DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
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 I, Species A in the reply filed on 04/07/2026 is acknowledged.
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to the application filed on 01/02/2025. Claims 1-17 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
Claims 3-8 and 13-17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention or species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 04/07/2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) submitted on 01/02/2025 was filed and is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the Information Disclosure Statement is being considered by the Examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the second spur gear is mounted rotationally fixed on the output shaft, as required by claim 1; and the first spur gear, the second spur gear and the third spur gear are arranged axially in one plane, as required by claim 10, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 1-2 and 9-12 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 lines 30-32 recite the limitation “the second spur gear (32) is mounted rotationally fixed on the output shaft (18) and can be connected rotationally fixed to the output shaft (18) by means of the third shifting element (A)”. It is unclear how the second spur gear can be mounted rotationally fixed to the output shaft, and also can be connected rotationally fixed to the output shaft by the third shifting element.
Claim 11 line 3 recites the limitation “individual powershift elements”. It is unclear if this limitation is referring to the powershift elements recited in claim 1, or if this limitation requires additional powershift elements.
Claim 12 line 3 recites the limitation “individual shifting elements”. It is unclear if this limitation is referring to the shifting elements recited in claim 1, or if this limitation requires additional shifting elements.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 10-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wieckhorst (EP 2853431 B1).
Regarding claim 1, Wieckhorst discloses a powershiftable transmission for a motor vehicle transmission configured as a group transmission (see Fig. 5; 12), comprising: a drive input shaft (see annotated Fig. 5 below; A); a first input shaft (see annotated Fig. 5 below; B); a second input shaft (see annotated Fig. 5 below; C); an output shaft (11); a first powershift element (see annotated Fig. 5 below; D) configured to couple the first input shaft to the drive input shaft; a second powershift element (see annotated Fig. 5 below; E) configured to couple the second input shaft to the drive input shaft; a first spur gear stage (24, 9), a second spur gear stage (34, 9) and a third spur gear stage (26, 10); a first shifting element (see annotated Fig. 5 below; F), a second shifting element (see annotated Fig. 5 below; G), and a third shifting element (see annotated Fig. 5 below; H); wherein in the first spur gear stage, a first spur gear (24) is mounted rotatably on the first input shaft and can be connected rotationally fixed to the first input shaft by means of the first shifting element; wherein the first spur gear meshes with a second spur gear (9) arranged on the output shaft and which is coupled to a third spur gear (34) associated with the second spur gear stage; wherein a fourth spur gear (26) and a fifth spur gear (10) are associated with the third spur gear stage, wherein the fourth spur gear meshes with the fifth spur gear, the fourth spur gear is arranged on the first input shaft, and the fifth spur gear is arranged on the output shaft; and wherein the first input shaft is coupled to the output shaft by way of the third spur gear stage when the second shifting element is actuated, and wherein the third spur gear is arranged rotationally fixed on the second input shaft whereas the second spur gear is mounted rotationally fixed on the output shaft and can be connected rotationally fixed to the output shaft by means of the third shifting element (see Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 10, Wieckhorst discloses the first spur gear (24), the second spur gear (9), and the third spur gear (34) are arranged axially in one plane, and the second spur gear meshes with both the first spur gear and the third spur gear (see Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 11, Wieckhorst discloses individual powershift elements (D, E) are in each case in the form of frictional shifting elements (see Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 12, Wieckhorst discloses individual shifting elements (F, G, H) are in the form of interlocking shifting elements (see Fig. 5).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wieckhorst (EP 2853431 B1) in view of Mordukhovich (US 20200271195 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Wieckhorst fails to disclose a transmission ratio that can be engaged by way of the first spur gear stage between the first input shaft and the output shaft corresponds essentially to a transmission ratio engaged by way of the second spur gear stage between the second input shaft and the output shaft. However, Mordukhovich teaches a transmission ratio that can be engaged by way of the first spur gear stage (see Fig. 4; 124, 141) between the first input shaft (46) and the output shaft (30) corresponds essentially to a transmission ratio engaged by way of the second spur gear stage (128, 141) between the second input shaft (48) and the output shaft (see paragraph [0040], wherein the primary first gear diameter 124 is equal to the duplicate first gear diameter 138). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date to modify Wieckhorst with a transmission ratio of the first spur gear stage to correspond essentially to a transmission ratio of the second spur gear stage, as taught by Mordukhovich, so that the first and second gear stages may be engaged at the same time to distribute the torque produced by the engine evenly between the first and second clutches during vehicle launch.
Claim 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wieckhorst (EP 2853431 B1) in view of Hedman (US 12000462 B2).
Regarding claim 9, Wieckhorst discloses the fourth spur gear (26) is mounted rotatably on the first input shaft (B) and can be connected rotationally fixed to the first input shaft by actuating the second shifting element (G). Wieckhorst fails to disclose the fifth spur gear is arranged rotationally fixed on the output shaft. However, Hedman teaches the fifth spur gear (32) is arranged rotationally fixed on the output shaft (30). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date to modify Wieckhorst with the fifth spur gear arranged rotationally fixed on the output shaft, as taught by Hedman, to provide a balanced transmission with equal weight distribution between the shafts. Additionally, it has been held that a rearrangement of parts, which does not modify the operation of the device, is an obvious matter of design choice. In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950). In this instance, rearranging the shift element of gear 10 to gear 36 would not modify the operation of the transmission, and is therefore considered an obvious design choice.
PNG
media_image1.png
666
694
media_image1.png
Greyscale
1 - EP 2853431 B1 Fig. 5 Annotated
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892.
US 20020104397 A1, US 20120203412 A1, US 20130072337 A1 and US 20020033059 A1 disclose powershift transmissions with an input shaft, two countershafts and an output shaft.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH BROWN whose telephone number is (313)446-6568. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs: 8:00am - 5:00pm EST.
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, Minnah Seoh can be reached at 571-357-2384. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JOSEPH BROWN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
Prosecution Insights