DETAILED ACTION
Receipt is acknowledged of Applicant’s Response, dated 23 April 2026, which papers have been made of record.
Claims 1-18 are currently presented for examination, of which claims 1-7 and 15-18 have been withdrawn from consideration.
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group IV, claims 8-14, in the reply filed on 23 April 2026 is acknowledged.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The term “gradually” in claim 13 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “gradually increases” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. The Specification as filed teaches that the axial length of work arrows gradually decrease at paragraph [0024], however there is no recitation of what change in lengths may be understood to be gradual. The examiner further notes that paragraph [0024] appears to teach multiple work arrows have a gradual decrease and a gradual increase, however claim 13 recites “a work arrow other than the reference work arrow gradually increases in axial length” such that it appears a single work arrow gradually increases in length.
Claim 13 recites “a work arrow other than the reference work arrow gradually increases in axial length as a distance from the reference work arrow increases in a range close to the reference work arrow along the circumferential direction, and gradually decreases in axial length as the distance from the reference work arrow increases in a range exceeding the range” at lines 3-6. It is unclear how a single work arrow can be both increasing in axial length and decreasing in axial length. Paragraph [0024] of Applicant’s Specification appears to teach that the increase is over the course of multiple work arrows, instead.
Further, it is unclear how one having ordinary skill in the art would interpret the phrase “a range close to the reference work arrow” as recited at lines 4-5 or how one having ordinary skill in the art would determine what range exceeds the range. It is unclear how one having ordinary skill in the art would determine that the first recited range is exceeded, as well as the boundaries of both the first recited range and the second recited range of claim 13.
Claim 14 depends from claim 13, and therefore is rejected for at least the reasons presented above with respect to claim 13.
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.
Claims 8-12
Claims 8-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by United States Patent Application Publication 2021/0222731 to Suzuki et al. (hereinafter “Suzuki”).
Regarding claim 8, Suzuki discloses a manufacturing device (15) for a ball bearing, the method comprising: a workpiece holding table (17) configured to hold an inner ring (1) and an outer ring (3) with an annular space formed between the inner ring and the outer ring (5); a ball inserting portion (19) configured to load a plurality of balls (7) in one region (see paragraph [0078] and Figs. 9A and 9B) along a circumferential direction of the annular space formed between the inner ring and the outer ring held by the workpiece holding table (17); a flow stop and block dividing mechanism (23) configured to movably dispose a flow stop jig (51) outside the one region (see Fig. 11) of the annular space in the circumferential direction to keep the plurality of inserted balls in the one region (see Fig. 11; balls 7 forced to space without flow stop jig), and to movably dispose a block dividing jig (25) to divide the plurality of balls (7) into groups (see Fig. 13); and a ball dividing portion (separators 63) configured to, from a state in which the flow stop jig (51) and the block dividing jig (25) are disposed in the annular space (5), when the flow stop jig (51) and the block dividing jig (25) are removed from the annular space (5; see Fig. 12), sequentially insert tip ends (terminal ends of portions 63; see Fig. 6) of a plurality of work arrows (63) protruded in accordance with the number of balls (7) between the plurality of balls (7) in an axial direction to arrange the plurality of balls at equal intervals in the circumferential direction (see paragraph [0105]).
Regarding claim 9, Suzuki discloses the limitations of claim 8, and further Suzuki discloses that the device further comprises an inner ring moving mechanism () configured to move the inner ring () to a side opposite to the one region () with respect to the outer ring () to expand the annular space (5) in a radial direction in the one region ()
Regarding claim 10, Suzuki discloses the limitations of claim 8, and further Suzuki discloses a tilting operation mechanism (21) configured to tilt axial vertical surfaces of the inner ring (1) and the outer ring (3) held by the workpiece holding table (17; see paragraph [0074]).
Regarding claim 11, Suzuki discloses the limitations of claim 8, and further Suzuki discloses that the flow stop jig (51) and the block dividing jig (25) are formed in a plate shape that curves (see Fig. 7) along the circumferential direction of the annular space (5) and narrows along an insertion direction into the annular space (5; see Figs. 4B and Fig. 6, each member narrows towards tip).
Regarding claim 12, Suzuki discloses the limitations of claim 8, and further Suzuki discloses that the ball dividing portion (63) includes a base portion (61) formed in an annular shape (see Fig. 6), and a plurality of work arrows (separating members 63) erected on the base portion (61) and arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction (see Fig. 6), and the plurality of work arrows are arranged in a positional relationship symmetrical along the circumferential direction (see paragraph 0084]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13-14 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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:
Regarding claim 13, the prior art of record does not explicitly disclose or fairly teach “a work arrow other than the reference work arrow increases in a range close to the reference work arrow along the circumferential direction, and gradually decrease in axial length as the distance from the reference work arrow increases in a range exceeding the range” in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
United States Patent 5,678,310 to Chiba teaches a ball arrangement device including a ball dividing portion (see prior art Fig. 3).
United States Patent 5,421,088 to Kawamura teaches a ball arrangement device including a ball dividing portion (15) for forming ball bearings.
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/D.C.F/Examiner, Art Unit 3726
/SARANG AFZALI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726 05/14/2026
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