DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-20 are pending in the application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. 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 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by D1: US 2009/203272 A1 (OKABE YOSHIHIKO [JP]), cited by applicant. D1 discloses: An outboard motor [1] to be mounted on a hull [2], the outboard motor [1] comprising: a drive unit [6]; a drive shaft [24] configured to be rotationally driven by the drive unit [6]; a propeller [13]; a propeller shaft [13a] configured to rotate around a rotation axis together with the propeller [13]; a cooling water flow path [51a] configured for cooling water to flow through; a water pump [50] including an impeller and a pump shaft [52] configured to rotate around a rotation axis together with the impeller to pump the cooling water into the cooling water flow path; a first gear mechanism [13b] configured to transmit rotation of the drive shaft [24] to the propeller shaft [13a] (indirectly via shaft [14]); and a second gear mechanism [46b] configured to transmit rotation of the drive shaft [24] to the pump shaft [52], as specifically recited in claim 20; see Figs. 1-5, primarily Figs. 1-3.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-19 are allowed.
Conclusion
6. The prior art cited and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
The prior art cited disclose water pumps and multiple gear mechanisms within outboard motors.
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL V VENNE whose telephone number is (571) 272-7947. The examiner can normally be reached between M-F, 7am-3:30pm Flex. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Samuel J. Morano can be reached on (571) 272-6684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
8. If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Daniel V Venne/
Senior Examiner, Art Unit 3615
12/18/2025