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`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
`PO. Box 1450
`Alexandria, Virginia 2231371450
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`15/487,058
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`04/ 13/2017
`
`Daisuke MURASHIMA
`
`06664980003
`
`4476
`
`STERNE, KESSLER, GOLDSTEIN & FOX P.L.L.C.
`1100 NEW YORK AVENUE, N.W.
`WASHINGTON, DC 20005
`
`COLLINS. DANIEL S.
`
`ART UNIT
`
`3745
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`PAPER NUMBER
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`NOTIFICATION DATE
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`DELIVERY MODE
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`02/1 1/2020
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`ELECTRONIC
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`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
`
`The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
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`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above—indicated "Notification Date" to the
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`following e—mail address(es):
`e-offiee @ sternekessler. com
`
`PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
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`

`

`017/09 A0170” Summary
`
`Application No.
`15/487,058
`Examiner
`DANIEL s COLLINS
`
`Applicant(s)
`MURASHIMA et al.
`Art Unit
`AIA (FITF) Status
`3745
`Yes
`
`- The MAILING DA TE of this communication appears on the cover sheet wit/7 the correspondence address -
`Period for Reply
`
`A SHORTENED STATUTORY PERIOD FOR REPLY IS SET TO EXPIRE g MONTHS FROM THE MAILING
`DATE OF THIS COMMUNICATION.
`Extensions of time may be available under the provisions of 37 CFR 1.136(a). In no event, however, may a reply be timely filed after SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing
`date of this communication.
`|f NO period for reply is specified above, the maximum statutory period will apply and will expire SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing date of this communication.
`-
`- Failure to reply within the set or extended period for reply will, by statute, cause the application to become ABANDONED (35 U.S.C. § 133).
`Any reply received by the Office later than three months after the mailing date of this communication, even if timely filed, may reduce any earned patent term
`adjustment. See 37 CFR 1.704(b).
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`Status
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`1). Responsive to communication(s) filed on 6/7/18.
`CI A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/were filed on
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`2a). This action is FINAL.
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`2b) D This action is non-final.
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`3)[:] An election was made by the applicant in response to a restriction requirement set forth during the interview
`on
`; the restriction requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
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`4):] Since this application is in condition for allowance except for formal matters, prosecution as to the merits is
`closed in accordance with the practice under Expade Quay/e, 1935 CD. 11, 453 O.G. 213.
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`Disposition of Claims*
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`5)
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`Claim(s) fl is/are pending in the application.
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`5a) Of the above Claim(s)
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`is/are withdrawn from consideration.
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`
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`Claim(s) a is/are allowed.
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`Claim(s) fl is/are rejected.
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`Claim(s) 3i is/are objected to.
`
`) ) ) )
`
`)
`are subject to restriction and/or election requirement
`[j Claim(s
`* If any claims have been determined aflowable. you may be eligible to benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program at a
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`participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more information, please see
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`httpfiwww.”smogovmatentszinit_events[pph[index.'§p or send an inquiry to PPeredhack@gsptg.ggv.
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`Application Papers
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`10)D The specification is objected to by the Examiner.
`
`is/are: a)C] accepted or b)D objected to by the Examiner.
`11)[:] The drawing(s) filed on
`Applicant may not request that any objection to the drawing(s) be held in abeyance. See 37 CFR 1.85(a).
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`Replacement drawing sheet(s) including the correction is required if the drawing(s) is objected to. See 37 CFR 1.121 (d).
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`Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119
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`12)[] Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) or (f).
`Certified copies:
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`a)I:I All
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`b)D Some**
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`c)D None of the:
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`1.|:] Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
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`2C] Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No.
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`3B Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been received in this National Stage
`application from the International Bureau (PCT Rule 17.2(a)).
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`** See the attached detailed Office action for a list of the certified copies not received.
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`Attachment(s)
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`1) [3 Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
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`2) C] Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO/SB/08a and/or PTO/SB/08b)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date_
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`
`3) E] Interview Summary (PTO-413)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date
`4) CI Other-
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`PTOL-326 (Rev. 11-13)
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`Office Action Summary
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`Part of Paper No./Mai| Date 20200122
`
`

