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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 21, which is ultimately dependent on claim 1, repeats the last three lines of amended claim 1, and so does not “further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends”. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nakata et al., U. S. Patent 11,578,798.
Nakata et al. shows in the figures an electric vehicle transmission 1 for a vehicle.
A housing 6 defines a housing interior 6A/6B.
An electric motor 2 is disposed in the housing interior 6A/6B. The electric motor comprises a rotor 20 and a stator 25.
An input shaft 21 is disposed in the housing interior 6A/6B and extends along a shaft axis J1. The input shaft 21 is rotatably coupled to the rotor 20 of the electric motor 2.
A gear reduction assembly 3 is disposed in the housing interior 6A/6B. The gear reduction assembly 3 is rotatably coupled to the input shaft 21 for delivering rotational torque to wheels W of the vehicle (fig. 1; col. 5, lines 10-20).
The housing 6 defines a first sump P for retaining oil O and a second sump 70 (shown integrated as part of the housing in fig. 5; col. 10, lines 24-29) separate from the first sump P for retaining oil O.
The second sump 70 and the first sump P are configured such that oil O lubricates the gear reduction assembly 6 when flowing from the second sump 70 into the first sump P (col. 7, lines 44-46).
The housing interior 6A/6B is divided into an electric motor side 6A and a gear reduction side 6B.
The housing 6 comprises a housing protrusion 6a extending into the second sump 70, specifically portion 78, for further defining the second sump 70 (“the catch tank 70 includes a tank member 70A and a first protruding rib (rib) 6a of the housing 6. The first protruding rib 6a functions as the bottom portion of a sub-reservoir 78”, col. 10, lines 27-30). As best shown in figure 2, the housing protrusion 6a extends along a length of the second sump 70.
(claim 20)
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 9-11, 13, 15, and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakata et al., U. S. Patent 11,578,798 in view of Pritchard et al., U. S. Patent 9,410,610.
Nakata et al. shows in the figures an electric vehicle transmission 1 for a vehicle.
A housing 6 defines a housing interior 6A/6B.
An electric motor 2 is disposed in the housing interior 6A/6B. The electric motor comprises a rotor 20 and a stator 25.
An input shaft 21 is disposed in the housing interior 6A/6B and extends along a shaft axis J1. The input shaft 21 is rotatably coupled to the rotor 20 of the electric motor 2.
A gear reduction assembly 3 is disposed in the housing interior 6A/6B. The gear reduction assembly 3 is rotatably coupled to the input shaft 21 for delivering rotational torque to wheels W of the vehicle.
The housing 6 defines a first sump P for retaining oil O and a second sump 70 (shown integrated as part of the housing in fig. 5; col. 10, lines 24-29) separate from the first sump P for retaining oil O.
The second sump 70 and the first sump P are configured such that oil O lubricates the gear reduction assembly 6 when flowing from the second sump 70 into the first sump P (col. 7, lines 44-46).
The housing interior 6A/6B is divided into an electric motor side 6A and a gear reduction side 6B.
The housing 6 in the second sump 70 defines an upper overfill bleed orifice 73 for allowing oil O to flow between the electric motor side 6A and the gear reduction side 6B (col. 15, line 65-col. 16, line 1 and col. 17, lines 48-56).
The electric vehicle transmission further comprises a differential 5 coupled to the gear reduction assembly 3. The differential is configured, by inclusion of ring gear 51, to bail oil O from the first sump P to the second sump 70 during rotation of the gear reduction assembly (col. 7, lines 61-63).
(claim 1)
The second sump 70 and the first sump P are configured to passively control oil from flowing between the second sump 70 and the first sump (oil flows from ejection holes 71h and 71k and feed portion 72 of the second sump 70, and oil from the first sump P is scooped by the ring gear 51 to the second sump 70 along scoop path 95 (fig. 1; col. 9, lines 7-9)).
(claim 2)
The differential (the carrier), at least at the ring gear 51 portion as shown in figure 2, has a circular configuration.
(claim 9)
As shown in figure 5, the differential (carrier) portion 51 has a first carrier surface facing a first direction with respect to the shaft axis (the left side of the cross-hatched portion), and a second carrier surface facing a second direction opposite the first direction with respect to the shaft axis (the right side of the cross-hatched portion), the first and second carrier surfaces having a flat configuration.
(claim 10)
As shown in figure 5, the differential (carrier) portion 51 has a first carrier surface facing a first direction with respect to the shaft axis (the left side of the cross-hatched portion), and a second carrier surface facing a second direction opposite the first direction with respect to the shaft axis (the right side of the cross-hatched portion), the first and second carrier surfaces having indentations, shown toward the bottom of the figure, where the gear 51 narrows to the web portion.
