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 1 has been amended.
Claims 7 and 8 have been canceled.
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.
Claims 1-6, 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karrenberg [DE 102017008376] in view of Yamamoto [CN 107264714].
Regarding claim 1: Karrenberg shows a gearshift device (see fig 1) for a mobility device, comprising a selection shaft (15) in which there are arranged a shuttle (24), a worm screw (23) and a guide tube (25) in which the worm screw (23) is positioned.
Karrenberg does not explicitly show wherein a first end of the guide tube is in the form of a ring ending in a slot-shaped cutout, wherein the slot- shaped cutout collaborates with those of at least one anti-rotation washer fixed to the selection shaft. However Yamamoto shows wherein a first end of the guide tube (84) is in the form of a ring (736) ending in a slot-shaped cutout (837), wherein the slot- shaped cutout (837) collaborates with those of at least one anti-rotation washer (712) fixed to the selection shaft (see fig 2).
It would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filling date to have made the guide tube having a first end and second end in form of engaging ring with the slots to securely engage and connect the input to the output and prevent any slippage during shifting. Also it would have been obvious to have the anti-rotation ring to control rotation and restrict unwanted rotation.
Regarding claim 2: Karrenberg shows wherein one of a plurality of ends (the two ends of the guide tube 25) of the guide tube (25) is inserted in a rotation-blocking element (22) so that the shuttle (24) can be prevented from rotating.
Regarding claim 3: Karrenberg shows wherein the guide tube (25) is formed by two blades (30a, 30a) arranged longitudinally with respect to the worm screw (23) and one on each side thereof.
Regarding claim 4: Karrenberg shows wherein the two blades (30a, 30a) are arranged about the worm screw (23) at between 45 degrees and 180 degrees along a length thereof (see fig 4).
Regarding claim 5: Karrenberg shows wherein the length of the guide tube (25) is determined such that the worm screw (23) is fully inserted therein (see fig 2).
Regarding claim 6: Karrenberg shows wherein the length of the guide tube (25) is identical to that of the worm screw (23, see fig 2).
Regarding claim 9: Karrenberg shows wherein a second end of the guide tube is formed by a second ring (15) inserted into an opening (see fig 4) formed in a rotation-blocking element (30).
Regarding claim 10: Karrenberg shows an electrically assisted mobility machine, having the gearshift device (see abstract) as claimed in claim 1
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 04/30/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant argument that Yamamoto does not disclose the anti-rotation and a person with ordinary skill in the art would not be motivated to combine the teachings of Karrenberg and Yamamoto.
Yamamoto shows a first end of the guide tube (84) is in the form of a ring (736) ending in a slot-shaped cutout (837), wherein the slot- shaped cutout (837) collaborates with those of at least one anti-rotation washer (712) fixed to the selection shaft (see fig 2).
It would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filling date to have made the guide tube having a first end and second end in form of engaging ring with the slots to securely engage and connect the input to the output and prevent any slippage during shifting. Also it would have been obvious to have the anti-rotation ring to control rotation and restrict unwanted rotation.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZAKARIA ELAHMADI whose telephone number is (571)270-5324. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 10-6 EST.
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/ZAKARIA ELAHMADI/
Examiner, Art Unit 3618
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