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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 August 6, 2026 has been entered.
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 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kageyama et al., U.S. Patent Publication 2016/0040749 in view of Nakashima et al., U.S. Patent Publication 2017/0037224, further in view of Ozaki et al., U.S. Patent Publication 2019/0390047.
As per claim 1, Kageyama et al. disclose a CVT belt (figs. 1, 2) (para [0023]) comprising:
a body (11, 13, 14) extending over an entire section of the CVT belt and comprising cords (12) [tension members] and having a central axis (I) (fig. 1) along their length, wherein the body (11, 13, 14) is made from compounds comprising a nitrile group- containing copolymer rubber as a main elastomer (para [0043]), and
a top toothing (17) [cog portion] (fig. 2);
an axis A (fig. 2, at cross-section) orthogonal to said central axis and extending at a point where the thickness of the belt is the highest;
a cross-section (fig. 2 cross-section) defined by a section plane orthogonal to said central axis (I) and taken at the axis A, the cross-section having a trapezoidal shape with a top side (fig. E-1) defining a top width, a bottom side (fig. E-1) defining a bottom width, and two lateral sides (fig. E-1),
wherein said top width is greater than said bottom width,
the two lateral sides form an angle alfa (fig. E-1) with said top side,
wherein a projected top width (Wp) (fig. E-1) is defined as the distance between the two intersections of the extensions of the top side and the lateral sides;
characterized in that:
a first height (Hp) defined between said top side and the central axis (I) of said cords is in a range of 1 mm to 6 mm (paras [0060, 0063]), and
a ratio between a second height (H) of the belt defined between the top side and the bottom side, and (H/Hp) is in a range of 0.1 and 0.6 (paras [0060, 0063]).
Kageyama et al. do not disclose cords comprising carbon or PBO fibers, and said nitrile group-containing copolymer rubber comprising an acrylonitrile unit (a), a monomer unit (b) of α,β-ethylenically unsaturated nitrile monomer other than acrylonitrile, and a conjugated diene monomer unit (c) and having an iodine value of 120 or less. However, Nakashima et al. in their Cross-Linkage Nitrile Rubber Composition and Cross-Linked Rubber invention teach the use of a cross-linkable nitrile rubber composition including a highly saturated nitrile rubber containing α,β-ethylenically unsaturated nitrile monomer units and having an iodine value of 120 or less (abstract, paras [0019, 0026, 0027, 0040]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Kageyama et al. with the above described nitrile rubber composition, as taught by Nakashima, as the cross-linked rubber is suitable for toothed belts because it is particularly excellent in tensile stress and low heat buildup (paras [0075, 0076]).
In addition, Ozaki et al. in their Transmission Belt invention teach the use of a toothed V-belt (fig. 1) containing cords [tension members] made from carbon fibers (para [0098]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Kageyama et al. with carbon fiber cords, as taught by Ozaki et al., for the purpose of achieving a belt of high modulus (para [0098]).
Kageyama et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the edges defined by the intersection of the top side and the lateral sides are beveled or chamfered or filleted or radiused. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to radius a sharp corner intersection since it was known in the art that sharp intersections can increase the likelihood of hand injury during belt installation.
Kageyama et al. disclose the the claimed invention except for the body is a single layer defined by the single compound from the top side to the bottom side of the body. Kageyama et al. disclose examples of rubber components contained in a vulcanized rubber composition forming the compression rubber layer and tension rubber layer. Further listing different rubbers that can be used alone or as mixtures of two or more kinds thereof (para [0043]). Kageyama et al. do not teach one type of rubber compound for tension layers and a different compound for compression layers. Similarly, Nakashima et al. in the Cross-Linkable Nitrile Rubber Composition and Cross-Linked Rubber invention teach a rubber composition suitable for belts due to its excellent tensile stress and low heat buildup properties (paras [0075, 0076]). Nakashima et al. are silent on the rubber composition being unsuitable for either tension or rubber layers of a belt. This lack of requirement for separate types of rubber compounds in the different layers of a V-belt combined with the top side of a belt being toothed (reducing tension going around pulleys) would lead one of ordinary skill in the art to routine experimentation using the same single rubber compound from the top side to the bottom side of the body (all layers) with a reasonable expectation of success. Using the same single rubber compound would simplify the manufacturing process over using different compounds for the different layers that then have to be combined to form a belt.
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As per claim 2, Kageyama et al., Nakashima et al., and Ozaki et al. as set forth above, disclose the ratio is between 0.1 and 0.4 (paras [0060, 0063]).
