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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “h: width on one side of the retainer” of claim 2 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 5 and 7 recite “Cr: basic dynamic rated load”. Applicant has not described exactly what the basic dynamic rated load is or how one of ordinary skill in the art would calculate or determine such a value.
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 2-7 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.
Claims 2 and 4-7 are indefinite. The claims recite equations and dimensions that are outside the claim recitation. It is noted that claims end at the period. The claims should be rewritten for clarity in proper form.
Claim 2 recites “d: depth of the retainer pocket” while claim 4, 6 and 7 recite “H” Depth of the pocket”. These appear to be the same variables. Applicant should avoid using different variables for the same dimensions.
Claim 3 recites “used for industrial machinery”. It is unclear how the limitation structurally limits the claims. Furthermore, it is unclear which machinery would be considered industrial machinery and which machinery would not.
Claim 5 and 7 recite “Cr: basic dynamic rated load”. It is unclear what this variable represents. Is this the maximum dynamic load allowed on the bearing? Furthermore, the expression Bt ≥ Cr/9 is not unitless. Thus, it is unclear what units the width, thickness and load are supposed to be, since the expression changes based on the units used for the expression.
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 1 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takahashi JP 2004211870.
Re clm 1, Takahashi discloses a ball bearing (Fig. 7) comprising: an inner ring (2); an outer ring (4); rolling elements (5) interposed between the inner ring and the outer ring; and a corrugate retainer (6) which retains the rolling elements, wherein each of cross sections in a circumferential direction and a radial direction which passes through the deepest portion of a pocket of the retainer is an arc- shaped curved surface (shown by Fig. 1 and 2), a contact point between the pocket and the rolling element on the cross section in the radial direction of the retainer is positioned in a retainer pocket surface (as shown by Fig. 2), and a curvature radius of the retainer pocket surface in the radial direction is equal to or less than a curvature radius of the retainer pocket surface in the circumferential direction ([0010]).
Re clm 3, Takahashi further discloses the ball bearing is a deep groove ball bearing.
The limitation “used for industrial machinery” is considered intended use of the bearing and is given little or no patentable weight.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 4 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.
Takahashi JP 2004-211870 is the closest prior art reference. Takahashi does not disclose h: width on one side of the retainer as required in claim 2. Takahashi does not disclose H: depth of pocket of the retainer” as required in claim 4. As such, Takahashi cannot disclose the expressions required by the claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALAN B WAITS whose telephone number is (571)270-3664. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday from 6-4 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, John R Olszewski can be reached at 571-272-2706. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALAN B WAITS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617
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