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 is a first action on the merits of the application. Claims 1-15 are pending.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election of invention I, claims 1-5 in the reply filed on May 04, 2026 is acknowledged. Since the reply does not distinctly and specifically point out supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election shall be treated as an election without traverse. Claims 6-15 are withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a non-elected invention.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites “sun gear” in line 5. It is respectfully suggested to amend the limitation to “the sun gear” for clarification purposes.
Appropriate corrections are required.
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.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takabayashi et al. (US 4,710,161, hereinafter “Takabayashi”).
In regard to claim 1, Takabayashi discloses a continuous type centrifugal separator (Abstract; Fig. 1), comprising (Fig. 1; col. 2, line 30 thru col. 7, lines 5):
(i) a stationary frame (housing, 1, Fig. 1) including a lower plate (13, Fig. 1) spaced from an upper support (2, Fig. 1);
(ii) a sun gear (23, Fig 1) fixedly secured with respect to the lower plate (13, Fig. 1);
(iii) a motor (7, Fig. 1);
(iv) a drive shaft (10, Fig. 1) extending through the lower plate (13, Fig. 1) and sun gear (23, Fig. 1) from a first portion associated with the motor (7, Fig. 1) to a second portion adjacent to the sun gear (23, Fig. 1), wherein the motor (7, Fig. 1) is configured to rotate the drive shaft (10, Fig. 1) at a first rotational speed with respect to said upper support (2, Fig. 1) (col. 3, lines 27-35);
(v) a yoke (made of upper and lower tables 16, 17 and a connecting bar 18, Fig. 1) positioned between the lower plate (13, Fig. 1) and the upper support (2, Fig. 1) and including a bottom platform (17, Fig. 1) associated to the second portion of the drive shaft (10, Fig. 1) and configured to be rotated with the drive shaft (10, Fig. 1) at said first rotational speed (col. 3, lines 27-35);
(vi) a planet gear (24, Fig. 1) oriented in a common plane with the sun gear (23, Fig. 1) and at least partially positioned between the lower plate (13, Fig. 1) and the bottom platform (17, Fig. 1);
(vii) a yoke shaft (18, Fig. 1) at least partially positioned within the yoke (made of upper and lower tables 16, 17 and a connecting bar 18, Fig. 1), oriented substantially parallel to the drive shaft (10, Fig. 1), and extending through the bottom platform (17, Fig. 1) from a first end associated with the planet gear (24, Fig. 1) to a second end associated with a first sheave (27, Fig. 1) rotatably positioned within the yoke (made of upper and lower tables 16, 17 and a connecting bar 18, Fig. 1);
(viii) a first timing belt (22, Fig. 1) engaging the sun gear (23, Fig. 1) and the planet gear (24, Fig. 1) and configured to be driven by rotation of the bottom platform (17, Fig. 1) to rotate the planet gear (24, Fig. 1), the yoke shaft (18, Fig. 1), and the first sheave (27, Fig. 1);
(ix) a second sheave (26, Fig. 1) rotatably positioned within the yoke (made of upper and lower tables 16, 17 and a connecting bar 18, Fig. 1) in a common plane with the first sheave (27, Fig. 1);
(x) a second timing belt (25, Fig. 1) engaging the first and second sheaves (26, 27, Fig. 1) and configured to be driven by rotation of the first sheave (27, Fig. 1) to rotate the second sheave (26, Fig. 1) with respect to the yoke (made of upper and lower tables 16, 17 and a connecting bar 18, Fig. 1); and
(xi) a receptacle (20, Fig. 1) configured to rotate with the second sheave (26, Fig. 1) and to be connected to a fluid separation chamber (40, Fig. 1) so as to cause the fluid separation chamber (40, Fig. 1) to rotate at a second rotational speed with respect to said upper support (2, Fig. 1) that is double the first rotational speed (col. 3, lines 27-35, “By properly selecting this ratio, the speed ratio between the centrifugal table 20 and the lower table 17 may be set to be 2:1”).
In regard to claim 2, Takabayashi discloses:
the upper support (2, Fig. 1) is configured to receive a first end of an umbilicus (a conduit comprising 33, 34, Fig. 1) extending from the fluid separation chamber (40, Fig. 1) so as to prevent rotation of said first end (col. 4, lines 39-62), and
the yoke (made of upper and lower tables 16, 17 and a connecting bar 18, Fig. 1) includes a central support (the portion of upper table 16, Fig. 1 at the middle around metal seal 19, Fig. 1) configured to engage a midsection of the umbilicus so as to cause the midsection of the umbilicus to rotate with the yoke (the portion of umbilicus 33 passes through the upper table 16, Fig. 1).
In regard to claim 3, Takabayashi discloses the yoke (of upper and lower tables 16, 17 and a connecting bar 18, Fig. 1) includes first arm (extension of the upper table 16 to the direction the conduit 33) and second arm (extension of the upper table 17 away from the connecting bar 18, Fig. 1),
the central support (the portion of upper table 16, Fig. 1 at the middle around metal seal 19, Fig. 1) is associated with the first arm (extension of the upper table 16 to the direction the conduit 33), and
the yoke shaft (18, Fig. 1) is rotatably received within the second arm (extension of the upper table 17 away from the connecting bar 18, Fig. 1).
Takabayashi discloses every limitation recited in claims 1-3.
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 of this title, 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takabayashi et al. (US 4,710,161, hereinafter “Takabayashi”), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Khoja et al. (US 4, 132,349, hereinafter “Khoja”).
In regard to claim 4, Takabayashi does not explicitly disclose the feature of second and third planet gears each engaging the first timing belt and configured to be rotated by the first timing belt.
Khoja discloses a centrifugal liquid processing apparatus wherein a rotor assembly having a container for receiving liquid to be processed by centrifugation is rotatably mounted on a rotor drive assembly (Abstract; Figs. 1-3). Khoja discloses an embodiment of second and third planet gears each engaging the first timing belt and configured to be rotated by the first timing belt (Fig. 4; col. 5, line 51 thru col. 6, line 11).
It is noted that both the Takabayashi and Khoja references direct a centrifugal liquid processing apparatus wherein a rotor assembly having a container for receiving liquid to be processed by centrifugation is rotatably mounted on a rotor drive assembly.
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the apparatus of Takabayashi to provide the feature of second and third planet gears each engaging the first timing belt and configured to be rotated by the first timing belt as taught by Khoja, because the claimed feature is a known, effective method of functioning sun gear and planet gear system connected by belts in a centrifugal liquid processing apparatus wherein a rotor assembly having a container for receiving liquid to be processed by centrifugation is rotatably mounted on a rotor drive assembly as taught by Khoja (Fig. 4; col. 5, line 51 thru col. 6, line 11).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takabayashi.
In regard to claim 5, Takabayashi discloses the second sheave (26, Fig. 1) is substantially coaxial with the drive shaft (10, Fig. 1) and the sun gear (23, Fig. 1). It is noted that the upper support (2, Fig. 1) is located on top of the second sheave (26, Fig. 1), the drive shaft (10, Fig. 1) and the sun gear (23, Fig. 1). Consequently, it is the examiner’s assessment that the recitation “the second sheave is substantially coaxial with the drive shaft, the sun gear, and the upper support” is considered prima facie obvious over the teachings of Takabayashi.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YOUNGSUL JEONG whose telephone number is (571)270-1494. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM.
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/YOUNGSUL JEONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1772
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