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 .
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, grooved sleeve of claim 1, the seat of claim 8 and the marking opening and repair support screw of claim 9 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 Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 3, “removable support sleeve” should be --the removable support sleeve--. 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 and 5-9 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 1, lines 7-9 recite “and a reverse gear which engages with a movable gear arranged on a grooved sleeve of the input shaft, which is movable by virtue of tilting the inner switching fork and being driven by means of an axle with a lever,”. It is vague and unclear what in this clause pertains to a reverse gear. Is a reverse gear or a movable gear movable by virtue of tilting the inner switching fork? What is being driven by means of an axle with a lever?
Line 10 recites “the outer switching fork is restricted by means of a removable sector…”. It is unclear what a removable sector is. Claims 5-8 are rejected due to their dependency on claim 1.
Claim 9 is 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 9 recites “a marking opening is provided in the chain transmission housing, the marking opening being intended for installing a repair support screw…”. It is vague and unclear what is being claimed. The claimed features, a marking opening and a repair support screw, do not appear to be shown in the drawings and examiner is unclear what features are being described just from the written description. Therefore, a prior art rejection is not possible at this time.
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.
Claims 1, 5 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)(a)(2) as being anticipated by Pard et al., U.S. Patent Publication 2020/0408292.
As per claim 1, Pard et al. disclose a snowmobile transmission (170) [gearbox] comprising a chain transmission housing (176) with a cover (fig. 3), an input shaft (174) [secondary shaft] and output shaft (175) [driveshaft] (para [0111]) arranged inside the housing, as well as a chain transmission drive (fig. 3), the chain transmission drive including a chain (206) that connects a drive sprocket (204) arranged on the input shaft (174) to a driven sprocket (208) arranged on the output shaft (175) (figs. 2, 3), an inner switching fork (267) and an outer switching fork (229), an adjusting rod (236), a reverse gear axle (165) [countershaft] about which a reverse gear sprocket (246) freely rotates being also arranged inside the housing, the reverse gear sprocket (246) engaging with the chain, and a reverse gear (184) which engages with a movable gear (248) arranged on a grooved sleeve of the input shaft, which is movable by virtue of tilting the inner switching fork (267) and being driven by means of an axle with a lever (274) [linkage], wherein rotation of the outer switching fork (229) is restricted by means of a removable sector (228) which is fixed to the housing cover (figs. 3, 15); and an adjusting screw (fig. E-1), which abuts against a support sleeve (fig. E-1) and is fixed by means of a cotter pin (fig. E-1), is arranged on the housing.
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As per claim 5, Pard et al. as set forth above, disclose a tensioner support (fig. E-2) is arranged on a chain tensioner (210), which abuts against the housing cover (fig. 3).
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As per claim 7, Pard et al. as set forth above, disclose additional guides (fig. E-3) for the chain (206), which function both in a forward gear mode and a reverse gear mode, are arranged inside the housing.
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As per claim 8, Pard et al. as set forth above, disclose a seat (fig. E-2) is provided on the housing for installing a removable support sleeve (fig. E-1) designed for the adjusting screw (fig. E-1) to abut against removable support sleeve.
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 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pard et al. in view of Kato et al., U.S. Patent Publication 2014/0162820.
As per claim 6, Pard et al. as set forth above, does not disclose a steel roller is arranged on the chain tensioner. However, Kato et al. in their Chain Guide and Chain Transmission Device invention teach the use of steel rollers in contact with a timing chain to maintain tension on a chain (paras [0001, 0017, 0046], abstract).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Pard et al. with a steel roller in contact with the chain, as taught by Kato et al., for the purpose of preventing early wear on the outer surfaces of the rollers due to contact with the chain (abstract).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARK KENNETH BUSE whose telephone number is (571)270-3139. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Victoria Augustine can be reached at 313 446-4858. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M.K.B/Examiner, Art Unit 3654
/ROBERT W HODGE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3654