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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 8/10/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see remarks page 7-10, filed 8/10/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of Claim(s) 1-7 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Proksch et al. (Hereinafter, “Proksch”) in the US Patent Application Publication Number US 20060186876 A1 in view of Francis et al. (Hereinafter, “Francis”) in the US patent Number US 4453124 A, the rejection of Claim(s) 8-20 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Proksch ‘876 A1 in view of Francis ‘124 A, and further in view of Glasson in the US Patent Number US 6694861 B2 have been fully considered as follows:
Applicant’s Argument:
Applicant argues on page 8-10, of the remarks, filed on 8/10/2026, regarding the rejection(s) of Claim(s) 1-7 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Proksch et al. (Hereinafter, “Proksch”) in the US Patent Application Publication Number US 20060186876 A1 in view of Francis et al. (Hereinafter, “Francis”) in the US patent Number US 4453124 A, the rejection of Claim(s) 8-20 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Proksch ‘876 A1 in view of Francis ‘124 A, and further in view of Glasson in the US Patent Number US 6694861 B2, that “In its rejection of claim 1, on page 8 of the Office action, the Office maps Francis's blind bore 11 as the claimed "hollow cylindrical protrusion." However, it should be noted that bore 11 is an internal bore formed within the body of former 10 itself, and is not a protrusion that extends outward from any cover structure. Francis discloses that "[t]he transducer system includes a transducer having a former 10 which is constructed from a non-magnetic electrically insulating material such as plastics. In the former there is provided a blind bore 11." (See Francis, column 1, lines 45-48.) The former 10 is therefore the primary structural body of Francis's transducer, and it does not include a separate sub-feature that projects outward from a cover into a separate compartment, as required by amended claim 1. Because Francis's bore 11 is simply a cavity within the former, rather than a protrusion extending from an intermediate cover, Francis fails to disclose the limitation of amended claim 1 that "the hollow cylindrical protrusion [acts] as a support for the first coil, the second coil, and the third coil within the air-tight compartment." (Remarks-Page 8).
………..
The Office also maps Proksch's shell 9 as forming the claimed air-tight compartment, relying on the statement that "[t]he coils are housed in a shell that also often acts as a magnetic shield 9. Because the core 1 is a magnetically soft ferromagnet, it is often desirable to shield it from external magnetic fields." (See Proksch, paragraph [0034], lines 17-20 as cited on page 6 of the Office action.) The Office then concludes: "Therefore, the compartment is air-tight as the compartment is sealed." (See Office Action, page 6.) Applicant respectfully submits that this conclusion does not follow from the cited passage. Proksch describes shell 9 solely as functioning as a magnetic shield to protect a ferromagnetic core from external magnetic fields, and Proksch includes no disclosure that shell 9 is air-tight, sealed, or otherwise environmentally isolated. …….
Additionally, neither Proksch nor Francis teaches the two-compartment architecture disclosed in the specification, including "a housing comprising a cover, an intermediate cover, and a base, wherein the cover and the intermediate cover together form a first, sealed air-tight compartment," and "the intermediate cover and the base together form a second, unsealed mechanical compartment on an opposite side of the intermediate cover from the air-tight compartment, the intermediate cover thereby separating the air-tight compartment from the unsealed mechanical compartment," required by amended (Remarks-Page 9) claim 1. The Office has not identified sufficient evidentiary support for its conclusion that such a compartment exists in either reference.
…….
Therefore, for at least the reasons expressed above, the rejection of claim 1 and all claims depending therefrom should be withdrawn.
Similar amendments to claim 1 have been made to claims 12 and 16. Therefore, the rejection of claims 12 and 16 and all claims depending therefrom should also be withdrawn (Remarks-Page 10).”
