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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on December 17, 2025 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
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.
Claim 11 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 11 recites the limitation "the cavity" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Schlabach et al (US 20080149411).
Schlabach et al disclose an accelerator pedal device for an x-by-wire system of a motor vehicle, the device comprising: a housing (20); a pedal lever (12) rotatably mounted on the housing (20) via a first bearing (86a’) and via a second bearing (86b’) that is axially spaced from the first bearing (86a’); and a load component (22) designed such that the pedal lever (12) is radially loaded by the load component (22(26)) at the first and second bearings (86a’, 86b’), wherein the second bearing (86’) is formed by a bearing surface (88’) of the pedal lever (12) and a corresponding mating bearing surface (76’) of the housing (20), wherein the bearing surface (88’) and the corresponding mating bearing surface (76’) are formed conical in a circumferential direction (see Fig 4d), at least in sections, such that the pedal lever (12) is pressed axially against an axial bearing surface provided on the housing (20) by a conical bearing surface (88’) and a conical mating bearing surface (76’) and the radial load due to the load component (14).
Re claim 2, a rotation angle detector (26) is arranged in an area of the axial bearing surface (see Fig 1).
Re claim 3, Schlabach et al disclose an accelerator pedal device for an x-by-wire system of a motor vehicle, the device comprising: a housing (20); a pedal lever (12) rotatably mounted on the housing (20) via a first bearing (86a’) and via a second bearing (86b’) that is axially spaced from the first bearing (86a’); and a load component (22) designed such that the pedal lever (12) is radially loaded by the load component (22) at the bearings (86a’,86b’), wherein the first and second the bearings (86a’,86b’) are each formed by a bearing surface (76’) of the pedal lever (12) and a corresponding mating bearing surface (88’) of the housing (20), wherein the bearing surface (88’) of the second bearing (86b’) and the corresponding mating bearing surface (76’) are formed conical on both sides in the axial direction (see Fig 4d), or the bearing surface (88’) of the first bearing (86a) and the bearing surface (88’) of the second bearing (86b’) are formed conical opposite to one another and the mating bearing surface (76’) of the first bearing (86a’) and the mating bearing surface (76’) of the second bearing (86b’) are made conical opposite to one another (see Fig 4d).
Re claim 4, a rotation angle detector (26) is arranged in an area of the second bearing (86b’).
Re claim 5, the rotation angle detector (26) has an inductive sensor and/or a magnetic sensor (see¶ 21).
Re claim 6, the load component (22) is a spring element which is arranged along the pedal lever (12) between a pedal actuating plate (154) the first and second bearings (86a’,86b’) of the pedal lever (12) and acts on the pedal lever (12).
Re claim 7, the mating bearing surface (76’) and/or the bearing surface (88’) have a conical bearing section and a cylindrical bearing section (see Fig 2 and 4d).
Re claim 8, the conical bearing section extends by 180°(see Fig 2).
Re claim 9, the cylindrical bearing section of the mating bearing surface (76’) is smaller in a circumferential direction than the cylindrical bearing section of the bearing surface (88’).
Re claim 10, a bearing sleeve (42), which is fixedly connected to the pedal lever (12) and forms the bearing surface (see Fig 3), is arranged on the first bearing (86a’) and/or the second bearing (86b’).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 11 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VICKY A JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)272-7106. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday.
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/VICKY A JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617