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(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 7-9 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.
Claim 7 recites “a differential gear” while claim 6 recites four total gears including the “fourth gear.” The specification describes the fourth gear as reference 55 and the differential gear as reference 56. These reference lead lines point to the gear of the differential as 55 and the differential as a whole (with an arrow as the end of the lead line) as 56. The according to the disclosure the differential gear is also the fourth gear. It is unclear what the meaning of “differential gear” is in view of the specification. Was this intended to encompass one of the gears within the differential or the carrier of the differential which is not a gear that meshes with another gear.
It is also unclear what “closer to the planetary gear mechanism” means since this is not illustrated in the drawings. Is this intended to mean closer along the third axis or closer straight distance?
Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
As noted above the fourth gear and the differential gear appear to be the same component. It is unclear how the differential which has its own gear on the outside as the input can be offset axially from its own gear such that it is “closer” to the planetary gear mechanism as requirement by claim 7.
For purposes of compact prosecution, it is noted that the one side of the differential is closer to the planetary gear mechanism in both applicant’s FIG. 1 and FIG. 7 of Wink.
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.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wink (US 2025/0172201).
Claim 6
Wink discloses a unit comprising:
a rotating electrical machine (222);
a planetary gear mechanism (220) connected downstream of the rotating electrical machine (222);
a first gear connected downstream of the planetary gear mechanism (see annotated FIG. 7 below);
a second gear to mesh with the first gear (see annotated FIG. 7 below); and
a third gear connected downstream of the second gear (see annotated FIG. 7 below), wherein
the rotating electrical machine (22), the planetary gear mechanism (220), and the first gear are disposed along a first axis (x),
the second gear and the third gear are disposed along a second axis (see annotated FIG. 7 below, axis labeled y),
the third gear has a portion sandwiched between a ring gear of the planetary gear mechanism and the second gear in an axial direction (see annotated FIG. 7), and
the third gear has a portion that overlaps the ring gear when viewed in the axial direction (see annotated FIG. 7).
[AltContent: textbox (z)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (Fourth gear)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Third gear)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Second gear)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (First gear)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (y)][AltContent: connector]
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10 would be allowable if rewritten to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
With reference to claim 10, the prior art does not disclose or render obvious including “an inverter, wherein when viewed in a radial direction, an inverter accommodating chamber configured to accommodate the inverter has a portion that overlaps the planetary gear mechanism.”
The prior art includes many inverters on the side of the motor and some surrounding the motor however these inverters do not extend far enough to the side so as to cover a planetary gearset, which is positioned between the motor on one side and the third gear and then first gear on the other side.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2021/0107350 discloses an inverter 20 outside of the motor. WO 2013170848A1 discloses an inverter 5 outside a motor 1 but not outside the planetary gearset 4.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STACEY A FLUHART whose telephone number is (571)270-1851. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9AM-7PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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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/STACEY A FLUHART/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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