DETAILED ACTION
This is the First Office Action in response to the above identified patent
application filed on December 9, 2025.
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.
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 implied phrase “The invention relates to” (line 1) should be deleted. 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 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, 2, 4-11, 13 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Generke (USP 3,204,920).
Referring to Figures 7-8, Generke teaches an actuator for providing a torque, comprising: a linear drive (94) and a gearing (nut 134) for converting a linear movement into a rotational movement, wherein the gearing comprises a lever (114) which rotationally drives a shaft (28) to which the torque is to be applied, the gearing further having a coupling element (122,124), the coupling element being connected to the linear drive via a first connection point (136,138,142) and to the lever via a second connection point (126,128,130), so that energy is transferred between the linear drive and the lever exclusively via the coupling element; and the coupling element is rotatably mounted at both connection points, the lever being connected at a second lever end in a rotationally fixed manner to the shaft via a third connection point (via key 120) and at a first lever end rotatably to the coupling element via the second connection point, and the lever establishing a rigid connection between the two connection points; the coupling element establishing a rigid connection between the first and second connection points, so that a linear movement of the first connection point by the linear drive results in a first pivoting movement of the second connection point about the first connection point, as well as in a second pivoting movement of the second connection point about the third connection point, so that, due to the rotationally fixed connection of the lever to the shaft, a rotation of the shaft is caused by the second pivoting movement; the coupling element connecting the lever and the linear drive to one another in such a way that the second connection point (126,128,130) is moved along a trajectory, so that in a first working region around a first end point (when the follower is positioned at a right end of the spindle as shown in Fig. 7) of the trajectory a movement of the first connection point (136,138,142) is stepped up by the linear drive into a first rotational movement of the shaft and in a second working region around a second end point (when the follower is positioned at a left end of the spindle of Fig. 7) a movement of the first connection point is stepped down by the linear drive into a second rotational movement of the shaft; the first rotational movement covers a larger angular range with a smaller force transmission in a time interval than the second rotational movement; wherein at the second end point the coupling element is oriented (substantially) perpendicular to the lever and to a movement axis of the linear drive and the lever is oriented parallel to the movement axis or at the first end point the coupling element is oriented (substantially) parallel to the movement axis of the linear drive and perpendicular to the lever.
Claims 2 and 11: Generke teaches a first housing-fixed stop (147) is provided at the first end point for fixing the first end point and a second housing-fixed stop (148) is provided at the second end point for fixing the second end point, and the first lever end is designed for the lever to strike against the first or second stop;
Claims 4 and 13: Generke teaches the first or second stop is formed integrally (formed with corresponding integral threads to integrally fix) from an actuator housing.
Claims 5 and 14, Generke teaches the first or second stop have a specific softness, so that a predetermined linear movement of the linear drive is made possible.
Claim(s) 1 and 6-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Dalton (USP 4,149,561).
Dalton teaches an actuator for providing a torque, comprising: a linear drive (30) and a gearing (nut 40) for converting a linear movement into a rotational movement, wherein the gearing comprises a lever (26,56) which rotationally drives a shaft (14,24) to which the torque is to be applied, the gearing further having a coupling element (50), the coupling element being connected to the linear drive via a first connection point (52) and to the lever via a second connection point (54), so that energy is transferred between the linear drive and the lever exclusively via the coupling element; and the coupling element is rotatably mounted at both connection points, the lever being connected at a second lever end in a rotationally fixed manner to the shaft via a third connection point (via key 28) and at a first lever end rotatably to the coupling element via the second connection point, and the lever establishing a rigid connection between the two connection points; the coupling element establishing a rigid connection between the first and second connection points, so that a linear movement of the first connection point by the linear drive results in a first pivoting movement of the second connection point about the first connection point, as well as in a second pivoting movement of the second connection point about the third connection point, so that, due to the rotationally fixed connection of the lever to the shaft, a rotation of the shaft is caused by the second pivoting movement; the coupling element connecting the lever and the linear drive to one another in such a way that the second connection point (54) is moved along a trajectory, so that in a first working region around a first end point (when the follower is positioned at a right end of the spindle as shown with phantom lines in Fig. 1) of the trajectory a movement of the first connection point (52) is stepped up by the linear drive into a first rotational movement of the shaft and in a second working region around a second end point (when the follower is positioned at a left end of the spindle as shown with solid lines in Fig. 1) a movement of the first connection point is stepped down by the linear drive into a second rotational movement of the shaft; the first rotational movement covers a larger angular range with a smaller force transmission in a time interval than the second rotational movement; at the second end point the coupling element is oriented (substantially) perpendicular to the lever and to a movement axis of the linear drive and the lever is oriented parallel to the movement axis or at the first end point the coupling element is oriented (substantially) parallel to the movement axis of the linear drive and perpendicular to the lever.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not teach the claimed actuator having a second housing-fixed stop provided for fixing the second end point, and a spindle or an end cap of the spindle is designed to strike against the second stop.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Note the linear drive having the claimed coupler and lever arrangement to provide a varying torque to a rotating shaft, as taught by USP 1,724,079; USP 3,317,179; USP 3,452,961; USP 4,261,546; USP 4,470,319; and USP 5,975,487.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM C JOYCE whose telephone number is (571)272-7107. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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.
/WILLIAM C JOYCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
Prosecution Insights