0017], ll. 11 – 12: “the encoder 13a is magnetized in the axial direction”), and having a circumferential recess 13r (see annotated Fig. 2) extending in an axial direction, the circumferential recess radially outwardly limiting a magnetization region of the encoder (as configured and arranged, the inclined surface of recess 13r is directed away and radially bounds the axial direction of magnetization of the axial face of encoder 13a).
Claims 2 and 12, Nakamura discloses the magnetization region of the encoder defining a detection region configured to be detected by a sensor ([0023], ll. 5 – 7: “by positioning a sensor (not shown) supported on a non-rotating part opposite the encoder 13a coupled to the first seal ring 14a, the rotational speed of the wheel can be easily detected”).
Claims 3 and 13, Nakamura discloses the circumferential recess being configured to position the detection region relative to the sensor.
Claims 4 and 14, Nakamura discloses the encoder 13a having an elastomer carrier material with magnetizable particles ([0017], ll. 6 – 7: “an encoder 13a which is a permanent magnet made of rubber mixed with powder of a ferromagnetic material such as ferrite”).
Claims 7 and 16, the encoder 13a extends in the radial direction to below a sealing seat of the centrifugal disc 12.
Claim 17, Nakamura discloses the centrifugal disc 12 being “sealingly” engaged with the inner ring via an interference fit ([0021], ll. 5 – 6: “the press-fitting jig 32 for fitting the first seal ring 14a and the second seal ring 26 to the respective circumferential surfaces has the cross-sectional shape shown in Figure 2”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 8 – 10, 15 and 18 – 20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art of record, including Nakamura JP H11304827, taken as a whole neither teaches nor makes obvious the claimed combination of a sealing assembly or wheel bearing as set forth in claim(s) 5 and 15, respectively. Nakamura Kim does not disclose or suggest the magnetizable particles being arranged radially inside of the circumferential recess. Further, Nakamura contains no teaching, motivation or suggestion that would lead a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the sealing assembly or wheel bearing such that the magnetizable particles are arranged radially inside of the circumferential recess. Therefore, the claimed combination represents a non-obvious advance over the prior art.
The prior art of record, including Nakamura JP H11304827 and Rossi USPGPUB 20030001888, taken as a whole neither teaches nor makes obvious the claimed combination of a seal assembly or wheel as set forth in claim(s) 8 and 18, respectively. Nakamura does not disclose or suggest the presence of an interface seal extending in the axial direction and configured to seal an axial interface on the wheel bearing hub. This deficiency is cured by Rossi, which teaches an interfacing seal 15 (Fig. 1) in combination with a cassette seal 14 with an integrated encoder 19. However, Rossi does not disclose the radially inner end of the encoder being arranged in the axial direction between the inner ring and the interface seal. Further, Rossi contains no teaching, motivation or suggestion that would lead a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the sealing assembly or wheel bearing of Nakamura such that the radially inner end of the encoder is arranged in the axial direction between the inner ring and the interface seal. Therefore, the claimed combination represents a non-obvious advance over the prior art.
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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHILLIP A JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5216. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am - 5pm.
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/PHILLIP A JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617
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