As per claim 3, Kageyama et al., Nakashima et al., and Ozaki et al. as set forth above, Kageyama et al. disclose a bottom toothing (16) [cog portion] (fig. 2) on the bottom side.
As per claim 4, Kageyama et al., Nakashima et al., and Ozaki et al. as set forth above, Kageyama et al. disclose said top toothing (17) and said bottom toothing (16) have different pitches (paras [0076, 0077, 0097]).
As per claim 5, Kageyama et al., Nakashima et al., and Ozaki et al. as set forth above, Kageyama et al. disclose said top toothing (17) has a pitch between 5 and 15 mm (para [0097]).
As per claim 6, Kageyama et al., Nakashima et al., and Ozaki et al. as set forth above, Kageyama et al. disclose said bottom toothing (16) has a pitch between 5 and 12 mm (para [0097]).
As per claim 7, Kageyama et al., Nakashima et al., and Ozaki et al. as set forth above, Kageyama et al. disclose said projected top width (Wp) is in a range of 15 mm to 45 mm (para [0097]).
As per claim 8, Kageyama et al., Nakashima et al., and Ozaki et al. as set forth above, Kageyama et al. disclose said bottom width is in a range of 12 mm to 42 mm (paras [0060, 0063, 0097]). Dimensions supplied in these paragraphs yield at least a portion of the claimed range (12-42mm) bottom width dimension. Top side width of 37.1 mm.
As per claim 9, Kageyama et al., Nakashima et al., and Ozaki et al. as set forth above, Kageyama et al. disclose said angle alfa is in a range of 24° C to 30° C (paras [0060, 0063, 0097]). Dimensions supplied in these paragraphs yield at least a portion of the claimed angle alpha range (24° to 30°). Top side width of 37.1 mm.
As per claim 10, Kageyama et al., Nakashima et al., and Ozaki et al. as set forth above, Kageyama et al. disclose said top toothing (17) and said bottom toothing (16) are covered by a fabric (5) (para [0097]).
As per claim 11, Kageyama et al., Nakashima et al., and Ozaki et al. as set forth above, Kageyama et al. as modified, disclose the reinforcement fibers uniformly distributed in the single compound from the top side to the bottom side (para [0045], Kageyama).
As per claim 12, Kageyama et al., Nakashima et al., and Ozaki et al. as set forth above, Kageyama et al. disclose the reinforcement fibers are present in percentage by weight of a total weight of the body of 1 % wt to 20 % wt (paras [0045-0050]) .
As per claim 13, Kageyama et al., Nakashima et al., and Ozaki et al. as set forth above, Kageyama et al. disclose the reinforcement fibers are chopped fibers. Paragraph [0045], chopped fibers are also known as short fibers.
As per claim 14, Kageyama et al., Nakashima et al., and Ozaki et al. as set forth above, Kageyama et al. disclose the carbon or PBO fibers are made of aliphatic or aromatic polyamide (para [0052]).
As per claim 15, Kageyama et al., Nakashima et al., and Ozaki et al. as set forth above, Kageyama et al. as modified, disclose the claimed belt structure of claim 1 above, therefore that belt structure would exhibit the same functional belt stiffness above 7000 N/mm when measured with a load of 500 N, applying a dynamic load of + 100 N with a Frequency of 10 Hz in a servohydraulic testing system.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed January 7, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicants argue on page 4 of the Remarks that neither Kageyama et al. or Nakashima et al. teach “the body is a single layer defined by the single compound from the top side to the bottom side” in amended claim 1. That Kageyama et al. teach three distinct layers, with different physical properties to accomplish their specific function, compression versus tensioning versus supporting. Further, that Kageyama describes the production method for the power transmission belt as having a lamination step of each layer using a conventional method. Examiner respectfully disagrees.
As described above in the rejection of claim 1, Kageyama et al. do not disclose separate lists of rubber compositions for forming compression and tension layers (para [0043]). They make no distinction of rubber compounds unsuitable for certain layers. If a single compound were to be used for all layers, by applicants definition a single compound would form a single layer. The term “compression layer” or tension layer” would refer to the type of stress each belt portion receives. As to Kageyama describing a production method including a lamination step, patentability is based on the product itself and does not depend on its method of production.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARK KENNETH BUSE whose telephone number is (571)270-3139. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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/M.K.B/Examiner, Art Unit 3654
/ROBERT W HODGE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3654
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