Examiner Response:
Applicant’s arguments, see remarks page 8-11, of the remarks, filed on 8/10/2026, regarding the rejection(s) of Claim(s) 1-7 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Proksch et al. (Hereinafter, “Proksch”) in the US Patent Application Publication Number US 20060186876 A1 in view of Francis et al. (Hereinafter, “Francis”) in the US patent Number US 4453124 A, the rejection of Claim(s) 8-20 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Proksch ‘876 A1 in view of Francis ‘124 A, and further in view of Glasson in the US Patent Number US 6694861 B2, as applied to the Final office Action mailed on 6/10/2026 have been fully considered and is persuasive. Because applicant has amended the claims and added the limitation in claim 1, “a housing comprising a cover, an intermediate cover, and a base, wherein the cover and the intermediate cover together form a first, sealed air-tight compartment including a first coil, a second coil, a third coil, an intermediate cover and a cover, and the intermediate cover and the base together form a second, unsealed mechanical compartment on an opposite side of the intermediate cover from the air-tight compartment, the intermediate cover thereby separating the air-tight compartment from the unsealed mechanical compartment; wherein the intermediate cover includes a hollow cylindrical protrusion extending from the unsealed mechanical compartment, through the intermediate cover, and into the air-tight compartment, the hollow cylindrical protrusion configured to enclose a spool; where the spool is disposed within the hollow cylindrical protrusion and outside the air-tight compartment, the hollow cylindrical protrusion passing through a center of the first coil, a center of the second coil, and a center of the third coil, and the hollow cylindrical protrusion acting as a support for the first coil, the second coil, and the third coil within the air-tight compartment.”, and in claim 12, “where the intermediate cover and a cover of the housing form an air-tight compartment, and the intermediate cover and the base together form a second, unsealed mechanical compartment on an opposite side of the intermediate cover from the air-tight compartment, the intermediate cover thereby separating the air-tight compartment from the unsealed mechanical compartment, the hollow cylindrical protrusion extending from the unsealed mechanical compartment, through the intermediate cover, and into the air-tight compartment; and generating the signal according to a position of the spool within the hollow cylindrical protrusion; where the spool is disposed within the cylindrical protrusion and outside the air-tight compartment, the cylindrical protrusion acting as a support for the first coil, the second coil, and the third coil within the air-tight compartment” and in claim 16, “a sealed compartment formed by a cover and an intermediate cover of the housing that contains a first coil, a second coil, and a third coil sharing a central axis that are connected to a circuit board; and an unsealed mechanical compartment formed by the intermediate cover and a base of the housing, the intermediate cover separating the sealed compartment from the unsealed mechanical compartment, the unsealed mechanical compartment containing a spiral spring” which overcomes the present rejection of claims 1, 12 and 16. Therefore, present amendment overcomes the present rejection of Claim(s) 1-7 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Proksch et al. (Hereinafter, “Proksch”) in the US Patent Application Publication Number US 20060186876 A1 in view of Francis et al. (Hereinafter, “Francis”) in the US patent Number US 4453124 A, the rejection of Claim(s) 8-20 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Proksch ‘876 A1 in view of Francis ‘124 A, and further in view of Glasson in the US Patent Number US 6694861 B2, as applied to the Final office Action mailed on 6/10/2026. However, applicant has amended claim 1 and added the limitation, which makes the claim language unclear. Therefore claim 1 and its dependent claims 2-11 are rejected under, as set forth below. See the rejection set forth below.
Amendment to independent claims 12 and 16 overcomes the present rejection of claims 12-20 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Proksch ‘876 A1 in view of Francis ‘124 A, and further in view of Glasson in the US Patent Number US 6694861 B2, as applied to the Final office Action mailed on 6/10/2026. Therefore claims 12-20 are allowed. The reason for allowable subject matter is explained below after the rejection. See below.
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-20 set forth in the amendment submitted 8/10/2026 form the basis of the present examination.
