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 .
This is the first action on the merits of application 18/852,264. Claims 30-47 are currently pending.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 30, 32-33, and 39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP H11199163 A (Honda, Applicant’s cited prior art).
Regarding claim 30, Honda discloses:
A lift drawn by a motor driver, comprising:
a lifting space (within hoistway 1);
a car (3) and a counterweight (6) lifted and lowered within the lifting space;
a traction rope (9) suspending the car and the counterweight;
a traction rope sheave (23) combined with the traction rope, which comprises a traction rope sheave pitch circle, wherein a rotational movement of the traction rope sheave lifts and lowers the car and the counterweight by means of the traction rope; and
the motor driver comprising a motor (21), and a gear assembly (29), the motor driving rotational movement of the traction rope sheave by the gear assembly, wherein a projection of individual transmission gears (35, 36) of the gear assembly along an axial direction of the traction rope sheave (left/right direction of figure 8) is configured within an area surrounded by a projection of the traction rope sheave pitch circle along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (figure 8).
Regarding claim 32, Honda further discloses:
wherein the gear assembly has N (4) transmission gears, axes of the N transmission gears being not in a same plane and spatially arranged in three dimensions (the axes of the four transmission gears are not all in a common plane that extends parallel to the axes and the gears are spatially arranged in all three dimensions), and N being an integer greater than 2.
Regarding claim 33, Honda further discloses:
wherein the individual transmission gears (35, 36) of the gear assembly are between the traction rope sheave (23) and the motor (21) along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (left/right direction as shown in figure 8).
Regarding claim 39, Honda discloses:
A lift drawn by a motor driver, comprising:
a lifting space (within hoistway 1);
a car (3) and a counterweight (6) lifted and lowered within the lifting space;
a traction rope (9) suspending the car and the counterweight;
a traction rope sheave (23) combined with the traction rope, which comprises a traction rope sheave pitch circle, wherein a rotational movement of the traction rope sheave lifts and lowers the car and the counterweight by means of the traction rope; and
the motor driver comprising a motor (21), and a gear assembly (29), the motor driving rotational movement of the traction rope sheave by the gear assembly,
wherein axes of the individual transmission gears (35, 36) of the gear assembly are parallel to the axis of the traction rope sheave, and a projection of the axes of the individual transmission gears (35, 36) of the gear assembly along an axial direction of the traction rope sheave (left/right direction of figure 8) is configured within an area surrounded by a projection of the traction rope sheave pitch circle along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (figure 8).
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 30-36, 38-44, and 46-47 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 200700202980 A1 (Hur et al.) in view of JP H11199163 A (Honda, Applicant’s cited prior art).
Regarding claim 30, Hur et al. teach:
A lift drawn by a motor driver (2), comprising:
a lifting space (“defining a hoistway” paragraph [0002], lines 2-3);
a car (“an elevator car” paragraph [0002], line 3) lifted and lowered within the lifting space;
a traction rope (not shown, falls within rope groove 91) suspending the car;
a traction rope sheave (90’) combined with the traction rope, which comprises a traction rope sheave pitch circle (exterior circumference of 90’), wherein a rotational movement of the traction rope sheave lifts and lowers the car by means of the traction rope; and
the motor driver comprising a motor (100), and a gear assembly (10’, 30, 40, 50’), the motor driving rotational movement of the traction rope sheave by the gear assembly, wherein a projection of individual transmission gears (12’, 32, 33, 35, 42, 43, 53, 55) of the gear assembly along an axial direction of the traction rope sheave is configured within an area surrounded by a projection of the traction rope sheave pitch circle along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (figure 8).
Hur et al. are silent to a counterweight in the elevator system.
However, Honda teaches:
A lift drawn by a motor driver, and
a counterweight (6) arranged on the traction rope (9) opposite the elevator car (3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a counterweight in the elevator system of Hur et al., as taught by Honda, to balance the weight of the car and reduce the load on the motor during lifting.
Regarding claim 31, Hur et al. further teach:
axes of the individual transmission gears (12’, 32, 33, 35, 42, 43, 53, 55) of the gear assembly are stationary with respect to and parallel to the axis of the traction rope sheave (the axes of the individual transmission gear are stationary relative to the axis of 90’ in the configuration shown in figure 8).
