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
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Iwahara et al. U.S. Patent Number US6466400B1(hereinafter Iwahara).
Regarding Claim 1, Iwahara discloses a hard disk drive device (Fig. 2; Col. 4 lines 15-18 i.e., magnetic disk drive) comprising: a base plate including a bottom surface part (Fig. 2, the bottom portion of 4; Col. 4 lines 14-21 i.e., a base 4) and a side wall part extending in a direction orthogonal to the bottom surface part along an edge part of an entire periphery of the bottom surface part (Fig. 2, The sidewall portion of the base 4 that extends perpendicular to the bottom portion of the base 4; Col. 4 lines 14-21 i.e., a base 4); a structure provided more inside than the side wall part (Fig. 1 i.e., 22 and Fig. 2 i.e., 34, 8, and 48; Col. 4 lines 45-49 i.e., "coil 34" and "actuator shaft 22"; Col. 4 lines 55-67 i.e., "spindle shaft 8" and "rotor 48"; Fig. 2 shows 22, 34, 8, and 48 are located in inside than the side wall part. and including a female screw part (Fig. 3A, portion (9) of the spindle shaft 8); a cover having a plate shape, fixed to the base plate such that one surface faces the bottom surface part (Fig. 3B i.e., "cover 6" and "first metal washer 62"; Col. 5 lines 14-27 i.e., "cover 6" and "first metal washer 62"), and including a through hole (Fig. 3A, i.e., 61; Col. 5 lines 13-21 i.e., …hole 61 at a portion corresponding to the upper end of the spindle shaft 8 fixed to the base 4… ) at a position facing the structure (Fig. 2, i.e., P; Col. 5 lines 13-36 i.e., "…hole 61 at a portion corresponding to the upper end of the spindle shaft 8 fixed to the base 4…" and "…aligned with each other." ); a fastening body (Fig. 3A i.e., screw 70; Col. 5 lines 14-27 i.e., screw 70) inserted into the through hole and including a male screw part (Fig. 3A i.e., 70) fitted with the female screw part, and including a head part (Fig. 3A i.e., 9; Col. 5 lines 13-21 i.e., …tightening a screw 70 into the spindle shaft 8…; Col. 5 lines 46-61 i.e., The screw 70 has a head…; The screw 70 is a threaded fastener (male thread), and the receiving portion 9 of the spindle shaft includes a female thread(internally threading), that receives the screw 70.); and a first sealing member disposed at least one of between the structure and the cover and between the cover and the fastening body, and disposed so as to overlap the head part in an axial view of the through hole, and formed in an annular shape (Fig. 3A i.e., second metal washer 64; Col. 5 lines 28-45 i.e., The second metal washer 64 is attached to the inner surface of the cover 6 at a portion around the hole 61.; The second metal washer (64) is disposed between the cover (6 and 62) and the structure(8) and between cover (6 and 62) and the fastening body(70). Also, the second metal washer(64) is disposed so as to overlap the head of screw (70).).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwahara in view of Liu et al. U.S. Patent Publication Number US20240371403A1(hereinafter Liu).
Regarding Claim 2, Iwahara discloses the hard disk drive device according to claim 1 as discussed above but fails to explicitly disclose a gasket provided between the base plate and the cover and over the entire periphery of the side wall part along the side wall part.
In analogous art, Liu teaches the hard disk drive device, further comprising: a gasket provided between the base plate and the cover and over the entire periphery of the side wall part along the side wall part (Fig. 2 i.e., 205 ; para. [0018] i.e., a gasket seal 205 … seal applied to the inside of the inner cover 204 ).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the gasket between the base plate and the cover taught by Liu into the hard disk drive of Iwahara in order to improve sealing performance and thereby improve reliability of the hard disk drive (para. 3).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwahara.
Regarding Claim 3, Iwahara discloses the hard disk drive device of claim 1 as discussed above. Iwahara teaches the hard disk drive device further comprising: a second sealing member disposed between the fastening body and the first sealing member (Fig. 3A i.e., “62”, “68” or “66”; Col. 5 lines 13-61 i.e., “62”, “68” or “66”).
Iwahara discloses the first sealing member including its position. Furthermore, Iwahara teaches the two metal washers 62 and 64 (Col. 5 lines 28-45 i.e., …the cover 6 is sandwiched between the first metal washer 62 and the second metal washer 64 so that these washers 62 and 64 are aligned with each other…) and the two annular viscoelastic double-sided adhesive tapes 66 and 68 (Col. 5 lines 45-61 i.e., the annular viscoelastic double-sided adhesive tapes 66 and 68). It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a second sealing member stacked at the same location, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwahara in view of SUGI et al. U.S. Patent Publication Number US20150228300A1 (hereinafter SUGI).
