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
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.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2019/102532 to Koyama et al (Koyama).
Regarding claim 17, Koyama discloses a refrigerating machine oil used in a compressor including a compression mechanism that compresses a refrigerant including a hydrocarbon as a main component and an insulating member formed of a polymer having an ester bond, the refrigerating machine oil being selected from the group consisting of
a polyalkylene glycol,
an oil mixture of a polyalkylene glycol and a polyol ester,
an oil mixture of a polyalkylene glycol and a polyvinyl ether,
an oil mixture of a polyalkylene glycol and an alkylbenzene, and
an oil mixture of a polyalkylene glycol and a mineral oil (PAG; [41], [46]), and
the refrigerating machine oil has a saturated water content of 1.8% by weight or more (41], [46], 20,000ppm which translates to 2%).
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) 1-5, 7-9, 11-12, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koyama in view of JP 2000-274360 to Kitaichi (Machine translation has been used for both references).
Regarding claim 1, Kitaichi discloses a refrigeration apparatus comprising:
a compressor (100, fig. 1),
a refrigerating machining oil (PAG, [41]); and
a refrigerant (R290, [10]);
the compressor including
a casing (1, fig. 1) in which a refrigerating machine oil is stored;
a compression mechanism (2, fig. 1; [11]) housed within the casing, the compression mechanism being configured to compress a refrigerant; and
the refrigerant including a hydrocarbon as a main component (R290 is propane), the refrigerant having a saturated water content of less than 0.3% by weight (R290 has saturated water content of 0.13% as admitted by applicant in table 1), and
the refrigerating machine oil having a saturated water content of 1.8% by weight or more ([41]-[46]; PAG oil with saturated water content of 20,000 ppm which translates to 2%).
However, Koyama does not explicitly disclose which Kitaichi discloses an insulating member (40, figs. 1-3; [45]) housed within the casing, the insulating member being formed of a polymer having an ester bond ([10], [43]),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to insulating member of Kitaichi with the device of Koyama so as to achieve a desired durability ([43], Kitaichi).
Regarding claim 2, Koyama combined with Kitaichi discloses the refrigeration apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerating machine oil is selected from the group consisting of a polyalkylene glycol (PAG; [41]; Koyama), an oil mixture of a polyalkylene glycol and a polyol ester, an oil mixture of a polyalkylene glycol and a polyvinyl ether, an oil mixture of a polyalkylene glycol and an alkylbenzene, and an oil mixture of a polyalkylene glycol and a mineral oil ([41]-[46]; Koyama).
Regarding claim 3, Koyama combined with Kitaichi discloses the refrigeration apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the refrigerant is propane or isobutane ([10]; R290 is propane; Koyama).
Regarding claim 4, Koyama combined with Kitaichi discloses the refrigeration apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, and polyethylene naphthalate ([34]-[37]; Kitaichi).
Regarding claim 5, Koyama combined with Kitaichi discloses the refrigeration apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a motor (3, figs. 1; Koyama; 3, fig. 1; Kitaichi) coupled to the compression mechanism to drive the compression mechanism, the insulating member being an insulating film attached to the motor to suppress occurrence of an interphase short circuit of the motor ([45]; Kitaichi).
Regarding claim 7, Koyama combined with Kitaichi discloses the refrigeration apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerant is propane or isobutane ([10]; R290).
Regarding claim 8, Koyama combined with Kitaichi discloses the refrigeration apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, and polyethylene naphthalate ([34]-[37]; Kitaichi).
Regarding claim 9, Koyama combined with Kitaichi discloses the refrigeration apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: a motor (3, fig. 1; Koyama; 3, figs. 1-3; [45], Kitaichi) coupled to the compression mechanism to drive the compression mechanism, the insulating member being an insulating film attached to the motor to suppress occurrence of an interphase short circuit of the motor ([45], Kitaichi).
Regarding claim 11, Koyama combined with Kitaichi discloses the refrigeration apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, and polyethylene naphthalate ([6]-[46], Kitaichi).
Regarding claim 12, Koyama combined with Kitaichi discloses the refrigeration apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising: a motor (3, fig. 1; Koyama; 3, figs. 1-3; [45], Kitaichi) coupled to the compression mechanism to drive the compression mechanism, the insulating member being an insulating film attached to the motor to suppress occurrence of an interphase short circuit of the motor ([45], Kitaichi).
Regarding claim 14, Koyama combined with Kitaichi discloses the refrigeration apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a motor (3, fig. 1; Koyama; 3, figs. 1-3; [45], Kitaichi) coupled to the compression mechanism to drive the compression mechanism, the insulating member being an insulating film attached to the motor to suppress occurrence of an interphase short circuit of the motor ([45], Kitaichi).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 7/17/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 and 17 under 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made.
Conclusion
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/DAPINDER SINGH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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