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 France on 9/26/2024. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the FR2410311 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because “The invention relates to...” is language which can be implied. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claims 1-13 are objected to because of the following informalities:
The claims do not begin with an appropriate article, which is grammatically awkward. An appropriate correction would be adding “An” to the beginning of claim 1, or “The” at the beginning of each dependent claim.
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.
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 2-8 and 10-11 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 2 recites “the first recirculation section” and “the second recirculation section” which lack antecedent basis in the claims.
Claim 4 recites “on one side and on the other of said member” which is unclear and renders the claims indefinite. Specifically, it is unclear what “the other of said member” is referring to.
Claim 5 recites “a recirculation section” which is a double inclusion and renders the claims indefinite. Multiple recirculation sections are already claimed, and it is unclear how many recirculation sections are required by the claims.
Claim 8 recites “said tunnels being angularly offset” which is unclear and renders the claims indefinite. Specifically, there is no reference geometry or structure claimed to measure an angle by, and what is required by the term “angularly offset” cannot be determined.
Claim 10 recites “a recirculation section” and is unclear for the same reasons given for claim 5 above.
Claim 11 recites “the lateral ducts” which lacks antecedent basis in 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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-5 and 8-11, as best understood, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Liao et al. (USPN 7,523,682).
Liao discloses an actuation system comprising: a nut (10) and a screw (20) mounted in said nut,
by forming an interface (see Figures) between their respective outer (see Fig. 1) and inner (see Fig. 1) peripheries, said interface being equipped with rolling bodies (80/88) which are arranged so that a rotation of the nut actuates a translation of the screw, each of the outer and inner peripheries of respectively the screw and the nut being provided with a helical thread (12/22),said threads being arranged facing one another to form a helical circulation path (90/98) for the rolling bodies between two lateral portions (see Fig. 3, balls circulate between lateral portions that make up each axial side of nut 10) of said path, one of the screw and the nut having a recirculation path (see Figs. 9 and 10) for the rolling bodies in order to feed the circulation path, said actuation system being characterized in that the circulation path comprises a central portion (see Fig. 4 where 40/43 are indicated) arranged between the lateral portions, the recirculation path having two lateral sections (where 30 is indicated on each end of the nut) extending respectively between one of the lateral portions and said central portion, said lateral sections being arranged to allow the recirculation of the rolling bodies separately from the central portion towards one of the lateral portions for one of the sections (see Fig. 9, where 90 or 98 is indicated, depending on the direction of rotation) and from the other lateral portion towards said central portion for the other section (see Fig. 9 where the other of 90 or 98 is indicated, depending on direction of rotation); the central portion is equipped with a central member (40) having a first duct (44) for guiding the rolling bodies between the circulation path and the first recirculation section (90), and a second duct (45) for guiding the rolling bodies between the circulation path and the second recirculation section (98); the central member (10) has a body in which the two guide ducts (see Figs. 9-12) are formed on either side; the central portion has a thread (43) equipped with a cavity (15) into which the recirculation sections open out, the central member being arranged in said cavity with the ducts opening out into said thread on one side and on the other of said member; each of the ducts has a tangential opening (See Figs. 9-12, opening in each duct that corresponds to the spiral circulation path) that opens out into the circulation path and a lateral opening (See Figs. 9-12, opening in each duct that corresponds to elements 16/17) that opens out into a recirculation section; each of the recirculation sections is formed by a tunnel (14/16/17) pierced in the screw or in the nut, said tunnels being angularly offset (as best understood, see Figure 4, at least each of 14 are angularly offset, and therefore the recirculation sections are considered angularly offset); each of the lateral portions is equipped with a lateral member (each of 30) having a duct (31) for guiding the rolling bodies between the circulation path and one of the recirculation sections; each of the lateral portions has a thread (see Fig. 4) equipped with a cavity (14, and similar cavity on other end of nut) into which a recirculation section opens out, the corresponding lateral member being disposed in said cavity with the duct opening out into said section on one side of said member; each of the lateral ducts has a tangential opening (opening that communicates with 90/98) that opens out into the circulation path and a lateral opening (opening corresponding to 16/17) that opens out into a recirculation section (16/17).
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) 6-7, as best understood, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liao et al. (USPN 7,523,682) in view of Brusasco (USPN 5,005,436).
Liao discloses the claimed invention, except for the central member is formed by the assembly of two shells, each of said shells having a print of a part of each of the ducts, the two shells are identical, in particular by being obtained by moulding a polymer material.
Brusasco discloses a central member (47) is formed by the assembly of two shells (18), each of said shells having a print of a part (32) of each of the ducts, the two shells are identical (the shells are considered identical, excluding the necessary features that allow them to interlock and assembly), in particular by being obtained by moulding a polymer material (PBP).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to have modified the actuation system of Liao to have the central member being formed of two shells, in order to reduce the complexity of the manufacturing of the central member.
MPEP 2113 Product-by-Process Claims states that "If the product in the product-by-process claim is that same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior art product was made by a different process." Molding a polymer material is anticipated by the combination of Liao and Brusasco. The process by which the shells are made is not a patentable distinction.
Claim(s) 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liao et al. (USPN 7,523,682) in view of DE 10242297 A1 (hereinafter D1).
Liao discloses the claimed invention, except for each of the lateral members (20, 20a, 20b) is formed by the assembly of two shells (27, 28), each of said shells having a print (29, 30) of a part of the duct (21, 21 a, 21 b), or the two shells (27, 28) are joined in one piece by a bridge of material (31), in particular by being obtained by moulding a polymer material said bridge of material being allowed to be folded to allow said shells to be assembled.
D1 discloses recirculation member(s) (8) assembled from two shells (13/14) each having a print of part of a duct (9), the two shells being joined by a bridge of material (15) that can be folded to allow the shells to be assembled, and being formed of an injection molded polymer.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to have modified the actuation system of Liao to have the lateral members be formed of two shells connected by a living hinge, in order to simplify the manufacture of the complex geometry of the lateral members.
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.
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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.
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JAKE COOK
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3618
/Jake Cook/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
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