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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements submitted on 8/1/2025, 10/2/2025, 1/12/2026 and 6/2/2026 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 112, 115 and 116 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Improperly numbered dependency. On line 1 of each claim, the Applicant recites “claim 110.” Claim 110 has been cancelled. Appropriate correction is suggested. Claim 112, 115 and 116 have been examined as if they depended from claim 111.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4, 10-12, 16, 18 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Salutari (USPN 11,428,530 B2).
Salutari discloses a flywheel apparatus comprising: a flywheel body (3); a flywheel-support body (2) supporting the flywheel body and permitting rotation of the flywheel body relative to the flywheel-support body around at least one axis of rotation comprising a spin axis of rotation of the flywheel body and a central-rotation axis of the flywheel-support body; at least one plurality of bearings (81b/82b) operable to support the flywheel body for rotation relative to the flywheel-support body around the at least one axis of rotation; and at least one resilient body (88) configured to resiliently urge together, along the central- rotation axis of the flywheel-support body, individual bearings of the at least one plurality of bearings; wherein the individual bearings of the at least one plurality of bearings are axially adjacent (see Fig. 5) to one another along the central- rotation axis of the flywheel-support body; wherein the at least one resilient body preloads (axial loading of springs considered to preload the bearings) at least one of the individual bearings of the at least one plurality of bearings; wherein the at least one resilient body preloads each (as the axial force of the springs is transferred to from 81b to 82b through spacers 85b and 86b, it is considered to preload each bearing) of the individual bearings of the at least one plurality of bearings; wherein each of the individual bearings of the at least one plurality of bearings is a mechanical bearing (ball bearings considered mechanical bearings) comprising an outer race (see Fig. 5, race radially outward of bearing balls) and an inner race (see Fig. 5, race radially inward of bearing balls) operable to rotate relative to the outer race and relative to the flywheel-support body; wherein the at least one resilient body is configured to resiliently urge (see Fig 5, via 725) the outer race of at least one of the individual bearings of the at least one plurality of bearings towards another one of the individual bearings of the at least one plurality of bearings; further comprising at least one spacer (85b) between inner races of adjacent ones of the at least one plurality of bearings, the at least one spacer maintaining axial separation, along the central-rotation axis of the flywheel-support body, between the inner races of the adjacent ones of the at least one plurality of bearings; wherein the at least one resilient body is axially adjacent (see Fig. 5) to the at least one plurality of bearings along the central-rotation axis of the flywheel-support body; wherein the at least one resilient body comprises at least one spring (88); wherein the at least one plurality of bearings comprises a pair of bearings (see Fig. 5).
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) 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Salutari (USPN 11,428,530 B2) in view of Gruber (USPN 4,658,659).
Salutari discloses the claimed invention, including wherein each of the individual bearings of the at least one plurality of bearings is a mechanical bearing (angular contact bearings) comprising an inner race (68/70) and an outer race (58/60); wherein the at least one resilient body is configured to resiliently urge the inner race (see Fig. 5, inner race of 81a would be resiliently urged toward 82a) of at least one of the individual bearings of the at least one plurality of bearings towards another one of the individual bearings of the at least one plurality of bearings and further comprising at least one spacer (86a) between outer races of adjacent ones of the at least one plurality of bearings, the at least one spacer maintaining axial separation, along the central-rotation axis of the flywheel- support body, between the outer races of the adjacent ones of the at least one plurality of bearings.
Salutari does not disclose the outer race is operable to rotate relative to the inner race and relative to the flywheel-support body.
Gruber discloses a flywheel apparatus (10) having bearings (14) that have outer races (see Fig. 2, races contacting element 15) that rotate relative to inner races (see Fig. 2, races that contact element 13) and relative to a flywheel support body (11).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to have modified the flywheel apparatus of Salutari to have the outer races of the bearings rotate relative to the inner races and the flywheel support body, rather than the other way around, as the selection of a known bearing configuration suitable for a given intended use only requires routine skill in the art.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Salutari (USPN 11,428,530 B2) in view of Habibvand et al. (US 2013/0199314 A1).
Salutari discloses the claimed invention, including wherein the at least one resilient body comprises a first resilient body (one of 88) and a second resilient body (another of 88), the first resilient body axially adjacent to the at least one plurality of bearings along the central- rotation axis of the flywheel-support body at a first axial end of the at least one plurality of bearings,
Salutari does not disclose that the second resilient body axially adjacent to the at least one plurality of bearings along the central-rotation axis of the flywheel-support body at a second axial end of the at least one plurality of bearings.
Habibvand discloses a first spring (one of 199, see Fig. 1D) and a second spring (the other of 199, see Fig. 1D) located and opposite axial ends (see Fig. 1D) of a plurality of bearings (200/210).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to have modified the flywheel apparatus of Salutari to have the second resilient body be located at the opposite axial end of the first resilient body, in order to provide axial floating of the bearings due to thermal expansion requirements (Habibvand - Last 5 lines of Paragraph [0023]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8 and 13 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.
Claim 111 is allowed.
Claims 112, 115 and 116 would be allowable should they be amended to depend from claim 111.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAKE COOK whose telephone number is (571)272-5968. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-4:00 PM.
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, 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.
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.
JAKE COOK
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3618
/Jake Cook/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
