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 Interpretation
Applicant’s recitation of “a line passing through a center of a cross section obtained by cutting the first bearing in the axial direction and parallel to a central axis of the shaft is a first center line” is interpreted as meaning that the line extends through the center of a given ball bearing that forms part of the overall structure of first bearing 46. Similarly, the lines associated with the second and third bearings are interpreted similarly.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Applicant’s recitation of “a line passing through a center of a cross section obtained by cutting the first bearing in the axial direction and parallel to a central axis of the shaft is a first center line” is unclear because it is inconsistent with applicant’s disclosure. Applicant’s detailed disclosure refers to a first bearing 46, which is an annular structure that surrounds and is centered on the screw shaft 41. Each bearing of applicant’s disclosure is a ball bearing which, typically, includes an inner race, a coaxial outer race, and bearing balls arranged in a circle between the inner and outer races. The overall bearing structure is coaxial with the central axis of shafts 24 and 41, as seen in applicant’s Figure 2. It is the individual balls that have a center O1 that is offset from the centerline O. Applicant’s claims refer to the first bearing, but not to bearing balls at all. Therefore, applicant’s recitation of the first bearing having a center of cross section that is offset from the centerline is inconsistent with applicant’s disclosure in that the disclosure refers to the first bearing 46 as the entire bearing structure. The same applies to applicant’s reference to second and third bearings which define second and third center lines. Correction is required.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5, and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ko (PGPub 2023/0052990) in view of Takeuchi (PGPub 2021/0107615, cited by applicant).
Regarding claim 1, Ko teaches a steering system (power steering apparatus; Figure 1 and 10) comprising: a shaft 201 configured to rotate in conjunction with steering of a steering wheel of a vehicle;
a ball screw mechanism 210 configured to convert rotation of the shaft into rotation of an output shaft 204 configured to operate in conjunction with a steered wheel; and
a speed reducer 130 configured to apply torque to the shaft, wherein the ball screw mechanism includes: a first housing (lower portion of housing, seen in Figure 10, containing the screw shaft 210, nit 220 and sector shaft 203); a ball screw shaft 210 housed inside the first housing, the ball screw shaft including a first end (upper end, as seen in Figure 10) and a second end (lower end), and being connected to the shaft 204 to be rotatable together by intermeshing coupling between the first end and the shaft; a first bearing 208 that supports the first end of the ball screw shaft so that the ball screw shaft is rotatable relative to the first housing; and a second bearing 209 that supports the second end of the ball screw shaft so that the ball screw shaft is rotatable relative to the first housing, the speed reducer includes a second housing (upper housing portion, seen in Figure 10, containing motor 120 and reducer 130); that is connected to the first housing in an axial direction and into which the shaft is inserted in the axial direction, and a third bearing (unnumbered, shown at end of lead line to numeral 204 in Figure 10) that supports the shaft 204 so that the shaft is rotatable relative to the second housing, a line passing through a center of a cross section obtained by cutting the first bearing 208 in the axial direction and parallel to a central axis of the shaft is a first center line (a line through the illustrated rollers of bearing 208), a line passing through a center of a cross section obtained by cutting the second bearing in the axial direction and parallel to the central axis of the shaft is a second center line (a line through the rollers of bearing 209), a line passing through a center of a cross section obtained by cutting the third bearing in the axial direction and parallel to the central axis of the shaft is a third center line (a line through the bearing balls of the bearing mounted between output shaft 204 and the housing).
Ko does not teach that an outside diameter of the shaft is set so that the third center line is positioned on an outer side of the first center line or the second center line in a radial direction about the central axis of the shaft.
Takeuchi teaches a steering system having a shaft 51, a ball screw mechanism 41, 42, that converts rotation of the shaft to rotation of an output shaft 44, a speed reducer (worm 53 and worm wheel 52), a ball screw shaft 41, a first bearing 47 at one end of the ball screw shaft 41, second bearing 46 at a second end of the ball screw shaft, and a third bearing 54 or 55 that supports the shaft 51. The third bearing 54 or 55 is mounted to a portion of shaft 51 that is wider than the screw shaft 41 such that the centers of bearing balls of the third bearing are spaced farther outward radially than the first and second bearing ball centers (seen in Figure 4 of Takeuchi, the third bearing 54 has a larger overall diameter than the first 47 and second 46 bearings, and the centers of the bearing balls of bearing 54 illustrated clearly have centers that are space farther from the shaft centerline than the centers of the centers of balls of bearings 47 and 46, which corresponds to the claimed structure).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the shaft and bearing of Ko such that the outside diameter of the shaft is set so that the third center line is positioned on an outer side of the first center line or the second center line in a radial direction about the central axis of the shaft, in view of Takeuchi, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to reinforce the output shaft that is subject to significant load, thereby avoiding failure of the shaft.