Regarding claim 32, Hur et al. further teach:
wherein the gear assembly has N (15) transmission gears, axes of the N transmission gears being not in a same plane and spatially arranged in three dimensions (the gears are overlapping, not in a same plane, and arranged in three dimensions, as shown in figure 8) and N being an integer greater than 2.
Regarding claim 33, Hur et al. further teach:
wherein the individual transmission gears (12’, 32, 33, 35, 42, 43, 53, 55) of the gear assembly are between the traction rope sheave (90’) and the motor (100) along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (left/right direction as shown in figure 7).
Regarding claim 34, Hur et al. further teach:
wherein the individual transmission gears of the gear assembly are helical gears (“due to formation of the gears out of helical gears.” paragraph [0001], last two lines).
Regarding claim 35, Hur et al. further teach:
wherein the motor driver further has a gear box (support and brackets 110, 111, 112, 113), the individual transmission gears of the gear assembly being configured within the gear box (between 112, 113, figure 7), the gear box supporting rotation of the individual transmission gears of the gear assembly;
the gear assembly comprises an input transmission gear (10’), an output transmission gear (50’), a first intermediate transmission gear (32), and a second intermediate transmission gear (33);
the input transmission gear (10’) is provided with an input rotation shaft (11’), and the input rotation shaft is provided with a first bearing (132) and a second bearing (133);
the output transmission gear (50’) is provided with an output rotation shaft (51’), and the output rotation shaft has a third bearing (136’) and a fourth bearing (137’);
the first intermediate transmission gear (32), the second intermediate transmission gear (33), and an intermediate transmission rotation shaft (31) are coaxially connected and rotate together (figure 6);
the intermediate transmission rotation shaft is provided with a fifth bearing (151) and a sixth bearing (152); and
the gear box rotationally supports rotation shafts by the bearings of the rotation shafts (figure 7 shows how the brackets and support structure support bearings of the shafts).
Hur et al. teach the support structure of the gear assembly being plates and brackets rather than a gearbox.
However, Honda teaches:
A gearbox (31) surrounding the gear assembly.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to surround the gear assembly of Hur et al. with a gearbox, as taught by Honda, to protect the gear assembly from debris in the environment.
Regarding claim 36, Hur et al. further teach:
wherein the motor comprises:
a fixing portion (exterior of 100) and a rotation portion (101);
the rotation portion of the motor and the input transmission gear (10’) of the gear assembly are coaxially connected and rotate together (“a driven gear 10 coupled to the driving shaft” paragraph [0034], lines 3-4), the traction rope sheave (90’) and the output transmission gear (50’) of the gear assembly are coaxially connected and rotate together (figure 7), and a rotational speed of the traction rope sheave is less than that of the rotation portion of the motor (“An object of the present invention is to provide a planetary gear type reducer constructed by sequentially engaging a sun gear, a plurality of planetary gears and a plurality of pinions with one another to reduce high speed rotation to low speed rotation and output the low speed rotation through a sheave,” paragraph [0011], lines 2-7); and
a number of teeth of the input transmission gear is less than that of a transmission gear meshed therewith (in the example detailed in paragraph [0104], 12’ of input transmission gear 10’ has 21 teeth and transmission gear 32, meshed with 12’, has 56 teeth), and a number of teeth of the output transmission gear is greater than that of the transmission gear meshed therewith (in the example detailed in paragraph [0104], output transmission gear 53 (third sun gear, mislabeled as 52 in paragraph [0104]) of 50’ has 53 teeth and transmission gear 43 has 18 teeth).
Regarding claim 38, Hur et al. further teach:
wherein the motor driver has a braking device (102, 103, 105), the braking device comprising:
a brake fixing portion (105), a brake moving portion (103), and a braking disk (102);
the braking disk and the output transmission gear are coaxially connected and rotate together, and the projection of the braking disk along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave is configured within the area surrounded by the projection of the traction rope sheave pitch circle along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave;
or,
the braking disk (102) and the rotation portion of the motor (101) are coaxially connected and rotate together (figure 6), and the projection of the braking disk along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave is configured within the area surrounded by the projection of the traction rope sheave pitch circle along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (102 is configured within the projection of the rope sheave pitch circle).
