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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 5 should be changed to “A connection device electrically connecting [[a]]the rotary shaft and [[a]]the conductor, the connection device comprising: [[a]]the shaft conductive part” since the rotary shaft, conductor and shaft conductive part are previously recited in claim 1.
Appropriate 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 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 1 and 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP0718024 (‘024, using machine translation) in view of JP4831505 (‘505, using machine translation).
Re claim 1, ‘024 discloses a brush unit attached to a conductor 8 and abutting on a shaft conductive part 5 provided on a rotary shaft 3 to electrically connect the conductor 11 and the shaft conductive part 5 (fig 1, [0009-0012]), the brush unit comprising:
a holder 11 of a concave shape attached to the conductor 8 (fig 1, [0009-0010]), having conductivity ([0012]), and having an opening part 13 provided on a side of the shaft conductive part 5 (fig 1);
a brush 14 accommodated in the holder 11 (fig 1, [0010]), abutting on the shaft conductive part 5 via the opening part 13 (fig 1), and having conductivity ([0010]); and
a biasing part 15 having conductivity, arranged between a bottom 16 in the holder 11 and the brush 14 (fig 1, [0010] & [0012]), and biasing the brush 14 toward a side of the opening part 13 (fig 1), wherein
the brush includes:
a first brush part having an abutting surface abutting on the shaft conductive part 5 (fig 1, front part of 14); and
a second brush part having one end portion connected to the first brush part and the other end portion biased by the biasing part 15 (fig 1, back part of 14).
‘024 discloses claim 1 except for:
the second brush part having an outer shape larger than an outer shape of the first brush part in a direction orthogonal to a biasing direction of the biasing part,
the holder includes a projecting part projecting inward from the opening part, and
the projecting part being opposed to a surface of the second brush part to which the first brush part is connected in the biasing direction of the biasing part.
‘505 discloses the second brush part 1a having an outer shape larger than an outer shape of the first brush part (figs 2-3, portion of 1 extending out of 3) in a direction orthogonal to a biasing direction of the biasing part 8 (figs 2-3),
the holder 2 includes a projecting part 2a projecting inward from the opening part (figs 2-3), and
the projecting part 2a being opposed to a surface of the second brush part 1a to which the first brush part is connected in the biasing direction of the biasing part 8 (figs 2-3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the brush and holder of ‘024 so the second brush part having an outer shape larger than an outer shape of the first brush part in a direction orthogonal to a biasing direction of the biasing part; the holder includes a projecting part projecting inward from the opening part, and the projecting part being opposed to a surface of the second brush part to which the first brush part is connected in the biasing direction of the biasing part, as disclosed by ‘505, in order to prevent the brush from wearing down beyond the brush wear limit, as taught by ‘505 (pg 2, lns 6-8)
Re claim 4, ‘024 in view of ‘505 discloses claim 1 as discussed above and further discloses an electrode 5 arranged at a bottom of the holder 2 of a concave shape (‘505, figs 2-3, [0001] & [0002], lns 4-10); and
a wiring 6 electrically connecting the electrode 5 and the brush 1 (‘505, figs 2-3, [0002], ln 4-10), wherein the biasing part 8 is arranged between the electrode 6 and the brush 1 (‘505, figs 2-3).
Re claim 5, ‘024 in view of ‘505 discloses claim 1 as discussed above and further discloses a connection device electrically connecting a rotary shaft 3 and a conductor 8 (‘024, fig 1, [0009-0012]), the connection device comprising:
a shaft conductive part 5 having a recess (‘024, fig 1, recess formed by 5a), attached to an end portion of the rotary shaft 3 such that an opening part of the recess faces outward (‘024, fig 1), and having conductivity (‘024, [0009-0012]); and
the brush unit according to claim 1 (‘024, fig 1; ‘505, figs 2-3), the brush unit having one end portion inserted into the recess of the shaft conductive part 5 to abut on a bottom of the recess (‘024, fig 1), and the other end portion attached to the conductor 8 to electrically connect the shaft conductive part 5 and the conductor 8 (‘024, fig 1, [0009-0012]).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘024 in view of ‘505 and in further view of Takahashi et al. (JP09149583, “Takahashi”, using machine translation).
Re claim 2, ‘024 in view of ‘505 discloses claim 1 as discussed above. ‘024 further discloses the biasing part 15 is a spring of a coil shape (‘024, fig 1, [0010]).
‘024 is silent with respect to at the bottom of the holder, a protrusion to which an end portion of the spring is fitted on an outer side is provided.
Takahashi discloses the terminal body 3 has a protrusion 5 to which an end portion of the spring 4 is fitted on an outer side is provided (fig 1, [0007]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure at the bottom of the holder of ‘024 in view of ‘505 a protrusion to which an end portion of the spring is fitted on an outer side is provided, as disclosed by Takahashi for a terminal body, in order to restring the spring, as taught by Takahashi ([0008]).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘024 in view of ‘505 and in further view of Nakamura (JP2021118555, “Nakamura”, using machine translation).
Re claim 3, ‘024 in view of ‘505 discloses claim 1 as discussed above and further discloses the biasing part is a spring of a coil shape (‘024, fig 1, [0010]; ‘505, figs 2-3, [0002]), an outer diameter of the spring, in the direction orthogonal to the biasing direction of the biasing part, is smaller than an outer shape of the second brush part (‘505, figs 2-3).
‘024 in view of ‘505 is silent with respect to the holder has a spring surrounding part surrounding an outer peripheral part of the spring, and an inner dimension of the spring surrounding part, in the direction orthogonal to the biasing direction of the biasing part, is smaller than an inner dimension of a part surrounding the second brush part in the holder.
Nakamura discloses the holder 240 has a spring surrounding part 46 surrounding an outer peripheral part of the spring (figs 10-11, [0073]), and an inner dimension of the spring surrounding part 45, in the direction orthogonal to the biasing direction of the biasing part 45, is smaller than an inner dimension of a part surrounding the second brush part 231 in the holder 240 (figs 10-11, [0073]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the holder of ‘024 in view of ‘505 to have a spring surrounding part surrounding an outer peripheral part of the spring, and an inner dimension of the spring surrounding part, in the direction orthogonal to the biasing direction of the biasing part, is smaller than an inner dimension of a part surrounding the second brush part in the holder, as disclosed by Nakamura, in order to reduce the size the holder occupies, as taught by Nakamura ([0075]).
Conclusion
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/ERIC JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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