Regarding claim 2, the speed reducer 130 of Ko includes, as shown inside the second housing, a worm wheel (labeled 207, at the top end of the housing, in Figure 10; reference numeral 207 is mistakenly used to indicate both the worm wheel and the ball bearings in Figure 10; Takeuchi also explicitly teaches a speed reducer 32 having a worm 53 connected to motor 33 and a worm wheel 52 fixed to shaft 51; Takeuchi, para [0043]) attached to an outer circumferential surface of the shaft 204, and a worm 205a meshing with the worm wheel, the shaft 204 includes a bearing attachment portion to which the third bearing is attached (seen in Figure 10, the unnumbered third bearing is mounted laterally between the shaft 204 and housing and vertically between the motor 120 and the first bearing 208), and a worm wheel attachment portion that is adjacent to the bearing attachment portion in the axial direction and to which the worm wheel is attached (worm is shown in Figure 10 is attached to the shaft 204 by an attachment portion), and an outside diameter of the bearing attachment portion is set so that the third center line is positioned on the outer side of the first center line or the second center line in the radial direction about the central axis of the shaft (the combination teaches this feature, as discussed above).
Regarding claim 5, Ko shows, in Figure 10, that the first housing and the second housing are fitted together in the axial direction to have an overlapping portion in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction (an upper housing, unnumbered, that contains the motor 120/120a/120b and reduction gearing 205a, 207, abuts the upper face of a lower housing 135; the upper housing also includes a lower projection that extends into the upper end of the lower housing, which together form an overlapping portion).
Regarding claim 6, Ko teaches a torque sensor 107 on steering shaft 103 (para [0028]) configured to detect steering torque applied to the steering wheel 101, wherein the torque sensor includes an input shaft 201 to which the steering torque is transmitted, an output shaft 204 provided to be rotatable relative to the input shaft, and a torsion bar 202 connecting the input shaft and the output shaft (para [0060]), and the shaft 204 is the output shaft 204 (Figure 10).
Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 115556817 to Zhang in view of Takeuchi (PGPub 2021/0107615).
Regarding claim 1, Zhang teaches a steering system (power steering apparatus 2; Figure 1) comprising: a shaft 27 configured to rotate in conjunction with steering of a steering wheel of a vehicle;
a ball screw mechanism 242-244 configured to convert rotation of the shaft into rotation of an output shaft 27 configured to operate in conjunction with a steered wheel; and
a speed reducer at 23-28 configured to apply torque to the shaft, wherein the ball screw mechanism includes: a first housing (redirection shell 24); a ball screw shaft 243 housed inside the first housing, the ball screw shaft including a first end (upper end, as seen in Figure 1) and a second end (lower end), and being connected to the shaft 27 to be rotatable together by intermeshing coupling between the first end and the shaft; a first bearing 245 that supports the first end of the ball screw shaft so that the ball screw shaft is rotatable relative to the first housing; and a second bearing 2246 that supports the second end of the ball screw shaft so that the ball screw shaft is rotatable relative to the first housing, the speed reducer includes a second housing (speed reducer shell 23) that is connected to the first housing in an axial direction and into which the shaft 27 is inserted in the axial direction, and a third bearing 25 that supports the shaft 27 so that the shaft is rotatable relative to the second housing, a line passing through a center of a cross section obtained by cutting the first bearing 245 in the axial direction and parallel to a central axis of the shaft is a first center line (a line through the illustrated rollers of bearing 245), a line passing through a center of a cross section obtained by cutting the second bearing in the axial direction and parallel to the central axis of the shaft is a second center line (a line through the rollers of bearing 246), a line passing through a center of a cross section obtained by cutting the third bearing in the axial direction and parallel to the central axis of the shaft is a third center line (a line through the bearing balls of the third bearing 25).
