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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the side housing” in lines 7-8 should read “the rotatable side housing”, and “a side elastic sealing member” in line 11 should read “a rotatable side elastic sealing member”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the slidable surface” in line 2 should read “the sliding surface”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-3, 8, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goebbels et a. (EP 1126201 A2) alone.
With regard to claim 1, Goebbels discloses a floating seal device (as seen in Figs. 1-4), comprising: a stationary side seal ring (2, disclosed as stationary in para. [0013], etc.); a rotatable side seal ring (1, discloses as rotatable in para. [0013], etc.) configured to slide opposite the stationary side seal ring (as seen in Fig. 1, as disclosed in para. [0013], etc.); a stationary side elastic sealing member (4) interposed radially outside the stationary side seal ring (as seen in Fig. 1); and a side elastic sealing member (3) interposed radially outside the rotatable side seal ring (as seen in Fig. 1), wherein the seal device is configured to have fluid contained on the inner periphery sides of the stationary side seal ring and the rotatable side seal ring (as seen in Fig. 1 when installed it would be capable of such), and the rotatable side seal ring has an inner peripheral surface (i.e. the inner peripheral surface seen in Fig. 1 that comprises 11, 11’’ 11’’’, 11’’’’, 12’, 12’’, 12’’’, or 12’’’’) provided with at least one recessed portion (11, 11’’ 11’’’, 11’’’’, 12’, 12’’, 12’’’, or 12’’’’) extending in an opposite direction to a direction of rotation of the rotatable side seal ring (as seen in Fig. 1 as at least one of 11, 11’’ 11’’’, 11’’’’, 12’, 12’’, 12’’’, or 12’’’’ is inclined in one circumferential direction which can be opposite to the direction of rotation. Additionally see others of 11, 11’’ 11’’’, 11’’’’, 12’, 12’’, 12’’’, or 12’’’’ that are oppositely inclined such that at least one recess is in either circumferential direction) toward a sliding surface side end (as seen in Fig. 1 either of the axial ends thereof, either of which can be considered sliding surfaces as they can slide relative to other surfaces).
Goebbels is silent as to the exact elements the seal rings are attached to and thus fail to explicitly disclose a stationary side housing; a rotatable side housing configured to be rotatable relative to the stationary side housing such that the stationary side seal ring is arranged on an inner periphery side of the stationary side housing and the rotatable side seal ring is arranged on the inner periphery side of the side housing and that the stationary side elastic sealing member interposed between the stationary side housing and the stationary side seal ring; and a side elastic sealing member interposed between the rotatable side housing and the rotatable side seal ring.
However it would have been considered obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to have used the device of Goebbels device having a stationary side housing; a rotatable side housing configured to be rotatable relative to the stationary side housing such that the stationary side seal ring is arranged on an inner periphery side of the stationary side housing and the rotatable side seal ring is arranged on the inner periphery side of the side housing and that the stationary side elastic sealing member interposed between the stationary side housing and the stationary side seal ring; and a side elastic sealing member interposed between the rotatable side housing and the rotatable side seal ring as Examiner hereby takes Official Notice that the art is replete with devices using such seals, the devices comprising a stationary side housing and a rotatable side housing configured to be rotatable relative to the stationary side housing such that the stationary side seal ring is arranged on an inner periphery side of the stationary side housing and the rotatable side seal ring is arranged on the inner periphery side of the side housing and that the stationary side elastic sealing member interposed between the stationary side housing and the stationary side seal ring; and a side elastic sealing member interposed between the rotatable side housing and the rotatable side seal ring (e.g. in running gears in construction machines).
Such a modification would provide the expected benefit of providing a device with a stationary side housing and a rotatable side housing with the benefits of the seal of Goebbels (i.e. sealing a running gear in a construction machine and providing increased performance thereto by pumping fresh/lower temperature lubricant to the sealing interface. See Goebbels para. [0011], etc.).
With regard to claim 2, Goebbels discloses that the recessed portion is a spiral groove (as seen in Fig. 1 as it is an inclined groove on a conical surface it is considered a spiral groove).
With regard to claim 3, Goebbels discloses that the spiral groove has a width narrower than a land adjacent to the spiral groove (as seen in Fig. 1).
With regard to claim 8, Goebbels discloses that a plurality of the recessed portions are provided (as seen in Fig. 1 as there are a plurality of 11, 11’’-11’’’’, or 12’-12’’’’).
With regard to claim 9, Goebbels discloses that the rotatable side seal ring has a reverse recessed portion (e.g. 12’’’ vs 12’’ or 12’’’’, or 11’’/11’’’ vs 11’’’’) extending opposite in direction to the recessed portion extending in one circumferential direction (as seen in Fig. 1).
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goebbels et a. (EP 1126201 A2) in view of Thorson et al. (US 2016/0369896).
With regard to claim 4, the prior combination (Goebbels) fails to disclose that the recessed portion is open to the slidable surface side end of the inner peripheral surface of the rotatable side seal ring.
Thorson discloses a similar floating seal device (as seen in Fig. 1) with a rotatable side seal ring (50 as seen in Fig. 2) having a recessed portion (62) therein, and wherein the recessed portion is open to the slidable surface side end of the inner peripheral surface of the rotatable side seal ring (as seen in Fig. 2 when the right-most side end is considered the slidable surface side end).
It would have been considered obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to have modified the recessed portion of Goebbels such that it portion is open to the slidable surface side end of the inner peripheral surface of the rotatable side seal ring, as taught by Thorson. Such a modification would provide the expected benefit of better moving the lubricant a cooler portion of the device to the sealing interface (i.e. as desired by Goebbels. See para. [0011], etc. thereof).
With regard to claim 5, the combination (Goebbels) discloses that the recessed portion is formed over the entire inner peripheral surface of the rotatable side seal ring (as seen in Fig. 1 as around a circumference thereof there is always a part of a recessed portion there. Examiner notes that a more narrow interpretation would likely necessitate a 112(a) rejection as not 100% of the inner peripheral surface is completely covered around 360 degrees and all along the axial width thereof in Applicant’s disclosure).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-7 and 10-14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the closest prior art of record (Goebbels and Thorson) fail to disclose or make obvious that the recessed portion has a bottom surface which is at the sliding surface side end of the rotatable side seal ring, and which is inclined toward an outer diameter side, and/or that the rotatable side seal ring has a sliding surface disposed radially outward of the inner peripheral surface of the rotatable side seal ring and a tapered surface formed between the sliding surface and the inner peripheral surface, and the recessed portion is provided across the inner peripheral surface and the tapered surface.
Examiner’s Recommendation
Examiner recommends incorporating claim 7 into claim 1 and then canceling claims 10-14 (as they would be substantial duplicates), in addition to overcoming the claim objections in the manner suggested above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and provides additional examples of broadly similar floating seal devices including some having fluid circulation features.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS L FOSTER whose telephone number is (571)270-5354. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kristina Fulton can be reached at (571) 272-7376. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NICHOLAS L FOSTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675
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