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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because the phrase “motor device comprising” is redundantly recited twice in lines 1 and 4, respectively.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-6 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 1 recites “the conductive member is disposed only between the fixing parts…”, which is contrary to the disclosure and thus unclear. Note that applicant’s conductive member (70) is located between any number of elements other than the fixing parts (e.g., see surfaces on either side of the longest part of 70 as seen in fig.12). See MPEP 2173.03 which states that a claim may be “indefinite when a conflict or inconsistency between the claimed subject matter and the specification disclosure renders the scope of the claim uncertain as inconsistency with the specification disclosure or prior art teachings may make an otherwise definite claim take on an unreasonable degree of uncertainty.”
Claim 3 recites “the gear case made of resin”, which lacks proper antecedent. See MPEP 2173.05(e) which states "A claim which refers to "said aluminum lever," but recites only "a lever" earlier in the claim, is indefinite because it is uncertain as to the lever to which reference is made… even though indefiniteness in claim language is of semantic origin, it is not rendered unobjectionable simply because it could have been corrected.”
The remaining claims depend from the above and are thus similarly unclear/rejected.
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or (a)(2) as being anticipated by Sakai US20040012296.
Claim 1. A motor device comprising: a rotating shaft (18); and a gear (30) rotated by the rotating shaft, the motor device comprising: a motor case (14) accommodating the rotating shaft; a gear case (24) accommodating the gear; and a conductive member (80, 51, 54, 55 and/or 27) that is clamped between the motor case and the gear case and through which electrical noise generated due to rotation of the rotating shaft flows (see para.0102; see MPEP 2112.01 and 2114 regarding inherency of functions/properties in product claims and applicant’s burden to obtain/test prior art to prove otherwise), wherein at least three fixing parts (any three pairs of abutting parts of 14 and 24) disposed around the rotating shaft and each composed of a pair of abutting surfaces (abutting surfaces of the aforementioned any abutting parts of 14 and 24) abutted against each other are provided between the motor case and the gear case, and the conductive member is disposed only between the fixing parts (as best as the claim is understood noting the 35 USC 112 clarity rejection elsewhere above) that form a shortest line segment (line segment defined by fixing parts of 14 and 24 on either side of conductive member [80, 51 and/or 27]) among line segments (aforementioned shortest line segment and two longer additional segments not on either side of conductive member) connecting the fixing parts adjacent to each other in a circumferential direction of the rotating shaft.
Claim 2. The motor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conductive member comprises: a body part (54/55) extending in an axial direction of the rotating shaft and disposed inside the gear case; and a clamped part (parts of 80 and/or 27 clamped in fig.8A, 8B) extending in a direction intersecting with the axial direction of the rotating shaft and clamped by the motor case and the gear case.
Claim 3. The motor device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the body part is electrically connected to a gear cover (27) made of metal (hatching of element 27 in fig. 8A and 8B designates metal in accordance with MPEP 608.02(I)(IX); also see para.0056 description of “conductive plate 27… electrically connected”) that closes an opening (14f) provided at the gear case made of resin (gear case 24 is resin, see para.0056 and 0059; as best as the claim is understood noting 35 USC 112 clarity rejection).
Claim 4. The motor device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the gear case has a protrusion (any protrusion part of 80 and/or 27 clamped/crushed by the clamping part in fig.8A, 8B). The limitation “that is crushed by the clamped part” has been given only limited patentable weight noting MPEP § 2113 which states that the specific method of forming is not germane to the issue of patentability of the device itself and that it is well established by case law that it is the patentability of the product that is to be determined even though such claims are limited and defined by process steps. See also In re Thorpe et al, 227 USPQ 964 (CAFC 1985).
Claim 5. The motor device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the conductive member comprises a claw part (any part of 80, 51, 54, 55 and/or 27 bent to contact/hook the gear case 24) that is hooked to the gear case.
Claim 6. The motor device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the clamped part is inclined (bending/inclining parts of 80 and/or 27 clamped in fig.8A, 8B) at bending portions as seen in figs.8A and 8B) with respect to both the axial direction of the rotating shaft and a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the rotating shaft.
Conclusion
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.
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/VICTOR L MACARTHUR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
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