DETAILED ACTION
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sudo et al. JP 2004216928 A (page/line numbering used for foreign references below corresponds to the machine-translation preceding the original patent, as attached to the present Office Action – note page numbers of the translation are marked as TP-1, TP-2, etc.).
Regarding independent claim 1, Sudo et al. discloses [a rack-and-pinion steering device 10,] (Fig. 1; Paragraph 0014) [the rack-and-pinion steering device comprising: an electric motor 19 configured to impart a turning force to a rack shaft 14;] (Fig. 1; Paragraph 0015) [a controller 22 provided integrally with the electric motor;] (Fig. 1; Paragraph 0016) [a sensor portion 20 provided on a side of a pinion shaft and configured to detect a steering amount;] (Fig. 1-2; Paragraph 0015) [a sensor-side connector attached to the sensor portion;] (Annotated Fig. 1 below; Paragraph 0025) and [a first harness 20R and a second harness 20L which connect the sensor-side connector and the controller;] (Fig. 1-2; paragraph 0020) [the sensor-side connector being so disposed that an extending direction of the first harness and an extending direction of the second harness have an angle to a direction along a rotational axis of the pinion shaft.] (Annotated Fig. 1 below; As shown in the annotation Fig. 1, Sudo et al. illustrates wherein the sensor side connector being disposed so that an extending direction of the first and second harnesses 20R, 20L have an angle to a direction along a rational axis of the pinion shaft.) [the controller including a first terminal 20a to which the first harness is connected and a second terminal 20b to which the second harness is connected;] (Fig. 4; Paragraph 0025) [the first terminal being provided closer to the pinion shaft than the second terminal is; and the first harness having length that is set shorter than the second harness.] (Fig. 1-4; Paragraph 0025)
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Annotation of Fig. 1 of Sudo et al.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 2-3 and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sudo et al. in view of Fukuda JP 2013166433 A (page/line numbering used for foreign references below corresponds to the machine-translation preceding the original patent, as attached to the present Office Action – note page numbers of the translation are marked as TP-1, TP-2, etc.).
Regarding claim 2, Sudo et al. does not disclose wherein the first harness includes a motor-side first connector that is connectable to the first terminal, and wherein the second harness includes a motor-side second connector that is connectable to the second terminal.
Fukuda teaches [wherein the first harness includes a motor-side first connector 52 that is connectable to the first terminal, and wherein the second harness includes a motor-side second connector 52 that is connectable to the second terminal.;] (Fig. 2-3; Page 4, lines 1-11) [wherein the sensor-side connector 51a includes a fixed portion 55 to be fixed to a housing in which the pinion shaft is accommodated.] (Fig. 4; Page 4, lines 1-11)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to additionally use the motor-side connectors of Fukuda with the steering device of Sudo et al. with a reasonable expectation of success because it would allow for the first and second harnesses to be readily connected to and disconnected from their respective first and second terminals, thus facilitating assembly and maintenance of the steering device.
Regarding claim 3, Sudo et al., as modified, already discloses all of the claimed limitations, including the fixed portion recited in the rejection of claim 2 above.
Regarding claim 7, Sudo et al. does not disclose wherein the first harness and the second harness are corrugated tubes each enclosing a plurality of electric wires.
Fukuda teaches [wherein the harness 30A are corrugated tubes each enclosing a plurality of electric wires 48;] (Fig. 3-6; Page 3, lines 41-47) [wherein the harness encloses a single-system wiring.] (Fig. 3-6; Page 4, lines 1-11)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to alternatively use the corrugated tubes of Fukuda with the steering device of Sudo et al. with a reasonable expectation of success because it would allow for the plurality of electric wires of ach harness to be protected and collectively routed while maintaining flexibility of the harness, thus providing a predictable and conventional protective arrangement for the electrical wiring of the steering device.
Regarding claim 8, Sudo et al., as modified, already discloses all of the claimed limitations, including the single-system wiring recited in the rejection of claim 7 above.