Claim Objections
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 12, it is suggested that the limitation in line 15-16, “the first coil, the second coil, and the third coil” read “a first coil, a second coil, and a third coil”-since the first coil, the second coil, and the third coil is not introduced in the claim before.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “a housing comprising a cover, an intermediate cover, and a base, wherein the cover and the intermediate cover together form a first, sealed air-tight compartment including a first coil, a second coil, a third coil, an intermediate cover and a cover,” The meaning of the language “the intermediate cover together form a first, sealed air-tight compartment including a first coil, a second coil, a third coil, an intermediate cover and a cover” is unclear. Claim 1 Line 2 recites, “a housing comprising a cover, an intermediate cover”. Then again line 4-5 recites, “a first, sealed air-tight compartment including a first coil, a second coil, a third coil, an intermediate cover and a cover”. Therefore, it is not clear if the intermediate cover and cover in the first air-tight compartment is the same intermediate cover and cover in the housing as recited in Line 2. Or are the intermediate cover and the cover in the first, sealed air-tight compartment different than the cover, the intermediate cover in the housing. Therefore, the claim language is not clear.
Clarification is required so that the scope of the claim is clear.
Claims 2-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite by virtue of its dependence from claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claims 12-20 are allowed.
9. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
10. Applicant’s remarks/amendment filed on 8/10/2026, with respect to the rejection of Claim(s) 8-20 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Proksch ‘876 A1 in view of Francis ‘124 A, and further in view of Glasson in the US Patent Number US 6694861 B2 have been fully considered have been fully considered and finds the claims allowable because of the amendment filed on 8/10/2026 as explained above. Therefore, the rejection of claims 12-20 has been withdrawn.
Claims 12-20 are allowed as set forth below.
Regarding claim 12, the prior art of record as considered and understood by the examiner fails to teach or fairly suggest:
where the intermediate cover and a cover of the housing form an air-tight compartment, and the intermediate cover and the base together form a second, unsealed mechanical compartment on an opposite side of the intermediate cover from the air-tight compartment,
the intermediate cover thereby separating the air-tight compartment from the unsealed mechanical compartment, the hollow cylindrical protrusion extending from the unsealed mechanical compartment, through the intermediate cover, and into the air-tight compartment; and
generating the signal according to a position of the spool within the hollow cylindrical protrusion;
where the spool is disposed within the cylindrical protrusion and outside the air-tight compartment, the cylindrical protrusion acting as a support for [[the]] a first coil, [[the]] a second coil, and [[the]] a third coil within the air-tight compartment.
Proksch et al. (US 20060186876 A1), Francis et al. (US 4453124 A) and Glasson (US 6694861 B2) are regarded as the closest prior art to the invention of claim 12. Proksch discloses, “a simple, low cost and high resolution sensor that does not require the precision machining of other high-resolution position sensors or the careful selection, machining or treatment of the magnetic material used in conventional LVDT cores (Paragraph [0042] Line 1-6). FIG. 2 shows our improved LVDT position sensor. This LVDT comprises a non-ferromagnetic coil form 14 around which a moving primary coil 15 is wound and two stationary secondary coils 3 and 4 wound around a non-ferromagnetic coil form 10. The primary coil form 14 is mechanically connected to the object of interest (not shown) by a shaft 8 (Paragraph [0068] Line 1-7). FIG. 3 shows one version of the signal conditioning electronics of our improved LVDT position sensor. One end of each of the secondaries 3 and 4 is grounded and the connected to a high precision, low noise differential amplifier 6. This differential amplifier is designed to produce low noise when coupled to a low impedance input source (such as a coil). The output of the differential amplifier 6 is input to a low noise analog multiplier circuit 27. The output of the filter 24 goes through a low noise, precision phase shift circuit 28 and fed as the other input of the multiplier circuit 27. Finally, the output of the multiplier circuit 27 is filtered by another high precision, low noise, stable, low pass