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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.84(h)(3). Hatching must be used to indicate section portions of an object, and must be made by regularly spaced oblique parallel lines spaced sufficiently apart to enable the lines to be distinguished without difficulty. Figures 1-7B, 13-15A and 16A-18 must have crosshatching.
The drawings are objected to because the character of the lines, numbers, and letters are not sufficiently dense and dark, uniformly thick and well-defined as required by MPEP §608.02(V)(l). Figures 8-12 are of poor quality making the figures difficult to read.
The examiner points out that the USPTO website has guidelines on how to submit drawing images for the best results. See https://www.uspto.gov/patents-application-process/applying-online/efs-web-pdf-guidelines. Specifically, see the section which states:
It is recommended to use images saved in a lossless format (e.g., TIFF, PNG, GIF, BMP). It is strongly recommended that the PDF creation software does not downsample images during the PDF creation process, as this could degrade the quality of the image.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-4, 6, 11-12 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Schuller U.S. 3,804,472.
Re clm 1, Schuller discloses a hydrodynamic bearing (Fig. 1-2) for supporting a shaft, the hydrodynamic bearing comprising: a bearing housing (14) defining an inner surface (bore of 14 and/or inner surface of posts 20) and one or more axial grooves (slot 36) adjoining the inner surface; and one or more pad modules (22), each of at least one of the one or more pad modules comprising: a pad body (24); a root portion (26) configured to couple in one of the axial grooves of the bearing housing; and a web portion (28) connecting the pad body and the root portion.
Re clm 2, Schuller discloses the web portion defines an I-beam shape (28, Fig. 1).
Re clm 3, Schuller further discloses at least one of the one or more pad modules is coupled to the bearing housing such that the pad body is configured to tilt on an axis parallel to the axis of the shaft when the hydrodynamic bearing is installed on the shaft (shown in Fig. 1; col. 2: lines 39-46).
Re clm 4, Schuller further discloses the bearing housing is configured to inhibit inward radial separation of the at least one pad module from the bearing housing (via 38 and 40).
Re clm 6, Schuller further discloses the pad body, the web portion, and the root portion are integrally formed with one another (as shown in Fig. 1).
Re clm 11, Schuller further discloses the root portion of at least one of the one or more pad modules is flared relative to the web portion (26 is thicker than 28, Fig. 1).
Re clm 12, Schuller further discloses a fastener (for example, 40) configured to couple the at least one pad module to the bearing housing, wherein the fastener inhibits axial movement along the axial groove, and wherein the fastener is oriented at a slant relative to the pad module (for example, tapered surface of fastener is slanted as in Fig. 2; also, fastener is slanted relative to at least circumferential ends of pads).
Re clm 19, Schuller discloses a hydrodynamic bearing (Fig. 1) for supporting a shaft (12), the hydrodynamic bearing comprising: a bearing housing (14) defining a first surface (inner bore of 14) and one or more receptacles (grooves 36) adjoining the first surface; and one or more pad modules (22), each of at least one of the one or more pad modules comprising: a pad body (24); a root portion (26) configured to couple in at least one of the receptacles of the bearing housing; and an I-beam shaped web portion (28) connecting the pad body and the root portion.
Re clm 20, Schuller further discloses the first surface is an inner surface (radially inner surface 16); the at least one of the receptacles is configured to inhibit separation of the at least one pad module from the bearing housing (via 38 and/or 40); and the hydrodynamic bearing is a tilt pad journal bearing.
Claims 1-9, 11, 13-16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim KR 102009110.
Re clm 1, Kim discloses a hydrodynamic bearing (Fig. 1) for supporting a shaft (S, Fig. 3), the hydrodynamic bearing comprising: a bearing housing (1100) defining an inner surface (bore of 1100) and one or more axial grooves (1110, Fig. 5) adjoining the inner surface; and one or more pad modules (1200), each of at least one of the one or more pad modules comprising: a pad body (1210); a root portion (1222) configured to couple in one of the axial grooves of the bearing housing; and a web portion (1221) connecting the pad body and the root portion.
Re clm 2, Kim discloses the web portion defines an I-beam shape (1221, Fig. 1).
Re clm 3, Kim further discloses at least one of the one or more pad modules is coupled to the bearing housing such that the pad body is configured to tilt on an axis parallel to the axis of the shaft when the hydrodynamic bearing is installed on the shaft (shown in Fig. 1 and 5).