Regarding claim 9, Sudo et al, as modified, does not explicitly disclose wherein the first harness and the second harness are assembled in a twisted state. However, according to MPEP 2144.04 (VI)(C) (In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950); In re Kuhle, 526 F.2d 553, 188 USPQ 7 (CCPA 1975)), the rearrangement of know elements does not confer patentability when such a modification does not alter the function or operation of the system. In this case, assembling the first harness and the second harness of Sudo et al. in a twisted state rather than in an untwisted state would have been an obvious design choice for one of ordinary skill in the art is it merely reconfigures the known system without yielding an unexpected result.
Claims 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sudo et al. in view of Fukuda and further in view of Maehara JP 2017061209 A (page/line numbering used for foreign references below corresponds to the machine-translation preceding the original patent, as attached to the present Office Action – note page numbers of the translation are marked as TP-1, TP-2, etc.).
Regarding claim 4, Sudo et al., as modified, further discloses [wherein the sensor-side connector includes a protecting portion that covers an end portion of the first harness and an end portion of the second harness.] (Annotated Fig. 1 of Sudo et al. above)
Sudo et al., as modified, does not disclose wherein the sensor-side connector includes a rotation stopper portion configured to regulate rotation of the sensor-side connector by being lodged between a cover attached to the housing and the housing.
Maehara teaches [wherein the sensor-side connector includes a rotation stopper portion 66 configured to regulate rotation of the sensor-side connector by being lodged between a cover attached to the housing and the housing.] (Fig. 3-5; Page 4, lines 14-18; Maehara discloses that the rotation stopper 66 includes pins 66a and 66b between which the engaging portion 42 is inserted and engaged. This engagement restricts relative rotation of the torque sensor 40 with respect to the cover 60. Therefore, the rotation stopper 66 is configured to regulate rotation of the sensor-side connector 43. Additionally, as illustrates in Fig. 3-5, the rotation stopper 66 is positioned between the cover 60 and the case body 41 that houses the connector portion 43 of the sensor 40.) [wherein the fixed portion and the rotation stopper portion are disposed in the housing so that the extending direction of the harness has an angle to the direction along the rotational axis of the pinion shaft.] (Fig. 2-4; As shown in Fig. 2-4, Maehara illustrates wherein the fixed portion 43a and the rotation stopper portion 66 are disposed in the housing 41 so that the extending direction of the harness 36 has an angle to the direction along the rotational axis of the pinion shaft 22.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to additionally use the rotation stopper configuration of Maehara with the steering device of Sudo et al., as modified, with a reasonable expectation of success because it would allow for the sensor-side connector to be securely positioned relative to the housing and prevent undesired rotation of the sensor-side connector while maintaining the angled orientation of the harness, thus improving the stability, positioning, and assembly of the sensor-side connector and harness.
Regarding claim 5, Sudo et al., as modified, already discloses all of the claimed limitations, including the fixed portion and rotation stopper arrangement recited in the rejection of claim 4 above.
Regarding claim 6, Sudo et al., as modified, already discloses all of the claimed limitations, including the protection portion recited in the rejection of claim 4 above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kobayashi JP 2019021605 A – comprises a connector unit, a control unit, an electric power steering device, a steering system, and a steer-by-wire system, capable of securing waterproofing properties of a connector. A first connector part is provided to a torque sensor. A second connector part is connected to an ECU, and is fitted to the first connector part. A seal member is provided between the first connector part and the second connector part. Lock parts are fixed while the first connector part and the second connector part are in a state of being fitted together. In the first connector part, terminal accommodation chambers in which male terminals are provided are plurally demarcated inside a connector housing by a partition part.
Asano JP 2019104439 A – comprises a steering device capable of protecting a cable connected with a steering auxiliary device from heat of a heating source while suppressing an increase in cost. A steering device includes: a rack shaft for steering a steering wheel of a vehicle by advance and retreat operations in the axial direction; a housing for storing the rack shaft; and an electric motor for applying a moving force in the axial direction to the rack shaft. The housing includes: a cylindrical rack shaft storing part for storing the rack shaft; and a shield plate for shielding a signal line cable, a power supply cable and a communication cable connected with a steering auxiliary device from a heating source. The shield plate is formed integrally with the rack shaft storing part.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mohamed Medani whose telephone number is (703)756-1917. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 11:00 am - 7:30 pm.
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/Mohamed M Medani/Examiner, Art Unit 3611
/JACOB D KNUTSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3611
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