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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 1-6 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.
In re claim 1, the phrase "an elongate vessel a distance" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether an elongate vessel a distance recites two separate structures, if it is meant to be one structure, or a component structures. As currently recited the subject-predicate relationships are ambiguous. For purposes of examination: as best understood by the Examiner, this phrase/term is interpreted as an elongate vessel distance.
Claims 2-6 are rejected at least by virtue of its dependency.
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 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.
Claims 1-3 and 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oikawa (US20130199210) in view of Takahashi (US 20140250923 A1).
In re Claim 1, Oikawa discloses a cryopump (10) comprising:
a vessel (38) comprising a radiation shield (30) having a frontal opening (12), said frontal opening (12) forming an inlet ([0054]: frontal opening forms an inlet to vessel 38) to said vessel (38);
a frontal array (50) thermally coupled to said radiation shield (30) and mounted across said frontal opening (12);
a cryopanel structure (18/32) mounted within said vessel (14);
a two stage refrigerator (22, 24) extending into said vessel (extends into 38),
a first stage (22) of said refrigerator (22,24) being thermally coupled to said radiation shield (30) and a colder second stage (24) of said refrigerator (22,24) being thermally coupled to said cryopanel structure (18);
wherein said vessel (38) comprises
an elongate vessel (40) a distance (See Fig.1 18 and 50 are necessarily separated by a distance) between
a surface of said cryopanel structure (surface of top cryopanel of 18) closest to said frontal opening (12) and
a surface of said frontal array (surface of 50) closest to said cryopanel structure (18)
However, Oikawa does not explicitly teach, comprising between 0.6 and 1.2 times the diameter of said frontal opening.
On the other hand, Takahashi teaches comprising between 0.6 and 1.2 times the diameter of said frontal opening ([0022]: The distance in the axial direction comprising the cover which included the opening may be about 0.5 to 1.5 times a distance among cryosorption panels).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have taken the teachings of Oikawa and to have modified them by having comprising between 0.6 and 1.2 times the diameter of said frontal opening, in order to increase high-speed pumping of non-condensable gas (See Takahashi [0222]), without yielding unpredictable results.
In re Claim 2, Modified Oikawa teaches wherein said distance (Takahashi [0022]) is between 0.7 and 0.9 times the diameter of said frontal opening (Oikawa diameter of 12)| (See Takahashi [0022] were measurement can be adjusted to 0.8).
In re Claim 3, Modified Oikawa teaches does not explicitly teach wherein the diameter of the frontal opening (diameter of 12) except for is between 20 and 21 cm (7.8 and 8.2 inches) and Modified Oikawa teaches said distance between said cryopanel structure (18) and said frontal array (50) except for is between 12 cm and 25 cm (4.7 and 10 inches). It would have been obvious matter of design choice to modify the length and size of the diameter and distance (See at least Takahashi [0022]) since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change is size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
In re Claim 5, Modified Oikawa teaches wherein said frontal array (50) comprises a disk element (54) and an annular element (52), said disk element (54) and said annular element (52) being mounted axially displaced from each other
said annular element (52) being mounted to be closer to said frontal opening (12) than said disk element (54),
a diameter of said disk element (diameter of 54) being
equal to or greater than a diameter of the aperture in said annular element (See Fig. 2 aperture of 52; 54 is concentric and necessarily has a greater diameter) and
smaller than an outer diameter of said annular element (outer diameter of 52),
said outer diameter of said annular element (outer diameter of 52) being equal to or greater than a diameter of said frontal opening (12).
In re Claim 6, Modified Oikawa teaches wherein said frontal array (50) comprises
an axially extending cylindrically-shaped element (32),
said cylindrically-shaped element (32) connecting said disk element (54) and annular element (52),
said cylindrically-shaped element (32) comprising a cylindrical surface ([0048]: cylindrical shape surface with 46),
said cylindrical surface ([0046]) comprising a plurality of apertures (46).
Claim 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oikawa (US20130199210) in view of Takahashi (US 20140250923 A1), further in view of Tsuyuki (US 20090038319 A1).
In re Claim 4, Modified Oikawa teaches wherein said second stage (24) of said two stage refrigerator (22,24) is configured to maintain a temperature of said cryopanels (temperature of 18; See [0018] and [0039]).
However, Modified Oikawa does not explicitly teach, to below 9K.
On the other hand, Tsuyuki teaches below 9K ([0045]: second stage cooling is cooled at 4 K).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have taken the teachings of Modified Oikawa and to have modified them by maintaining the cryopanels of modified Oikawa to below 9K, in order to improve condensation and adsorption hydrogen and helium at the cryopanels (See Tsuyuki [0063] and [0066]), without yielding unpredictable results.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IBRAHIM M ADENIJI whose telephone number is (571)272-5939. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-5:00 PM.
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/IBRAHIM A. MICHAEL ADENIJI/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/JOEL M ATTEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763