DETAILED ACTION
This is the First Office Action in response to the above identified patent
application filed on December 10, 2024.
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 § 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) 1-4 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lin et al. (CN 211852719).
Lin teaches a power transmission mechanism for a robot, comprising: a shaft (45) configured to transmit a rotational force of an electric motor (power source); and a strain wave gear reducer configured to amplify the rotational force of the electric motor, wherein the strain wave gear reducer includes a wave generating member (42) including a cam having an elliptical shape when viewed from a direction of a rotation axis, an elastic tubular member (30) including a plurality of first tooth parts at an outer circumferential surface and being elastically deformable, and an annular member (20) including a plurality of second tooth parts at an inner circumferential surface, part of the plurality of first tooth parts of the elastic tubular member and part of the plurality of second tooth parts of the annular member are engaged with each other, the shaft includes a spline shaft part (outer portions of 45) at which a plurality of protrusions (50) are formed in a circumferential direction of an outer circumferential surface, the wave generating member (42) includes an insertion hole (Fig. 4) into which the spline shaft part is inserted and that has recesses (422) having a shape corresponding to a shape of the protrusions of the spline shaft part, the spline shaft part and the insertion hole have a shape in which a gap (G, Fig. 5) in a radial direction is present between the spline shaft part and the insertion hole, and the gap has a size such that a rotation center axis of the wave generating member is always movable and alignment is possible due to elasticity of the elastic tubular member (and the elasticity of 50) in a direction in which an eccentricity with respect to a center axis of the elastic tubular member is canceled.
Claim 2: Lin teaches a movement restriction part (44,48) that restricts movement of the wave generating member in two axial directions.
Claim 3: Lin teaches the shaft includes a step part (44) which is in contact with an end face of the wave generating member in an axial direction and at which an outer diameter is changed, and the step part has a shape that restricts movement of the wave generating member in the axial direction.
Claim 4: Lin teaches the shaft is a hollow shaft (Fig. 4) having a cylindrical shape.
Claim 6: Lin teaches an electric motor (power source) configured to rotate a shaft (such as an input shaft part or an output shaft part).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not teach a power transmission mechanism as defined by claim 1, including the cross-sectional shapes of the protrusions and the recesses are formed by involute curves.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Note the prior art to JP 61-55435 and JP 2020-203363 having a joint that allows for radial movement between a shaft part and a wave generating component.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM C JOYCE whose telephone number is (571)272-7107. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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/WILLIAM C JOYCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
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