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 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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li et al. (CN 106763565B; hereinafter “Li”).
Claim 1
Li discloses a unit comprising:
a first planetary gear mechanism (e.g., R1, P1, C1, S1) having a first sun gear (S1), a first carrier (C1), and a first ring gear (R1);
a second planetary gear mechanism (e.g., R2, P2, C2, S2) having a second sun gear (S2), a second carrier (C2), and a second ring gear (R2); and
a shaft (shaft directly connected to S1 and S2) that passes through an inner circumference of the first sun gear (S1) and an inner circumference of the second sun gear (S2), wherein
the first planetary gear mechanism and the second planetary gear mechanism have a common member (C1 and R2 which are integral) configured so that one of the first carrier (C1) and the first ring gear (R2) and one of the second carrier and the second ring gear rotate integrally,
the common member is supported on the shaft via a bearing (see annotated FIG. 2 below) at a position between the first sun gear (S1) and the second sun gear (S2),
the shaft has a protruding part (see annotated FIG. 2 below) sandwiched by the first sun gear (S1) and the second sun gear (S2) in an axial direction, and
the common member is supported on the protruding part via the bearing (see annotated FIG. 2 below).
The phrase “supported on” is interpreted consistent with the specification as meaning the common member is mounted radially outside of, i.e., “on”, the bearing, rather than adjacent to the bearing.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is 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. Claim 4 is allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 3 recites “an engagement element that is connected to at least one of the first planetary gear mechanism and the second planetary gear mechanism, and an operating mechanism for operating configured to operate the engagement element, wherein the operating mechanism has a part that overlaps the bearing in a radial direction” where the bearing is defined as supporting a common member of the two planetary gearsets at a location sandwiched between the two sun gears.
The prior art discloses many brakes located between interconnected planetary gearsets. However, the actuators are not illustrated overlapped with a bearing that supports a common member. The common member almost always takes up the space between the two planetary gearsets in the prior art and must do so if supported on the shaft by a bearing. Placement of the actuator for the clutch brake overlapping the bearing rather than next to it, is not disclosed. Instead, the actuators which are typically radially larger than the clutch are off to a side of the two planetary gearsets rather than centered between them. The closest prior art is US 20040014552A1, which discloses two interconnected planetary gearsets and brakes that overlap the space between the two brakes but does not disclose that the common member is on a bearing and if a bearing were added inside the common member this would not overlap any of the clutch/brake actuators.
Claim 4 is allowable for the same reasons as claim 3.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Janson et al. (US 20130035193; hereinafter “Janson”) discloses two interconnected planetary gearsets with a one-way clutch without an actuator, the clutch overlapping a bearing 70.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STACEY A FLUHART whose telephone number is (571)270-1851. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9AM-7PM.
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/STACEY A FLUHART/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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