(claim 11)
The housing 6 comprises a housing protrusion 6a extending into the second sump 70 for further defining the second sump 70 (col. 10, lines 27-30).
(claim 13)
The housing 6 in the first sump P defines a lower overfill bleed orifice 61a for allowing oil O to flow between the electric motor side 6A and the gear reduction side 6B (fig. 1).
(claim 15)
A pump 8 circulates oil in the electric motor side 6A of the housing interior (col. 8, lines 51-54).
(claim 16)
Nakata et al. does not disclose that the element configured to bail oil (by inclusion of the ring gear) is a carrier.
Pritchard et al. discloses an electric vehicle transmission (figs. 1, 2) similar to that of Nakata et al., having a housing 89 (fig. 2) defining a housing interior, an electric motor 30 disposed in the housing 89, an input shaft 34 rotatably coupled to the motor 30, a gear reduction assembly 32 disposed in the housing interior and coupled to the input shaft 34, a first sump (interior of the housing in general) for retaining oil 91, a second sump 94 (fig. 2) for retaining oil 91, and a differential 16 coupled to the gear reduction assembly 32 and configured by inclusion of a ring gear 21 to bail oil 91 from the first sump to the second sump 94 during rotation of the gear reduction assembly 32 (col. 4, lines 50-58).
The carrier 17 of the differential is the particular portion of the differential 16 provided with the ring gear 21 such that a carrier 17 is configured to bail oil from the first sump to the second sump 94. Column 1, line 66 to column 2, line 7 describes the cage 17 as a carrier (has a pinion shaft 18, rotates, and carries pinion gears 22 and 23 rotatably mounted on the shaft 18).
(claim 1)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the carrier of the differential of Nakata et al. the part of the differential that is configured to bail oil in view of Pritchard et al. because for a typical differential, as shown and described by Pritchard et al., the carrier with the ring gear is the radially outermost rotating element of the differential and therefore the most suitable for bailing oil, as disclosed by Nakata et al. and Pritchard et al.
Nakata et al. does not disclose that the gear reduction assembly is defined as a planetary gear set.
Pritchard et al. discloses the gear reduction assembly 32 is further defined as a planetary gear set 49 (col. 2, lines 41-42).
(claim 4)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further define the gear reduction assembly of Nakata et al. as a planetary gear set in view of Pritchard et al. to enable the provision of multiple speed ranges while maintaining a short axial length of the gear reduction assembly (Pritchard et al., col. 3, lines 5-19).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakata et al. in view of Pritchard et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ito et al., U. S. Patent 5,662,188.
Nakata et al. in view of Pritchard et al. discloses an electric vehicle transmission as discussed in the rejection of claim 1 above, but does not disclose a valve disposed between the second sump and the first sump to control oil flowing between the sumps.
Ito et al. shows in figure 5 an electric vehicle transmission 12 for a vehicle with a housing 14, an electric motor 10 with an input shaft 20 (pointed out in fig. 1), a gear reduction assembly 16 rotatably coupled to the input shaft 20 for delivering torque to wheels of the vehicle through a differential 18 (col. 14, lines 5-20), a first sump 48 for retaining oil, and a second sump 60 for retaining oil, where the second sump 60 and the first sump 48 are configured such that oil lubricates the gear reduction assembly when flowing from the second sump 60 to the first sump 48 (col. 21, lines 43-49).
A valve 80 is disposed between the second sump 60 and the first sump 48 as shown in figure 5 to actively control oil from flowing between the second sump 60 and the first sump 48 (col. 20, lines 9-15).
(claim 3)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a valve between the second sump and first sump of Nakata et al. in view of Pritchard et al. to actively control oil flowing between the sumps in view of Ito et al. because the “arrangement permits more effective utilization of the lubricating oil…whereby the bearing portions and the gears of the power transmission system are protected against seizure, wearing or damages resulting from the shortage of lubricating oil, so as to assure a further prolonged service life of the components of the power transmission” (Ito et al., col. 21, lines 43-51) by supplying oil according to what is required by the current vehicle operating conditions (Ito et al., col. 21, lines 39-43, 52-56).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7, 12, 17-19, and 22 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.
Claim 21 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112 set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Remarks
The Applicant remarks that incorporation of the subject matter of claims 8 and 14 into claim 1 overcomes each of the rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 102 based on Ito et al., Ohmura et al., Kagami, and Nakata et al. The Examiner agrees, however upon further search and consideration, it is believed amended claim 1 is taught by Nakata et al. in view of Pritchard et al., as discussed above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHERRY LYNN ESTREMSKY whose telephone number is (571)272-7090. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30am-4:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ernesto Suarez can be reached at 571-270-5565. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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SLE
/SHERRY L ESTREMSKY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655