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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Japan on 12 December 2023. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 23 November 2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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) 1-4, 6, and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Friedmann (US 4,760,754 A) in view of Maycock (US 4,697,684 A).
Regarding claim 1, Friedmann discloses a torque limiter (see Fig. 1), comprising:
a first side plate (3) having an annular shape;
a support plate (49) having an annular shape (see Fig. 2), the support plate spaced apart from the first side plate at an interval in an axial direction (see Fig. 1);
an auxiliary plate (32 and 54) attached to the support plate (see Figs. 1-2), the auxiliary plate disposed radially outside the support plate (see Figs. 1-2), the auxiliary plate aligned in an annular shape (see Figs. 1-2);
a disc spring (50) disposed between the support plate and the first side plate in the axial direction (see Fig. 1); and
a first friction material (52) disposed between the support plate and the disc spring in the axial direction, the first friction material disposed adjacent to the support plate and the auxiliary plate (see Fig. 1), wherein
an inner peripheral edge (A in annotated Figure 1 below) of the disc spring is disposed radially outside an outer peripheral edge of the support plate (B in annotated Figure 1 below), the inner peripheral edge of the disc spring disposed radially inside an outer peripheral edge of the auxiliary plate (C in annotated Figure 1 below).
Friedmann fails to disclose as claimed a plurality of auxiliary plates attached to the support plate.
However, Maycock teaches a plurality of auxiliary plates (34) attached to the support plate (22, see Fig. 4), in order to provide auxiliary plates that can be replaced in sections therefore reducing repair costs when necessary.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the torque limiter of Friedmann, with Maycock, such that it comprises the multipiece auxiliary plate construction of Maycock, in order to provide auxiliary plates that can be replaced in sections therefore reducing repair costs when necessary.
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Figure 1. Annotated Figure 1.
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Figure 2. Annotated Figure 1.
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Figure 3. Annotated Figure 1.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Friedmann and Maycock teaches wherein the support plate (49) includes a plurality of engaging recesses (55), the plurality of engaging recesses extending radially inward from an outer peripheral surface of the support plate (see Fig. 2), and
each of the plurality of auxiliary plates (plate sections taught by Maycock comprising 32 and 54 of Friedmann) includes a plate body (32 of Friedmann) and an engaging protrusion (54 of Friedmann), the engaging protrusion extending radially inward from the plate body (see Fig. 1 of Friedmann), the engaging protrusion engaged with a corresponding one of the plurality of engaging recesses (see Fig. 1 of Friedmann).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Friedmann and Maycock teaches wherein the engaging protrusion (54 of Friedmann) and the corresponding one of the plurality of engaging recesses (55 of Friedmann) extend to slant with respect to an imaginary line connecting a center of gravity of the each of the plurality of auxiliary plates and a rotational axis of the torque limiter (see Fig. 2 of Friedmann).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Friedmann and Maycock teaches wherein the engaging protrusion (54 of Friedmann) is one of at least two engaging protrusions (see Fig. 2 of Maycock) included in said each of the plurality of auxiliary plates (taught by Maycock, see Fig. 2 of Maycock), the at least two engaging protrusions disposed on both sides of a center of gravity of said each of the plurality of auxiliary plates in a circumferential direction (see Fig. 2 of Maycock), and
each of the at least two engaging protrusions and each of the plurality of engaging recesses (55 of Friedmann) extend toward a rotational axis (see Fig. 2 of Friedmann).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Friedmann and Maycock teaches further comprising:
a second side plate (29 of Friedmann) having an annular shape (see Fig. 1 of Friedmann), the second side plate disposed to interpose the support plate (49 of Friedmann), said each of the plurality of auxiliary plates (32 and 54 of Friedmann taught in sections by Maycock), the disc spring (50 of Friedmann), and the first friction material (52 of Friedmann) together with the first side plate (3 of Friedmann) therebetween;
a pressure plate (46 of Friedmann) disposed between the disc spring and the first friction material in the axial direction (see Fig. 1 of Friedmann); and a second friction material (29 of Friedmann) disposed between the support plate and the second side plate in the axial direction (see Fig. 1 of Friedmann).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Friedmann and Maycock teaches the disc spring (50 of Friedmann) and the support plate (49 of Friedmann) each have a thickness, but fails to teach as claimed wherein the disc spring is equal in plate thickness to the support plate.
Applicant is reminded that it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable (i.e. plate thickness) involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Friedmann and Maycock, such that it comprises the disc spring being equal in plate thickness to the support plate, in order to provide an aesthetically pleasing torque limiter by having components with the same thickness.
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Friedmann and Maycock teaches a power transmission device (see Fig. 1 of Friedmann) comprising:
the torque limiter according to claim 1 (see Fig. 1 of Friedmann and rejection of claim 1 above); and
a damper unit including an input rotor (10 of Friedmann), an output rotor (5 of Friedmann), and an elastic member (63 of Friedmann), the input rotor configured to be unitarily rotated with the support plate (see Fig. 1), the elastic member elastically coupling the input rotor and the output rotor (see Fig. 1).
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Friedmann (US 4,760,754 A) and Maycock (US 4,697,684 A), as applied to claim 2, and further in view of Nutt (US 2,318,620 A).
