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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a), which states "The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims".
Therefore, the following must be shown with reference characters described in the written description, or the features canceled from the claims:
“output stage” (claim 8),
“further wheel” (claim 8),
“input drive” (claim 8)
“electric motor” (claim 9)
Since the above noted features appear to be critical to invention novelty, a detailed illustration is essential for a proper understanding of the invention. Accordingly, a mere graphical symbol or labeled representation is not acceptable.1
No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 8 recites “an input gear stage” thereby constituting a double inclusion with the same phraseology set forth in claim 1 from which claim 8 depends and rendering it unclear as to how many stages are to limit the claim. See MPEP 2173.05(o) which states "where a claim directed to a device can be read to include the same element twice, the claim may be indefinite."
Claims 8 and 9 recite numerous elements not shown in the figures with reference characters described in the written description (see drawing objections elsewhere above) such that the full meets and bounds of these claims is unclear.
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.
Claims 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or (a)(2) as being anticipated by Jackson US3732855.
Claim 1. An eccentrically driven input gear stage for an epicyclic gear box, the input gear stage comprising: a gear wheel (16), an input pinion (15) eccentrically positioned in relation to the gear wheel and configured to transfer a driving force to the gear wheel; and two intermediate pinions (42, 43) arranged between the input pinion and the gear wheel for transferring the movement of the input pinion to the gear wheel, wherein the intermediate pinions have different dimensional sizes and/or a different number of teeth (43 is smaller than 42 as seen in figs.1 and 4; also “gear 43 has a lesser number of teeth than gear 42” as stated in col.4, ll.60-65).
Claim 4. The input gear stage according to claim 1, wherein the input pinion, the two intermediate pinions and the gear wheel each have outer gear teeth (outer gear teeth of 15, 42, 43 and 16), wherein the gear teeth of each intermediate pinion (outer gear teeth of 42 and 43) meshes with the gear teeth of the input pinion (outer gear teeth of 15) and the gear teeth of the gear wheel (outer teeth of 16).
Claim 5. Input gear stage according to claim 4, wherein the gear teeth of the input pinion, the intermediate pinions and the gear wheel are each straight (see straight tooth shape in figures; and recitations of “spur” throughout col.3, ll.20-55).
Claim 7. The input gear stage according to claim 1, wherein the gear wheel (16) is couplable (via teeth of 16 or holes/fasteners in 16) to a further wheel (e.g., any of 23, 30, 23’ or any other element capable of coupling to teeth of 16 or fasteners/holes of 16) of the epicyclic gear box and wherein the input pinion (15) is couplable to an input drive (e.g., 10 and/or 11 or any other input drive capable of coupling to 15). The prior art structures (bolded above) anticipate the claimed structures thereby establishing a prima facie case of inherency for the claimed functions/properties (italicized above) and shifting burden to applicant to obtain/test the prior art to prove otherwise in accordance with MPEP 2112.01 and 2114.
Claim 8 (as best understood, see 35 USC 112 rejections). An epicyclic gear box comprising an input gear stage according to claim 1; and an output stage (any of 23, 30, 23’, 50), wherein the gear wheel of the input gear stage is coupled to a further wheel (e.g., any of 23, 30 and/or 23’) of the output stage and the input pinion of the input gear stage is coupled to an input drive (11 and/or 10).
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 of this title, 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 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jackson US3732855 and JP H0545312 U.
Jackson discloses that each of the input pinion, intermediate pinions and gear wheel have straight spur gear teeth. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teeth to each helical teeth since JP312’ teaches that helical teeth were well known to be desirable “in order to make meshing of the gears smooth and to suppress noise as much as possible” (see English translation of JP312’ attached to this Office action).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jackson US3732855.
Jackson discloses that the input drive is an “engine 10” that requires “starting” but is silent as to how the disclosed starting of the engine is to be done. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Jackson engine to include an electric starter motor, the examiner taking Official notice that it was extremely well known in the art for an engine to include an electric starter motor for the purpose/benefit of allowing the engine to be easily started (i.e., more easily than without).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on the attached PTO-892 and not relied upon above is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure due general structural similarity thereto. For instance Warner US1743173 shows that gear 15 is capable of engaging a further gear wheel 17 via tooth contact; Jackson US4067305 shows gear 35 capable of engaging a further gear wheel 56; and Jackson US3732745 shows (fig.5) differently sized pinions (23, 25).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VICTOR L MACARTHUR whose telephone number is (571)272-7085.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center for authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to Patent Center, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/VICTOR L MACARTHUR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
1 See 37 CFR 1.83 which states: "(a) The drawing in a nonprovisional application must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. However, conventional features disclosed in the description and claims, where their detailed illustration is not essential for a proper understanding of the invention, should be illustrated in the drawing in the form of a graphical drawing symbol or a labeled representation (e.g., a labeled rectangular box). In addition, tables that are included in the specification and sequences that are included in sequence listings should not be duplicated in the drawings. (b) When the invention consists of an improvement on an old machine the drawing must when possible exhibit, in one or more views, the improved portion itself, disconnected from the old structure, and also in another view, so much only of the old structure as will suffice to show the connection of the invention therewith. (c) Where the drawings in a nonprovisional application do not comply with the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, the examiner shall require such additional illustration within a time period of not less than two months from the date of the sending of a notice thereof."
