DETAILED ACTION
This is the First Office Action in response to the above identified patent
application filed on November 22, 2024.
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.
Claims 8-15 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.
In claim 8, the limitation “an output shaft coupled to the idler shaft via a fifth gear train in one of a short drop configuration and a long drop configuration” is not fully understood if applicant intends to define the transmission as having two configurations, including a short drop configuration and a long drop configuration. It is understood from the disclosure that the novelty of the claimed transmission is that the output shaft can be assembled in two different positions. Claim 8 appears to suggest the transmission is configured with the two different output shaft configurations (short drop and long drop). However, claim 8 only requires one configuration, either the short drop configuration or the long drop configuration. In order to provide compact prosecution, claim 8 has been interpreted as a transmission having two configurations of the output shaft. Applicant must clearly define the metes and bounds of the desired patent protection.
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(s) 1-9, 11, and 13-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McAskill (USP 5,249,475) in view of Kuwabara (WO 2019/082256) and Spaniel (DE 199 32 118).
McAskill teaches a transmission, comprising: an input shaft (S1); a first clutch (C4) positioned on a first clutch shaft (S3); a second clutch (C2) positioned on a second clutch shaft (S2); a third clutch (C3) positioned on the first clutch shaft (S3); an idler shaft (S6); and an output shaft (S7) rotationally coupled to the idler shaft.
McAskill does not teach the output shaft is in one of a first position and a second position. However, it was known in the art to configure a transmission with an output shaft having at least two positions. For example, Kuwabara teaches a transmission (4) having an output arrangement (7) with an output shaft (74), the output shaft having at least two positions (for example, see Figs 6-10). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed device to configure the transmission of McAskill with an output shaft having at least operating positions, as taught by Kuwabara, motivation being to fit the transmission into different vehicles having different space constraints.
McAskill does not teach two electric motors driving the input shaft through an input speed reduction gear train. The prior art to Spaniel teaches a pair of electric motors (1,2) connected to a transmission input shaft (3) with an input speed reduction gear train (4) for providing an electric drive device having optimal efficiency. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to drive the input shaft of McAskill with a pair of electric motors having an input speed reduction gear train, as taught by Spaniel, motivation being to provide an electric drive device having optimal efficiency.
Claim 2: The above described transmission of McAskill modified with Kuwabara teaches the first position is a short drop configuration (such as 72back, Fig 10 of Kuwabara), wherein an axis of the output shaft is a first distance from an axis of the input shaft, and the second position (such as 72Low, Fig 10 of Kuwabara), is a long drop configuration wherein the axis of the output shaft is a second, further distance from the axis of the input shaft.
Claim 3: The above described transmission of McAskill modified with Spaniel teaches the input speed reduction gear train (Fig. 2 of Spaniel) comprises a first gear (4), a second gear (4), and a third gear (4) coupled in series, wherein the first gear couples to the first electric motor (1), the second gear rotationally couples to the input shaft (3), and the third gear couples to the second electric motor (2).
Claim 4: The above described transmission of McAskill teaches the input shaft (S1) is selectively rotationally coupled to the first clutch shaft (S3) via a first clutch gear (G3) of the first clutch (C4) when the first clutch is engaged and via a third clutch gear (G5 and G10) of the third clutch (C3) when the third clutch is engaged.
Claim 5: The above described transmission of McAskill teaches the input shaft (S1) is selectively rotationally coupled to the second clutch shaft (S2) via a second clutch gear (G6) of the second clutch (C2) when the second clutch is engaged.
Claim 6: The above described transmission of McAskill teaches the first clutch (C4) and the third clutch (C3) are configured together as a multi-range clutch, wherein, in a first position of the multi-range clutch, the first clutch is engaged, and in a second position of the multi-range clutch, the third clutch is engaged.