Regarding Claim 4, Iwahara discloses the hard disk drive device according to claim 1 as discussed above but fails to explicitly disclose the first sealing member is a liquid gasket.
In an analogous art, SUGI teaches the first sealing member is a liquid gasket (para. [0105] i.e., …the sealant …may be an annular resin member… ).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the sealing member taught by SUGI into the hard disk drive of Iwahara in order to prevent a leakage of a gas and thereby improve reliability of the hard disk drive (para, 9)
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwahara in view of Andrikowich et al. U.S. Patent Publication Number US20130235488A1 (hereinafter Andrikowich).
Regarding Claim 5, Iwahara discloses the hard disk drive device according to claim 1 as discussed above but fails to explicitly disclose the cover further includes an other surface opposing to the one surface and a recess part recessed from the other surface, the recess part includes a first recess part provided around the through hole and accommodating the fastening body in a portion recessed from the other surface, and a second recess part provided continuously with the first recess part and having an outer diameter larger than an outer diameter of the first recess part in axial view of the through hole, and a third sealing member provided in the second recess part so as to cover the first recess part is further included.
In an analogous art, Andrikowich teaches the hard disk drive device wherein the cover further includes an other surface opposing to the one surface (Fig. 7 i.e., 12, the upper surface of the cover 12(outer-facing)) and a recess part recessed from the other surface (Fig. 7 the small groove around the 34 (around the screw head 36) and the step-like portion around 50 ; para [0029] i.e., …an inner most surface 34 which receives the head 36 of the fastener to secure the fastener to the cover.; para. [0015] i.e., sealed is preferably counter-bored or multi-layered in order), the recess part includes a first recess part provided around the through hole and accommodating the fastening body in a portion recessed from the other surface (Fig. 7 the small groove around the 34 (around the screw head 36) ), and a second recess part provided continuously with the first recess part (Fig. 7 the step-like portion around 50; The second recess part is continuous with the first recess part.; para. [0015] i.e., sealed is preferably counter-bored or multi-layered in order) and having an outer diameter larger than an outer diameter of the first recess part in axial view of the through hole (In a top view of the through hole, the second recess part has a larger outer diameter than the first recess part.), and a third sealing member provided in the second recess part so as to cover the first recess part is further included (Fig. 7 i.e., 50; para. [0034] i.e., outer seal 50; Fig. 7 shows the cover surface is not flat, rather, in includes a slightly stepped recessed portion around the 50.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the recess parts taught by Andrikowich into the hard disk drive of Andrikowich in order to improve sealing performance and enhance long-term reliability (para. 12).
Claim(s) 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwahara in view of Andrikowich as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of SUGI.
Regarding Claim 6, Iwahara as modified by Andrikowich discloses the hard disk drive device according to claim 5 as discussed above but fails to explicitly disclose a fourth sealing member applied to the fastening body in the first recess part.
In an analogous art, SUGI discloses the hard disk drive device further comprising: a fourth sealing member applied to the fastening body in the first recess part (Fig. 1 i.e., 120; para. [0071] i.e., The sealant 120 is located at all circumferential positions between the upper portion of the hole portion 142 a of the second housing member 142 and the head portion 153 a of the screw 153.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the sealing member taught by SUGI into the hard disk drive of Iwahara as modified by Andrikowich in order to prevent a leakage of a gas and thereby improve reliability of the hard disk drive (para, 9).
Regarding Claim 7, Iwahara as modified by Andrikowich discloses the hard disk drive device according to claim 6 as discussed above but fails to explicitly disclose the fourth sealing member is a liquid gasket. SUGI teaches the fourth sealing member is a liquid gasket (para. [0105] i.e., …the sealant …may be an annular resin member… ).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the sealing member taught by SUGI into the hard disk drive of Iwahara as modified by Andrikowich in order to prevent a leakage of a gas and thereby improve reliability of the hard disk drive (para, 9).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, see page 5 lines 4-7, filed on 03/19/2026, with respect to the title of the invention have been fully considered and are persuasive. The objection to the specification has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments (pages 5-7) filed on 03/19/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In view of the revised mapping of the claim limitations discussed above, the rejection is maintained.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHELLE J KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-5571. The examiner can normally be reached Mon.-Fri. 11am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven Lim can be reached at (571) 270-1210. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHELLE J. KIM/ Examiner, Art Unit 2688
/STEVEN LIM/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2688
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