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 Objections
Claims 6 and 14-20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 6 and 14-20 each being “The shift actuator according to claim”. Each depends directly or indirectly upon independent claim 1 which begins “A gear shift actuator”. Therefore, in order to be consistent with parent claim 1 and consistent with other dependent claims 2-5 and 7-13, each of claims 6 and 14-20 should be amended to begin “The gear shift actuator”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(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) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ichikawa (US2021/0062834; US equivalent to SMC (EP3744986) cited by Applicant).
Ichikawa discloses:
Re claims 1. A gear shift actuator (pressure fluid cylinder 10) for (intended use, suitable for) linearly moving a shift shaft of a transmission in a shift direction between a neutral and an engaged position, comprising:
an actuator housing (10) configured to be mounted in a predetermined relative positioning to a housing of the transmission;
a linear drive assembly (including 12 & 18) including an actuation cylinder (12) and a piston (18) movably received in the actuation cylinder;
an actuation rod (20) fixed to the piston and arranged to be coupled to the shift shaft;
a pressure fluid conduit arrangement configured to be coupled to a pressure fluid source (necessary for the function of the fluid pressure cylinder 10) and connected to the actuation cylinder (12) for selectively supplying pressure fluid to the actuation cylinder (12) for driving the piston (18) to move in a shift direction between positions corresponding to neutral and engaged positions of the shift shaft;
a position sensor assembly adapted configured to sense a position of the actuation rod (20) in the shift direction, the position sensor (64; 46) assembly including a magnet arrangement (46) connected to the piston (18, 40) or the actuation rod; and
a magnetic field sensor (64) mounted stationary in the actuator housing and which is connected to a controller adapted to analyze a signal of the magnetic field sensor to determine the position of the actuation rod (20),
wherein the magnet arrangement (46) is configured with a circumferential extension around the circumference of the piston or the actuation rod between 45° and 220° (see para. [0082]-[0085]) so that the gear shift actuator is adaptable by rotation of the piston (6) to multiple relative rotational coupling positions of the actuation rod (20) with respect to the shift shaft.
Re claims 2. The gear shift actuator according to claim 1, wherein the circumferential extension of the magnet arrangement is between 90° and 220° (see para. [0082]-[0085]).
Re claims 3 and 7. The gear shift actuator according to claim 1, wherein the magnet arrangement comprises a plurality of magnets (para. [0060]) distributed over the circumferential extension of the magnet arrangement.
Re claims 4 and 8. The gear shift actuator according to claim 1, wherein the magnet arrangement comprises a single elongated (para. [0060]), arcuate (Fig. 10) magnet extending over the circumferential extension of the magnet arrangement.
Re claims 5 and 9-13. The gear shift actuator according to claim 1, wherein the magnet (46) arrangement is located in shift direction such that the magnet arrangement is aligned in shift direction with the magnetic field sensor when the gear shift actuator is in a position corresponding to the neutral position of the shift shaft (the magnet arrangement extends in three directions orthogonal to each other, including extending in a direction along the shift direction when the gear shift actuator is used for linearly moving a shift shaft of a transmission in a shift direction between a neutral and an engaged position) .
Re claims 6 and 14-20. The shift actuator according to claim 1, wherein the magnet (46) arrangement is held in position within a circumferentially extending slot of the piston by an annular guiding element (58; See Fig. 10) fitted around the piston and having a holding portion which partially covers the slot, thereby securing the magnet arrangement within the slot (See Fig. 10).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Wabco (EP2257712), Futamura (US2007/028709), and Schaeffler (DE102014211484), cited on the International Search Report (ISR) submitted by the Applicant on 2/202/2025, are each relevant for the reasons given in the ISR.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY T PRATHER whose telephone number is (571)270-5412. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 9 AM - 5 PM.
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/GREGORY T PRATHER/
Examiner, Art Unit 3618
/MINNAH L SEOH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3618