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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Germany (DE) on 06/23/2022. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the DE102022115715.6 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species II directed to claims 11-20 in the reply filed on 10/20/2025 is acknowledged.
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.
Claim(s) 11-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hoehne (US 2015/0128616) in view of Gayton (US 2014/0007569) and as evidenced by Goto et al. (herein Goto) (US 5,181,383).Regarding Claim 11:In Figures 6, Hoehne discloses a compressor device (20), comprising: a housing (depicted as 21 in Figure 6) with an end (end with opening 37); a connector (connector line 42 between 37 and 38) disposed at the end of the cylinder (see Figure 6); wherein a transfer space (25) exists inside the housing (21) between a pump (32) and the end of the cylinder (as seen in Figure 6), and wherein a portion of the transfer space contains a transfer fluid (working liquid 26); a drive device (electric motor to drive pump 32, see paragraph [0032]) adapted to drive the pump; and a compressor element (bellows 46) disposed inside the transfer space (see Figure 6), wherein a working space (23) exists inside the compressor element, wherein the working space contains a working gas (24), wherein the connector (42) is connected to a working gas line (38), wherein the working gas line (38) is connected to a cryocooler (cooling device 45 can be a cryo-cooling device as mentioned in paragraphs [0032] and [0036]), and wherein the working gas (24) contained in the working space (23) inside the compressor element (46) is periodically and indirectly compressed by the transfer fluid (as mentioned in paragraph [0032], the working gas 24 is periodically and indirectly compressed by the transfer fluid 26. This applies to the bellows type compression element 46 of Figure 6 as well as evident from paragraphs [0038]-[0039]). Hoehne fails to disclose a cylinder with a piston arranged inside the cylinder, wherein the piston is movable back and forth inside the cylinder and driven by the drive device. However, in Figure 3A, Gayton discloses a similar compressor device (30A) comprising a piston (18) arranged inside a cylinder (14), wherein the piston (18) is driven by a drive device (as mentioned in paragraph [0069]: “A motor 35 drives crankshaft 34A to rotate to cause reciprocation of piston 18.”). The piston (18) is movable back and forth inside the cylinder (14) and this movement can transfer a fluid (heat exchange fluid which may be a liquid, see paragraphs [0069] and [0045]). Furthermore, in Figure 4, Goto discloses a similar compressor device comprising a piston (8), arranged inside a cylinder (pipe 5), wherein the piston is movable back and forth inside the cylinder (as evident from Figures 3a—3d which would also apply to the embodiment shown in Figure 4) and this movement can compress a fluid within a compression element (bellows 9) arranged in the same cylinder. Hence, based on Gayton’s teachings and the evidence provided by Goto, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Hoehne’s housing (21) to be formed as a cylinder to accept a piston (as taught by Gayton and evidenced by Goto) wherein this piston could be adapted to be driven by Hoehne’s electric motor using the transmission system (33, 34A, 34B) taught by Gayton (thereby replacing Hoehne’s gear pump 32), wherein reciprocating movement of the piston back and forth within the cylinder would still cause the working gas (24) contained in Hoehne’s working space (23) inside Hoehne’s compressor element (46) to be periodically and indirectly compressed by the transfer fluid (similar compression of a bellows type compressor element within a cylinder is evidenced by Goto), since doing so would potentially reduce the size of the compressor by providing the pumping element (piston), the driving device (motor) and the compressor in one unit, thereby doing away with the need for extra fluid transfer lines and allowing for easier maintenance of the pump/compressor. Regarding Claim 12:Hoehne as modified by Gayton and Goto discloses the compressor, wherein the compressor element is a metal bellows (as mentioned in Hoehne’s paragraph [0038]: “The bellows 46 is made of a high-grade steel--.”)Regarding Claim 13:Hoehne as modified by Gayton and Goto discloses the compressor, wherein the cryocooler is selected from the group consisting of: a Gifford-McMahon cooler and a pulse tube cooler (as mentioned in Hoehne’s paragraph [0009]: “The first working gas connection is coupled to the cooling device in the form of a Gifford-McMahon cooling device or a pulsed tube cooling device.”).Regarding Claim 14:Hoehne as modified by Gayton and Goto discloses the compressor, wherein the portion of the transfer space (25) that contains the transfer fluid defines a fluid space, and wherein the fluid space has a volume that remains constant (Hoehne’s as modified by Gayton would have a cylinder with a fluid space formed within such that the fluid space would have a constant volume equal to the volume of the cylinder minus the volume of the bellows type compressor element 46).Regarding Claim 15:Hoehne as modified by Gayton and Goto discloses the compressor, wherein the portion of the transfer space (25) that contains the transfer fluid would be enclosed between the piston (added based on Gayton’s teachings), the compressor element (46) and the cylinder (added based on Gayton’s teachings, wherein this modified arrangement would be similar to the arrangement shown in Goto’s Figure 4).Regarding Claim 16:Hoehne as modified by Gayton and Goto discloses the compressor, wherein the compressor element (46) separates the transfer space (25) and the working space (23) from each other in a gas-tight and fluid-tight manner (as mentioned in Hoehne’s paragraph [0029]: “Alternatively, water can also be used as the working liquid, in particular when membrane materials that are extremely non-permeable to water are used, e.g., bellows of high-grade steel.” Also see Hoehne’s paragraph [0038]: “The bellows 46 is made of a high-grade steel and is extremely gas tight for all relevant working gasses.”).Regarding Claim 17:Hoehne as modified by Gayton and Goto discloses the compressor, wherein the transfer space and the working space are disposed entirely within the cylinder (as modified by Gayton and Goto, the transfer space 25 and the working space 23 would be disposed entirely within the cylinder in the same manner as depicted in Hoehne’s Figure 6).Regarding Claim 18:Hoehne as modified by Gayton and Goto discloses the compressor, wherein at any point in time as the piston periodically moves back and forth inside the cylinder (piston added based on Gayton’s teachings), the working gas (24) in the working space (23) has a pressure equal to that of the transfer fluid in the transfer space (as taught by Hoehne, the transfer fluid 26 is an incompressible liquid such that all the pressure from the piston exerted on this liquid would be transferred to the working gas and vice versa such that the pressures would be substantially equal during reciprocation of the piston. Note that this is the same mechanism of using an incompressible liquid to transmit pressure in to a bellows carrying a compressible gas, as discussed in the instant application and so would function in the same manner).Regarding Claim 19:Hoehne as modified by Gayton and Goto discloses the compressor, wherein at any point in time as the piston (as added by Gayton’s teachings) periodically moves back and forth inside the cylinder, both the working gas (24) in the working space (23) and the transfer fluid (26) in the transfer space have pressures that are greater than an ambient pressure of an environment surrounding the compressor device (the piston reciprocation within the cylinder causes pressure to be transferred to both the working gas 24 in the bellows 46 as well as the transfer fluid 26. This pressure is typically higher than ambient pressure during operation of the compressor as is well known in the art).Regarding Claim 20:Hoehne as modified by Gayton and Goto discloses the compressor, wherein the working gas (24) is helium (see Hoehne’s paragraph [0030]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20170175729 – Compressor device with bellowsUS 20140147296 – Compressor device with Gifford-McMahon cooler.See appended PTO-892 form for more relevant prior art references related to compressors and other claimed structures.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOMINICK L PLAKKOOTTAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7571. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 12 pm -8 pm ET.
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/DOMINICK L PLAKKOOTTAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746