DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
Claim 1 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hidekazu JP H0599283.
Hidekazu discloses:
Claim 1- a housing (1) having an inner chamber; a deflection shaft (2) having a first end and a second end; an annular oscillating wheel (3, 4) disposed inside the inner chamber; a mounting member (6) connected to the deflection shaft (2); a roller (7) each having a first end and a second end; wherein, the housing (1) has a of tooth groove (8), each tooth groove (8) extending along a lengthwise direction of the deflection shaft (2), the first end of the deflection shaft (2) is connected to the housing (1) and a part of the deflection shaft (2) is arranged inside the inner chamber (see fig. 3), the deflection shaft (2) is rotatable around a rotation axis of the deflection shaft (2) itself (the device is capable of this function); the oscillating wheel (3, 4) is sleeved around the deflection shaft (2), being capable of oscillating only along the lengthwise direction of the deflection shaft (the device is capable of this function); one of the mounting member (4) and the housing (1) is defined as a fixed member, and the other one of the mounting member (6) and the housing (1) is defined as an output member, the oscillating wheel (4) is driven by a power input (4 is an input gear, power is inherent and implicit), the output member is capable of rotating about the rotation axis of the deflection shaft (2) under an oscillatory driving of the oscillating wheel (the device is capable of this function); the first end of each roller (31) is rotatably connected to a periphery of the oscillating wheel (see fig. 3), and the second end of each roller (7) is located within the corresponding tooth groove (8) of the housing (1), each roller (7) touches an inner wall of the corresponding tooth groove (8) during oscillation of the oscillating wheel (the device is capable of this function).
Regarding claims 1 and 12, Hidekazu discloses the claimed invention except for a plurality of (three) rollers and grooves disposed at regular intervals. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide a plurality of rollers and grooves at regular intervals, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Claims 2, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hidekazu JP H0599283 in view of Schoedelin CH 38376.
Regarding claims 2, Hidekazu discloses all of the claimed subject matter as described above. Hidekazu does not disclose a mounting member is defined as the output member, and the mounting member has an inner hole for receiving the second end of the deflection shaft.
Schoedelin teaches a mounting member (C) is defined as the output member, and the mounting member has an inner hole for receiving the second end of the deflection shaft (see figure 6) for the purpose of improving radial support of input and output shafts.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hidekazu and provide a mounting member is defined as the output member, and the mounting member has an inner hole for receiving the second end of the deflection shaft, as taught by Schoedelin, for the purpose of improving radial support of input and output shafts.
Regarding claim 11 Hidekazu discloses a rotating shaft used for producing a precession motion. Hidekazu does not disclose a first shaft segment, a second shaft segment and a third shaft segment which are arranged sequentially along the lengthwise direction of the deflection shaft, the first shaft segment is coaxially aligned with the third shaft segment, and an axis of the first shaft segment is the rotation axis of the deflection shaft; the output member is connected to the third shaft segment, an acute included angle is formed between an axis of the second shaft segment and the axis of the first shaft segment, the oscillating wheel is sleeved around an outer peripheral wall of the second shaft segment, a center axis of the oscillating wheel coincides with the axis of second shaft segment.
Schoedelin also teaches utilizing a rotating shaft used for producing a precession motion. Schoedelin includes a first shaft segment (a), a second shaft segment (f) and a third shaft segment (o) which are arranged sequentially along the lengthwise direction of the deflection shaft, the first shaft segment is coaxially aligned with the third shaft segment (see fig. 6), and an axis of the first shaft segment is the rotation axis of the deflection shaft (fig. 6); the output member (C) is connected to the third shaft segment (o), an acute included angle is formed between an axis of the second shaft segment and the axis of the first shaft segment (see angle between f and a), the oscillating wheel is sleeved around an outer peripheral wall of the second shaft segment (g is sleeved on f), a center axis of the oscillating wheel coincides with the axis of second shaft segment (see fig 6) for achieving a precession motion. Because both Hidekazu and Schoedelin teach utilizing rotating shafts used to produce a precession motion, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to substitute a three part shaft for a simple shaft to achieve the predictable result of achieving a precession motion.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art neither discloses nor renders obvious the claimed combinations including:
wherein each tooth groove widens from a middle position to two ends of each tooth groove along a lengthwise direction of each tooth groove
wherein the oscillating wheel is a middle region of a sphere passing through a center of the sphere, the oscillating wheel has a vertical axis passing through the center of the sphere, a rotation axis of each roller passes through the center of the sphere and is perpendicular to the vertical axis of the oscillating wheel
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 3,590,659 A and US 20250283530 A1 disclose devices with similar structure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TERENCE BOES whose telephone number is (571)272-4898. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10-6:30.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Minnah Seoh can be reached at (571) 270-7778. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
TERENCE BOES
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3618
/TERENCE BOES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
