DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the amendments to the claims filed on 14 August 2026. Claims 1 – 20 are pending and currently being examined.
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
The previously made claim objections are hereby withdrawn in view of suitable amendments to the claims submitted with applicant’s response.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The previously made 112 rejections are hereby withdrawn in view of suitable amendments to the claims submitted with applicant’s response.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nickel (WIPO document WO 2019166118 A1, Machine Translation Provided) in view of Amagasa (PG Pub US 20120176073 A1).
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Annotated excerpt of Figure 3 of Nickel
In Re Claim 1, the Figure 3 embodiment of Nickel discloses an electric pump (title), comprising: a pump housing (9, 5, 14); a first rotor assembly (7); an electric control assembly (13 and unlabeled pin; see annotated figure above); and a second rotor assembly (2), wherein the electric pump is provided with a first chamber (inside 14) and a second chamber (5, 9 – i.e. interior space of 10), at least a part of the second rotor assembly (2) is located in the first chamber (inside 14), the first rotor assembly (7) is located in the second chamber (5, 9 – i.e. interior space of 10), and the first rotor assembly (7) is drivingly connected to the second rotor assembly (2); and the electric control assembly comprises a control assembly (13) and a pin (see annotated figure above), at least a part of the pin (see annotated figure above) and at least a part of the control assembly (13) are located in the first chamber (inside 14), the pin (see annotated figure above) is electrically connected to the control assembly (13) (Figure 3 clearly shows that it makes contact), and the first chamber (inside 14) is in communication (via 11) with the second chamber (5, 9 – i.e. interior space of 10); the pump housing (9, 5, 14) includes a first housing (9) and a second housing (5), the first housing is fixedly connected to the second housing (paragraph [0024]), the pin is fixed to the first housing (9) as depicted; (paragraphs [0021],[0022],[0025],[0026],[0027]; Figure 3).
Nickel does not disclose that the fixing of the pin is done by injection molding.
However, Figure 3 of Amagasa discloses a first housing (41) fixedly connected (paragraph [0029]) to a second housing (20), pin (42c) is electrically connected to the control assembly (42) and a portion of the pin (42c) is fixed to the first housing (41) in connector connecting portion (41c), the fixing is done by injection molding because the first housing (41) is formed by injection molding (paragraph [0050]) and the pin (42c) is clearly embedded in the first housing as depicted. Applicant shall also note that in an apparatus claim the process of forming the product (i.e. the step of fixing the pin) does not make a patentable distinction over the prior art, patentability is determined based on the product itself (MPEP 2113).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed the invention to fix the pin of Nickel to the first housing by injection molding as taught by Amagasa because it simplifies the apparatus by reducing the number of parts, as Nickel appears to provide the pin in a connector (annotated “external connection portion” in above figure) that is separate from the first housing whereas the connector of Amagasa is formed with the first housing as a one piece construction.
In Re Claim 9, the combined references above disclose all the limitations of Claim 1, and Nickel further discloses a bottom wall (wall of body 5 that has the passage 11), wherein the first rotor assembly (7) is supported by the bottom wall (via bearing 4) (paragraph [0021]; Figure 3); and the electric pump comprises a first passage (11) that passes through the bottom wall (wall of body 5 that has the passage 11),and the first passage (11) is in communication with the first chamber (inside 14) and the second chamber (5, 9 – i.e. interior space of 10)(paragraph [0027]; Figure 3).
Claim(s) 2 – 8, 10 – 12 and 16 – 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nickel (WIPO document WO 2019166118 A1, Machine Translation Provided) in view of Amagasa (PG Pub US 20120176073 A1) and further in view of Lee (Korean Patent KR 20220157178 A, Machine Translation provided).
In Re Claim 2, Nickel and Amagasa disclose all the limitations of Claim 1, but they do not disclose an electrical connector.
However, Lee discloses that the control assembly (420, 540) comprises a circuit board (420) and an electrical connector (540) that are fixedly and electrically connected to each other; and the electrical connector (540) comprises a conductive portion (542), at least a part of the pin (520) is in contact with the conductive portion (542), and at least a part of the conductive portion (542) extends out of the circuit board (420; Figure 4) and is located in the first chamber (460; Figure 1) (paragraphs [0042]-[0059]; Figures 1, 3, 4, 6, 7).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed the invention to incorporate the electrical connector as taught by Lee on to the circuit board of Nickel / Amagasa for the purpose providing a connection between the pin and the circuit board that simplifies the assembly process (paragraph [0027] of Lee).