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`Application/Control Number:15/487,058
`Art Unit:3745
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`Page2
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`Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
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`The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined
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`under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA.
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`Response to Amendment
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`Applicant's request for reconsideration of the finality of the rejection of the last
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`Office action is persuasive and, therefore, the finality of that action is withdrawn.
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`Applicant raised the issue that newly added claims submitted on June 7, 2019 were not
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`considered by Examiner. Applicant’s argument was persuasive and Examiner agreed to
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`withdraw the finality of the rejection and re-issue a new action which would consider the
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`newly added claims.
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`Response to Arguments
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`Applicant's arguments filed on June 7th 2019 have been fully considered but they
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`are not persuasive. Applicant’s bring up one major point of contention that US. Patent
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`7,073,330 (hereinafter “Hauser”) fails to disclose “wherein the transaxle casing includes
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`a pair of casing holes each of which penetrates each of the side walls between an
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`inside of the transaxle casing and an outside of the transaxle casing" and "wherein the
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`pair of trunnion shafts are passed through the respective casing holes to be pivotally
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`supported by the respective side walls of the transaxle casing" as recited in Applicant’s
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`claim 1. To support Applicant’s argument they site to Hauser’s Figure 18, however
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`ignore the reference which Examiner cites to Figure 19. Examiner agrees that Hauser’s
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`Figure 18 does not meet the claim limitation recited by Applicant’s in claim 1, however,
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`Examiner does not agree that Hauser fails to disclose such a limitation. Examiner once
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`again draws Applicant’s attention to Hauser’s Figure 19 as recited in the Non-Final
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`

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`Application/Control Number:15/487,058
`Art Unit:3745
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`Page3
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`Rejection. Examiner re-asserts Hauser’s Figure 19 discloses the limitations “wherein the
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`transaxle casing includes a pair of casing holes each of which penetrates each of the
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`side walls between an inside of the transaxle casing and an outside of the transaxle
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`casing" and "wherein the pair of trunnion shafts are passed through the respective
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`casing holes to be pivotally supported by the respective side walls of the transaxle
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`casing". Therefore, Examiner is not persuaded by Applicant’s argument and maintains
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`his rejection of the claims.
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`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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`The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all
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`obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
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`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.
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`The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere 00., 383 U.S. 1, 148
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`USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining
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`obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
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`1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
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`2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
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`3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
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`4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating
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`obviousness or nonobviousness.
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`

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`Application/Control Number:15/487,058
`Art Unit:3745
`
`Page4
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`Claim 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
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`Hauser, US. Patent 7,073,330 (hereinafter “Hauser”) in view of Okada et al., U.S.
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`Patent 6,968,686 (hereinafter “Okada”).
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`ln Reference to Claim 1:
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`Hauser discloses a hydraulic transaxle (See, Figure 1) an axial piston hydraulic
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`pump (16) having a variable displacement, wherein the hydraulic pump includes a
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`movable swash plate (74) and a pair of trunnion shafts (78) coaxial to each other,
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`wherein the swash plate (74) is rotatable centered on a common axis of the trunnion
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`shafts to control the displacement of the hydraulic pump (74), the common axis of the
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`trunnion shafts defining an axial direction of the trunnion shafts perpendicular to a rotary
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`axis of the hydraulic pump (See, Figure 19); and a transaxle casing (See, Figure 14 and
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`19) incorporating the hydraulic pump (16), wherein the transaxle casing includes a pair
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`of side walls opposite each other in the axial direction of the trunnion shafts with respect
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`to the hydraulic pump (See, Figure 19), wherein the transaxle casing includes a pair of
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`casing holes each of which penetrates each of the side walls between an inside of the
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`transaxle casing and an outside of the transaxle casing, wherein the pair of trunnion
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`shafts (78) are passed through the respective casing holes to be pivotally supported by
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`the respective side walls of the transaxle casing, wherein the swash plate is formed with
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`a pair of side portions opposite each other in the axial direction of the trunnion shafts.
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`the pair of side portions facing the respective side walls in the inside of the transaxle
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`casing, and wherein a distal end portion of one of the trunnion shafts (78) projects from
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`the corresponding casing hole to the outside of the transaxle casing so as to be
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`

