DETAILED ACTION
This is the first Office action on the merits of Application No. 18/873,063. The substitute specification filed on December 9, 2024 has been entered. Claims 1-8 are currently pending.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings were received on December 9, 2024. These drawings are acceptable.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 objected to because of the following informalities: in lines 4 and 10 of claim 1 “a driving force” should be changed to --the driving force-- since the driving force of the motor was previously set forth in line 2 of the claim. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-8 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 1, lines 12-14 are unclear regarding rotation of the drive-side end E1 and the output-side end E2 of the link member 64. In particular, the claim is not clear regarding the axes of rotation of the two ends of the link member. As described in paragraph [0070] the drive-side end E1 is connected to the driven gear 62 by the pin 64b. Thus, the drive-side end E1 could be said to rotate about the axis of the pin 64b as the driven gear 62 rotates, but this is not particularly pointed out by the current claim language. Paragraphs [0075] – [0076] describe the output-side end E2 of the link member 64 as being connected to the first link 65a of the connecting member 65 by the output-side pin 64c. As described in paragraph [0081], the connecting member 65 rotates about the axis Cr of the output shaft 65c. By comparing the orientation of the parts in the released state shown in Fig. 1 and the lock state shown in Fig. 2, the output-side end E2 of the link 64 could be said to be pivotally connected to the first link 65a of the connecting member 65 by the output-side pin 64c which revolves around the center axis Cr of the connecting member 65. But this is not particularly pointed out by the current claim language which is unclear as to what defines the axis of rotation of the output-side end of the link member.
The meaning of the term “relief” in claim 1, line 16 is unclear. Where applicant acts as his or her own lexicographer to specifically define a term of a claim contrary to its ordinary meaning, the written description must clearly redefine the claim term and set forth the uncommon definition so as to put one reasonably skilled in the art on notice that the applicant intended to so redefine that claim term. Process Control Corp. v. HydReclaim Corp., 190 F.3d 1350, 1357, 52 USPQ2d 1029, 1033 (Fed. Cir. 1999). The term “relief” in claim 1 is used by the claim to mean “bent or curved” while the closest accepted meaning is “raised.” The term is indefinite because the specification does not clearly redefine the term. The claimed “relief portion” is being interpreted as a curved or bent portion.
It is noted that the link member 64 is shown and described in paragraphs [0069] and [0133] as having a link body 64a which is a “J-shaped” or “L-shaped” plate member when viewed in the direction Z1 of the rotation axis Cm of the motor shaft 43, and the so-called “relief portion” 64d is the curved or bent portion between the two legs that form the J or L shaped plate. However, this is not particularly pointed out by the current language of claim 1.
Claim 4, which recites the position of the drive-side end of the link member “disposed opposite the output-side end with respect to the rotation center axis of the driven gear” is believed to describe the orientation of the link member only in the lock state as described in paragraph [0100] and shown in Fig. 7, but not in the released state shown in Fig. 6. However, the claim does not particularly point out that recited positions of the ends of the link member relative to the rotation center axis of the driven gear refers to the positions only when the device is in the lock state.
Similarly claim 6, which recites the position of the drive-side end of the link member “disposed on the output-side end side of the link member with respect to the rotation center axis of the driven gear” is believed to describe the orientation of the link member only in the released state as described in paragraph [0099] and shown in Fig. 6, but not in the lock state shown in Fig. 7. However, the claim does not particularly point out that recited positions of the ends of the link member relative to the rotation center axis of the driven gear refers to the positions only when the device is in the released state.
Claim 7, lines 10-13 recite “the link member with the drive-side end and the output-side end aligned with the rotation center axis of the driven gear…” but does not particularly point out that the ends of the link member are aligned with the rotation center axis of the driven gear when viewed from one side in an extending direction of the rotation center axis of the driven gear as described for example in paragraph [0098].
Claims 2, 3, 5 and 8 are indefinite due to their dependence on claim 1.
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 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2021/0332881 A1 (hereinafter, Nakao).
Regarding claim 1, Nakao discloses a vehicle parking device (P-gear mechanism, see e.g. Figs. 1A and 1B and paragraph [0005]) comprising: a motor (1) that generates a driving force for switching between a parking lock state (shown in Fig. 4A) and a parking lock released state (shown in Fig. 4B) of a vehicle; a transmission mechanism (20, 21, 51) connected to the motor to transmit a driving force of the motor; and a parking rod (52) connected to the transmission mechanism to travel between a parking position corresponding to the parking lock state and a non-parking position corresponding to the parking lock released state, wherein the transmission mechanism includes a driven gear (22) that rotates about a rotation center axis (the axis of shaft 3) by a driving force from the motor, a link member (51) including a drive-side end (see the annotated copy of Fig. 4A below) connected to the driven gear to rotate as the driven gear rotates, and an output-side end (see the annotated copy of Fig. 4A below) that is another end and rotates as the drive-side end rotates, and a first rotary shaft (3) disposed on the rotation center axis of the driven gear, and the link member includes a relief portion (see the annotated copy of Fig. 4A below) to avoid interference with the first rotary shaft while the link member travels between the parking lock state and the parking lock released state.
Regarding claim 2, the relief portion (see the annotated copy of Fig. 4A below) is bent or curved to avoid interference with the first rotary shaft (3) while the link member (51) travels between the parking lock state (shown in Fig. 4A) and the parking lock released state (shown in Fig. 4B).
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-8 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:
Neither Nakao nor any of the other prior art taken alone or in combination discloses or renders obvious: the alignment of the ends of the link member and the rotation center of the driven gear as set forth in claims 3-6 together with the other claimed structure; the stopper as set forth in claim 7 together with the other claimed structure; or the connecting member as set forth in claim 8 together with the other claimed structure
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 6125983 A discloses a vehicle parking device comprising a motor 160, a transmission 162, a parking rod 108 and a link member 140.
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/RICHARD M LORENCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617
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