Regarding claim 39, Hur et al. teach:
A lift drawn by a motor driver (2), comprising:
a lifting space (“defining a hoistway” paragraph [0002], lines 2-3);
a car (“an elevator car” paragraph [0002], line 3) lifted and lowered within the lifting space;
a traction rope (not shown, falls within rope groove 91) suspending the car;
a traction rope sheave (90’) combined with the traction rope, which has a traction rope sheave pitch circle (exterior circumference of 90’), wherein a rotational movement of the traction rope sheave lifts and lowers the car by means of the traction rope; and
the motor driver comprising a motor (100), and a gear assembly (10’, 30, 40, 50’), the motor driving rotational movement of the traction rope sheave by the gear assembly
wherein axes of individual transmission gears (12’, 32, 33, 35, 42, 43, 53, 55) of the gear assembly are parallel to an axis of the traction rope sheave (figure 8), and a projection of the axes of the individual transmission gears along an axial direction of the traction rope sheave is configured within an area surrounded by a projection of the traction rope sheave pitch circle along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (figure 8).
Hur et al. are silent to a counterweight in the elevator system.
However, Honda teaches:
A lift drawn by a motor driver, and
a counterweight (6) arranged on the traction rope (9) opposite the elevator car (3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a counterweight in the elevator system of Hur et al., as taught by Honda, to balance the weight of the car and reduce the load on the motor during lifting.
Regarding claim 40, Hur et al. further teach:
wherein the axes of the individual transmission gears (12’, 32, 33, 35, 42, 43, 53, 55) of the gear assembly are stationary with respect to the axis of the traction rope sheave (the axes of the individual transmission gear are stationary relative to the axis of 90’ in the configuration shown in figure 8), the gear assembly has N (15) transmission gears, axes of the N transmission gears being not in a same plane and spatially arranged in three dimensions (the gears are overlapping, not in a same plane, and arranged in three dimensions, as shown in figure 8) and N being an integer greater than 2.
Regarding claim 41, Hur et al. further teach:
wherein the individual transmission gears (12’, 32, 33, 35, 42, 43, 53, 55) of the gear assembly are between the traction rope sheave (90’) and the motor (100) along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (left/right direction as shown in figure 7).
Regarding claim 42, Hur et al. further teach:
wherein the individual transmission gears of the gear assembly are helical gears (“due to formation of the gears out of helical gears.” paragraph [0001], last two lines).
Regarding claim 43, Hur et al. further teach:
wherein the motor driver further comprises a gear box (support and brackets 110, 111, 112, 113 serve as support structure similar to a gearbox), the individual transmission gears of the gear assembly being configured within the gear box (between 112, 113, figure 7), the gear box supporting rotation of the individual transmission gears of the gear assembly;
the gear assembly comprises an input transmission gear (10’), an output transmission gear (50’), a first intermediate transmission gear (32), and a second intermediate transmission gear (33);
the input transmission gear (10’) is provided with an input rotation shaft (11’), and the input rotation shaft is provided with a first bearing (132) and a second bearing (133);
the output transmission gear (50’) is provided with an output rotation shaft (51’), and the output rotation shaft has a third bearing (136’) and a fourth bearing (137’);
the first intermediate transmission gear (32), the second intermediate transmission gear (33), and an intermediate transmission rotation shaft (31) are coaxially connected and rotate together (figure 6);
the intermediate transmission rotation shaft is provided with a fifth bearing (151) and a sixth bearing (152); and
the gear box rotationally supports rotation shafts by the bearings of the rotation shafts (figure 7 shows how the brackets and support structure support bearings of the shafts).
Hur et al. teach the support structure of the gear assembly being plates and brackets rather than a gearbox.
However, Honda teaches:
A gearbox (31) surrounding the gear assembly.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to surround the gear assembly of Hur et al. with a gearbox, as taught by Honda, to protect the gear assembly from debris in the environment.
Regarding claim 44, Hur et al. further teach:
wherein
the motor comprises:
a fixing portion (exterior of 100), and a rotation portion (101);
the rotation portion of the motor and the input transmission gear (10’) of the gear assembly are coaxially connected and rotate together (“a driven gear 10 coupled to the driving shaft” paragraph [0034], lines 3-4), the traction rope sheave (90’) and the output transmission gear (50’) of the gear assembly are coaxially connected and rotate together (figure 7), and a rotational speed of the traction rope sheave is less than that of the rotation portion of the motor (“An object of the present invention is to provide a planetary gear type reducer constructed by sequentially engaging a sun gear, a plurality of planetary gears and a plurality of pinions with one another to reduce high speed rotation to low speed rotation and output the low speed rotation through a sheave,” paragraph [0011], lines 2-7); and
a number of teeth of the input transmission gear is less than that of a transmission gear meshed therewith (in the example detailed in paragraph [0104], 12’ of input transmission gear 10’ has 21 teeth and transmission gear 32, meshed with 12’, has 56 teeth), and a number of teeth of the output transmission gear is greater than that of the transmission gear meshed therewith (in the example detailed in paragraph [0104], output transmission gear 53 (third sun gear, mislabeled as 52 in paragraph [0104]) of 50’ has 53 teeth and transmission gear 43 has 18 teeth).
