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 .
Responsive to correspondence
This office action is in response to correspondence filed on 04/07/2025.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements filed 04/07/2025 and 01/27/2026 were filed before the first action on the merits. This submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97.
Accordingly, they have been fully considered by the Office.
Abstract
The abstract filed 12/03/2024 appears to be acceptable.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-2, and 7 along with dependent claims 3-6, 8-11 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
In claim 1-2:
Claim 1-2 recites limitation “the scroll, which is fixed” lacks appropriate antecedent basis which renders the claims indefinite.
In claim 7:
The claim limitation “the respective slots in the scroll carrier and the movable scroll carrier , as seen in a top view, are arranged at an acute angle relative to each other ” , appears to be indefinite. However, neither the specification nor the claims explain “the respective slots in the scroll carrier and the movable scroll carrier”. For this reason, the metes and bounds of claim 7 cannot be ascertained and the claim appears to be indefinite.
Further “the respective” and “the scroll” lacks appropriate antecedent basis which renders the claims indefinite.
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 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 factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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) 1-3, 6, 7-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S Publication number by 2013/0251576 A1 to HIRATA et al. (HIRATA) in view of CN 109058111A to BIN PENG (BIN) and Non Patent Literature “ Structure Design of Twin-Spiral Scrolls” (NPL) combined with the following reasons.
Re: Claim 1:
HIRATA in view of BIN discloses:
A scroll compressor (See Fig.1) for compressing a fluid, in the scroll compressor comprising:
a compressor housing (See Fig.1: ¶0050: compressor housing 2) with a fluid inlet opening (See Fig.1: ¶0062: suction port 25) and a fluid outlet opening (See Fig.1: ¶0063: discharge port 14C);
a scroll carrier (See Fig.1: ¶0055: a fixed scroll carrier 14A) which is fixed to the housing (See Fig.1: ¶0050: compressor housing 2) and has a fixed scroll (See Fig.1: ¶0055: fixed scroll 14), which is fixed to the housing (See Fig.1: ¶0050: compressor housing 2), arranged in a fixed position in the compressor housing;
a movable scroll carrier (See Fig.1: ¶0055: movable scroll carrier 15A) with a movable scroll (See Fig.1: ¶0055: movable scroll 15) is movably arranged in the compressor housing (See Fig.1: ¶0050: compressor housing 2), and the movable scroll (See Fig.1: ¶0055: movable scroll 15) is drivable by of an eccentric (See Fig.1: ¶0053-¶0054: the rotation shaft is eccentric in the radius direction, and the orbiting scroll is fixed to the eccentric rotation shaft and rotates around the fixed scroll) of the scroll compressor;
wherein, in order to compress the fluid, a fluid flow duct (See Fig.1: ¶0062-¶0063: suction chamber/duct 24 ) leads from the fluid inlet opening (See Fig.1: ¶0062: suction port 25) through intermediate spaces (See Fig.1: intermediate spaces between fixed and movable scrolls are inherent are implied and well known in the art) between the fixed and movable scrolls (See Fig.1: ¶0055: fixed scroll 14 and movable scroll 15) to the fluid outlet opening (See Fig.1: ¶0063: discharge port 14C); and
in an end face (See Fig.1 as annotated by the examiner: end face of movable scroll 15 ) of the movable scroll (See Fig.1: ¶0055: movable scroll 15) that faces away from the movable scroll carrier (See Fig.1: ¶0055: movable scroll carrier 15A),
a first seal receiving groove (See Figs.1-6: spiral grooves at tip surface 14D and 15 D are spiral , these groves accommodate seals which is implicitly spiral shaped seals 15L, 15 M) with a first spiral seal arranged therein is formed, wherein the movable scroll abuts (See Figs.1-6: see figures 3-6: as shown the spiral seal arranged in movable scroll abuts with a first sealing surface 15D) with a first sealing surface (See Figs.1-6: first sealing surface 15D) of the first spiral seal (See Figs.1-6: ¶0059: 18) against the scroll carrier which is fixed to the housing; and (See Figs.1-6: ¶0056-¶0068: Tip seal grooves 14L and 15L, and 14M and 15M are respectively provided in the higher tip surfaces 14H and 15H and the lower tip surfaces 14I and 15I, with the steps 14F and 15F provided on the tip surface 14D and 15D sides of the spiral wraps 14B and 15B of the fixed scroll 14 and the orbiting scroll 15 as boundaries, the seals are implicitly spiral as these seals are positioned in spiral grooves on the tips of the spiral scrolls), such spiral seals are well known in the art and explicitly taught by CN 10905811 A to BIN PING (BIN: See Figs: 4-5: and explanation), it would have been therefore obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that spiral scrolls having spiral grooves will accommodate spiral seals.