Zhang does not teach that an outside diameter of the shaft that is set so that the third center line is positioned on an outer side of the first center line or the second center line in a radial direction about the central axis of the shaft.
Takeuchi teaches a steering system having a shaft 51, a ball screw mechanism 41, 42, that converts rotation of the shaft to rotation of an output shaft 44, a speed reducer (worm 53 and worm wheel 52), a ball screw shaft 41, a first bearing 47 at one end of the ball screw shaft 41, second bearing 46 at a second end of the ball screw shaft, and a third bearing 54 or 55 that supports the shaft 51. The third bearing 54 or 55 is mounted to a portion of shaft 51 that is wider than the screw shaft 41 such that the centers of bearing balls of the third bearing are spaced farther outward radially than the first and second bearing ball centers (seen in Figure 4 of Takeuchi, the third bearing 54 has a larger overall diameter than the first 47 and second 46 bearings, and the centers of the bearing balls of bearing 54 illustrated clearly have centers that are space farther from the shaft centerline than the centers of the centers of balls of bearings 47 and 46).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to one of ordinary skill in the art to configure the shaft and bearing of Zhang such that the outside diameter of the shaft is set so that the third center line is positioned on an outer side of the first center line or the second center line in a radial direction about the central axis of the shaft, in view of Takeuchi, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to reinforce the output shaft that is subject to significant load, thereby avoiding failure of the shaft.
Regarding claim 2, the speed reducer at 23 of Zhang includes, as shown inside the second housing 23, a worm wheel 28 attached to an outer circumferential surface of the shaft 27, and a worm 26 meshing with the worm wheel 28, the shaft 27 includes a bearing attachment portion to which the third bearing is attached (third bearing 25 is shown in Figure 1 attached to the shaft 27 and the housing 23), and a worm wheel attachment portion that is adjacent to the bearing attachment portion in the axial direction and to which the worm wheel is attached (worm is shown in Figure 1 attached to the shaft 27), and an outside diameter of the bearing attachment portion is set so that the third center line is positioned on the outer side of the first center line or the second center line in the radial direction about the central axis of the shaft (the combination teaches this feature, as discussed above).
Regarding claim 3, Zhang shows the bearing attachment portion (for bearing 25) is positioned opposite to the ball screw shaft 243 across the worm wheel attachment portion (the worm wheel 28 is vertically between the attachment of third bear 25 and the ball screw shaft 243, as seen in Figure 1), the ball screw shaft has a connection hole extending in the axial direction at the first end, and an end of the shaft positioned opposite to the bearing attachment portion across the worm wheel attachment portion is indirectly supported by the first bearing via a peripheral wall of the connection hole while being fitted to the connection hole in the axial direction (Figure 1 of Zhang shows the lower end of shaft 27 inserted into and spline connected in a hole in the upper end of ball screw shaft 243 at the first bearing 245).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang and Takeuchi as applied to claims 1-3 above, and further in view of Kuroumaru (USPN 8,727,065).
The combination of Zhang shows a recess in the worm wheel that is open downwardly (see Figure 1 od Zhang, the worm wheel 28 has a recess on its lower surface), and a portion 241 of the first housing 24 extends upwardly toward the recess in the axial direction, however, the portion 241 is not is inserted into the recess.
Kuroumaru shows a power steering system with a worm wheel 21 mounted to an output shaft, the worm wheel having a recess in its lower surface that opens downwardly, as seen in Figure 1. A lower housing 25 has a portion on its upper surface that extends upwardly (above bearing 28) toward the recess in the axial direction and is inserted into the recess (Figure 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to insert an upper projecting portion of the first housing into the recess in the worm wheel of combination, in view of Kuroumaru, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to reduce the linear dimension of the steering assembly, thereby making the steering system more compact, saving space and reducing weight.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The cited prior art teach additional power steering systems having speed reducers and ball screws mounted at the steering column.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Anne Marie M. Boehler whose telephone number is (571)272-6641. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Valentin Neacsu can be reached at 571-272-6265. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANNE MARIE M BOEHLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3611
/ab/
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