Regarding claim 5 the combination of Friedmann and Maycock teaches the first (52 of Friedmann) friction material, second (51 of Friedmann) friction material, and support plate (49 of Friedmann), but fails to disclose as claimed wherein the first friction material includes a groove provided on a surface thereof coming in contact with the support plate and said each of the plurality of auxiliary plates, the groove opened radially outward, and
the groove overlaps with a boundary between the engaging protrusion and the corresponding one of the plurality of engaging recesses as seen in the axial direction.
However, Nutt teaches the first friction material (38) includes a groove (D in annotated Figure 1 below) provided on a surface thereof coming in contact with the support plate (34), the groove opened radially outward (see Fig. 1), in order to provide a friction material that minimizes weight and therefore increases efficiency of the system.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Friedmann and Maycock, with Nutt, such that it comprises the grooves of Nutt on the friction material of Friedmann, in order to provide a friction material that minimizes weight and therefore increases efficiency of the system.
The combination of Friedmann, Maycock, and Nutt therefore teaches the groove (D in annotated Figure 1 below) provided on a surface thereof coming in contact with the support plate (49 of Friedmann) and said each of the plurality of auxiliary plates (32 and 54 of Friedmann taught in sections by Maycock), and the groove overlaps with a boundary between the engaging protrusion (54 of Friedmann) and the corresponding one of the plurality of engaging recesses (55 of Friedmann) as seen in the axial direction (see Figs. 1-2 of Friedmann).
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Figure 4. Annotated Figure 1.
Claim(s) 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Friedmann (US 4,760,754 A) and Maycock (US 4,697,684 A), as applied to claim 2, and further in view of Schaeffler (DE 102020126654 A1).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Friedmann and Maycock teaches further comprising:
a second side plate (4 of Friedmann) having an annular shape (see Fig. 1 of Friedmann), the second side plate disposed to interpose the support plate (49 of Friedmann), said each of the plurality of auxiliary plates (32 and 54 of Friedmann taught in sections by Maycock), the disc spring (50 of Friedmann), and the first friction material (52 of Friedmann) together with the first side plate (3 of Friedmann) therebetween;
a pressure plate (46 of Friedmann) disposed between the disc spring and the first friction material in the axial direction (see Fig. 1 of Friedmann); and
a second friction material (51 of Friedmann) disposed between the support plate and the second side plate in the axial direction (see Fig. 1 of Friedmann),
the first region defined by one pair of engaging recesses (55 of Friedmann) disposed adjacent to each other in a circumferential direction among the plurality of engaging recesses (see Fig. 2 of Friedmann and Fig. 4 of Maycock),
the second region defined by another pair of engaging recesses (55 of Friedmann) disposed adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction among the plurality of engaging recesses (see Fig. 2 of Friedmann and Fig. 4 of Maycock).
The combination of Friedmann and Maycock fails to teach as claimed the first friction material includes a first through-hole penetrating therethrough in the axial direction,
the second friction material includes a second through-hole penetrating therethrough in the axial direction,
the support plate includes a first protrusion, a second protrusion, a first region, and a second region, the first protrusion protruding toward the first friction material to be engaged with the first through-hole, the second protrusion protruding toward the second friction material to be engaged with the second through-hole, the first region provided with the first protrusion, the first region defined by one pair of engaging recesses disposed adjacent to each other in a circumferential direction among the plurality of engaging recesses, the second region provided with the second protrusion, the second region defined by another pair of engaging recesses disposed adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction among the plurality of engaging recesses,
the first region is configured to be extended straight from a state thereof bent toward the first friction material when sandwiched by the pressure plate and the second side plate, and
the second region is configured to be extended straight from a state thereof bent toward the second friction material when sandwiched by the pressure plate and the second side plate.
However, Schaeffler teaches the first friction material (74 in Fig. 2) includes a first through-hole (see Fig. 2) penetrating therethrough in the axial direction (see Fig. 2),
the second friction material (72 in Fig. 2) includes a second through-hole penetrating therethrough in the axial direction (through hole to accept protrusion 96 in Fig. 4),
the support plate (80) includes a first protrusion (84, see Fig. 2), a second protrusion (96, see Fig. 4), a first region (see Fig. 4), and a second region (see Fig. 4), the first protrusion protruding toward the first friction material to be engaged with the first through-hole (see Fig. 2), the second protrusion protruding toward the second friction material to be engaged with the second through-hole (see Fig. 4), the first region provided with the first protrusion (see Fig. 4), the second region provided with the second protrusion (see Fig. 4),
the first region is configured to be extended straight from a state thereof bent toward the first friction material when sandwiched by the pressure plate and the second side plate (see Fig. 2), and
the second region is configured to be extended straight from a state thereof bent toward the second friction material when sandwiched by the pressure plate and the second side plate (see Fig. 4), in order to provide a simple way to prevent relative torsional motion between the friction material and the support plate.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Friedmann and Maycock, with Schaeffler, such that it comprises the protrusions and engaging through holes of Schaeffler, in order to provide a simple way to prevent relative torsional motion between the friction material and the support plate.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZACHARY A HALL whose telephone number is (571)272-5907. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday 8:00am to 4:00pm.
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/ZAH/Examiner, Art Unit 3678
/AMBER R ANDERSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3678
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