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Annotated excerpt of Figure 6 of Lee
In Re Claims 3 and 4, the combined references above disclose all the limitations of Claim 2, and Lee further discloses that the pin (520) comprises a first portion (see annotated figure above) that is located in the first chamber (460) and is electrically connected to the control assembly (420, 540); and the first portion comprises a first sub-portion (see annotated figure above) and a second sub-portion (see annotated figure above) that are connected to each other, the first sub-portion (see annotated figure above) passes through the circuit board (420) as best seen in Figure 3, and at least a part of the second sub-portion (see annotated figure above) is in contact with the conductive portion (542); wherein the first portion (see annotated figure above) of the pin (520) comprises a third sub-portion (see annotated figure above) that is located in the first chamber (460), and the third sub-portion extends from the second sub-portion away from the circuit board (420) as best seen in Figure 4 (paragraphs [0042]-[0059]; Figures 1, 3, 4, 6, 7).
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Annotated Figure 7 of Lee
In Re Claims 5 and 16, the combined references above disclose all the limitations of Claim 3 and 4 respectively, and Lee further discloses that the electrical connector (540) comprises a body portion (544, 546), and the body portion (544, 546) passes through the circuit board (420) and is located in the first chamber (460); the conductive portion (542) comprises at least one elastic sheet (paragraph [0052]; there are six elastic sheets depicted) that is located in the first chamber (460), and an end of the at least one elastic sheet is connected to the body portion (at 544); a part of the at least one elastic sheet (see annotated figure above) extends towards a central axis of the electrical connector (540) in an inclined manner, and another part of the at least one elastic sheet (see annotated figure above) extends away from the central axis of the electrical connector (540) in an inclined manner; and at least a part of the second sub-portion (see claim 3 discussion above) is in contact with the elastic sheet (paragraph [0052]) (paragraphs [0042]-[0059]; Figures 1, 3, 4, 6, 7).
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Annotated excerpt of Figure 4 of Lee
In Re Claim 6, the combined references above disclose all the limitations of Claim 5, and Lee further discloses that the body portion (544, 546) comprises a base portion (544) and at least one connection portion (546) that are connected to each other, and the connection portion (546) is fixedly connected to the circuit board (420) (paragraph [0055]); and at least a part (see annotated figure above) of the base portion (544) extends out of the circuit board (420), and the base portion (544) is connected to another end of the at least one elastic sheet (each of the six sheets 542) (paragraphs [0042]-[0059]; Figures 1, 3, 4, 6, 7).
In Re Claim 7, the combined references above disclose all the limitations of Claim 6, and Lee further discloses that the circuit board (420) comprises a first face (Figure 5) and a second face (Figure 4) that are opposite to each other, the connection portion (546) is located on the first face of the circuit board (see Figure 5), one end of the base portion (544) is connected to the connection portion (546) as seen in Figure 7, and the other end (end of the shaded area in Figure 4 discussed in Claim 6) of the base portion (544) passes through the circuit board (420) and extends away from the second face as best seen in Figure 4 annotated above (paragraphs [0042]-[0059]; Figures 1, 3, 4, 6, 7).
In Re Claims 8 and 17, the combined references above disclose all the limitations of Claims 6 and 7 respectively, and Lee further discloses that the base portion (544) comprises an insertion hole (for pin 520), and at least a part of the insertion hole (for pin 520) is located in the circuit board (420); and the insertion hole is in communication with the first chamber (460) (because it opens into the first chamber), a part of the first sub-portion (see annotated Figure 6 discussed in Claims 3 and 4) is located in the insertion hole (for pin 520), and the first sub-portion is spaced apart from the base portion (544) (because the insertion hole has a larger diameter than the pin as best seen in Figure 6) (paragraphs [0042]-[0059]; Figures 1, 3, 4, 6, 7).
In Re Claims 10, 11 and 12, the combined references above disclose all the limitations of Claims 5, 6 and 8 respectively, and Nickel further discloses a bottom wall (wall of body 5 that has the passage 11), wherein the first rotor assembly (7) is supported by the bottom wall (via bearing 4) (paragraph [0021]; Figure 3); and the electric pump comprises a first passage (11) that passes through the bottom wall (wall of body 5 that has the passage 11),and the first passage (11) is in communication with the first chamber (inside 14) and the second chamber (5, 9 – i.e. interior space of 10)(paragraph [0027]; Figure 3).