filter 29 to remove the frequency doubled component of the multiplier output. The output of this filter provides the synchronous signal proportional to the position of the moving primary coil 15 (Paragraph [0070] Line 1-16). FIG. 8 shows the mechanical apparatus we used for characterizing the noise of these different LVDTs. It consists of a mechanical frame 16 (Paragraph [0076] Line 1-3). It consists of a mechanical frame 16 containing a mechanical flexure 17 attached to the moving LVDT core 18, whether any of the several conventional LVDT cores (FIG. 1) (Paragraph [0076] Line 2-5). The coils are housed in a shell that also often acts as a magnetic shield 9. Because the core 1 is a magnetically soft ferromagnet, it is often desirable to shield it from external magnetic fields (Paragraph [0034] Line 17-20). The moving LVDT core 18, whether any of the several conventional LVDT cores (FIG. 1) or the non-ferromagnetic coil form wound with a moving primary coil (Paragraph [0076] Line 4-7). However, Proksch fails to teach that converting rotation of a pulley to linear motion of the spool and the spool is formed within the hollow cylindrical protrusion; where the intermediate cover and a cover of the housing form an air-tight compartment, and the intermediate cover and the base together form a second, unsealed mechanical compartment on an opposite side of the intermediate cover from the air-tight compartment, the intermediate cover thereby separating the air-tight compartment from the unsealed mechanical compartment, the hollow cylindrical protrusion extending from the unsealed mechanical compartment, through the intermediate cover, and into the air-tight compartment; where the spool is disposed within the cylindrical protrusion and outside the air-tight compartment, the cylindrical protrusion acting as a support for the first coil, the second coil, and the third coil. Francis discloses, “a linear inductive transducer includes a non-magnetic former which has a bore in which is slidable a core formed from magnetic material. The core in use is moved axially within the former by the component whose axial position it is required to sense. The former has three circumferential grooves in which are located coils connected together to form the transducer winding the inductance of which varies with the axial position of the core (Abstract). The former has three circumferential grooves in which are located coils connected together to form the transducer winding the inductance of which varies with the axial position of the core. The widths of the coils and the number of turns in each coil varies so as to produce a substantially linear variation of inductance as the core is moved (Abstract). FIG. 1 is a sectional side elevation of a transducer forming part of the system (Column 1 Line 33-34). The transducer system includes a transducer having a former 10 which is constructed from a non-magnetic electrically insulating material such as plastics. In the former there is provided a blind bore 11 and in the peripheral surface of the former there is provided a plurality, in this case three, of circumferentially extending grooves 12, 13 and 14 (Column 1 Line 45-51). Slidable within the bore 11 is a core 16 formed from a material having a high permeability and a high internal resistance. An example of such a material is ferrite (Column 1 Line 52-54).” However, Francis does not disclose converting rotation of a pulley to linear motion of a spool; where the intermediate cover and a cover of the housing form an air-tight compartment, and the intermediate cover and the base together form a second, unsealed mechanical compartment on an opposite side of the intermediate cover from the air-tight compartment, the intermediate cover thereby separating the air-tight compartment from the unsealed mechanical compartment, the hollow cylindrical protrusion extending from the unsealed mechanical compartment, through the intermediate cover, and into the air-tight compartment; where the spool is disposed within the cylindrical protrusion and outside the air-tight compartment, the cylindrical protrusion acting as a support for the first coil, the second coil, and the third coil. Glasson discloses, “a position sensors, and more particularly, to linear position sensors for use on power cylinders (Column 1 Line 14-16). In this embodiment, an LVDT core 424 is caused to translate along an axis substantially parallel to an axis of rotation for a rotating element 410. The flexible connector 420 affixes to the rotating element 410 and to a movable element (not shown). A lead screw 415 threadedly engages the rotating element 410 at one end. At another end, the lead screw is affixed to an arm 422. The LVDT core 424 affixes to the other end of the arm 422 and is disposed to translate