Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Application No. 19/119,359

DRIVING MECHANISM AND BLOOD PUMP

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Apr 08, 2025
Priority
Dec 09, 2022 — CN 202211580662.1 +1 more
Examiner
MORALES, JON ERIC C
Art Unit
3796
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Shenzhen Core Medical Technology Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 0m
Est. Remaining
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
1085 granted / 1271 resolved
+15.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
46 currently pending
Career history
1331
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.3%
-35.7% vs TC avg
§103
37.1%
-2.9% vs TC avg
§102
34.5%
-5.5% vs TC avg
§112
5.6%
-34.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1271 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 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)(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. Claim(s) 1-5, 7, 9-10, 13-14, 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Xie et al. (CN 115282470 A) (cited paragraph portions refer to attached translation of Chinese application publication). The applied reference has a common inventor with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement. Regarding claim 1, Xie discloses a driving mechanism, comprising: a housing assembly comprising a mounting groove 410 and a through hole (area of 102 where shaft 200 and end 210 passes through), the mounting groove having a bottom surface wall 412 and a side surface wall 412 (Fig. 4,wall 412 is spherical and connects the sides to the bottom); and a rotating assembly 200 having a far end (area around 102 in Fig. 2) and a near end (area around 300 in Fig. 2), the far end 102 of the rotating assembly 200 rotatably extending through the through hole (area of 102 where shaft 200 and end 210 passes through in Fig. 2), the near end 300 of the rotating assembly 200 comprising a rotating head 310, the rotating head 310 being rotatably arranged in the mounting groove 410 and slidably abutting against the bottom surface wall 412 and the side surface wall 412 (Fig. 3, page 6).), the rotating head 310 having a first spherical surface wall (Fig. 4, page 6), and the first spherical surface wall being tangent to the side surface wall (Fig. 4, page 6). Regarding claim 2, Xie discloses the driving mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a cross section of the mounting groove 410 along a direction perpendicular to a rotation axis of the rotating assembly 200 is in a circular shape 322, 323 or a rectangular shape (Fig. 5, Page 7, para. 2). Regarding claim 3, Xie discloses The driving mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the side surface wall 412 is parallel to a rotation axis of the rotating assembly 200 (Figs. 3-4). Regarding claim 4, Xie discloses The driving mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the first spherical surface wall 412 is tangent to the bottom surface wall, and/or the bottom surface wall 412 is perpendicular to the side surface wall (Fig. 4, page 7-8). Regarding claim 5, Xie discloses The driving mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the mounting groove 410 further comprises a groove opening 421 and an arc-shaped wall 412 (Fig. 7), the rotating head 310 extends through the groove opening 421 (Fig. 4), the side surface wall 412 connects the arc-shaped wall and the bottom surface wall, and the arc-shaped wall is adjacent to the groove opening 421 (Fig. 7, Page 8). Regarding claim 7, Xie discloses The driving mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the rotating head 310 comprises a ball head portion and a rod portion 340 connected to the ball head portion (Fig. 6), the rod portion extends through a groove opening of the mounting groove , the ball head portion is rotatably received in the mounting groove, an avoidance section is formed at an end of the rod portion adjacent to the ball head portion, the avoidance section extends through the groove opening of the mounting groove, and a width of a cross section of the avoidance section in a direction perpendicular to a rotation axis of the rotating assembly is smaller than a diameter of a sphere where the ball head portion is located (Fig. 6 page 8). Regarding claim 9, Xie discloses The driving mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the rotating head comprises a ball head portion, the ball head portion extends through a groove opening of the mounting groove, and a caliber of the groove opening of the mounting groove is smaller than or equal to a diameter of a sphere where the ball head portion is located and is greater than or equal to half of the diameter of the sphere where the ball head portion is located (Fig. 7). Regarding claim 10, Xie discloses The driving mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the rotating head 310 further has a second spherical surface wall, the second spherical surface wall is connected to the first spherical surface wall, the second spherical surface wall slidably abuts against the bottom surface wall of the mounting groove, and the second spherical surface wall is tangent to the bottom surface wall (Fig. 4, 7). Regarding claim 13, Xie discloses The driving mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the housing assembly 100 comprises a pump case 10 and a support member 400 mounted on the pump case 10 (Figs. 2-3), the mounting groove 410 is formed in the support member 400 (Fig. 3), the driving mechanism further comprises a mounting base 810, the mounting base is fixedly connected to the pump case 10, a mounting cavity 811 and a liquid passing hole 812 communicated with the mounting cavity 811 are formed in the mounting base 810, the support member 400 is mounted in the mounting cavity 811, a flow channel is formed in at least one of the mounting base 810 and the support member 400, and the flow channel is communicated with the liquid passing hole (Figs. 2, 4, 9 page 8 par. 8 – page 9 par. 3). Regarding claim 14, Xie discloses The driving mechanism according to claim 13, wherein the flow channel is formed in the support member 400, the flow channel in the support member 400 has a first opening and a second opening, the first opening 420 is communicated with the mounting groove 410, the second opening 8121 is communicated with the liquid passing hole 812, and the rotating head avoids the first opening (Figs. 2, 4, 9 page 8 par. 7 – page 9 par. 3). Regarding claim 17, Xie discloses The driving mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the rotating assembly further comprises a rotating shaft 200 and a rotor 300, 620, the rotating shaft 200 has a near end (area around 300 in Fig. 2) and a far end, the far end (area around 102 in Fig. 2) of the rotating shaft rotatably extends through the throughhole (area of 102 where shaft 200 and end 210 passes through in Fig. 2), the rotor 300, 620 comprises a first rotor unit 300, the first rotor unit is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft (Fig. 3), and at least one of the first rotor unit and the rotating shaft is connected to the rotating head 310 (Fig. 3, page 10 para. 1). Regarding claim 18, Xie discloses The driving mechanism according to claim 17, wherein the rotating head 310 comprises a stop surface, the stop surface 340 is located on a side of the rotating head 310 away from the bottom surface wall of the mounting groove (Fig. 7-8, page 8 par. 2), a distance exists between the stop surface and the groove opening of the mounting groove, and the first rotor unit abuts against the stop surface, so that the first rotor unit is spaced a distance from the groove opening of the mounting groove (Fig. 7-8, page 8 par. 2). Regarding claim 19, Xie discloses The driving mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the housing assembly 100 comprises a pump case 10 and a support member 400 mounted on the pump case 10 (Figs. 2-3), the through hole (area of 102 where shaft 200 and end 210 passes through in Fig. 2) is formed in the shaft sleeve 500, the driving mechanism 10 further comprises a stop member 611, the stop member is fixedly connected to the rotating assembly 620 (Fig. 10), the stop member 611 is located between the shaft sleeve 500 and the rotating head 310, and the stop member 611 can abut against the shaft sleeve to restrict the rotating assembly from moving away from the mounting groove (Fig. 10, page 11 par. 5 – page 12 par. 3). Regarding claim 20, Xie discloses a blood pump 1, comprising an impeller 20 and a driving mechanism 10 (Figs. 1-2, page 5 par. 11), the driving mechanism 10 comprising: a housing assembly 100 comprising a mounting groove 410 and a through hole (area of 102 where shaft 200 and end 210 passes through), the mounting groove 410 having a bottom surface wall 412 and a side surface wall 412 (Figs. 2, 4, page 10 par. 1); and a rotating assembly 200 having a far end (area around 102 in Fig. 2) and a near end (area around 300 in Fig. 2), the far end of the rotating assembly rotatably extending through the through hole (area of 102 where shaft 200 and end 210 passes through), the near end of the rotating assembly comprising a rotating head 310, the rotating head being rotatably arranged in the mounting groove 410 and slidably abutting against the bottom surface wall 412 and the side surface wall 412 (Fig. 2-4), the rotating head 310 having a first spherical surface wall, and the first spherical surface wall being tangent to the side surface wall (Fig. 4, page 6); the impeller 20 being connected to the rotating assembly 200, and the impeller rotating with the rotating assembly (Page 6 par. 5). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 6,8,11-12 and 15-16 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JON ERIC C MORALES whose telephone number is (571)272-3107. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 830AM-530PM CST. 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, David Hamaoui can be reached at 571-270-5625. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JON ERIC C MORALES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3796 /J.C.M/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3796
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 08, 2025
Application Filed
Aug 31, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+10.0%)
2y 7m (~1y 0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1271 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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