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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by MORI (US 9,587,730).
Regarding claim 1, OSHIDARI discloses a transmission device, comprising: a sun gear (20); a ring gear (21) arranged concentrically with the sun gear (20); planetary gears (22) meshing with the sun gear (20) and with the ring gear (21); a differential case (DC) supporting the planetary gears (22) in a rotatable manner; a differential mechanism (D) arranged inside the differential case (DC); a first output shaft (J) and a second output shaft (J’) that are coupled to the differential mechanism (D); and a gear case (M) supporting the differential case (DC) in a rotatable manner, wherein the differential mechanism (D) includes: a first pinion gear (P) and a second pinion gear (P) that each have an axial center of rotation perpendicular to an axial center of rotation of the sun gear (20) and that face each other; and a first side gear (S) and a second side gear (S) that each have an axial center of rotation coincident with the axial center of rotation of the sun gear (20) and that face each other, the first side gear (S) meshes with the first pinion gear (P) and with the second pinion gear (P), and is coupled to the first output shaft (J), the second side gear (S) meshes with the first pinion gear (P) and with the second pinion gear (P), and is coupled to the second output shaft (J’), the differential case (DC) includes: a housing (C, C’) in which the first pinion gear (P), the second pinion gear (P), the first side gear (S), and the second side gear (S) are housed; a first sleeve (Cb on C) that is coupled to the housing (C, C’) and through which the first output shaft (J) is inserted; a second sleeve (Cb on C’) that is coupled to the housing (C, C’) and through which the second output shaft (J’) is inserted; at least one oil discharging groove (8) that is provided on an inner circumferential surface of the first sleeve (Cb on C) and that extends from an outer end of the first sleeve (Cb on C) to an interior of the housing (C, C’); and at least one oil introducing groove (8’, T, G) that is provided on an inner circumferential surface of the second sleeve (Cb on C’) and that extends from an outer end of the second sleeve to the interior of the housing, and the at least one oil introducing groove (8’, T, G) is arranged such that the at least one oil introducing groove reaches an internal space of the housing at a radially outside of the second side gear (outside of section Sj, Fig. 5) and overlaps with neither the first pinion gear nor the second pinion gear, as viewed in an axial direction of the second side gear.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
OSHIDARI (WO 2021/137283): discloses a A transmission device, comprising: a sun gear; a ring gear arranged concentrically with the sun gear; planetary gears meshing with the sun gear and with the ring gear; a differential case supporting the planetary gears in a rotatable manner; a differential mechanism arranged inside the differential case; a first output shaft and a second output shaft that are coupled to the differential mechanism; and a gear case supporting the differential case in a rotatable manner, wherein the differential mechanism includes: a first pinion gear and a second pinion gear that each have an axial center of rotation perpendicular to an axial center of rotation of the sun gear and that face each other; and a first side gear and a second side gear that each have an axial center of rotation coincident with the axial center of rotation of the sun gear and that face each other, the first side gear meshes with the first pinion gear and with the second pinion gear, and is coupled to the first output shaft, the second side gear meshes with the first pinion gear and with the second pinion gear, and is coupled to the second output shaft, the differential case includes: a housing in which the first pinion gear, the second pinion gear, the first side gear, and the second side gear are housed; a first sleeve that is coupled to the housing and through which the first output shaft is inserted; a second sleeve that is coupled to the housing and through which the second output shaft is inserted; at least one oil discharging groove that is provided on an inner circumferential surface of the first sleeve and that extends from an outer end of the first sleeve to an interior of the housing; and at least one oil introducing groove that is provided on an inner circumferential surface of the second sleeve.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEREK D. KNIGHT whose telephone number is (571)272-7951. The examiner can normally be reached Telework: From 5:30am-1:30pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ernesto Suarez can be reached at 571-270-5565. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DEREK D KNIGHT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655