in an LVDT body 426. When the flexible connector is pulled such that it unwinds from the rotating element 410, the threaded engagement causes the lead screw 415 to translate. This, in turn causes the LVDT core 424 to translate within the LVDT body 426. A recoil mechanism 428 causes the rotating element 410 to wind the connector 420 when the moveable element (not shown) moves such that there is no tension on the connector 420. This also causes the LVDT core 424 to translate within the LVDT body 426. The LVDT thereby provides a position-related signal for the movable element (not shown) (Column 8 Line 45-65).” However, Glasson does not disclose where the intermediate cover and a cover of the housing form an air-tight compartment, and the intermediate cover and the base together form a second, unsealed mechanical compartment on an opposite side of the intermediate cover from the air-tight compartment, the intermediate cover thereby separating the air-tight compartment from the unsealed mechanical compartment, the hollow cylindrical protrusion extending from the unsealed mechanical compartment, through the intermediate cover, and into the air-tight compartment; where the spool is disposed within the cylindrical protrusion and outside the air-tight compartment, the cylindrical protrusion acting as a support for the first coil, the second coil, and the third coil. Therefore, the invention of Proksch, Francis and Glasson, even if modified, do not alone or in combination with the other art of record, teach or fairly suggest, “where the intermediate cover and a cover of the housing form an air-tight compartment, and the intermediate cover and the base together form a second, unsealed mechanical compartment on an opposite side of the intermediate cover from the air-tight compartment, the intermediate cover thereby separating the air-tight compartment from the unsealed mechanical compartment, the hollow cylindrical protrusion extending from the unsealed mechanical compartment, through the intermediate cover, and into the air-tight compartment; and generating the signal according to a position of the spool within the hollow cylindrical protrusion; where the spool is disposed within the cylindrical protrusion and outside the air-tight compartment, the cylindrical protrusion acting as a support for [[the]] a first coil, [[the]] a second coil, and [[the]] a third coil within the air-tight compartment” and also in combination with all other elements in claim 12 distinguish the present invention from the prior art references.
Claims 13-15 are allowed by virtue of their dependence from claim 12.
Regarding claim 16, the prior art of record as considered and understood by the examiner fails to teach or fairly suggest:
a sealed compartment formed by a cover and an intermediate cover of the housing that contains a first coil, a second coil, and a third coil sharing a central axis that are connected to a circuit board; and
an unsealed mechanical compartment formed by the intermediate cover and a base of the housing, the intermediate cover separating the sealed compartment from the unsealed mechanical compartment,
the unsealed mechanical compartment containing a spiral spring, a wire pulley, and a ferromagnetic spool that extends into a cavity of a cylindrical protrusion extending from the unsealed mechanical compartment into the sealed compartment along the central axis,
where the ferromagnetic spool is axially moved along the central axis via rotation of the wire pulley.
The most pertinent prior art of record to Proksch et al. (US 20060186876 A1), Francis et al. (US 4453124 A) and Glasson (US 6694861 B2) failed to specifically teach the invention as claimed. However, the invention of Proksch, Francis and Glasson, even if modified, do not alone or in combination with the other art of record, teach or fairly suggest, “a sealed compartment formed by a cover and an intermediate cover of the housing that contains a first coil, a second coil, and a third coil sharing a central axis that are connected to a circuit board; and an unsealed mechanical compartment formed by the intermediate cover and a base of the housing, the intermediate cover separating the sealed compartment from the unsealed mechanical compartment, the unsealed mechanical compartment containing a spiral spring, a wire pulley, and a ferromagnetic spool that extends into a cavity of a cylindrical protrusion extending from the unsealed mechanical compartment into the sealed compartment along the central axis, where the ferromagnetic spool is axially moved along the central axis via rotation of the wire pulley” and also in combination with all other elements in claim 16 distinguish the present invention from the prior art.
Claims 17-20 are allowed by virtue of their dependence from claim 16.
