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 .
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, 4-6, 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Oh (US2015/0092299A1).
Oh discloses the claimed invention as follows (refer to the annotated figure below, corresponding to Fig. 2):
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Claim 1. A base member (110), comprising:
a projection (114) having a cylindrical shape and projecting in an axial direction; and
a component placement part (P), wherein
the projection and the component placement part are adjacent to each other via a curved surface part having a first curved surface (from A to B) and a second curved surface (from B to C),
the first curved surface and the second curved surface have a diameter increasing toward the component placement part in the axial direction (see Fig. 2),
the second curved surface is located closer to a side of the component placement part than the first curved surface in the axial direction (see Fig. 2), and
the first curved surface is continuous with the second curved surface in the axial direction and in a radial direction.
Claim 4. The base member according to claim 1, wherein the first curved surface and the second curved surface have a position in the axial direction approaching an upper end part of the projection as the first curved surface and the second curved surface approach the projection in the radial direction. See Fig. 2.
Claim 5. The base member according to claim 1, wherein a boundary (B) between the first curved surface and the second curved surface does not project outward from a substantially truncated cone shape (partially identified by the dashed line shown above) surrounded by a boundary between the projection and the first curved surface and a boundary between the second curved surface and the component placement part.
Claim 6. The base member according to claim 1, wherein the first curved surface and the second curved surface have a substantially arc-like cross-sectional shape (see Fig. 2) and are formed in an annular shape surrounding the projection. See Fig. 1, showing the cross-section through a larger portion of the spindle moor 100. It is clear the surfaces first and second curved surfaces are annular, formed in and surrounding cylindrical projection 114.
Claim 10. A spindle motor (100, Fig. 1) comprising the base member (110) according to claim 1.
Claim 11. A hard disk drive device (see claim 17 of Oh) comprising the spindle motor according to claim 10.
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) 9 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oh in view of Yoshikawa (US2020/0211587A1).
Oh discloses the claimed invention, except for the limitations of claims 9 and 12.
Yoshikawa shows it is known to fill the housing of a disk drive with helium (see [0022]), and for a housing (casing) height to be for example 42 mm, i.e. 1.65 inches (see [0095]).
Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to manufacture a disk drive with a housing height in the claimed range, and with a gas such as helium sealed within the housing, as these features are conventional in the disk drive art.
Claim(s) 2 and 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujinawa (US2014/0026397A1).
Yoshikawa discloses the claimed invention, except for the limitations of claims 2 and 3.
Machining the base member using an end mill to obtain smooth finished surfaces is conventional. Fujinawa, for example, discloses utilizing a tool to form smooth surfaces 901 and 902 (collectively: 90), the tool being an end mill, as one example (see [0051]).
In view of the teachings of Fujinawa, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to utilize and end mill to machine the component placement surface of Oh to provide a smooth finish. Inherently, end mils produce cutting marks forming arcs centered on the cutting tool axis, as the tool is moved to machine the surface.
Regarding claim 3, since the component placement surface and the second surface are contiguous, the cutting marks would extend to some extent into the flat portion of the second surface.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7 and 8 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LIVIUS R CAZAN whose telephone number is (571)272-8032. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday noon-8:30 pm ET.
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/LIVIUS R. CAZAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729