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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 14 August 2025 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.97(c) because it lacks a timing statement as specified in 37 CFR 1.97(e). It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
The IDS was not filed within three months of the application filing date/entry of the national stage (10/24/2024 per the PCT/DO/EO/903 mailed 05/22/2025) or before the mailing date of the first Office action on the merits (05 August 2025), but was filed before an action that closes prosecution, and so required either a statement as specified in 37 CFR 1.97(e) or the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(p).
Claim Objections
Claim 17 is objected to because of the following informalities: in claim 17, “14further” should be --14 further--. Appropriate correction is required.
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)(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) 1-5, 7, 9-11, 14, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Absenger et al., U. S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0394600.
Absenger et al. discloses an electric vehicle transmission 2 (fig. 1) for a vehicle.
A housing 8 defines a housing interior 35/36.
An electric motor 3 is disposed in the housing interior 35/36 (“motor chamber 35”, specifically) and comprises a rotor 22 and a stator 21.
An input shaft 10 is disposed in the housing interior 35/36 and extends along a shaft axis A, wherein the input shaft 10 is rotatably coupled to the rotor 22 of the electric motor 3.
A gear reduction assembly 4 is disposed in the housing interior. The gear reduction assembly 4 is rotatably coupled to the input shaft 10 ([0037]) for delivering rotational torque to wheels of the vehicle (through differential 5 with side gears 6, 7, [0041]).
A carrier 50 is coupled to the gear reduction assembly 4 ([0040], last four lines).
The housing 8 defines a sump 67/52 for retaining oil 25 ([0050], lines 4-5). The carrier 50 is configured to bail oil from the sump 67/52 (“in which coolant 25, splashing around from the planet carrier 18”, [0046]) to lubricate the gear reduction assembly.
The carrier 50 comprises a body portion 18 and a disk portion, supporting baffle plate 68, that extends radially beyond the body portion 18, as best shown in figure 5.
(claim 1)
The sump 67/52 is further defined as a first sump 67 and a second sump 52 separate from the first sump. The first and second sumps 67/52 are configured such that oil 25 lubricates the gear reduction assembly 4 when flowing from the second sump 52 into the first sump 67. Paragraph [0049] describes channel 62 connects sump 52 with the bearing 64 (labeled 65 in fig. 1) at channel mouth 63. Figure 1 shows this area of mouth 63 and bearing 64(65) opens to the chamber 69, which is described in [0051] as passing oil 25 by baffle plate 68 through the channels 70 to the gear reduction assembly 4.
(claim 2)
The carrier 50 is configured to bail oil 25 from the first sump 67 to the second sump 52 during rotation of the gear reduction assembly 4. Paragraph [0046] describes the second sump 52, “in which coolant 25, splashing around from the planet carrier 18 and the planet gears 17 respectively, can be temporarily retained.” The planet carrier 18 is part of the carrier 50, and the planet gears 17 are carried by the planet carrier 18.
(claim 3)
The carrier 50 has a circular configuration (figs. 2, 4).
(claim 4)
As best shown in figure 5, the carrier has a first carrier surface, on which the baffle plate 68 is supported, facing a first direction (toward the right in fig. 5) with respect to the shaft axis A, and a second carrier surface, on the other side of the same wall forming the first face, facing a second direction opposite the first direction (toward 18) with respect to the shaft axis A. The first and second carrier surfaces have a flat configuration.
(claim 5)
The second sump 52 and the first sump 67 are configured to passively control oil 25 from flowing between the second sump 52 and the first sump 67.
(claim 7)
The gear reduction assembly 4 is further defined as a planetary gear set ([0035]).
(claim 9)
The planetary gear set 4 comprises a plurality of pinion gears 17 disposed about the shaft axis A.
(claim 10)
The plurality of pinion gears 17 is further defined as three pinion gears (fig. 4).
(claim 11)
The housing interior 35/36 is divided into an electric motor side 35 and a gear reduction side 36.
(claim 14)
The electric vehicle transmission 2 is free of a pump for circulating oil in the gear reduction side 36 of the housing interior 35/36 ([0053]).
(claim 18)
An oil distribution assembly, including baffle plate 68 and channels 70, is disposed in the housing interior 35/36.
(claim 19)
The sump 67/52 is further defined as a first sump 67 and a second sump 52 separate from the first sump. The oil distribution assembly 68/70 is disposed between the second sump 52 and the first sump 67 such that oil 25 flows from the second sump 52 ([0049]), to the oil distribution assembly 68/70 ([0051]), and to the first sump 67 after the oil lubricates the gear reduction assembly 4.
(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.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Absenger et al. in view of Ito et al., U. S. Patent 5,662,188.
Absenger et al. discloses an electric vehicle transmission as discussed in the rejection of claim 2 above, including a second sump 52 discharge line 62 (figs. 1, 4, 5), but does not disclose a valve disposed between the second sump and a first sump to actively control oil from flowing between the second sump and the first sump.
Ito et al. discloses an electric vehicle transmission 12 for a vehicle in figure 5 similar to that of Absenger et al. in that it includes:
A housing 14 defining a housing interior.
An electric motor 10 disposed in the housing interior. The electric motor comprising a rotor and a stator (fig. 5).
An input shaft 20 (labeled in fig. 1) is disposed in the housing interior and extends along a shaft axis. The input shaft 20 is rotatably coupled to the rotor of the electric motor 10.
A gear reduction assembly 16 is disposed in the housing interior. The gear reduction assembly 16 is rotatably coupled to the input shaft 20 for delivering rotational torque to wheels of the vehicle (col. 14, lines 5-20).
A carrier 30 (fig. 1) is coupled to the gear reduction assembly 16.
The housing defines a sump 48 for retaining oil. Oil from the sump 48 lubricates the gear reduction assembly 16.
(claim 1)
The sump is further defined as a first sump 48 and a second sump 60, configured as an accumulator to meter the collection of oil (col. 17, lines 35-53), separate from the first sump 48. The first 48 and second 60 sumps are configured such that oil lubricates the gear mechanism assembly 16 when flowing from the second sump 60 into the first sump 48 (col. 20, lines 12-15).
(claim 2)
A valve 80 is disposed between the second sump 60 and the first sump 48 to actively control oil from flowing between the second sump 60 and the first sump 48 (col. 20, lines 36-41).
(claim 8)
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 in a discharge line of the second sump between the second sump and the first sump of Absenger et al. in view of Ito et al. to control the amount of oil discharged from the second sump according to vehicle operating conditions, such as vehicle speed and throttle opening, so that oil levels may be maintained in the second sump when it is not needed and oil may be provided from the second sump when the oil delivered by other means is insufficient (Ito et al. col. 20, lines 11-17, 36-45).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 13, 15-17, and 21 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.
Response to Remarks
The objections to the specification and claims, and 35 U.S.C. §112 and double patenting rejections have been overcome. Applicant’s arguments with respect to the art based rejections of claim(s) 1 (as well as the dependent claims, to which the arguments regarding claim 1 have been extended) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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