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 .
Claims 8-18 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on July 24, 2025; July 17, 2025; and July 16, 2025 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 10 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, because the specification, while being enabling for a drive device with planetary gear box and the guide wheel shaft is a hollow shaft received by an input shaft of the torque converter configured as a hollow shaft (Figs. 5 and 6) or that receives the differential gearbox output shaft of the differential gearbox (this is shown in Fig. 4), does not reasonably provide enablement for the guide wheel shaft is configured as a hollow shaft and receives an output shaft of the torque converter propulsively present between the torque converter and the transmission gearbox. The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the invention commensurate in scope with these claims. The reason is the option that is not shown in Figs. 4-6 is shown in Fig. 3 that does not disclose the planetary gear set which is required by claim 1. This language should be deleted from the claim.
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 8-18 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.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the drive side of the to" in line 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
In claim 8, line 8 the term “the drive side of the torque converter” is unclear as it is not defined what the drive side is, since in Figs. 5 and 6 the drive side of the torque converter is this the input side or the output side of the torque converter. Clarification is needed.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the drive side of the differential" in line 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
In claim 8, line 9 the term “the drive side of the differential gearbox” is unclear as it is not defined what the drive side is, since in Figs. 5 and 6 the drive side of the differential gearbox is this the input side or the output side. Clarification is needed.
In claim 8, line 10, the ring gear shaft “arranged in an axial direction with respect to the axis of rotation of the traction motor overlap with the traction machine” it is unclear if this is referring the arrangement in Figs. 5 and 6 or the arrangement in Fig. 4. It should be noted that the arrangement in Fig. 4 does not appear to have an overlap with the traction motor and therefore claims 16-18 would then have to be amended to delete the language that the locking clutch is on a side of the torque converter facing away from the traction motor.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "the drive side of the traction motor" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
In claim 9, line 2 the term “the drive side of the traction motor” is unclear as it is not defined what the drive side is, since in Figs. 4 and 5 the drive side of the traction motor appears to be the output of the traction motor. Clarification is needed.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the guide wheel shaft" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
In claim 11, line 2 the term “the output shaft” it is unclear as to whether this refers to the output shaft of the torque converter or the output shaft of the differential gearbox.
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.
Claims 8, 10, 11 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by German Patent No. DE102019103242 to Mehlis et al. (A machine translation is enclosed with the action and referred to herein).
Regarding claim 8, as best understood by the examiner, the Mehlis patent teaches a drive device for a motor vehicle, having an electric traction machine 1, a torque converter 9, a transmission gearbox 5 and a differential gearbox 6, wherein the traction machine is propulsively connected to the differential gearbox - in the specified order - via the torque converter and the transmission gearbox, wherein the traction machine is propulsively connected to the torque converter via a spur gear or gearless, wherein the transmission gearbox is designed as a planetary gear transmission, Fig. 2, and comprises a sun gear 11, a ring gear 12 and at least one planet gear 16 rotatably mounted on a planet gear carrier 13 and in engagement with the sun gear and the ring gear, wherein the sun gear is arranged on the drive side of the torque converter and the planetary gear carrier is arranged on the drive side of the differential gearbox and the ring gear is fixed, wherein the ring gear is fixed via a ring gear shaft arranged in axial direction with respect to the axis of rotation of the traction machine in overlap with the traction machine. The ring gear shaft as broadly recited in the claims is interpreted as the part of the ring gear that is attached to the housing 17 that is offset from the axial direction of the traction motor, and overlaps it when it is interpreted as radially outside the motor shaft shown in Fig. 2.
Regarding claim 10, as best understood by the examiner, the guide wheel shaft 8d is configured as a hollow shaft and receives an output shaft 10 of the torque converter propulsively present between the torque converter and the transmission gearbox or a differential gearbox output shaft of the differential gearbox. See Fig. 2.
Regarding claim 11, as best understood by the examiner, the traction machine is arranged coaxially to the output shaft. See Fig. 2.
Regarding claim 14, as best understood by the examiner, the ring gear shaft is arranged coaxially to the differential gear output shaft and/or the guide wheel shaft. See Fig. 2.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Publication No. 2017/0158041 to Ohnemus et al. teaches a motor and planetary transmission.
Japanese Patent No. JP4697990 teaches a torque converter and planetary gear set.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN HOLMES whose telephone number is (571)272-3448. The examiner can normally be reached 10AM-6PM EST M-F.
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/JUSTIN HOLMES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655