In Re Claims 18 and 19, the combined references above disclose all the limitations of Claims 2 and 7 respectively, and Nickel further discloses a bottom wall (wall of body 5 that has the passage 11), wherein the first rotor assembly (7) is supported by the bottom wall (via bearing 4) (paragraph [0021]; Figure 3); and the electric pump comprises a first passage (11) that passes through the bottom wall (wall of body 5 that has the passage 11),and the first passage (11) is in communication with the first chamber (inside 14) and the second chamber (5, 9 – i.e. interior space of 10)(paragraph [0027]; Figure 3).
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nickel (WIPO document WO 2019166118 A1, Machine Translation Provided) in view of Amagasa (PG Pub US 20120176073 A1) and further in view of Zhang (European Patent EP 3073119 A1).
In Re Claim 13, Nickel and Amagasa disclose all the limitations of Claim 9, and Nickel also discloses a pump shaft (3), wherein the pump shaft (3) is drivingly connected to the first rotor assembly (7) and the second rotor assembly (2), but they do not disclose that the pump shaft comprises a second passage that passes from a first end face to a second end face of the pump shaft.
However, Zhang discloses a pump shaft (8), wherein the pump shaft (8) is drivingly connected to the first rotor assembly (72) and the second rotor assembly (6), and the pump shaft (8) comprises a second passage (801/92) that passes from a first end face to a second end face of the pump shaft (8); and during operation of the electric pump, a pressure of a working medium at an inlet of the first passage (91) is higher than a pressure of the working medium at an outlet of the second passage (801/92) (paragraphs [0018],[0024]; Figure 11).
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Annotated Figure 3 of Nickel and Figure 11 of Zhang
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed the invention to modify the pump shaft of Nickel / Amagasa by adding a central second passage inside the shaft as taught by Zhang (see annotated figure above that shows the modification) for the purpose of enhancing the cooling effect by providing an extra cooling passage inside the shaft as taught by Zhang.
Claim(s) 14, 15 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nickel (WIPO document WO 2019166118 A1, Machine Translation Provided) in view of Amagasa (PG Pub US 20120176073 A1) and in view of Lee (Korean Patent KR 20220157178 A, Machine Translation provided) and further in view of Zhang (European Patent EP 3073119 A1).
In Re Claims 14, 15, and 20 Nickel, Amagasa and Lee disclose all the limitations of Claim 10, 11 and 12 respectively, and Nickel also discloses a pump shaft (3), wherein the pump shaft (3) is drivingly connected to the first rotor assembly (7) and the second rotor assembly (2), but they do not disclose that the pump shaft comprises a second passage that passes from a first end face to a second end face of the pump shaft.
However, Zhang discloses a pump shaft (8), wherein the pump shaft (8) is drivingly connected to the first rotor assembly (72) and the second rotor assembly (6), and the pump shaft (8) comprises a second passage (801/92) that passes from a first end face to a second end face of the pump shaft (8); and during operation of the electric pump, a pressure of a working medium at an inlet of the first passage (91) is higher than a pressure of the working medium at an outlet of the second passage (801/92) (paragraphs [0018],[0024]; Figure 11).
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Annotated Figure 3 of Nickel and Figure 11 of Zhang
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed the invention to modify the pump shaft of Nickel / Amagasa / Lee by adding a central second passage inside the shaft as taught by Zhang (see annotated figure above that shows the modification) for the purpose of enhancing the cooling effect by providing an extra cooling passage inside the shaft as taught by Zhang.
Response to Arguments
Applicant has argued on Page 10 of Applicant’s Response that Nickel allegedly does not disclose a housing that includes a first housing and a second housing and that the pin is fixed to the first housing by injection molding.
Examiner’s Response: Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive because Nickel clearly discloses a first housing (9) that is fixedly connected to a second housing (5), and the pin is fixedly connected to the first housing as depicted in Figure 3. Although Nickel may not teach fixing the pin by injection molding, this is a product by process limitation (MPEP 2113), and it is not being given any patentable weight.
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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DNYANESH G KASTURE whose telephone number is (571)270-3928. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thu, 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM.
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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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/D.G.K/Examiner, Art Unit 3746
/ESSAMA OMGBA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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