in an end face (See Fig.1 as annotated by the examiner: end face of fixed scroll 14 ) of the scroll, which is fixed to the housing (See Fig.1: ¶0050: compressor housing 2), which end face faces away from the scroll carrier (See Fig.1: away from carrier 14A), which is fixed to the housing (See Fig.1: ¶0050: compressor housing 2), a second seal receiving groove with a second spiral seal arranged therein is formed (See Figs.1-6: ¶0056-¶0068: as explained in the above and in cited paragraphs, the seals are spiral as these seals are positioned in spiral grooves on the tips of the spiral scrolls);
wherein the scroll (See Fig. 1 : fixed scroll 14), which is fixed to the housing (See Fig.1: ¶0050: compressor housing 2), abuts (See Figs.1-6: see figures 3-6: as shown the spiral seal arranged in fixed scroll abuts with a second sealing surface 14D) with a second sealing surface (See Figs.1-6: second sealing surface 14D) of the second spiral seal (See Figs.1-6: ¶0059: second spiral seal 17) against the movable scroll carrier (See Figs.1-6: movable/orbital scroll carrier 15 A);
first pressurization lines (See figure 2 as annotated by the examiner) lead from the intermediate spaces (See Fig.1: intermediate spaces between fixed and movable scrolls are inherent are implied and well known in the art) through the movable scroll (See Fig.1: movable scroll 15) into the first seal receiving groove (See Fig.1: 15L/15M) and
second pressurization lines (See figure 2 as annotated by the examiner) lead from the intermediate spaces (See Fig.1: spaces 16 between movable scrolls and fixed scrolls) through the scroll (See Fig.1: fixed scroll 14), which is fixed to the housing (See Fig.1: housing 2), into the second seal receiving groove (See Fig.1: 14L/14M);
wherein the first pressurization lines (See figure 2 as annotated by the examiner) open on a side of the first spiral seal (See Figs. 1-6: 18) opposite the first sealing surface (See Figs.1-6: first sealing surface 15D) into the first seal receiving groove (See Fig.1: 15L/15M) and the second pressurization lines (See figure 2 as annotated by the examiner) open on a side of the second spiral seal (See Figs. 1-6: 17) opposite the second sealing surface (See Figs. 1-6: 14D) into the second seal receiving groove (See Fig.1: 14L/14M). Furthermore, the limitations as recited are merely limited to pressurization lines which is an inherent function of a scroll compression in which, the refrigerant gas is compressed/pressurized between fixed and moving scrolls.
The examiner notes that , it is well known in the art that intermediate spaces are formed between fixed and movable scrolls, such a system is explicitly taught by NPL (NPL: See Figs. 1-2 : discloses the working principle of scroll compressors having intermediate spaces between fixed and movable scrolls (as shown)which develops pressure lines as described in figure 2 and pages 2010, 2011 under section TSSC), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that spaces between fixed and movable scrolls generates pressure lines on suction side and discharge side and within the compression chamber formed by the said two scrolls which is an art known structure of scroll compressors)
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Re: Claim 2:
HIRATA in view of BIN and NPL discloses:
The scroll compressor as claimed in claim 1, HIRATA in view of BEN discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and wherein the first pressurization lines at least one bore in the movable scroll (as shown in figure 1 as annotated by the examiner in movable scroll 15) and the second pressurization lines each comprise at least one bore in the scroll (as shown in figure 1 as annotated by the examiner in fixed scroll 14), which is fixed to the housing.
Re: Claim 3:
HIRATA in view of BIN and NPL discloses:
The scroll compressor as claimed in claim 1 HIRATA in view of BEN discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and wherein the first pressurization lines (as shown in figure 2 as annotated by the examiner , the first pressurization line is an angular line tangential to the arc of spiral of movable scroll 15) and the second pressurization lines (as shown in figure 2 as annotated by the examiner , the second pressurization line is an angular line tangential to the arc of spiral of fixed scroll 14) each have an angled profile.
