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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on February 13, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 5, lines 11-13, filed February 13, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 under 35 USC 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of US 2022/0325631 to Ramb. Ramb teaches a turbine comprising a scroll housing having first and second scroll flow paths, wherein the second scroll flow path faces the radially outermost ends of the blades of the impeller and includes a portion that overlaps with the first flow path in a central axis direction.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement(s) submitted February 13, 2026 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2022/0325631 to Ramb.
In Reference to Claim 1#
Ramb teaches:
A turbine (100) comprising:
an impeller (140); and
a housing (110) that accommodates the impeller, the housing including:
a housing outlet (see annotated Figure 8A) that is spaced apart from the impeller in a central axis direction (left to right in Figure 8A) of the impeller and that discharges fluid that has passed through the impeller;
a first scroll flow path (122) that is located outside the impeller in a radial direction (up and down in Figure 8A) of the impeller and that leads fluid to the impeller; and
a second scroll flow path (124) that is located outside the impeller in the radial direction and closer to the housing outlet with respect to the first scroll flow path in the central axis direction and that leads fluid to the impeller,
the second scroll flow path being inclined with respect to the radial direction in a cross-section that is parallel to and includes a central axis (axis of rotation) of the impeller so that the second scroll flow path is spaced apart from the housing outlet in the central axis direction as the second scroll flow path approaches the impeller in the radial direction,
an area that includes an outlet of the second scroll flow path including, in the cross-section, a first portion (not numbered, see annotated portion of Figure 8A below) that has a linear shape parallel to the radial direction and a second portion (not numbered, see annotated portion of Figure 8A below) that has an arc shape and that is formed continuously with a radially outer part of the first portion,
wherein, in the cross-section, a distance (see annotated Figure 8A below) from the central axis of the impeller to a radially outermost end of the second scroll flow path is shorter than a distance (see annotated Figure 8A below) from the central axis of the impeller to a radially outermost end of the first scroll flow path,
wherein the second scroll flow path faces radially outermost ends of blades of the impeller in the radial direction (see Figure 8A), and
wherein the second scroll flow path includes a portion (see annotated Figure 8A below) overlapping with the first flow path in the central axis direction (see paragraph 85 and annotated Figure 8A below).
The annotated portion of Figure 8A below shows the outlet of the second scroll flow path overlaps with the outlet of the first scroll flow path with respect to the axial direction of the turbine.
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In Reference to Claim 2#
Examiner’s comment: the limitation “the first portion and the second portion have cast surfaces” is considered a product-by-process limitation. From MPEP §2113, "even though product-by-process claims are limited by and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself. The patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. If the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process.”
In the instant case, the claim requires the first and second portions to have surfaces. Forming the surfaces by casting does not define the structure of the first and second portions.
Ramb teaches:
The turbine according to Claim 1, wherein the first portion and the second portion have surfaces (see Figure 8A).
In Reference to Claim 3#
Ramb teaches:
The turbine according to Claim 1, wherein the first scroll flow path and the second scroll flow path are directly connected to a space (middle of housing 110 where the impeller 140 is located) that accommodates the impeller (see Figure 8A).
In Reference to Claim 4#
Ramb teaches:
The turbine according to Claim 1, wherein each of the first scroll flow path and the second scroll flow path directly faces the impeller in the radial direction (see Figure 8A).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON GREGORY DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)270-3289. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th: 8:00-5:00, F: 8:00-12:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathan Wiehe can be reached at (571) 272-8648. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JASON G DAVIS/Examiner, Art Unit 3745
/NATHANIEL E WIEHE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3745