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 .
This Office Action is in response to papers filed on 5/28/2026. The Applicant's remarks have been entered and considered.
Claims 1, 12, 13 are amended. Claim 3 is cancelled. Claims 6-11, 13-19 are withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/28/2026 regarding claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 12 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant argued that If Kawanishi were modified to incorporate the combination of intake fan 12, exhaust fan 13 and air outlet 14 in Zhao (equated in the Office Action to a one-side communication hole, an airflow generator, and an other-side communication hole), the resulting modification would alter Kawanishi's airflow and alter the structural arrangement that Kawanishi touts as yielding "greatly improved" cooling performance. In particular, the resulting airflow would at most flow unilaterally from the one-side space A to the other-side space B. At the very least, if modifying Kawanishi as proposed, no substantial airflow would be expected from the second supply opening 17 toward the end side of the one-side space A. Further still, the proposed Kawanishi- Zhao combination would be susceptible to air being blown out of the housing from the second supply opening 17 rather than being introduced into the housing. This is contrary to Kawanishi's utilization of cooling air from the second supply opening 17 to achieve air cooling from a radial direction outer side to a radial direction inner side. For at least these reasons, the proposed modification would alter Kawanishi's principle of operation and thus would not have been undertaken by the person of skill in the art. The Office Action has not set forth articulated reasoning to establish that the proposed modification would have been attempted by the skilled person to somehow even further improve cooling performance (with the stated reasoning for the modification including "reduc[ing] a temperature of the spaces A,B of the machine 10 and errors of speed measurement caused by excessive temperatures") beyond what Kawanishi describes as "greatly improved" performance.
These arguments are not persuasive because the modification of Kawanishi (WO 2019172007 A1) according to Zhao (CN 106712430 A) would not change the flow of air shown in FIG. 4 and 5 of Kawanishi. Air would continue to flow into the supply openings 16 and flow out of the exhaust openings 18 with the added qualities of forced or fan-driven flow. The supply openings 17 would continue to permit air flow into the ducts 12a of the stator 12. The Applicant’s allegations of altered airflow in Kawanishi are unsupported by evidence. An added advantage of Zhao is that the intake fan 11, the exhaust fan 13 and a temperature sensor 7 are connected to a PLC controller to permit feedback control of the fans 11,13 in response to changes in temperature inside the cavity of the machine which is not possible in Kawanishi. The fans 11,13 are started or stopped in response to the temperature (Zhao para [0026],[0027]). When the fans 11,13 are stopped, the airflow inside the machine cavity would be as described in Kawanishi.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 5, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawanishi (WO 2019172007 A1, see US 2021/0006131 for English Translation) in view of Zhao (CN 106712430 A).
As to claim 1, Kawanishi shows (FIG. 2):
PNG
media_image1.png
482
748
media_image1.png
Greyscale
A rotary machine 10 comprising:
a stator 12;
a rotatable rotor 13 disposed in a hollow space of the stator 12; and
a housing 11 that accommodates the stator 12 and the rotor 13, wherein
the housing 11 includes:
a one-side space A disposed on one side end of the stator 12 in an axial direction J and communicating with a gap G, the gap G being formed between an inner peripheral surface of the stator 12 and an outer peripheral surface of the rotor 13;
an other-side space B disposed on an other side end of the stator 12 in the axial direction J and communicating with the gap G;
a one-side communication hole 16A,18A formed on the one side in the axial direction J relative to the gap G and configured to allow an outside of the housing 11 and the one-side space A to communicate with each other; and
an other-side communication hole 16B,18B formed on the other side in the axial direction J relative to the gap G and configured to allow the outside of the housing 11 and the other-side space B to communicate with each other,
wherein the one-side space A and the other-side space B communicate with each other via the gap G and wherein the one-side communication hole 16A,18A and the other-side communication hole 16B,18B are offset along a circumference of the housing 11,
wherein the one-side communication hole 16A,18A comprises a forced inflow hole 16A and a natural exhaust hole 18A, the forced inflow hole 16A causing air outside the housing 11 to forcibly flow into inside of the one-side space A, and the natural exhaust hole 18A allowing air inside the one-side space A to be naturally exhausted;
wherein the other-side communication hole comprises a forced exhaust hole 18B and a natural intake hole 16B, the forced exhaust hole 18B to forcibly exhaust air inside the other-side space B, and the natural intake hole 16B allowing air outside the housing 11 to be naturally sucked into the inside of the other-side space B and
wherein air pressure in the other-side space B is negative pressure with respect to air pressure in the one-side space A;
wherein the gap G is disposed such that airflow in the gap G is in the axial direction J from the one-side space A to the other-side space B; and
(para [0019] to [0021]; openings 16, 18 are circumferentially offset from each other; the structure is capable of performing the claimed function of producing negative pressure if one aperture is sealed in a negative pressure chamber such that the recited air flows are shown in FIG. 5).