Re: Claim 6:
HIRATA in view of BIN and NPL discloses:
The scroll compressor as claimed in claim 1, HIRATA in view of BEN discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and further comprising a connecting bolt (See Fig.1: ¶0061: bolt 19) , which is mounted displaceably in a slot (See Fig.1: slot for accommodating bolt 19 as shown) in the scroll carrier (See Fig.1: the scroll carrier 15A), which is fixed to the housing (See Fig.1: housing 2), and is mounted displaceably in a slot in the movable scroll carrier (See Fig.1: the scroll carrier 15A).
Re: claim 7, the claim has been rejected , since the claim could not be understood as a result of indefinite languages. (See Rejection under 35 USC 112)
Re: Claim 8:
HIRATA in view of BIN and NPL discloses:
The scroll compressor as claimed in claim 1, HIRATA in view of BEN discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and further comprising a first cover (See Fig.1: a first cover 3) covering the respective first pressurization line (as shown in figure 2 as annotated by the examiner , the first pressurization line) is in each case arranged in the first seal receiving groove (See Figs.1-6: seal receiving groove 15L/15M) between the first spiral seal (See Figs.1-6: 18) arranged therein and the first pressurization lines (as shown in figure 2 as annotated by the examiner , the first pressurization line) opening into the first seal receiving groove (See Figs.1-6: seal receiving groove 15L/15M), and a second cover (See Figs.1-6: cover 4) covering the respective second pressurization line (as shown in figure 2 as annotated by the examiner , the second pressurization line) is in each case arranged in the second seal receiving groove (See Figs.1-6: 14L/14M) between the second spiral seal (See Figs.1-6: 17) arranged therein and the second pressurization lines (as shown in figure 2 as annotated by the examiner , the second pressurization line) which open into the second seal receiving groove (See Figs.1-6: 14L/14M).
Re: Claim 9:
HIRATA in view of BIN and NPL discloses:
The scroll compressor as claimed in claim 1, HIRATA in view of BEN discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and wherein the first spiral seal comprises a first insert part (See Figs.1-6: ¶0059: a first spiral seal 18) and is inserted into the first seal receiving groove (See Figs.1-6: seal groove 15L) and the second spiral seal comprises a second insert part (See Figs.1-6: ¶0059: a second spiral seal 17) and is inserted into the second seal receiving groove (See Figs.1-6: seal groove 14L).
Re: Claim 10:
HIRATA in view of BIN and NPL discloses:
The scroll compressor as claimed in claim 1, HIRATA in view of BEN discloses all the limitations of claim 1, as regards limitation of claim 10 as recited “wherein the first spiral seal is injected into the first seal receiving groove as an injection molded part or is imprinted as a 3D printed part”.
The claimed phrase claimed “wherein the first spiral seal is injected into the first seal receiving groove as an injection molded part or is imprinted as a 3D printed part” is being treated as a product by process limitation. Further 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.” (MPEP 2113).
Re: Claim 11:
HIRATA in view of BIN and NPL discloses:
The scroll compressor as claimed in claim 11, HIRATA in view of BEN discloses all the limitations of claim 1, as regards limitation of claim 10 as recited “wherein the second spiral seal is injected into the second seal receiving groove as an injection molded part or imprinted as a 3D printed part”.
The claimed phrase claimed “wherein the first spiral seal is injected into the first seal receiving groove as an injection molded part or is imprinted as a 3D printed part” is being treated as a product by process limitation. Further 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.” (MPEP 2113).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4, 5 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims, because the prior art cannot anticipate Applicant’s claimed invention by a single reference nor render Applicant’s claimed invention obvious by the combination of more than one reference, as recited in claim 4 “wherein the first pressurization lines and the second pressurization lines each have a different diameter on one side of an angled portion than on an opposite side of the respective angled profile”, as recited in claim 4 “wherein the first pressurization lines and the second pressurization lines each have a larger diameter on one side of an angled portion thereof facing the respective intermediate space than on an opposite side” , as recited in claim 5.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHAFIQ A MIAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4925. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 am to 6:30 pm (Monday thru Thursday).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MARK LAURENZI can be reached at (571) 270-7878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHAFIQ MIAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
February 26, 2026