Regarding claim 46, Hur et al. further teach:
wherein the motor driver has a braking device (102, 103, 105), the braking device comprising:
a brake fixing portion (105), a brake moving portion (103), and a braking disk (102);
Regarding claim 47, Hur et al. further teach:
the braking disk and the output transmission gear are coaxially connected and rotate together, and the projection of the braking disk along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave is configured within the area surrounded by the projection of the traction rope sheave pitch circle along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave;
or,
the braking disk (102) and the rotation portion of the motor (101) are coaxially connected and rotate together (figure 6), and the projection of the braking disk along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave is configured within the area surrounded by the projection of the traction rope sheave pitch circle along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (102 is configured within the projection of the rope sheave pitch circle).
Claims 37 and 45 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 200700202980 A1 (Hur et al.) in view of JP H11199163 A (Honda, Applicant’s cited prior art) and further in view of WO 2021124389 A1 (Abe et al.).
Regarding claim 37, Hur et al. and Honda teach:
The lift drawn by the motor driver according to claim 36,
wherein the projection of the rotation portion of the motor (101) along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (90’) is configured within the area surrounded by the projection of the traction rope sheave pitch circle along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (101 is coaxial with sheave 90’ and configured within the rope sheave pitch circle).
Hur et al. and Honda are silent to the motor having a coil.
However, Abe et al. teach:
A lift drawn by a motor driver, and
the fixing portion of the motor (7) has a coil (14A), and
The combination of Hur et al., Honda, and Abe et al. teaches:
the projection of the coil (14A, Abe et al.) along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (90’, Hur et al.) is configured within the area surrounded by the projection of the traction rope sheave pitch circle along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (the entire motor of Hur et al. is contained within the area surrounded by the projection of the traction rope sheave pitch circle).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the motor of Hur et al. to contain a coil, as taught by Abe et al., as coils/stators are common in the art as an efficient means of translating electrical energy into mechanical power. While Hur et al. and Honda do not discuss the internal workings of the motors, it would be an obvious choice for the hoist motors to contain coils as taught by Abe et al..
Regarding claim 45, Hur et al. and Honda teach:
The lift drawn by the motor driver according to claim 44,
wherein a projection of the rotation portion of the motor (101) along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (90’) is configured within the area surrounded by the projection of the traction rope sheave pitch circle along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (101 is coaxial with sheave 90’ and configured within the rope sheave pitch circle).
Hur et al. and Honda are silent to the motor having a coil.
However, Abe et al. teach:
A lift drawn by a motor driver, and
the fixing portion of the motor (7) has a coil (14A), and
The combination of Hur et al., Honda, and Abe et al. teaches:
the projection of the coil (14A, Abe et al.) along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (90’, Hur et al.) is configured within the area surrounded by the projection of the traction rope sheave pitch circle along the axial direction of the traction rope sheave (the entire motor of Hur et al. is contained within the area surrounded by the projection of the traction rope sheave pitch circle).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the motor of Hur et al. to contain a coil, as taught by Abe et al., as coils/stators are common in the art as an efficient means of translating electrical energy into mechanical power. While Hur et al. and Honda do not discuss the internal workings of the motors, it would be an obvious choice for the hoist motors to contain coils as taught by Abe et al..
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US-3265362-A, US-3641832-A, US-4433755-A, US-5025894-A, US-20030168287-A1, US-20120302387-A1, GB-2118130-A, and US-8888649-B2 are cited to show reduction gear transmissions in elevator hoisting systems.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHELLE M MUDWILDER whose telephone number is (571)272-6068. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 11:00 am - 7:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ROBERT HODGE can be reached at (571)272-2097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M.M.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3654
/ROBERT W HODGE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3654
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