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Claim 2-11 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following claim 1 drafted by the examiner and considered to distinguish patentably over the art of record in this application, is presented to applicant for consideration:
“a housing comprising a cover, an intermediate cover, and a base,
wherein the cover and the intermediate cover together form a first, sealed air-tight compartment including a first coil, a second coil, a third coiand the intermediate cover and the base together form a second, unsealed mechanical compartment on an opposite side of the intermediate cover from the air-tight compartment,
the intermediate cover thereby separating the air-tight compartment from the unsealed mechanical compartment…….”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Dickmeyer et al. (US 5278496 A) discloses, “High Output And Environmentally Impervious Variable Reluctance Sensor- [Abstract] A variable reluctance sensor assembly including an open-ended housing which contains a bobbin assembly with an overmolded connector piece. The bobbin contains a ferrous pole piece pressed into a closed-ended cavity within the bobbin, a small disc-shaped rare earth permanent magnet mounted forward of the pole piece, and a magnet wire coil wound upon the bobbin barrel and attached to the customer terminals which carry the output signal. (Column 6 Line 15-37) Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5, and 7, a bobbin 20 is provided and is preferably molded out of a polyether-imide such as Ultem (tm), commercially available from General Electric. Ultem is known to be a non-hygroscopic material. However, bobbin 20 may be made of other thermoplastic materials. Bobbin 20 includes a front flange 22 having a reduced diameter portion 24 to define a front groove surface 25 upon which a front seal ring 26 rests. The ID of reduced diameter portion 24 defines a pocket 28 for reception of a magnet 30. Bobbin 20 further includes a bobbin barrel portion 32 having a generally cylindrical opening or cavity 34 therein. The back end 35 of cavity 34 is closed-ended to eliminate a possible fluid flow path therethrough. Barrel 32 preferably has a wall thickness ranging from about 0.015 to about 0.025 inch, which is about 0.005-0.010 inch thinner than conventional bobbin barrel thickness. An advantage of this reduced wall thickness is to reduce the internal magnetic air gap in the sensor. Bobbin 20 further includes a rear flange 38 and a shank portion 40 having wire slots 42 integrally molded therein. Shank portion 40 further includes an opening 44 which exposes web portion 18 of stamping assembly 14. (Column 8 Line 64-69 & Column 9 Line 1-15) A feature of the present invention is that opening 86 in front shell wall 84 permits magnet 30 to be exposed through shell housing 76. Because of the stack up of tolerances of bobbin assembly 80, sensor shell 76, magnet 30 and magnet pockets 28 and 90, there is an air gap of up to about 0.008 inch between the inside wall 114 of magnet pocket 90 and the forward face of magnet 30. In order to eliminate this air gap, wall 84 of the sensor shell is heated to just above its glass transition temperature, i.e. about 419.degree. F. for Ultem, whereupon wall 84 is staked with a cold tool until the forward face of magnet 30 engages inside wall 114 of pocket 90. In addition, the heat stake process forces magnet 30 into intimate contact with the forward end of pole piece 64 as well as rigidly captures the magnet within the two pockets. As shown in FIG. 7, the outer surface 116 of wall 84 includes a generally annular lip portion 118 about opening 86. Lip 118 is provided to aid engagement of magnet 30 during the staking process and is collapsed as a result thereof-However Dickmeyer does not disclose a housing comprising a cover, an intermediate cover, and a base, wherein the cover and the intermediate cover together form a first, sealed air-tight compartment including a first coil, a second coil, a third coil, an intermediate cover and a cover, and the intermediate cover and the base together form a second, unsealed mechanical compartment on an opposite side of the intermediate cover from the air-tight compartment, the intermediate cover thereby separating the air-tight compartment from the unsealed mechanical compartment; wherein the intermediate cover includes a hollow cylindrical protrusion extending from the unsealed mechanical compartment, through the intermediate cover, and into the air-tight compartment.”
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NASIMA MONSUR whose telephone number is (571)272-8497. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00 am-6:00 pm.
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, Eman Alkafawi can be reached at (571) 272-4448. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NASIMA MONSUR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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