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 .
Drawing Objections
The drawings are objected to because the reference numeral 1000 mentioned in paragraph 43 is missing.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-13 are objected to because in the preliminary amendment dated 15 January 2025, all the claims in the claim listing have brackets. For example, [Claim 1], [Claim 2]. These brackets are used to delete parts of the claims, and there is no reason to delete the claim numbers.
In claim 3, the phrase “the piston and the piston” appears to have a typographical error.
35 USC 103 rejections
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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over WO 2021-164901 (Bernistand) in view of JP 2002-43732 (Takaguchi) and U.S. 2009/0308796 (Ham).
Regarding claim 1, Bernistand discloses a reciprocating pump comprising: a pump housing 13 having a suction part into which a target liquid flows; a suction chamber 3 disposed in the pump housing, having an inner space divided into an upper space and a lower space, and configured to inhale the target liquid received by the pump housing using a valve 2 and then to pressurize the inhaled target liquid primarily;
a discharge chamber (chamber 4 connected with discharge duct 11) disposed under the suction chamber in the pump housing, having an inner space formed to be connected with the upper space of the suction chamber (note connecting passage 25), and configured to receive the pressurized target liquid in the suction chamber, to pressurized the received target liquid secondarily and then to discharge the pressurized target liquid through a discharge line; and a piston rod and a piston 5 configured to the target liquid in the suction chamber and the discharge chamber. Bernistand does not disclose: 1) the discharger chamber is under the suction chamber, and 2) inlet check valves. Takaguchi is relied upon to disclose that it is well known to set up a discharge chamber (bottom chamber near reference numeral 9) under a suction chamber 4 (note figures 1, 3). Ham discloses a reciprocating pump wherein inlet check valves 21a, 21b are used to receive fluid. It would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to 1) modify the pump to have the discharge chamber under the suction chamber in Bernistand as taught by Takaguchi for the purpose of discharging the fluid from the bottom chamber toward the bottom direction, and 2) provide check valves for the intake of Bernistand as taught by Ham for the purpose preventing backflow at the intake.
Regarding claim 2, Bernistand discloses wherein the upper and the lower spaces of the suction chamber is divided by the piston 5, and the inner space of the discharge chamber is connected to the upper space of the suction chamber by a connecting line 25 formed at the piston rod.
Regarding claim 3, Bernistand discloses wherein the target liquid is filled in the lower space of the suction chamber 3, so that the upper space of the suction chamber, the piston 5 are cooled down by the target liquid.
Regarding claim 4, Bernistand discloses the suction chamber 3 and the discharge chamber 4 sink in the target liquid received in the pump housing (note both chambers are submerged in the target liquid).
Regarding claim 5, Bernistand discloses wherein the suction check valve is formed such that the target liquid moves toward the upper space of the suction chamber when the piston rod descends (after the pump of Bernistand is modified by Ham and Takaguchi, the check valve and the suction chamber should be on top to receive target fluid).
Claims 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over WO 2021-164901 (Bernistand) in view of JP 2002-43732 (Takaguchi) and U.S. 2009/0308796 (Ham) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 4873913 (Pruitt). Bernistand as modified teaches all the claimed subject matter as set forth above in the rejection of claim 1, but still does not teach that heat sink pins are formed on outer surfaces of suction chamber (claim 11), discharge chamber (claim 12), discharge line (claim 13). Pruitt teaches that it is well known in a reciprocating pump to have heat sink fins 46, 48 on outer surfaces of suction chamber, discharger chamber and discharge line (note figure 5; column 4, lines 10-23). It would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to provide heat sink fins on the outer surfaces of the suction chamber, discharger chamber, and discharge line in Bernistand as taught by Pruitt for the purpose of releasing heat at those locations.
Allowable Subject Matter and Reasons for Allowance
Claims 6-10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
In claim 6, the recitation of “wherein a lower portion of the suction chamber is open”, and in claim 8, the recitations of “wherein the piston rod extends from an upper outer space of the suction chamber toward the upper space of the suction chamber, wherein the piston rode comprises at least one flow passage connected to the upper outer space of the suction chamber and the target liquid flows into the flow passage” as within the context of the claimed invention as disclosed and within the context of the other limitations present in claims 6, 8, are neither disclosed by a single prior art reference nor rendered obvious by a combination of prior art references. Thus, claims 6, 8, and their dependent claims are allowable.
Prior Art of Record
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Johnson, Shin, Brown, and Golz disclose reciprocating pumps having interconnecting suction chambers and discharge chambers.
Conclusions
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Examiner Nguyen whose telephone number is (571) 272-4861. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday--Thursday from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Laurenzi, can be reached on (571) 270-7878.
The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HOANG M NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
HOANG NGUYEN
PRIMARY EXAMINER
ART UNIT 3746
Hoang Minh Nguyen
1/5/2026