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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-7 in the reply filed on 2/13/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 8-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 2/13/2026.
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) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by EP 3456367 to Siess et al. (Siess) (cited by applicant).
In reference to at least claim 1
Siess discloses an intravascular blood pump for percutaneous insertion into a patient's blood vessel (e.g. 1) , comprising: a pump casing (e.g. 2) having a blood flow inlet (e.g. 21) and a blood flow outlet (e.g. 22) an impeller (e.g. 3) arranged in said pump casing so as to be rotatable about an axis of rotation (e.g. rotates about axis 10), the impeller having blades (e.g. 31) sized and shaped for conveying blood from the blood flow inlet to the blood flow outlet (e.g. blood flows from inlet 21 to outlet 22) a drive unit (e.g. 4) for rotating the impeller (e.g. rotates impeller 3, para. [0044]), the drive unit comprising a magnetic core (e.g. 40 and 50) including a plurality of posts (e.g. 40) arranged about the axis of rotation (e.g. arranged around axis 10) and a back plate (e.g. 50) connecting the posts and extending between the posts in an intermediate area (e.g. Fig. 6) , and a coil winding (e.g. 47) disposed around each of the posts (e.g. “Coil windings are arranged about the shaft portions 41 of the posts 40”, para. [0045]), the coil windings being controllable so as to create a rotating magnetic field (e.g. “with the coil windings being sequentially controllable so as to create the rotating magnetic field.”, para. [0006], [0060]), wherein the impeller comprises a magnetic structure (e.g. 32) arranged to interact with the rotating magnetic field so as to cause rotation of the impeller, wherein the magnetic core comprises or consists of layered sheets of soft magnetic material (e.g. Figs. 17, 20a, “The shaft portion of each of the posts comprises a soft magnetic material which is discontinuous in cross-section transverse”, para. [0008], “The posts 40 act as a magnetic core and are made of a suitable material, in particular a soft magnetic material, such as steel or a suitable alloy, in particular cobalt steel. Likewise, the back plate 50 is made of a suitable soft magnetic material, such as cobalt steel.”, para. [0046]) such that the soft magnetic material is discontinuous regarding electric conductivity in a cross-section transverse to the layered sheets (e.g. Figs. 17, 20a, “The shaft portion of each of the posts comprises a soft magnetic material which is discontinuous in cross-section transverse”, para. [0008], [0011], “as well as the back plate 150 comprise a soft magnetic material that is discontinuous in respective cross-sections transverse to the direction of the magnetic flux”, para. [0063]), wherein an orientation of the sheets within the posts relative to the rotational axis is the same for all posts (e.g. sheets are oriented all the same, Figs. 17, 20a).
In reference to at least claim 2
Siess discloses wherein a material of at least a portion of at least one of the posts is integral with a material of the intermediate area of the back plate (e.g. “components of the drive unit 104, more specifically the shaft portions 141 of the posts 140 as well as the back plate 150 comprise a soft magnetic material that is discontinuous in respective cross-sections transverse to the direction of the magnetic flux (see Fig. 15 for a schematic illustration of the magnetic flux). In particular, the shaft portions 141 and the back plate 150 are slotted, i.e. they are formed of a stack of sheets of soft magnetic material that are electrically insulated from each other.”, para. [0063]).
In reference to at least claim 3
Siess discloses wherein within each of the posts one of the sheets of soft magnetic material or an intermediate layer between two of the sheets of soft magnetic material is arranged in a plane which includes the axis of rotation (e.g. sheets 171 arranged in a plane which includes the axis of rotation, Figs. 17, 20a).
In reference to at least claim 4
Siess discloses wherein within each of the posts the sheets of soft magnetic material are arranged concentric around the axis of rotation (e.g. sheets 171 of the post are arranged concentrically around the axis of rotation, Figs. 17, 20a).
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2017/0302145 to Holenstein et al. (Holenstein).
In reference to at least claim 1
Holenstein discloses an intravascular blood pump for percutaneous insertion into a patient's blood vessel (e.g. "blood pumps" – where the examiner notes that the specific components of the pump in the body of the claim do not require percutaneous insertion and further a blood pump would necessarily require percutaneous insertion of a component into a patient's blood vessel in order to be in fluidic contact with blood, para. [0007]), comprising: a pump casing having a blood flow inlet and a blood flow outlet (e.g. pumping fluid requires an inlet and outlet, para. [0046], [0087], [0224], [0229]), an impeller arranged in said pump casing so as to be rotatable about an axis of rotation, the impeller having blades sized and shaped for conveying blood from the blood flow, inlet to the blood flow outlet (e.g. impeller 92, para. [0227], [0252]), a drive unit for rotating the impeller (e.g. rotary drive 1, Figs. 7, 14, 52), the drive unit comprising a magnetic core (e.g. 31 and 4, Fig. 14), the magnetic core including a plurality of posts (e.g. 4, Fig. 14), the plurality of posts arranged about the axis of rotation (e.g. the post 4 are arranged around the axis of rotation, Fig. 14-15) and a back plate connecting the posts (e.g. 5, Fig. 14) and extending between the post in an intermediate area (e.g. back plate 5 extends between the ends of the plurality of posts 4, Figs. 14-15, and a coil winding disposed around each of the posts (e.g. 63, Fig. 14), the coil windings being controllable to create a rotating magnetic field (e.g. “The coils 61 or the drive coils 62 and the control coils 63 are controlled in a manner known per se to generate the electromagnetic rotational field for the operation of the temple motor 1.”, para. [0145]), wherein the impeller comprises a magnetic structure arranged to interact with the rotating magnetic field to cause rotation of the impeller (e.g. impeller 92, para. [0227], [0252], [0254]), wherein the magnetic core comprises or consists of layered sheets of a soft magnetic material such that the soft magnetic material is discontinuous regarding electric conductivity in a cross-section transverse to the layered sheets (e.g. “metal sheets” para. [0105], “ a soft magnetic material”, para. [0160]), wherein an orientation of the sheets within the posts relative to the rotational axis is the same for all posts (e.g. orientation of metal sheets that make up the posts 4 is the same, Fig. 14).
In reference to at least claim 2
Holenstein discloses wherein a material of at least a portion of at least one of the posts is integral with a material of the intermediate area of the back plate (e.g. “The reflux 5 or its segments 51 and the longitudinal limbs 41 of the coil cores 4 are each produced from a soft magnetic material because they serve as flux conducting elements for conducting the magnetic flux. Suitable soft magnetic materials are, for example, ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic materials, that is in particular iron, nickel-iron or silicon iron.”, para. [0107]).
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.
Claim(s) 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over EP 3456367 to Siess et al. (Siess) in view of US 2011/0084569 to Asano et al. (Asano).
In reference to at least claim 5-7
Siess discloses a device according to claim 1. However, Siess fails to expressly disclose at least one weld bridging a discontinuity in the structure, where the weld is arranged on a surface of the back plate opposite to the posts or arranged on an end surface of a post opposite to the back plate.
In the same field of endeavor, Asano discloses the use of welding to bridge a discontinuity in the structure, where the weld is arranged on a surface of the back plate or on the surface of a post opposite the back plate, in order to provide a known way of securing the magnetic bodies while avoiding degradation of the magnetic properties (e.g. para. [0047]-[0052]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the known technique of welding to bridge a discontinuity in the structure, where the weld is arranged on a surface of the back plate or on the surface of a post opposite the back plate as taught by Asano, to the device of Siess, in order to improve the device in the same manner by providing a means of securing without negatively affecting the magnetic properties of the components (‘569, para. [0052]).
Conclusion
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/JENNIFER L GHAND/Examiner, Art Unit 3796