Appeal No. 2004-0713 Page 5
Application No. 09/900,256
relative rotation of the valve core and the valve sleeve portion actuating
the hydraulic motor;
the pinion gear portion having a first support portion, a second support
portion axially opposite the first support portion, and a toothed portion interposed
between the first and second support portion, the first and second support
portions being supported for rotation;
the valve sleeve portion being radially interposed between the housing
and the valve core, the valve sleeve portion having a cylindrical cavity;
the torsion bar portion and the tubular input shaft being located at least
partially within the cylindrical cavity of the valve sleeve portion;
the intermediate portion of the torsion bar portion, in response to rotation
of the valve core relative to the valve sleeve portion to actuate the hydraulic
motor, twisting relative to the valve sleeve portion and the pinion gear portion,
the intermediate portion of the torsion bar portion extending through the
cylindrical cavity of the valve sleeve portion and extending out of the cylindrical
cavity;
the pinion gear portion, the valve sleeve portion, the cylindrical cavity of
the valve sleeve portion, the torsion bar portion, and the tubular input shaft all
extending coaxially.
In the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103 before us in this appeal (answer, p. 4), the
examiner (1) determined that Sonoda shows a power steering system with a rack bar, a
hydraulic motor, a valve core, a torsion bar and a one-piece, monolithic component
having a pinion gear for meshingly engaging the rack bar and a valve sleeve for
cooperating with the valve core for actuating the hydraulic motor; (2) ascertained that
the torsion bar of Sonoda is fixed to, but not formed as one piece with the monolithic
component having the pinion gear and the valve sleeve (i.e., Sonoda lacks the one-
piece, monolithic component as set forth in independent claims 1 and 9); (3) concluded
that it would have been an obvious engineering choice to use a one piece construction
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007