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
Claims 3-4 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 10/22/2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamamura (US5274286).
Regarding claim 1, Yamamura discloses a spindle unit comprising:
a spindle (Fig. 1 element 20) having a tip part (Fig. 1 element 22) to which a mount (Fig. 1 element 24) for mounting a processing tool (Fig. 1 element 25) is connected (Fig. 1);
a casing (Fig. 1 element 18) that surrounds at least a part (Fig. 1 element 21) other than the tip part of the spindle and is formed with an air jet port (Fig. 1 elements 47 and 48) for jetting air toward the spindle in order to form an air bearing (Fig. 1, 4:18-52, where "a static pressure bearing that is formed by the air" corresponds to an air bearing); and
a cover (Fig. 1 element 12) mounted to the casing in such a manner as to surround the tip part of the spindle with a gap therebetween (see annotated Fig. 4 below),
wherein a region (see annotated Fig. 4 below) of a side surface of the tip part of the spindle (Fig. 4, where the outer circumferential surface of the tip part of the spindle corresponds to a side surface), the region being opposed to an inside surface of the cover (Fig. 4, where the inner circumferential surface of the cover corresponds to an inside surface) with the gap therebetween see annotated Fig. 4 below, where the gap is the empty space defined between the outer circumferential surface of the tip part and the inner circumferential surface of the cover and therefore the gap is between the region of the side surface of the tip part and the inside surface of the cover), is formed with at least one groove (see annotated Fig. 4 below) in such a manner as to go round the spindle one time along a circumferential direction of the spindle (Fig. 4 and see annotated Fig. 4 below, where the grooves being shown on both sides of the tip part means that the grooves go round the spindle one time along a circumferential direction of the spindle).
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Regarding claim 2, Yamamura discloses the limitations of claim 1, as described above, and further discloses the at least one groove is a plurality of grooves (see annotated Fig. 4 above).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CALEB A HOLIZNA whose telephone number is (571)272-5659. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00-4:30.
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/C.A.H./Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/MONICA S CARTER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723