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 § 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.
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 22-42 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.
In claim 22, the last line, and in each of claims 29, 37, 38, and 39, a “driving tooth system” is indefinite because it is not clear what makes the tooth system a “driving” tooth system, since the tooth system fixes the planet carrier against motion, which is the prevention of driving.
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(s) 22-24, 37, 38, 40, and 41 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Raju et al., U. S. Patent 9,803,742 in view of Holmes et al., U. S. Patent 10,300,905.
Raju et al. discloses a stacked planetary gear assembly 10 for a drive train of a motor vehicle (col. 1, lines 6-10).
The gear assembly 10 comprises an input (“drive”) shaft 24 (col. 2, line 60), and a fixed housing part (“a stationary transmission housing (not illustrated)” col. 2, line 54).
A first planetary gear set 40 defines an axis of rotation.
The first planetary gear set 40 (col. 3, line 3) comprises:
a planet carrier 12 fixed to the fixed housing part (col. 2, lines 50-55);
planetary bearings 46 (col. 3, line 6);
planet gears 44, each of the planet gears 44 being rotatably mounted on the planet carrier 12 via at least one respective bearing 46 of the planetary bearings;
a sun gear, the exterior teeth of gear 38, meshing with the planet gears 44 (col. 3, lines 1-5); and
a ring gear 52 meshing with the planet gears 44 (col. 3, lines 9-11).
A second planetary gear set 20 (col. 2, lines 58-59) is operatively connected to the first planetary gear set 40.
The second planetary gear set 20 is drivingly connected to the input shaft 24.
The planet carrier 12 is rotationally fixed with respect to the fixed housing part (not illustrated) via a driving tooth system 14 (col. 2, lines 50-55).
(claim 22)
The fixed housing part is a transmission housing (col. 2, line 54, “stationary transmission housing”).
(claim 23)
The driving tooth system 14 is defined by a side piece (right side in fig. 1) of the planet carrier 12 at a radially outer area of the side piece.
(claim 37)
The driving tooth system 14 is defined on an axial end face of the planet carrier 12 (outer perimeter of the right axial end face).
(claim 38)
The planet carrier 12 is at least one of axially secured or centered by the fixed housing part. Since the teeth 14 are arranged on a circle centered on the axis of rotation, their engagement with the transmission housing causes the carrier 12 to be centered.
(claim 40)
A drive train for a motor vehicle comprises the gear assembly of claim 22 (col. 1, lines 6-10).
(claim 41)
Raju et al. does not specify that the gear assembly is an integral differential having a first output shaft and a second output shaft, with the first planetary gear set drivingly connected to the first output shaft and the second planetary gear set drivingly connected to the second output shaft, nor does Raju et al. disclose the drive train for a motor vehicle comprises a drive unit that generates drive power distributed onto the first and second output shafts. Raju et al. does not disclose that the fixed housing part is a cover element.
Holmes et al. also discloses a stacked planetary gear assembly 70 for a drive train of a motor vehicle (col. 1, lines 34-37; col. 5, lines 46-47) in figure 3, comprising an input shaft 14; a fixed housing part (indicated by customary hatch marks); a first planetary gear set with a planet carrier 86 fixed to the fixed housing part, planet gears 84 mounted on the planet carrier 86, a sun gear 82 (fig. 3 points to a portion of a planet 84, but should point to the external teeth of ring 78 as described in col. 5, lines 51-53) meshing with the planet gears 84, and a ring gear 88 meshing with the planet gears 84; and a second planetary gear set, including sun gear 72 and planet gears 74, operatively connected to the first planetary gear set.
The gear assembly 70 is an integral differential (col. 5, line 64 to col. 6, line 10) comprising a first output shaft 42 and a second output shaft 40, wherein the first planetary gear set 84/88 is drivingly connected to the first output shaft 42 and the second planetary gear set 72/74 is drivingly connected to the input shaft 14 and the second output shaft 40.
(claim 22)
Figure 3 of Holmes et al. represents the carrier 86 fixed to the fixed housing part at an axially adjacent part. Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a similar embodiment, with the axially adjacent part of the fixed housing being an intermediate plate 60 which forms a cover element of the electric motor housing section 52.
(claim 24)
Holmes et al. discloses a drive train for a motor vehicle comprises the integral differential 70 (col. 5, lines 19-30).
