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 .
Status of Claims
This is the first action on the merits for application 18/922,875 filed on 10/22/2024. Claims 1-17 are pending.
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 10/22/2024 has been considered by the examiner.
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 13-17 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 13 recites “a caliper including an inner body and an outer body.., a central bridge, an end bridge, a circumferential bridge, a pad clip…”. This creates a double inclusion of the same elements as recited in the body of claim 1.
Claim 16 recites “a second fixing portion is configured to directly press, in the circumferential direction, a portion located on a radially inner side of a connection portion with the circumferential bridge, of a side surface of the end bridge on one side in a circumferential direction,… at an end portion on the other side in the circumferential direction, the second fixing portion configured to directly or indirectly press, in the circumferential direction, a portion located at the radially inner side of the connection portion with the circumferential bridge, of a side surface of the end bridge on the one side in the circumferential direction.”. It is unclear because the later limitation “directly or indirectly press” is broader and introduce alternative, this inconsistent recitation render the scope of the claimed limitation unclear.
Claims 14-15, 17 are also rejected due to their dependency from claim 13.
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, 3, 12, 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by D'Alessio (US 20210270335 A1)
D’Alessio discloses:
Claim 1: A pad clip (22, fig.23) for a disc brake device (abstract), the pad clip being made of a metal plate (¶[0149]) and being configured to elastically press a pair of pads (11)(¶[0171]) and configured to be attached to a caliper (2) including an inner body (side wall 5 on one axial side), an outer body (side wall 5 on the other axial side), a central bridge (8) and an end bridge (6) which are disposed apart from each other in a circumferential direction and which respectively connect the inner body (side wall 5 on one axial side) and the outer body (side wall 5 on the other axial side) in an axial direction, and a circumferential bridge (79) which is hung between the central bridge (8) and the end bridge (6) in the circumferential direction,
the pad clip (22) comprising:
a main body portion (26,39) elastically supported (through integral elastic portion of 22 engaging fixing beam 79) between the central bridge (8) and the end bridge (6); and
a pair of pad pressing portions (43, 27,30 which includes 44) configured to press outer circumferential edge portions (77) of the pair of pads (11) toward a radially inner side (75), wherein a radially outer side surface (surface of 39) of the main body portion (26,39) is configured to be pressed against a radially inner side surface of the circumferential bridge (79) by an elastic force of the pair of pad pressing portions (¶[0169]-[0171]: The paragraphs implies that as the pair of pad pressing portion 27 and 30, 44 which elastically engage with pads 11 and urge the pads toward radially inner side. The elastic force from pad pressing portions 43, 27, 30, 44 reacts through spring 22 at fixing stretch 39 which applies a radial elastic force towards the radially outer side 74.)
Claim 3: The pad clip for the disc brake device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of pad pressing portions (43, 27,30,44) are disposed on both sides of the main body portion (26,39) in relation to the axial direction, and each have a lateral U-shape when viewed in the circumferential direction (Note:” lateral u-shape” is interpretation under BRI because there is no specific definition of the phrase in the specification, the phrase is interpreted as bent/returned configuration. As shown in Fig.35c-d: portion 43 forms a return/arc shaped returned portion between opposite lines 42.).
Claim 12: The pad clip for the disc brake device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of pad pressing portions (43, 27,30, 44) are configured to press the pads (11) in a direction away from a rotor (3) in relation to the axial direction (¶[0171]).
Claim 13: A disc brake device (abstract, Fig.23) comprising:
a caliper (2) including an inner body (side wall 5 on one axial side) and an outer body (5 on the other axial side) disposed on both sides in an axial direction with a rotor (3) sandwiched, a central bridge (8) and an end bridge (6) which are disposed apart from each other in a circumferential direction and which respectively connect the inner body (side wall 5 on one axial side) and the outer body (5 on the other axial side) in the axial direction, and a circumferential bridge (79) which is hung between the central bridge (8) and the end bridge (6) in the circumferential direction;
a pair of pads (11) supported in a manner of being movable in the axial direction with respect to the caliper (2); and
a pad clip (22) made of a metal plate (¶[0149]), configured to elastically press the pair of pads (5), and attached to the caliper (2), wherein the pad clip (22) is the pad clip for the disc brake device according to claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4-11 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 14-17 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.
Regarding claim 2, 14 and 16, the prior art of record alone or in combination neither discloses nor renders obvious “at an end portion on one side in a circumferential direction, two first fixing portions configured to press, in the circumferential direction, portions located on both sides with a connection portion with the circumferential bridge sandwiched in relation to the axial direction, of a side surface of the central bridge on the other side in a circumferential direction.” and in combination with the remaining structure of claim 2, 14 and 16.
The closest prior art (US 20210270335) discloses two first fixing portions 65,65’; however, 65/65’ describes as “the two elastic tongues 65, 65′ respectively of the pairs 64 extend on two opposite sides and at a distance from the longitudinal median plane 28 and elastically bend towards and away from the longitudinal median plane 28.” See ¶[0143]. This describes radial snap fit engagement not circumferential pressing action against side surface of central bridge as claimed.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
INOUE (US 20220275842 A1) discloses disc brake with pad spring 26
SHIMAMURA (US 20150122597 A1) discloses disc brake with 53a and 53b as window and there no circumferential bridge.
SCOTTI (US 20180328427 A1) discloses disc brake with caliper with pad 20.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Lillian T Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)270-5404. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm.
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/LILLIAN T NGUYEN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3655a
