DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, Figures 5-6, claims 1-5, 7, 10, and 12-16 in the reply filed on 1/9/2026 is acknowledged. Thus, claims 6, 8-9, and 11 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Claims 12-13 depend from claim 11 and are thereby also withdrawn.
Claim Objections
Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 15, lines 2-3, the phrase, “each of the plurality of coils”, should be changed to --each of the coil cores of the plurality of coil cores--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ghelli 11,644,043.
Ghelli discloses a pump unit for a centrifugal pump, the centrifugal pump including the pump unit 1 and a stator (element 27 represents the stator which is not shown in the drawings – see col. 4, lines 41-45) extending in an axial direction from a first axial end to a second axial end, a cup-shaped recess (within 27) provided at the first axial end, into which the pump unit 1 is configured to be inserted, the pump unit 1 comprising: a pump housing 5/6/28 with an inlet 3 and with an outlet 4 for a fluid to be conveyed; and a rotor 8 arranged in the pump housing 5/6/28 to convey the fluid, the rotor 8 configured to be rotated about the axial direction (see X axis), the pump unit 1 is configured for non-contact magnetic levitation of the rotor 8 and for non-contact magnetic drive of the rotor 8 by the stator (see col. 2, lines 44-46), the pump housing having a cover part 6/28 and a bottom part 5 to enclose the cover part 6/28, the bottom part 5 having a cylindrical cup to receive the rotor 8, the cylindrical cup configured to be inserted into the cup-shaped recess of the stator (see how 5 inserts into 27 in Figs. 2-3), both the inlet 3 and the outlet 4 of the pump housing 5/6/28 arranged at the cover part 6/28; Re claim 2, wherein the bottom part 5 is configured to be inserted into the cover part 6/28, so that the cover part 6/28 embraces the bottom part 5 radially on an outside (clearly shown in Fig. 2); Re claim 4, further comprising a mounting ring 27, the bottom part 5 resting on the mounting ring 27, and the mounting ring 27 is configured to be fixed to the cover 6/28 part in such a way that the bottom part 5 is clamped between the mounting ring 27 and the cover part 6/28 with respect to the axial direction (see how element 28 clamps 5, 6, and 27 together in Figs. 1-3); Re claim 5, wherein the cover part 6/28 has a plurality of attachment openings (see openings adjacent each locking clip on 28) for attachment elements (locking clips circumferentially placed around 28), the attachment elements configured to fix the pump unit 1 to the stator (via 27), the attachment openings arranged at the cover part 6/28 radially on the outside (clearly shown in Fig.1); Re claim 7, further comprising a cover ring 26 made of an electrically poorly conducting material disposed in the axial direction adjacent to the cover part 6/28, the cover ring 26 configured to be arranged between the attachment openings (on 28) and the stator (beneath 27) with respect to the axial direction after the pump unit 1 has been inserted into the stator (clearly shown in Figs. 2-3); Re claim 10, wherein the bottom part 5 has a substantially ring-shaped first sealing surface, and the cover part 6/28 has a substantially ring-shaped second sealing surface for cooperating with the first sealing surface (clearly shown in Fig. 3), the first sealing surface and the second sealing surface overlapping with respect to the axial direction, so as to provide a radial seal (clearly shown in Fig. 2, see 24 as well as the overlapping edge of 6).
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 3 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ghelli 11,644,043.
Ghelli discloses the claimed invention as discussed above, except for the cover part specifically being made of a metallic member, more particularly, stainless steel. Nevertheless, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invetion to make the cover part out of stainless steel since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice (In re Leshin, 227 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960)) (see MPEP 2144.07 - Art Recognized Suitability for an Intended Purpose).
Claims 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ghelli 11,644,043 in view of Barletta US 2019/0013747 A1.
Ghelli discloses the invention as discussed above, as well as the pump unit 1 being part of a centrifugal pump for conveying a fluid, and the stator (not shown in Ghelli) together with the rotor 8 forming an electromagnetic rotary drive to rotate the rotor 8 about the axial direction (see X axis), the stator being a bearing and drive stator with which the rotor 8 is capable of being magnetically driven without contact and capable of being magnetically levitated without contact with respect to the stator, the rotor 8 passively magnetically stabilized with respect to the axial direction, and actively magnetically levitated in a radial plane perpendicular to the axial direction (see col. 2, lines 43-56). However, Ghelli does not specifically show the stator, or disclose that the electromagnetic rotary drive is a temple motor.
Barletta teaches a centrifugal pump 100 for conveying a fluid, comprising: a pump unit 101/1, which includes the pump unit 101/1 and, further regarding claim 14, a stator 104 extending in an axial direction from a first axial end to a second axial end, the cup-shaped recess (see recess created by the stator 104) provided at the first axial end, into which the pump unit 101/1 is configured to be inserted (clearly shown in Fig. 1); further regarding claim 15, wherein the electromagnetic rotary drive is a temple motor (see para. [0064]), the stator has a plurality of coil cores 105, each of the coil cores 105 of the plurality of coil cores 105 having a longitudinal leg extending from a first end in axial direction to a second end, and a transverse leg arranged at the second end of the longitudinal leg and in the radial plane and extending in a radial direction from the longitudinal leg, the plurality of coil cores 105 are arranged around the rotor 1 with respect to the circumferential direction, so that the rotor 1 is arranged between the transverse legs of the coil cores 105, and at least one concentrated winding is provided at each longitudinal leg of the plurality of coils, the at least one winding surrounding a respective longitudinal leg (clearly shown in Fig. 1)..
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to have modified the stator/motor of Ghelli by implementing a temple motor, as taught by Barletta, in order to allow the pump to fit a desired space footprint within an apparatus.
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