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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoshii et al. (US 20090323890 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Yoshii teaches an X-ray CT apparatus (Abstract) comprising:
a fixed frame (Fig. 1B and paragraph [0037]: support frame 3 on the stationary side);
a rotation frame (Fig. 1B and paragraph [0037]: rotating frame 4) on which mounted objects including an X-ray source (Fig. 1B and paragraph [0037]: X-ray tube 6) and an X-ray detector (Fig. 1B and paragraph [0037]: X-ray detector 7) are mounted; and
a bearing that supports the rotation frame to be rotatable with the respect to the fixed frame (Fig. 1B and paragraph [0037]: support bearing 5 around the rotating frame 4 and attached to support frame 3),
wherein the bearing includes an outer ring connected to the fixed frame and an inner ring connected to the rotation frame (in Fig. 1B and related figures, the bearing 5 is depicted as comprising an unlabeled outer race connected to the fixed frame and an unlabeled inner race connected to the rotation frame), and
the fixed frame includes a seal portion that seals the bearing (Fig. 3 and paragraph [0045]: seal ring of labyrinth seal 11 fixed to support frame 3 on the stationary side; prevents debris from scattering toward the bearing).
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 2, 3, and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshii.
Regarding claim 2, Yoshii does not explicitly teach the seal portion being configured integrally with the fixed frame (rather, simply that it is “fixed to” the fixed frame in paragraph [0045]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yoshii such that the leftmost seal (11 in Figure 3) is configured integrally with the fixed frame. The use of a one-piece construction instead of multiple adjoined parts is merely a matter of obvious engineering choice; see MPEP 2144.04 V. B. As this choice simply improves manufacturing efficiency / reduces costs rather than providing a specific engineering need, the limitation is considered obvious.
Regarding claim 3, Yoshii teaches the seal portion being an end part of the fixed frame, the end part projecting to face at least one of two open parts on both sides of the bearing in a rotation axis direction (Fig. 3: leftmost seal ring 11 extends downwards from the support frame 3 to which it is fixed, projecting in the direction toward the opening directly to the right of the bearing). Yoshii does not teach the seal portion being connected to the outer ring.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yoshii such that the seal is connected to the outer ring of the bearing as a matter of a rearrangement or duplication of parts. As the leftmost seal 11 in Yoshii Figure 3 already extends fixedly from the support frame 3, one could simply move the seal slightly left (while also moving it downward or extending the length) so that it contacts the outer race of the bearing 5. This would allow the seal to serve the same purpose of shielding the bearing without meaningfully altering the manufacturing or functionality. The labyrinth seal in Figure 3 could alternatively be kept in place and another seal ring placed as described. See MPEP 2144.04 VI. B.-C.
Regarding claim 5, Yoshii teaches a recessed portion being provided between the inner ring and the rotation frame (Fig. 3: gap between the inner race of the bearing 5 and the right block of the rotating frame 4). Yoshi teaches a labyrinth seal (11 in Figure 3).
Yoshii does not teach the seal portion being inserted into the recessed portion with a gap therebetween, and the seal portion and the recessed portion constitute a labyrinth seal. The labyrinth seal is instead formed by two seal components extending downward from the support frame and upward from the rotating frame.
Rearranging the downward-extending seal part fixed to the support frame as described in the rejection of claim 3 (i.e. such that it contacts the upper race of the bearing while shielding the right gap of the bearing) achieves an insertion of the seal portion into the recessed portion, forming a labyrinth seal. Therefore, this is an obvious duplication or rearrangement of parts as in claim 3. In making this modification, one would also easily be able to slightly contract the length of the inner race of the bearing to maintain a gap, with no alteration to the functionality of the bearing.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshii in view of Mochitate (JP 2011167351 A).
Regarding claim 4, Yoshii teaches a driving unit (Fig. 1A: Rotation drive unit 20) that rotationally drives the rotation frame.
Yoshii does not teach the driving unit including a pulley,
wherein a recessed portion is provided between the inner ring and the pulley, and
the seal portion is inserted into the recessed portion with a gap therebetween, and the seal portion and the recessed portion constitute a labyrinth seal.
In the same field of endeavor, Mochitate teaches a driving unit (Fig. 5: motor 11) including a pulley (Fig. 9: large pulley 6) that rotationally drives the rotation frame (paragraph beginning with “Fig. 9 shows…” in machine translation: large pulley 6 rotates the rotating side of the bearing 5b, rotating the inner portion 41 of the rotating frame 40). Yoshii does not disclose the particular mechanism by which the rotation driving unit rotates the frame; it would have been obvious to employ a pulley as a well-known and conventional means for transmitting rotational motion, yielding predictable results.
As outlined in the above rejection of claim 5, forming a labyrinth seal using a sealing portion extending into a recession on the side of the bearing is an obvious rearrangement of the labyrinth seal disclosed in Yoshii. As Mochitate teaches the pulley 6 being arranged next to the inner ring of the bearing 5b (See Fig. 9), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yoshii such that a pulley is positioned proximal to the inner race of the bearing, and provide another recession between the inner race and the pulley such that another seal portion can again extend into the recession, forming a labyrinth seal.
Conclusion
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/WILLIAM LAURENCE TAYLOR/Examiner, Art Unit 2884
/DAVID J MAKIYA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2884
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