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 .
Response to Amendment
Claims 1-2 and 4-8 remain pending in the application. Claims 2 and 6-7 remain withdrawn from consideration.
Applicant’s arguments regarding the rejection of claims 1, 4-5 and 8 under 35 USC 102 as anticipated by Sakaguchi have been fully considered, and are persuasive. The rejection is withdrawn.
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, 4-5 and 8 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.
Claims 1 and 8 recite “a temperature-controlled component including at least a base or a thread groove pump mechanism”, and then later recites “a heat insulating portion that is disposed in an axial direction between the thread groove pump and the base”. The claim is indefinite because the base and thread groove pump are presented as optional, and then positively recited with a heat insulating portion between them later in the claim.
The remaining claims are rejected based on their dependence on a rejected claim.
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, 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, 4-5 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsubokawa (JP2020041503, Applicant’s IDS) in view of Sakaguchi et al. (JP2002285988).
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Regarding claim 1, Tsubokawa teaches a vacuum pump comprising at least one of a heating function and a cooling function, a temperature-controlled component (see Fig. 4 above) including at least a base (2) or a thread groove pump mechanism (13), the vacuum pump including a heat insulating portion (11a) that is disposed in an axial direction between the thread groove pump and the base and has a hollow structure including a cavity (31) extending in an axial direction or a radial direction.
Tsubokawa fails to explicitly teach cavities, wherein the hollow structure includes a plurality of layers in the radial direction, and in at least one of the plurality of layers, the cavities each have a substantially parallelogram shape as viewed from a direction of an opening.
In an analogous art, Sakaguchi teaches a vacuum pump. Sakaguchi teaches a heat insulating portion (5) having a hollow structure including cavities (42, 43) in a plurality of layers in the radial direction (see Fig. 3), the cavities each have a substantially parallelogram shape as viewed from a direction of an opening (see Fig. 3). Sakaguchi teaches the parallelogram shape and layered arrangement helps absorb stress in the event of pump malfunction (see translation, page 9).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the pump of Tsubokawa and change it to have cavities, wherein the hollow structure includes a plurality of layers in the radial direction, and in at least one of the plurality of layers, the cavities each have a substantially parallelogram shape as viewed from a direction of an opening as taught by Sakaguchi to help absorb stress.
Regarding claim 4, Tsubokawa as modified teaches the cavities are at least partially closed (the cavities are fully closed).
Regarding claim 5, Tsubokawa as modified teaches a turbomolecular pump mechanism including a rotating body having a plurality of rotor blades (5) arranged in multiple stages in the axial direction and a plurality of stator blades (6) disposed between the plurality of rotor blades, wherein the temperature-controlled component is at least one of the plurality of stator blades (see Fig. 1), and the heat insulating portion is disposed on a support portion (13) of the stator blades (see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 8, Tsubokawa teaches a heat insulating member for a vacuum pump comprising at least one of a heating function and a cooling function, a temperature-controlled component (see Fig. 4 above) including at least a base (2) or a thread groove pump mechanism (13), the vacuum pump including a heat insulating portion (11a) that is disposed in an axial direction between the thread groove pump and the base and has a hollow structure including a cavity (31) extending in an axial direction or a radial direction.
Tsubokawa fails to explicitly teach cavities, wherein the hollow structure includes a plurality of layers in the radial direction, and in at least one of the plurality of layers, the cavities each have a substantially parallelogram shape as viewed from a direction of an opening.
In an analogous art, Sakaguchi teaches a vacuum pump. Sakaguchi teaches a heat insulating portion (5) having a hollow structure including cavities (42, 43) in a plurality of layers in the radial direction (see Fig. 3), the cavities each have a substantially parallelogram shape as viewed from a direction of an opening (see Fig. 3). Sakaguchi teaches the parallelogram shape and layered arrangement helps absorb stress in the event of pump malfunction (see translation, page 9).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the member of Tsubokawa and change it to have cavities, wherein the hollow structure includes a plurality of layers in the radial direction, and in at least one of the plurality of layers, the cavities each have a substantially parallelogram shape as viewed from a direction of an opening as taught by Sakaguchi to help absorb stress.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CAMERON A CORDAY whose telephone number is (571)272-0383. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4 EST.
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/CAMERON A CORDAY/Examiner, Art Unit 3745
/COURTNEY D HEINLE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3745