Re clm 4, Kim further discloses the bearing housing is configured to inhibit inward radial separation of the at least one pad module from the bearing housing (via 1111, Fig. 1).
Re clm 5, Kim further discloses at least one of the one or more axial grooves comprises a neck portion (at 1111, Fig. 1) configured to inhibit inward radial separation of the at least one pad module from the bearing housing.
Re clm 6, Kim further discloses the pad body, the web portion, and the root portion are integrally formed with one another (shown in Fig. 1; 1200 is of one-piece construction).
Re clm 7, Kim further discloses the bearing housing comprises an integral damper ([0016]; Fig. 6a-6c).
Re clm 8, Kim further discloses the web portion of the at least one pad module at least partially resides in a corresponding one of the axial grooves below the inner surface of the bearing housing (shown in Fig. 1 and 2).
Re clm 9, Kim further discloses at least one of the axial grooves comprises a dovetail shape (Fig. 8b).
Re clm 11, Kim further discloses the root portion of at least one of the one or more pad modules is flared relative to the web portion (1222 is wider than 1221, Fig. 1).
Re clm 13, Kim further discloses a shim (at r, Fig. 6a and 6b) coupled between the root portion of the at least one pad module and the bearing housing.
Re clm 14, Kim further discloses one or more lubrication devices (1120, Fig. 7; [0040]) configured to supply lubricant to at least one of the one or more pad modules.
Re clm 15, Kim discloses a method of making a hydrodynamic bearing (Fig. 1), the method comprising: positioning a pad (1200) in a bearing housing (1100); and securing the pad to the bearing housing such that a web (1221) connecting the pad to the housing at least partially resides in a receptacle (1110) in the bearing housing.
Re clm 16, Kim further discloses the receptacle is an axial groove (shown in Fig. 5); and the web is integral to at least one of the pad or the bearing housing (Fig. 1).
Re clm 18, Kim further discloses placing a shim (at r, Fig. 6a and 6b) between the pad and the bearing housing.
Re clm 19, Kim further discloses a hydrodynamic bearing (Fig. 1) for supporting a shaft (S, Fig. 5), the hydrodynamic bearing comprising: a bearing housing (1100) defining a first surface (bore of 1100) and one or more receptacles (1110) adjoining the first surface; and one or more pad modules (1200), each of at least one of the one or more pad modules comprising: a pad body (1210); a root portion (1222) configured to couple in at least one of the receptacles of the bearing housing; and an I-beam shaped web portion (1221) connecting the pad body and the root portion.
Re clm 20, Kim further discloses the first surface is an inner surface; the at least one of the receptacles is configured (via 1111, Fig. 1) to inhibit separation of the at least one pad module from the bearing housing; and the hydrodynamic bearing is a tilt pad journal bearing.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim KR 102009110 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Dittmar CN 109695629.
Kim discloses all the claimed subject matter as described above.
Re clm 10, although Kim discloses various root geometries for inhibiting inward radial separation of the pad module from the housing, Kim does not disclose the root portion of at least one of the pad modules defines two or more serrations configured to inhibit inward radial separation of the at least one pad module from the bearing housing.
Dittmar discloses movement preventing features on bearing components comprising two or more serrations (at 58c, Fig. 8).
Since both Kim and Dittmar disclose bearing components with movement limiting features, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to substitute the movement limiting features of Kim with the serrations of Dittmar to achieve the predictable result of securing affixing parts together by limiting movement in an undesired direction.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim KR 102009110 as applied to claim 15 above, and further in view of Ide U.S. 5,513,917.
Kim discloses all the claimed subject matter as described above.
Re clm 17, Kim does not disclose installing a fastener to secure a root portion of the pad to the bearing housing.
Ide teaches providing a fastener (threaded bolt, Fig. 27 and 29) to secure a root portion (37p) of the pad to the bearing housing (30) to releasably secure the pad to the housing.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Kim and provide a fastener to secure a root portion of the pad to the bearing housing to releasably secure the pad to the housing.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALAN B WAITS whose telephone number is (571)270-3664. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday from 6-4 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, John R Olszewski can be reached at 571-272-2706. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALAN B WAITS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617