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`Application/Control Number:15/487,058
`Art Unit:3745
`
`Page5
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`operatively connected to an operation device for controlling the displacement of the
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`hydraulic pump See, Figure 19.
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`Hauser fails to disclose wherein the pair of trunnion shafts being joined to the
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`swash plate separably from the swash plate and wherein the swash plate is formed with
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`a pair of swash plate holes in the respective side portions, the pair of swash plate holes
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`being open to the pair of casing holes, , the pair of swash plate holes being open to the
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`pair of casing holes, respectively wherein proximal end portions of the respective
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`trunnion shafts are inserted into the respective swash plate holes to be engaged to the
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`swash plate unrotatably, relative to the swash plate, and wherein a distal end portion of
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`one of the trunnion shafts projects from the corresponding casing hole to the outside of
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`the transaxle casing.
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`However, in the same field of endeavor, Okada discloses a hydrostatic transaxle
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`featuring a variable displacement hydraulic pump which contains a trunnion (60) which
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`is separable from the swash plate (See, Figure 3) and wherein the trunnion is inserted
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`into the swash plate holes in a unrotatable manner (via pinning it to the swash plate
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`once inserted as shown in Figure 19 but not described) and the other end of the
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`trunnion is inserted into the transaxle casing.
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`It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time
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`of effective filing to modify Hauser with the teachings of Okada, such that the trunnion
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`shafts were separable from the swashplate and fixed to the swash plate in an
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`unrotatable manner as taught by Okada because it is a simple substitution of one
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`known engineering choice of construction (to make integral the swashplate and trunnion
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`as found in Hauser) for another ( multiple components wherein the trunnion is non
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`

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`Application/Control Number:15/487,058
`Art Unit:3745
`
`Page6
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`rotatably fixedly attached to the swash plate as taught by Okada) creating the same
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`predictable results.
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`In Reference to Claim 2:
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`Hauser further discloses wherein the pair of side portions of the swash plate are
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`formed with respective distal end surfaces that are adjacent to inside surfaces of the
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`respective side walls of the transaxle casing so that a width of the swash plate between
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`the distal end surfaces in the axial direction of the trunnion shafts is equal to or slightly
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`less than a distance between the inside surfaces of the side walls of the transaxle
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`casing in the axial direction of the trunnion shafts.
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`Examiner draws attention to Figure 19 which illustrates that the thickness of the
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`swash plate is less than that of the housing in the region where the trunnion is located
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`thereby meeting the limitation of this claim.
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`Allowable Subject Matter
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`Claims 5-7 are allowed. The prior art fails to disclose “a plane parallel to
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`the common axis of the trunnion shaft and wherein the housing members are formed
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`integrally, with the side walls of the casing holes”, as recited in claims 5 and 6 and also
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`fails to disclose “wherein the swash plate is configured to be removable from the
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`transaxle casing in a direction along the rotary axis of the hydraulic pump after removal
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`of the trunnion shafts” as recited in claim 7.
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`Claim 3 and 4 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim,
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`but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of
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`the base claim and any intervening claims.
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`

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`Application/Control Number:15/487,058
`Art Unit:3745
`
`Page7
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`Claim 3 recites the limitation of two member housing joined at a plane parallel to
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`the common axis of the trunnion shaft and wherein the housing members are formed
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`integrally, with the side walls of the casing holes, the prior art fails to disclose such a
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`feature.
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`Claim 4 recites “wherein the neutral biasing mechanism is provided on an outside
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`end portion of the other of the side walls of the transaxle casing to be provided on a
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`distal end portion of the other of the trunnion shafts” there is no prior art of record which
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`discloses a neutral biasing mechanism being on the opposing side of the trunnion shaft
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`from that of the control arm.
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`Conclusion
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`THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time
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`policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
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`A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE
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`MONTHS from the mailing date of this action.
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`In the event a first reply is filed within
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`TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not
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`mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the
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`shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any
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`extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of
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`the advisory action.
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`In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later
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`than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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`

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`Application/Control Number:15/487,058
`Art Unit:3745
`
`Page8
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`Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
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`examiner should be directed to DANIEL S. COLLINS whose telephone number is
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`(313)446-6535. The examiner can normally be reached on M-TH 8:00-5:30.
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`Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video
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`conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an
`
`interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request
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`(AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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`If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s
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`supervisor, NATHANIEL WIEHE can be reached on (571) 272-8648. The fax phone
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`number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571 -
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`273-8300.
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`

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`Application/Control Number:15/487,058
`Art Unit:3745
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`Page9
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`
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`
`published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR.
`
`Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only.
`
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`
`/DANIEL S COLLINS/
`
`Examiner, Art Unit 3745
`
`/MICHAEL LESLIE/
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`Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
`
`