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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in China on 12/5/2022. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the CN202211549585.3 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
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 1-17 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 1 recites “the corresponding output gear teeth” which lacks antecedent basis in the claims.
Claim 7 recites “the fifth bearing has a first ring and a second ring which are distributed alternatingly from inside to outside” which is unclear and renders the claims indefinite. Specifically, it is unclear how two components can alternate, as more than one of each component would be required to form an alternating pattern. As such, the relationship between the rings cannot be determined.
Claim 10 recites “Z2: (Z1-Z2), where (Z1-Z2) ≥ 1” which is unclear and renders the claims indefinite. Specifically, the claims contain reference characters in parenthesis that correspond to reference characters in the specification. The relationship between the gear teeth cannot be determined as it is unclear if the characters in the parentheses are reference characters listed in the specification, or form a mathematical relationship. The relationship between the teeth should be defined by the claim without using parentheses.
Claim 12 recites “gradually inclines toward the opposite inclined wall from an end itself away from the elastic gear” which is unclear and renders the claims indefinite. Specifically, the phrase “from an end itself away” doesn’t make sense, and the relationship between the claimed “side walls” cannot be determined.
Claim 13 recites “both are smoothly transitioning flat sections” which is unclear and renders the claims indefinite. The term “smoothly transitioning” is a relative term, not defined by the claims and the arrangement of the side walls cannot be determined.
Claim 14 recites “smoothly connected” and is unclear for the same reasons given for claim 13 above.
Claim 16 recites “the fluctuating wheel has a second arc surface” followed by “each second arc surface” which is unclear and renders the claims indefinite. Specifically, it is unclear how many second arc surfaces are required by the claims.
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) 1-5, 10-11 and 15, as best understood, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2022-96226 A (hereinafter D1).
D1 discloses a speed reducer, comprising: a housing (21) having an inner chamber (see Fig. 4); an input shaft (217) having a central axis (C) and rotatably connected to the housing; a fluctuating wheel (205) sleeved around the input shaft and rotatable together with the input shaft; an output member (203) rotatably connected to the input shaft; an annular elastic gear (204) having an inner edge and an outer edge; wherein, a part (see Fig. 4) of the input shaft is located inside the chamber and is capable of rotating around the central axis of the input shaft relative to the housing; the elastic gear is located inside the chamber and sleeved around the input shaft, one of the inner edge or the outer edge (26) of the elastic gear is fixed relative to the housing, and the other one (27/29) thereof is disposed between the fluctuating wheel and the output member and is engaged with the output member; at least a portion of the elastic gear which is located between the fluctuating wheel and the output member is elastic, and under the driving of the fluctuating wheel, the portion is capable of elastically protruding toward the output member along the axis of the input shaft, so as to drive the output member to rotate around the central axis of the input shaft, wherein the output member is an annular output gear disk (203) sleeved around the input shaft (see Fig 4, 203 is journaled on a bearing located on input shaft 217), the output gear disk has a ring of output gear teeth (10) surrounding the input shaft at a surface facing toward the elastic gear; the elastic gear has a ring of input gear teeth (29) surrounding the input shaft and located at the portion which is located between the fluctuating wheel and the output member, the ring of input gear teeth is located between the fluctuating wheel and the output gear teeth, and under the driving of the fluctuating wheel, some of the input gear teeth are driven to protrude toward the output gear disk together with the elastic portion of the elastic gear, so as to engage with the corresponding output gear teeth, wherein the elastic gear comprises an inner annulus (27) and an outer annulus (26) surrounding the inner annulus; the inner annulus is gradually inclined (when deformed towards the output member, the inner annulus is considered “gradually inclined”) toward the output member from inside to outside, the input gear teeth are disposed on a bottom surface (27a) of the inner annulus, and the outer annulus is connected (see Fig. 4 at 26a) to the housing, wherein a thickness of the inner annulus (27) excluding the input gear teeth is less than (see Fig. 4) a thickness of the outer annulus (26), wherein the speed reducer further comprising a connecting member (31) fixed relative to the housing, a center portion of the connecting member (inner race of 31) is connected to the input shaft, the output gear disk (connected to outer race of 31) is disposed around the connecting member, wherein a total number of the input gear teeth is Z1, a total number of the output gear teeth is Z2, and a reduction ratio of the speed reducer is Z2: (Z1-Z2), where (Z1-Z2) ≥ 1 (the reduction ratio of strain wave/harmonic drives is calculated in this way, and D1 would necessarily follow the same calculation), wherein the fluctuating wheel has at least one protruding portion (216) on a surface (215) of the fluctuating wheel facing toward the elastic gear, the protruding portion makes an elastic deformation at a position corresponding to the elastic gear and extends toward the elastic gear, and wherein the fluctuating wheel and the input shaft are an integral piece (see Fig. 4).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 17, as best understood, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 in view of Kobayashi (USPN 11,841,071).
D1 discloses the claimed invention, except for wherein a row of cylindrical roller bearings is arranged around the input shaft and is located between the fluctuating wheel and the input gear teeth.
Kobayashi discloses a row of cylindrical roller bearings (42) arranged around an input shaft (5) and located between a fluctuating wheel (4) and input gear teeth (35).
It would have bene obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to have modified the speed reducer of D1 to have cylindrical roller bearings between the fluctuating wheel and the flexible gear, in order to reduce frictional losses in the gear system.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-9, 12-14 and 16 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAKE COOK whose telephone number is (571)272-5968. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-4:00 PM.
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.
JAKE COOK
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3618
/Jake Cook/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618