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
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by Kimpara (US 2021/0316833, cited in IDS).
For claim 1 Kimpara discloses an outboard motor (1) for propelling a ship, the outboard motor comprising:
a propeller unit (9,5,6,3) including a propeller shaft (6), a propeller (3) fixed to the propeller shaft, and a case (9) for rotatably supporting the propeller shaft (6); a support portion (4) (no proper reference in the drawings, see ref. 4 on fig. 1; see also fig. 3 and 7) formed in a columnar shape extending in an upper-lower direction and having a lower end portion to which the propeller unit is supported; a bracket (see e.g. fig. 1, 7) provided at an upper portion of the support portion (4) and configured to attach the support portion to the ship; and
a fine dust capturing device (21, 25) having a passage (24, 33, 34) through which water around the outboard motor flows and configured to capture fine dust contained in the water flowing through the passage (see filter cartridge 26),
wherein the fine dust capturing device (21, 25) such that an extension direction of the passage (33, 34) is a front-rear direction of the outboard motor (see fig. 3; the "direction" of the flow in passage 33, 34 is indeed front-rear, see Fig. 3, and 4 at element 24) and between the lower end portion of the support portion (4) and the case (9)
For claim 2, Kimpara further discloses the fine dust capturing device is disposed at a center in a left right direction of the lower end portion of the support device (see figs.).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-8 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 08/27/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argued that the passage of Kimpara is in the up-down direction and not the front-rear direction.
This is not found persuasive because a portion of Kimpara’s passage is in the front rear direction. See element 24 of Kimpara in figs. 1-2, see annotated fig. below and para 0036.
The claim includes the “comprising” limitation and does not exclusively require all passage flow to be in the front rear direction, therefor while Kimpara does include flow in the up-down direction it also comprises flow in the front rear direction.
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Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited prior art of record is noted as it pertains to motor filtration devices.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 MAGDALENA TOPOLSKI whose telephone number is (571)270-3568. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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, Joshua Huson can be reached at 5712705301. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MAGDALENA TOPOLSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642
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