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.
Claim 18 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 18 recites “closer to a centerline of the silicon wafer”. The claim is indefinite because it isn’t clear what is closer. A question remains: it is closer to the center line than what?
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.
Claims 1-3, 6-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Verardo (US 2011/0141860).
With regard to claim 17 Verardo discloses a method for manufacturing a gear assembly (figure 7) that includes:
a gearwheel (7) of a wheel train mechanism of a timepiece (title); and
a pinion (5) that is smaller in diameter than the gearwheel (7, figure 7), the method comprising:
assembling the gear assembly by inserting a shaft through the gearwheel and the pinion that are manufactured by photolithography from a single silicon wafer (figures 7, 8, 9; 31 figures 2-6; paragraph 48).
With regard to claim 18 Verardo discloses the method for manufacturing the gear assembly according to claim 17, wherein in the assembling, the gearwheel (7) and the pinion (5) are manufactured by photolithography (paragraph 48) from the single silicon wafer in which the gearwheel and the pinion with larger diameters are disposed closer to a centerline of the silicon wafer (figures 7-9).
With regard to claim 19 Verardo discloses the method for manufacturing the gear assembly according to claim 17, wherein
the gear assembly further includes a spacer (23) that adjusts a position of the gearwheel (7 and 9) and a position of the pinion (9 or 7), and
in the assembling, the shaft is inserted through the gearwheel, the pinion, and the spacer that are manufactured by photolithography from the single silicon wafer (recess 23 figure 7 defines the axial placement by its shape).
With regard to claim 20 Verardo discloses the method for manufacturing the gear assembly according to claim 17, wherein in the assembling, the shaft is inserted through the gearwheel (7) and the pinion (5) such that
a mark (15 and internal teeth of 23) formed on the gearwheel for aligning a circumferential direction with the pinion is covered by a tooth of the pinion (5), wherein
the mark is formed at a position where:
the mark is covered by the tooth of the pinion when the pinion is assembled in a proper circumferential direction (figure 9); and
the mark is exposed through between teeth of the pinion when the pinion is not assembled in the proper circumferential direction (figure 7; while unassembled a user can view the recess 23 figure 7 when assembled a user cannot view the recess as it is covered by the teeth of the pinion. A mark can refer to any feature or symbol which achieves the result. The user can view the recess to achieve the result.)
With regard to claim 1 Verardo discloses a gear assembly (figure 7), comprising:
a shaft (arbor 3 - abstract);
a spur gear (7 figures 7-9) that is made of a material having a crystal lattice plane (paragraph 41) and through which the shaft is inserted (figures 7-9); and
a fixing member (23 and/or 9) that fixes the spur gear (7) to the shaft (3).
With regard to claim 2 Verardo discloses the gear assembly according to claim 1, wherein
the spur gear includes a gearwheel (7 figure 7) through which the shaft is inserted (figures 7-9) and/or a pinion through which the shaft is inserted (7), and
the fixing member (23 and/or 9 and/or hub 13) fixes the gearwheel and/or the pinion to the shaft (figures 7-9).
With regard to claim 3 Verardo discloses the gear assembly according to claim 2, wherein
the gearwheel includes a mark for aligning a circumferential direction with the pinion (15 and internal teeth of 23), and
the mark is formed at a position where:
the mark is covered by a tooth of the pinion when the pinion is assembled in a proper circumferential direction (15 and internal teeth of 23; see figure 9); and
the mark is exposed through between teeth of the pinion when the pinion is not assembled in the proper circumferential direction (15 and internal teeth of 23; see figure 7; while unassembled a user can view the recess 23 figure 7 when assembled a user cannot view the recess as it is covered by the teeth of the pinion. A mark can refer to any feature or symbol which achieves the result. The user can view the recess to achieve the result.).
With regard to claim 6 Verardo discloses the gear assembly according to claim 1, wherein the spur gear is made of silicon (claim 23).
With regard to claim 7 Verardo discloses the gear assembly according to claim 6, wherein
the spur gear (7) is a gearwheel (7) through which the shaft (3) is inserted (figures 7-9),
the shaft includes an insertion portion (3) and a flange (9) that is larger in diameter than the insertion portion (3), and
the shaft has an escape groove in a corner portion provided between the insertion portion and a surface of the flange (9) that contacts the gearwheel (7; figures 7-9).
With regard to claim 8 Verardo discloses the gear assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a spacer (23; the recess defines the axial placement by its shape) that is made of a material having a crystal lattice plane (claim 23) and through which the shaft (3) is inserted, wherein
the fixing member (13) fixes the spacer (23) to the shaft (3).
With regard to claim 9 Verardo discloses the gear assembly according to claim 8, wherein the spacer is made of silicon (claim 23).
With regard to claim 10 Verardo discloses the gear assembly according to claim 9, wherein
the shaft includes an insertion portion (3) and a flange (9) that is larger in diameter than the insertion portion (3), and
the shaft has an escape groove in a corner portion provided between the insertion portion and a surface of the flange that contacts the spacer (figures 7-9).
With regard to claim 11 Verardo discloses the gear assembly according to claim 1, wherein
the spur gear is a gearwheel (7) through which the shaft is inserted,
the shaft (3) is integrally formed with a pinion (9) that is smaller in diameter than the gearwheel (7), and
the shaft has an escape groove in a corner portion provided between the shaft and a surface of the pinion that contacts the gearwheel (figures 7-9).
With regard to claims 12-16 Verardo discloses a timepiece, comprising:
a wheel train mechanism (paragraph 2) that includes the gear assembly (figure 9) according to claims 1, 2, 6, 8, 11; and
a case that houses the wheel train mechanism (title – timepiece).
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.
Claims 4, 5, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Verardo (US 2011/0141860) in view of Bernasconi (US 2005/0276166) and Ogasawara (US 2004/0120220).
With regard to claim 4 (depends from claim 3) Verardo does not teach the claimed: wherein the gearwheel has a hole for detecting a position of a hand.
The use of a hole in a gearwheel to detect a position is well known and common technique in the art of horology.
Ogasawara teaches aperture in wheels to facilitate the tracking and observation of positions.
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Bernasconi teaches aperture in wheels to facilitate the tracking and observation of positions.
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It 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 to configure Verardo’s system such that the gearwheel has a hole for detecting a position of a hand, as taught by Bernasconi and Ogasawara. The reason for doing so would have been to achieve a detection of the position.
With regard to claim 5 Verardo, by Bernasconi and Ogasawara teach the gear assembly according to claim 4, wherein the hole for detecting the position of the hand also serves as the mark (the hole is provided to mark a position of the gear, thus it would serve as a mark).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAN KAYES whose telephone number is (571)272-8931. The examiner can normally be reached 10-6.
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/SEAN KAYES/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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