Claim 7: The above described transmission of McAskill teaches (table 12/4) when the first clutch (which can be clutch 2) is engaged and the second (which can be one of clutch 1,3,4) and third clutches (which can be one of clutch 1,3,4) are disengaged, the transmission system is in a first gear ratio (F1), when the second clutch (clutch 3) is engaged and the first and third clutches (one of 1, 2, 4) are disengaged, the transmission system is in a second gear ratio (F2), and when the third clutch is engaged and the first and second clutches are disengaged, the transmission system is in a third gear ratio (F3).
Claim 8: The above described transmission of McAskill teaches the claim limitations, including: a first clutch shaft (S3) selectively coupled to an input shaft (S1) via one of a second gear train (G2,G5,G9,G10) and a third gear train (G1,G3) depending on a selected gear ratio; a second clutch shaft (S2) selectively coupled to the first clutch shaft (S3) via the second gear train (G5,G9); an idler shaft (S6) coupled to the first clutch shaft and the second clutch shaft via a fourth gear train (indirectly through G18,G20); and an output shaft (S7) coupled to the idler shaft via a fifth gear train (G19,G21) in one of a short drop configuration and a long drop configuration, wherein a multi-range clutch, including a first clutch (C3) and a third clutch (C4), is positioned on the first clutch shaft and a second clutch (C1,C2) is positioned on the second clutch shaft. As applied above, Kuwabara teaches an output shaft having at least two positions (for example, see Figs 6-10) and Spaniel teaches an input shaft coupled to a first electric motor and a second electric motor via a first gear train.
Claim 9: The above described transmission of Spaniel teaches the first gear train comprises a first gear (4) meshed with a second gear (4), which also meshes with a third gear (4), wherein the first gear is rotationally coupled to a first rotor shaft of the first electric motor (1), the second gear is rotationally coupled to the input shaft (3), and the third gear rotationally couples to a second rotor shaft of the second electric motor (2).
Claim 11: The above described transmission of McAskill teaches the third gear train (G1,G3) comprises a first gear (G1) fixedly coupled to the input shaft and a third clutch gear (G3) of the third clutch (C4), wherein the first gear meshes with the third clutch gear.
Claim 13: The above described transmission of McAskill teaches the fifth gear train comprises a first gear (G19) fixedly coupled to the idler shaft (S6) and an output gear (G21) fixedly coupled to the output shaft (S7), wherein the first gear meshes with the output gear.
Claim 14: The above described transmission of McAskill modified with Kuwabara teaches the first position is a short drop configuration (such as 72back, Fig 10 of Kuwabara), wherein an axis of the output shaft is a first distance from an axis of the input shaft, and the second position (such as 72Low, Fig 10 of Kuwabara), is a long drop configuration wherein the axis of the output shaft is a second, further distance from the axis of the input shaft.
Claim 15: The above described transmission of McAskill teaches (table 12/4), a first gear ratio (F2), the first clutch (C3) is selectively engaged with the first clutch shaft, in a second gear ratio (F1 or F3), the second clutch (C1,C2) is selectively engaged with the second clutch shaft, and in a third gear ratio (R1), the third clutch (C4) is selectively engaged with the first clutch shaft.
Claims 16-20: The transmission of McAskill, modified with Kuwabara and Spaniel, teaches each claim limitation, as described above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10 and 12 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action by clearly defining the transmission as having two output shaft configurations, and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not teach the claimed combination of transmission features as defined in claims 10 and 12. Specifically, McAskill does not teach a transmission having two output shaft configurations, and including the following limitations:
Claim 10: the second gear train comprises a first gear fixedly coupled to the input shaft, a first clutch gear of the first clutch, and a second clutch gear of the second clutch, wherein the first clutch gear meshes with the first gear and the first gear meshes with the second clutch gear.
Claim 12: the fourth gear train comprises a first gear fixedly coupled to the second clutch shaft, a second gear fixedly coupled to the idler shaft, and a third gear fixedly coupled to the first clutch shaft, wherein the first gear meshes with the second gear and the second gear meshes with the third gear.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM C JOYCE whose telephone number is (571)272-7107. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Minnah Seoh can be reached at 571-270-7778. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM C JOYCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618