Ex Parte Grogg

Patent Trial and Appeal BoardApr 26, 2013

12051180 (P.T.A.B. Apr. 26, 2013)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www.uspto.gov APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 12/051,180 03/19/2008 John Allen Grogg 065445-0134 [07-MAR-082(D 1062 100656 7590 04/29/2013 Dykema Gossett PLLC 39577 Woodward Avenue Suite 300 Bloomfield, MI 48304 EXAMINER KNUTSON, JACOB D ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 3611 MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE 04/29/2013 PAPER 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. PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ____________________ BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD ____________________ Ex parte JOHN ALLEN GROGG ____________________ Appeal 2011-002932 Application 12/051,180 Technology Center 3600 ____________________ Before: JENNIFER D. BAHR, BENJAMIN D. M. WOOD, and ADAM V. FLOYD, Administrative Patent Judges. WOOD, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL Appeal 2011-002932 Application 12/051,180 2 STATEMENT OF CASE Appellant appeals under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from a rejection of claims 1 and 2. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We reverse. THE INVENTION The claims are directed to an “idle-able” power transfer unit for a motor vehicle driveline system. Spec. para [0002]. Claim 1, reproduced below, is illustrative of the claimed subject matter: 1. A vehicle driveline, comprising: a primary drive system including at least one primary drive wheel; an auxiliary drive system including at least one auxiliary drive wheel; and a system for idling the auxiliary drive system including at least one wheel disconnect device for selectively connecting and disconnecting the at least one auxiliary drive wheel from the auxiliary drive system and a power transfer unit for selectively engaging and disengaging the auxiliary drive system from the primary drive system, wherein the power transfer unit includes a multi-plate clutch in series with a first dog clutch. Appeal 2011-002932 Application 12/051,180 3 REFERENCE Ishikawa US 6,832,972 B2 Dec. 21, 2004 REJECTION 1 Claims 1 and 2 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C § 102(b) as anticipated by Ishikawa. Ans. 3. ANALYSIS Claim 1 requires a “primary drive system,” an “auxiliary drive system,” and a “power transfer unit for selectively engaging and disengaging the auxiliary drive system from the primary drive system.” App. Br. 18. Claim 2 depends from claim 1. Id. The Examiner found that Ishikawa’s front-wheel drive system corresponds to the claimed primary drive system, its rear-wheel drive system corresponds to the claimed auxiliary drive system, and its clutch system 13A corresponds to the claimed power transfer unit. Ans. 4 (citing Ishikawa, col. 1, ll. 60-61, col. 3, ll. 18-19; see also Ishikawa Fig. 1). Appellant argues that clutch unit 13A does not engage and disengage an auxiliary drive system from a primary drive system, as required, but rather operates exclusively within the rear wheel drive system to separate or connect an electric motor 2129 to the rear wheels. App. Br. 6; Reply Br. 2-3. The Examiner responds that the disengagement of clutch system 13A causes the vehicle to shift from four-wheel to two-wheel drive, and that “when looking at the vehicle as a system, and the auxiliary and primary drive system of Ishikawa as subsystems; the inter-relationship of the 1 The Examiner withdrew the following rejections: (1) claims 3-7 as anticipated by Ishikawa; (2) claims 8-11 as obvious over Ishikawa and Kroppe (U.S. 6,830,122); (3) claims 12-21 as obvious over Ishikawa, Kroppe, and Williams (U.S. 7,278,946); and (4) claim 22 as obvious over Ishikawa and Bowen (U.S. 6,490,945). Ans. 3; Final Rej. 2-8. Appeal 2011-002932 Application 12/051,180 4 two subsystems related to four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive would create a connection.” Ans. 5. We agree with Appellant that Ishikawa does not disclose a power transfer unit that engages and disengages an auxiliary drive system from a primary drive system. To “engage” in this context means to “interlock with” or “mesh.” Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11 th ed. 2005). Clutch system 13A engages and disengages electric motor 2129 from the rear-wheel drive system, but the electric motor powers only the rear wheels; a separate engine 2101 powers the front wheels. Ishikawa, col. 1, ll. 13-17; col. 3, ll. 16-25, 32-48; col. 8, ll. 27-29; fig. 1. Thus, whatever engagement and disengagement is performed by clutch system 13A is done entirely within the rear-wheel drive system rather than between that system and the front-wheel drive system, as claims 1 and 2 require. The Examiner’s rejection of claims 1 and 2 as anticipated by Ishikawa is not sustained. DECISION For the above reasons, the Examiner’s rejection of claims 1 and 2 is reversed. REVERSED cdc