DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Laney 2,923,251.
Laney discloses, regarding claim 1, a rotary swash plate hydraulic pump comprising: a casing 11, a cylinder block 26 disposed in the casing 11 so as to prevent relative rotation of the cylinder block 26 and including a plurality of cylinder bores 27 that are open on one end surface of the cylinder block 26, a rotary swash plate 16 rotatably housed in the casing 11 so as to face the one end surface of the cylinder block 26, a plurality of pistons 38 each of which is inserted into a corresponding one of the plurality of cylinder bores 27 and reciprocates within the corresponding one of the plurality of cylinder bores 27 by rotation of the rotary swash plate 16, and a variable capacity mechanism (combination of elements 15, 22, 24, 25, and 33-34) that changes an effective stroke length of at least one piston 38 included in the plurality of pistons 38 (this is clearly the case, see claims 1-3); Re claim 2, wherein: the variable capacity mechanism (combination of elements 15, 22, 24, 25, and 33-34) changes the effective stroke length of the at least one piston by placing at least a corresponding one of the plurality of cylinder bores 27 and a tank (via discharge chamber 31) in communication in a discharge process of the plurality of pistons 38 (this is clearly the case as hydraulic fluid will return to a tank or reservoir from 31); Re claim 3, wherein: the variable capacity mechanism includes a plurality of spools 33 arranged corresponding to the plurality of cylinder bores 27, respectively, and each of which reciprocates to open and close a path between a corresponding one of the plurality of cylinder bores and the tank (31), and changes the effective stroke length of the at least one piston 38 by changing an opening/closing position of a corresponding one of the plurality of spools 33 (clearly shown in the Figure and described in claims 1-3); Re claim 4, wherein: each of the plurality of spools 33 reciprocates in synchronization with reciprocation of one of the plurality of pistons 38 that is located in a corresponding one of the plurality of cylinder bores 27 (clearly shown in Fig. 2, see col. 4, lines 41-49); Re claim 5, wherein: the variable capacity mechanism further includes a swash plate rotating shaft 15 that rotates in conjunction with the rotary swash plate 16; the swash plate rotating shaft 15 includes a swash plate portion (22, 24, 25) that reciprocates each of the plurality of spools 33 by rotation of the swash plate rotating shaft 15; and the swash plate portion (22, 24, 25) is capable of moving back and forth in an axial direction and adjusts the opening/closing position of each of the plurality of spools 33 by moving back and forth.
Claims 1-2 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Winter 3,496,873.
Winter discloses, regarding claim 1, a rotary swash plate hydraulic pump comprising: a casing 19/20, a cylinder block 19a disposed in the casing 19/20 so as to prevent relative rotation of the cylinder block 19a and including a plurality of cylinder bores 7a that are open on one end surface of the cylinder block 19a, a rotary swash plate 2 rotatably housed in the casing 19/20 so as to face the one end surface of the cylinder block 19a, a plurality of pistons 5 each of which is inserted into a corresponding one of the plurality of cylinder bores 7a and reciprocates within the corresponding one of the plurality of cylinder bores 7a by rotation of the rotary swash plate 2, and a variable capacity mechanism (combination of elements 11-15 and 41) that changes an effective stroke length of at least one piston 5 included in the plurality of pistons 5 (see col. 3, lines 33-67); Re claim 2, wherein: the variable capacity mechanism (combination of elements 11-15 and 41) changes the effective stroke length of the at least one piston 5 by placing at least a corresponding one of the plurality of cylinder bores 7a and a tank (substantially broad - via discharge 10) in communication in a discharge process of the plurality of pistons 5; Re claim 8, further comprising: a plurality of inlet-end check valves 8 each disposed in a corresponding one of the plurality of cylinder bores 7a, wherein: the casing includes an inlet port 37 in which a working fluid flows; and the plurality of inlet-end check valves 8 allow a flow of the working fluid from the inlet port 37 to the plurality of cylinder bores 7a and block an opposite flow of the working fluid; Re claim 9, further comprising: a plurality of discharge-end check valves 9 arranged corresponding to the plurality of cylinder bores 7a, respectively, wherein: the casing 19/20 includes a discharge port 38 in which a working fluid flows; and the plurality of discharge-end check valves allow a flow of the working fluid from the plurality of cylinder bores to the discharge port 38 and block an opposite flow of the working fluid; Re claim 10, wherein: the plurality of cylinder bores 7a are disposed spaced apart about a predetermined axis in the cylinder block 19a; and the variable capacity mechanism (combination of elements 11-15 and 41) is positioned radially inward of the plurality of cylinder bores 7a in the cylinder block 19a (see how elements of the variable capacity mechanism, including 11-15 and 41, are positioned partially or completely radially within the bores 7a in Fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-7 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Peter J Bertheaud whose telephone number is (571)272-3476. The examiner can normally be reached 9am - 5pm M-F.
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PJB
/PETER J BERTHEAUD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746