Kawanishi does not show:
each of the one-side communication hole and the other-side communication hole is connected to an airflow generator that generates an airflow;
the forced inflow hole allowing air outside the housing to forcibly flow into inside of the one-side space by the airflow generator
the forced exhaust hole allowing the airflow generator to forcibly exhaust air inside the other-side space; and
wherein the airflow generator comprises a first airflow generator and a second airflow generator, the first airflow generator configured to supply air into the one-side space and the second airflow generator configured to suck air from the other-side space, and wherein a primary axis of the first airflow generator is offset from a primary axis of the second airflow generator.
As to all of the bullets Zhao shows (FIG. 1, 2):
each of the one-side communication hole 12 and the other-side communication hole 14 is connected to an airflow generator 11,13 that generates an airflow;
the forced inflow hole 12 allowing air outside the housing 2 to forcibly flow into inside of the one-side space by the airflow generator 11
the forced exhaust hole 14 allowing the airflow generator 13 to forcibly exhaust air inside the other-side space; and
wherein the airflow generator 11,13 comprises a first airflow generator 11 and a second airflow generator 13, the first airflow generator 11 configured to supply air into the one-side space and the second airflow generator 13 configured to suck air from the other-side space, and wherein a primary axis of the first airflow generator 11 is offset from a primary axis of the second airflow generator 13 (para [0023], [0026], the fans 11, 13 are offset from each other circumferentially and axially)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the machine 10 of Kawanishi to have:
each of the one-side communication hole 16A and the other-side communication hole 18B is connected to an airflow generator 11,13 that generates an airflow;
the forced inflow hole 16A allowing air outside the housing 11 to forcibly flow into inside of the one-side space A by the airflow generator 11
the forced exhaust hole 18B allowing the airflow generator 13 to forcibly exhaust air inside the other-side space B; and
wherein the airflow generator 11,13 comprises a first airflow generator 11 and a second airflow generator 13, the first airflow generator 11 configured to supply air into the one-side space A and the second airflow generator 13 configured to suck air from the other-side space B, and wherein a primary axis of the first airflow generator 11 is offset from a primary axis of the second airflow generator 13
as taught by Zhao, for the advantageous benefit of forming an airflow channel that communicates with the spaces A,B of the housing 11 to reduce a temperature of the spaces A,B of the machine 10 and errors of speed measurement caused by excessive temperature as taught by Zhao (para [0017], [0018]).
As to claim 2/1, Kawanishi in view of Zhao was discussed above with respect to claim 1, and Kawanishi further shows (FIG. 2 above):
the forced inflow hole 16A and the natural intake hole 16B are disposed on one side in a radial direction, and
the natural exhaust hole 18A and the forced exhaust hole 18B are disposed on the other side in the radial direction.
As to claim 4/2/1, Kawanishi in view of Zhao was discussed above with respect to claim 2, and Kawanishi further shows (FIG. 2 above as modified) wherein the first airflow generator 11 supplies air into the one-side space A through the forced inflow hole 16A, and the second airflow generator 13 sucks in the air in the other-side space B through the forced exhaust hole 18B.
As to claim 5/2/1, Kawanishi in view of Zhao was discussed above with respect to claim 2, and Kawanishi further shows (FIG. 2 above as modified) the airflow generator 11, 13 supplies air into the one-side space A through the forced inflow hole 16A while sucking in the air in the other-side space B through the forced exhaust hole 18B.
As to claim 12/1, Kawanishi in view of Zhao was discussed above with respect to claim 1, and Kawanishi in view of Zhao (as modified) further shows wherein the first airflow generator 3-1B supplies air into the one-side space 1-3S through the forced inflow hole 1-3, and the second airflow generator 3-1A sucks in the air in the other-side space 1-2S through the forced exhaust hole 1-2.
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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Bagherpour et al. (US 5,751,079 A) shows (FIG. 1, 2) a compression inlet fan 46 and a natural opening 50 at one end of a stator 28 and an exhaust fan 54 and a natural opening 56 at an opposite end of the stator 28; and
Lukens (US 3,643,119 A) shows (FIG. 1) an inlet fan 14 and a natural opening 36 at one end of a stator 22, and an exhaust fan 27 and a natural opening 24 at a second end of the stator 26.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT E MATES whose telephone number is (571)270-5293. The examiner can normally be reached M to F 12:00pm to 8pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, TULSIDAS PATEL can be reached at (571)272-2098. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ROBERT E MATES/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/TULSIDAS C PATEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
Prosecution Insights