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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed March 18, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1-6 and 9 remain pending in the application. The previous objections to the title and abstract are withdrawn in light of the Applicant's amendment to the title and abstract.
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 1-4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U. S. Patent Publication 2015/0369248 to Noguchi in view of U. S. Patent Publication 2012/0007455 to Tanaka.
Referring to claim 1, Noguchi teaches a pump comprising:
a motor (3, 30); an impeller (2) configured to be rotated by the motor (3, 30) to cause fluid (water) to flow, wherein the motor (3, 30) comprises a rotor (3) configured to rotate about an axis (Figures 1-5; paragraphs [0015] and [0016]); the rotor (3) comprises:
a magnet (9); and a magnet cover (13) which covers at least a part of the magnet (9) and has a hollow-rod shape extending along an extension direction of the axis (axis O in Fig. 2) (Figures 1-5; paragraphs [0015], [0016] and [0021]-[0027]), the magnet cover (13) comprises:
an outer peripheral surface along the extension direction; an end surface extending from one end of the outer peripheral surface in a direction intersecting the extension direction; and a plurality of insertion portions (15a) formed so as to open at the end surface, and the plurality of insertion portions (15a) are annularly arranged around the axis (Figures 1-5, Fig. 2 annotated below; paragraphs [0015], [0016] and [0021]-[0027]), and
the magnet (9) is formed in a hollow-rod shape along the extension direction and is arranged concentrically with the magnet cover (13), and a center of each of the plurality of insertion portions (15a) is arranged outside a midpoint between an inner edge and an outer edge of the magnet (9) in a plan view viewed from the extension direction (they are not aligned therefore the insertion portion midpoint is outside the midpoint of the magnet; the Examiner also notes that the claim does not recite radially outside) (Figures 1-5, Fig. 2 annotated above; paragraphs [0015], [0016] and [0021]-[0027]).
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Annotation of Noguchi Figure 2.
Noguchi does not teach a pin for the insertion portions. Tanaka discloses a pump wherein:
a plurality of insertion portions (20a) are configured in such a way that a pin (28a-c) serving as a weight (the pin has weight and therefore serves as weight) is allowed to be inserted into each of the plurality of insertion portions (20a), and (in the alternative) a center of each of the plurality of insertion portions (20a) is arranged outside a midpoint between an inner edge and an outer edge of a magnet (14) in a plan view viewed from the extension direction (Figures 1-5; paragraphs [0044]-[0045]).
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the pump taught by Noguchi with through holes for the insertion portions and pins therein as taught by Tanaka in order to allow for the insertion of rivets, wherein said rivets further secure the components of the rotor together (paragraph [0045]).
Referring to claim 2, Noguchi and Tanaka teach a pump comprising all the limitations of claim 1, as detailed above and Noguchi further teaches a pump wherein:
the magnet cover (13) comprises a first portion and a second portion each of which has a hollow-rod shape along the extension direction, a thickness of the first portion in a direction orthogonal to the extension direction is thicker than a thickness of the second portion (the first portion is thicker than the second portion in all places), and the first portion includes the end surface (Figures 1-5, Fig. 2 annotated above, wherein the first and second portions are each shown within different styles of dotted lines; paragraphs [0015], [0016] and [0021]-[0027]).
Referring to claim 3, Noguchi and Tanaka teach a pump comprising all the limitations of claim 2, as detailed above and Noguchi further teaches a pump wherein:
the thickness of the second portion in the direction orthogonal to the extension direction (orthogonal to O) is 50% or less of the thickness of the first portion (Figures 1-5, Fig. 2 annotated above, wherein the first and second portions are each shown within different styles of dotted lines; paragraphs [0015], [0016] and [0021]-[0027]).
Referring to claim 4, Noguchi and Tanaka teach a pump comprising all the limitations of claim 2, as detailed above, but does not teach a recess. Tanaka discloses a pump wherein:
a first portion (16a) comprises a recess (20b) formed between two adjacent insertion portions (20a) of a plurality of insertion portions (20a) (Figures 1-5; paragraphs [0044]-[0045]).
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the pump taught by Noguchi with the recesses taught by Tanaka in order to allow for the insertion of positioning pins (paragraph [0045]).
Referring to claim 6, Noguchi and Tanaka teach a pump comprising all the limitations of claim 1, as detailed above, but Noguchi does not teach the insertion portions being through holes. Tanaka discloses a pump wherein:
a plurality of insertion portions (20a) are through holes (Figures 1-5; paragraphs [0044]-[0045]).
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the pump taught by Noguchi with the through holes for insertion portions taught by Tanaka in order to allow for the insertion of rivets (paragraph [0045]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is 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. Claim 9 is allowable. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not teach a pump comprising the limitations of claims 1, 2, 4 and 5, or claim 9, but more specifically wherein a distance between an outer edge of each of the two adjacent insertion portions in a circumferential direction and an outer edge of the recess is 300% or less of the thickness of the second portion in the direction orthogonal to the extension direction. The Examiner notes that the Applicant has explained the criticality of this recitation in paragraph [0089] of the specification as filed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed March 18, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The Applicant argues that Yuza does not teach the claimed hole and pin. Remarks 2. However, Yuza is not relied up in either the current rejection above or the prior rejection. As detailed above, Noguchi and Tanaka teach a pump comprising all the limitations of the claims.
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 BRYAN MATTHEW LETTMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7860. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Essama Omgba can be reached at 469-295-9278. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRYAN M LETTMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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