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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on Nov. 10, 2025 has been considered by the Examiner.
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 “base” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s) (claim 5). 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 Objections
Claims 1, 8 and 14 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claims 1 and 14, Applicant may wish to amend the phrase “in which pockets a number of rollers are arranged” to read and flow better.
Regarding claim 8, the claim 8 numeral has been deleted in the latest amendment.
Appropriate correction or clarification 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 8-10 and 12 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 8 and 10 appear to be dependent claims but do not state which claim they depend from. Please clarify. Examiner will act as if the claims depend from claim 1.
Claims 9 and 12 are rejected for their dependence on claim 8.
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 1-7, 10, 11 and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tan et al. (US 11,002,353).
Tan discloses and shows a roller gear comprising:
a wave generator (1) with a roller bearing (2), said wave generator defining a major axis (horizontal axis shown in Fig. 1),
a flex spline (3) with external teeth (not shown), said flex spline having an inner diameter, and
a circular spline (5), said circular spline having pockets (not labeled) formed therein that face the external teeth of the flex spline, in which pockets a number of rollers (4) are arranged, said rollers defining a pitch circle diameter, wherein the ratio of the difference between the major axis of the wave generator and the inner diameter of the flex spline and twice the ratio of the pitch circle diameter (T) of the rollers and the number of rollers is less than 0.8 (as shown by the respective pocket extending over, more or less, 180o of the circumference of the roller, as noted at page 3, lines 25-28 of the specification as filed).
Cl. 2 – wherein each of the rollers has a radius and the radius of the rollers is greater than the ratio of the pitch circle diameter of the rollers to the number of rollers (Fig. 1).
Cl. 3 – wherein each of the rollers has a radius and each of the external teeth has a height and the height of the external teeth of the flex spline is smaller than the radius of the rollers (Fig. 1).
Cl. 4 – wherein the roller bearing of the wave generator is designed as a thin-ring bearing and/or has an elliptical disc (Fig. 1, Abstract).
Cl. 5 – the flex spline is pot-shaped with a wall surrounding a base (Figs. 2-3).
Cl. 6 – the flex spline has a flange on an inside surface for connection to a connecting element (Fig. 3).
Cl. 7 – the flange is designed for welding connection to the connecting element (the flanged is designed for many different types of connection).
Cl. 10 – each roller has a circumference, and wherein the respective cylindrical pocket accommodating a respective one of the rollers extends over an angle between 170o and 190o of the circumference of the respective roller (see Fig. 1).
Cl. 11 – the connecting element is a bearing ring (see Fig. 3).
Cl. 13 – the pockets are cylindrical pockets or partially cylindrical pockets, and the pockets are formed at least in parts of the circular spline.
Cl. 14 – Tan discloses and shows a roller harmonic drive transmission, comprising:
a roller gear comprising:
a wave generator (1) with a roller bearing (2), said wave generator defining a major axis (horizontal axis shown in Fig. 1),
a flex spline (3) with external teeth (not shown), said flex spline having an inner diameter, and
a circular spline (5), said circular spline having pockets (not labeled) formed therein that face the external teeth of the flex spline, in which pockets a number of rollers (4) are arranged, said rollers defining a pitch circle diameter, wherein the ratio of the difference between the major axis of the wave generator and the inner diameter of the flex spline and twice the ratio of the pitch circle diameter (T) of the rollers and the number of rollers is less than 0.8 (as shown by the respective pocket extending over, more or less, 180o of the circumference of the roller, as noted at page 3, lines 25-28 of the specification as filed).
Cl. 15 – the pockets are cylindrical pockets or partially cylindrical pockets.
Cl. 16 – wherein each of the rollers has a radius and the radius of the rollers is greater than the ratio of the pitch circle diameter of the rollers to the number of rollers (Fig. 1).
Cl. 17 – wherein each of the rollers has a radius and each of the external teeth has a height and the height of the external teeth of the flex spline is smaller than the radius of the rollers (Fig. 1).
Cl. 18 – each roller has a circumference, and wherein the respective cylindrical pocket accommodating a respective one of the rollers extends over an angle between 170o and 190o of the circumference of the respective roller (see Fig. 1).
Cl. 19 – wherein the roller bearing of the wave generator is designed as a thin-ring bearing and/or has an elliptical disc (Fig. 1, Abstract).
Cl. 20 – the pockets are cylindrical pockets or partially cylindrical pockets, and the pockets are formed at least in parts of the circular spline.
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.
Claims 8, 9 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tan et al. as applied to claims 1-4 and in view of Kobayashi (US 2023/0116162) and Asawa et al. (5,775,178).
Tan discloses and shows the inventions of claims 1-4 as described elsewhere above. While Tan shows one type of harmonic transmission configuration (pot-shaped), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to select one of the known types of harmonic drives configurations (in this case the top hat configuration) as does Kobayashi who discloses a cup or top hat strain wave gearing (para. 0001). Further, MPEP 2144.04(IV)(B) states, “[I]t has been noted that limitations relating to the shape are not sufficient to be patentably distinguishable over the prior art” in citing In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966).
Cl. 9 – the flex spline has a flange (Asawa, Fig. 1, item 63) on an outer surface for connection to a connecting element.
Cl. 12 – the connecting element is a bearing ring (Asawa, item 8).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BOBBY RUSHING, JR whose telephone number is (571)270-0501. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8AM-5PM EST.
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/BOBBY RUSHING, JR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
