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 6-9 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.
The "alignment chart" mentioned in lines 7 and 9 of claim 6 is not a physical/structural component of the "unit" as currently disclosed. The alignment chart representation of the transmission is merely a figure and does not contribute to the invention.
The Applicant claims the arrangement of structural elements on an alignment chart, the Examiner finds the claims to be indefinite because the alignment chart is not a physical or structural part of the invention. Additionally, the claims are directed to an apparatus, specifically a unit. The alignment chart does not add any structural significance to the invention because the chart is not a part of the apparatus.
By incorporating the alignment chart, which is a graphical representation of the transmission, the focus of the claims is shifted from the apparatus to a figure or drawing that may only be useful in understanding the connections/ relationships of the elements of the apparatus, but plays no part in the apparatus itself. The physical structure is the focus of the claim, and it is unnecessary to incorporate a graphical representation of the physical structure because the invention can be defined in words. See MPEP 2173.05(s).
The present invention is a unit, not a means of showing the arrangement of the elements of the unit. Because the application is for an apparatus, it is those specific elements which make up the apparatus that should be claimed, not their representative or their means by which they are commonly characterized.
It is recommended that the phrase “on an alignment chart” be removed from the claims.
Claim 6 recites the limitation “the third engagement element connects two rotational elements that are selected from the first to sixth rotational elements and are not connected to each other”, emphasis added, in lines 18-19. It is unclear how the elements are “not connected to each other”. Paragraph 19 of the Specification states:
“[t]he expression of "an element A is connected to an element B" means that the element A is connected to the element B on an upstream or downstream side in such a manner that power can be transmitted between the element A and the element B. An input side of the power is the upstream side, and an output side of the power is the downstream side. The element A is not limited to be connected to the element B directly or via another member, and may be connected to the element B via a clutch or the like.”
As disclosed in the Specification, two elements are considered to be connected “via a clutch or the like”. The limitation recited in lines 18-19 discloses the elements connected via an engagement element, therefore it is contrary to also disclose them not being connected.
It is recommended to remove the limitation “are not connected to each other” from the claims.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “the other side” in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Interpretation
It should be noted that Applicant’s Specification discloses how the term “connected” is to be interpreted throughout the claims in paragraph 19 (reproduced in the 112 rejections above). From this definition, it is clear that every element of the unit is connected to every other element disclosed in the unit.
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) 6-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by LI et al. (CN 106763565 A).
Regarding claim 6, LI (as best understood by the Examiner) discloses a unit comprising: an input element (arrow pointing in towards the unit @ CL); an output element (arrow pointing out of the unit @ C1); a first engagement element (B1); a second engagement element (B2); a third engagement element (CL); a first planetary gear mechanism (PG2) in which a first rotational element (one of S2, P2, R2), a second rotational element, and a third rotational element; and a second planetary gear mechanism (PG1) in which a fourth rotational element (one of S1, P1, R1), a fifth rotational element, and a sixth rotational element, wherein the input element is connected (all elements are connected to each and every other element of the unit, as disclosed in Applicant’s specification in paragraph 19) to the sixth rotational element, the output element is connected to the third rotational element and the fifth rotational element, one side of the first engagement element (B1) is connected to the second rotational element, the other side of the first engagement element is fixed, one side of the second engagement element is connected to the first rotational element and the fourth rotational element, the other side of the second engagement element is fixed, the third engagement element connects two rotational elements that are selected from the first to sixth rotational elements, the first planetary gear mechanism and the second planetary gear mechanism are single pinion planetary gear mechanisms (see Figures), and the third engagement element connects the first rotational element and the second rotational element.
Regarding claim 7, LI discloses the second planetary gear mechanism (PG1) is disposed on one side (left) of the first planetary gear mechanism (PG2) in an axial direction, and the third engagement element (CL) is disposed on the other side (right side) of the first planetary gear mechanism (PG2) in the axial direction.
Regarding claim 8, LI discloses the third engagement element (CL1) has a portion overlapping the first planetary gear mechanism when viewed in the axial direction, and the third engagement element has a portion overlapping the second planetary gear mechanism when viewed in the axial direction (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 9, LI discloses a single side of the third engagement element (CL) is connected to the one side of the first engagement element or the one side of the second engagement element (B2).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 7387585 B2: Fig. 3a has the two elements of different PGs connected, a clutch between one of those elements and another element on the same PG, but the final drive doesn't line up.
US 20260055799 A1: teaches a 3-speed unit with a similar structure
US 12638066 B2: teaches a 3-speed unit with a similar structure
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEREK D. KNIGHT whose telephone number is (571)272-7951. The examiner can normally be reached Telework: From 5:30am-1:30pm EST.
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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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/DEREK D KNIGHT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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