A drive unit 12 generates drive power distributed onto the first 42 and second 40 output shafts at least indirectly via the integral differential 70 (col. 5, line 64 to col. 6, line 7).
(claim 41)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the gear assembly of Raju et al. as an integral differential with two output shaft in a vehicle drive train with a drive unit in view of Holmes et al. because such an arrangement results in “speed reduction from an electric motor to the wheels by combining speed reduction with differential action using a simple planetary gear set as a differential and a reversing gear set on one of the two outputs of the simple planetary gear set. The reversal gear set provides reaction torque to the speed-reducing planetary gear set at negative speed instead of zero speed, increasing the effective ratio of the speed-reducing planetary gear set. The speed reduction and differential action are integrated into a single step instead of provided in separate stages. The system reduces spin losses and further reduces the cross-vehicle axial distance for the coaxial electric motor drive axle as compared to two stages of planetary gearing and a differential.” (Holmes, col. 5, lines 21-33). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a cover element as the fixed housing part in view of Holmes et al. because the cover element provides a convenient element in close proximity, so that extensions of the connecting portions of the carrier are not required.
Claim(s) 36 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Raju et al. in view of Holmes et al. as applied to claim 22 above, and further in view of Gassmann, U. S. Patent 10,094,461.
Raju et al. in view of Holmes et al. discloses an integral differential as discussed above in the rejection of claim 22, but is silent as to how the components are formed, and so does not disclose at least a portion of one or both of the planet carrier and the fixed housing part is produced via casting.
Gassmann discloses in figure 3 a vehicle drive line with a gear reduction 108 having a carrier 114, a differential 109 having a carrier 137, and a fixed housing part 149. The fixed housing part 149 is produced via casting (col. 11, lines 2-4, “both housing portions 148, 149,…are produced from…for example a cast material”; col. 5, lines 32-34, “the carrying part of the stationary housing…can include a higher-strength material such as aluminum cast”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to produce the fixed housing part of Raju et al. in view of Holmes et al. via casting in view of Gassmann to produce a structure, which is load bearing, “from a suitable high-strength material” (Gassmann col. 11, lines 2-4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 25-35, 39, and 42 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The main inventive concept of Raju et al. is “improved lubrication flow, especially to the pinion gears of the outer planetary gear set” (col. 1, lines 6-10), with features for providing lubricant within the drive shaft and carrier structure and further provided to the planetary gears and their bearings, so that it would be unnecessarily redundant, and therefore not obvious, to create a lubricant chamber spatially delimited by the planet carrier and the fixed housing part as required by claim 25.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U. S. Patent 3,365,986 (Mazziotti) January 1968 - a planet carrier includes a flange portion 78. "The flange portion 78 extends radially beyond the web 84 and is provided with peripheral splines 88 which are splined with internal splines formed on the hub 58."
U. S. Patent 4,043,021 (Mosbacher et al.) August 1977 - "the larger disk 2 being provided with peripheral teeth 14 enabling the carrier to be driven or arrested by external means not shown."
U. S. Patent 6,855,089 (Poulin et al.) February 2005 - "the star carrier assembly 70 does not rotate, but instead is fixed within the outer gearbox housing 71 via splines 80 on a radially outer flange of the carrier support torque frame 76 which mate with inner splines 81 on an outer gearbox casing 71"
WO 2005/120877 (Sedgwick) December 2005 - an integrated differential with two planetary gear sets, one with a fixed carrier.
JP 2008-256069 (Hagiwara) October 2008 - "The carrier 42 is coupled by a spline portion 15B of the housing 15"
U. S. Patent 8,360,927 (Murata et al.) January 2013 - "the case and the carrier are unrotatably held by forming the spline fitting between a plurality of the spline teeth circumferentially formed on the outer periphery surface of the carrier and the spline grooves circumferentially formed in the case at the positions corresponding to the spline teeth."
U. S. Patent 10,221,928 (Mori) March 2019 - "in the first cover portion C1, the step portion 15 and the recessed portions 16 are formed by the casting method using the casting mold or the forging method using the forging die. Therefore, a cutting process of forming the step portion 15 and the recessed portions 16 is no longer necessary. Thereby, a reduction of working steps can be achieved."
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHERRY LYNN ESTREMSKY whose telephone number is (571)272-7090. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30am-4:30pm.
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SLE
/SHERRY L ESTREMSKY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655