ADETAILED 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.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 9, 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP H11280673 A to Kobayashi Yoshio (Yoshio).
In Reference to Claim 1
Yoshio discloses:
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A non-contacting scroll pump, the non-contacting scroll pump (paragraph [0048]) comprising:
a housing 1;
an orbiting scroll 4 located within the housing 1; and
a thrust bearing assembly (highlighted above) located within the housing for axially supporting the orbiting scroll, wherein the thrust bearing assembly comprises:
a first plate 13 fixed to the orbiting scroll 4;
a second plate 11 spaced apart from the first plate 13;
a ball bearing 9 located between the first plate 13 and the second plate 11, the ball bearing being configured to roll against the first and second plates during orbiting of the orbiting scroll; and
a coupling structure 18 extending between the housing and the second plate to couple the housing to the second plate, wherein the coupling structure comprises a thermal break (balls 16 and gap S) for reducing heat transfer from the second plate to the coupling structure during operation of the non-contacting scroll pump.
Examiner Notes: the gap S
In Reference to Claim 4
Yoshio discloses:
the coupling structure comprises one or more inserts 21 located between the second plate 11 and the rest of the coupling structure, wherein the thermal break (ball 16 or S) is provided at least partially by the one or more inserts.
In Reference to Claim 9
Yoshio discloses:
wherein the coupling structure is for adjusting the axial position of the orbiting scroll.
In Reference to Claim 10
Yoshio discloses:
A vacuum pumping system comprising a plurality of vacuum pumps, wherein one of the vacuum pumps is the non-contacting scroll pump of claim 1, see paragraph 1.
In Reference to Claim 11
Yoshio discloses:
Use of the non-contacting scroll pump of claim 1 to pump fluid.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 2, 3, 5-8 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, primarily because the prior art of record cannot anticipate Applicant’s claimed invention by a single reference nor render Applicant’s claimed invention obvious by the combination of more than one reference.
Furthermore, the prior art of record does not teach “wherein the coupling structure comprises a pin comprising a hollow section, the hollow section extending axially from proximate to an end of the pin which is in contact with the second plate, and wherein the thermal break is provided at least partially by the hollow section.” as within the context of the claimed invention as disclosed and within the context of the other limitations present in claim 2;
The prior art of record does not teach “a first ball bearing cage sandwiched between the first plate and the second plate; and a second ball bearing cage sandwiched between the first plate and the second plate, wherein the first and second ball bearing cages house the ball bearing to constrain movement of the ball bearing.” as within the context of the claimed invention as disclosed and within the context of the other limitations present in claim 5.
The prior art of record does not teach “wherein the non-contacting scroll pump comprises three thrust bearing assemblies, wherein each of the three thrust bearing assemblies comprises: a first plate fixed to the orbiting scroll; a second plate spaced apart from the first plate; a ball bearing located between the first plate and the second plate, the ball bearing being configured to roll against the first and second plates during orbiting of the orbiting scroll; and a coupling structure extending between the housing and the second plate to couple the housing to the second plate, wherein the coupling structure comprises a thermal break for reducing heat transfer from the second plate to the coupling structure during operation of the non-contacting scroll pump, wherein the three thrust bearing assemblies are evenly angularly distributed around the rotation axis of the orbiting scroll in a triangular formation.” as within the context of the claimed invention as disclosed and within the context of the other limitations present in claim 8.
Therefore, the prior art of record cannot anticipate Applicant’s claimed invention by a single reference nor render Applicant’s claimed invention obvious by the combination of more than one reference.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY AYALA DELGADO whose telephone number is (571)270-3452. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark III 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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/ANTHONY AYALA DELGADO/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
/MARK A LAURENZI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3746