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
Claims 1 – 20 remain as originally presented prior to examination.
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 5 and 6 are 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 5 recites the limitation “wherein the chamber is a first chamber, the support defines a second chamber.” Claim 5 depends on claim 3 which previously recites the limitation “the compressor comprises a support defining the chamber.” Claim 5 introduces a second chamber and further indicates that the support defines a second chamber, it is unclear from this recitation if the second chamber and the first chamber are the same chamber as claims 3 and 5 both indicate the chambers are formed by the support, or if the support is arranged to define at least one chamber in claim 3 and wherein claim 5 further limits the at least one chamber as wherein the at least one chamber define by the support comprises a first chamber and a second chamber. The claims are unclear as the parent claim is directed towards a single element which appears to limit the ability of the support to define a subsequent element as a portion of a plurality of elements. For the purpose of examination, the chamber of claim 3 is being interpreted as directed towards at least one chamber and the chambers of claim 5 are being interpreted as both being formed as separate chambers of the support.
Claim 5 recites the limitation “a motor coupled to the displacement component and configured to drive movement of the displacement component to cause the displacement component to pressurize the refrigerant.” Claim 5 is dependent from claim 1 which previously recites the limitation “an actuator configured to drive operation of the displacement component to pressurize the refrigerant in a chamber of the compressor.” It is unclear from the recitation of claim 5 if the “a motor” is intended to recite a new driving mechanism for operating the compressor, in addition to “the actuator” of claim 1, or if the claim is intended to limit “the actuator” of claim 1 as comprising “a motor.” For the purpose examination claim 5 is being interpreted as directed towards further limiting the actuator of claim 1 as being a motor.
Claim 6 recites the limitation “the chamber.” Claim 6 depends on claim 5 which recites “a first chamber” and “a second chamber,” as such, it is unclear which chamber the recitation of claim 6 is intended to refer. For the purpose of examination, the recitation of “the chamber” of claim 6 is being interpreted as directed to either of chamber as recited by claim 5.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 – 14, and 16, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 4,780,061, “Butterworth.”
Regarding Claim 1: Butterworth discloses a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) system (Figures 1 – 6; Cl. 4, ln. 21, “Compressed refrigerant gas, from which oil has been separated, passes out of oil separator section 12 via port 36 and is delivered, in a typical screw refrigeration system, to a condenser 38”), comprising: a compressor (10) comprising: an inlet (44) configured to receive refrigerant directed along a refrigerant flow path (The flow path interpreted as comprising the fluid connections through which the refrigerant passes as shown in at least Figures 1 – 6) and through the compressor; a displacement component (26); and an actuator (18) configured to drive operation of the displacement component to pressurize the refrigerant (As shown in at least Figure 1; Motor 18 is arranged to drive the compression element) in a chamber of the compressor (22) (The chamber interpreted as broadly formed as the interior volume of the compressor housing as shown in at least Figures 1 – 6, the displacement component and actuator are both shown arranged within the chamber); and an oil conduit system comprising a channel (56, 70, 76, 74) configured to direct oil into the refrigerant flow path, wherein the channel is configured to place the oil in a heat exchange relationship with the refrigerant directed along the refrigerant flow path and flowing at least partially along a direction extending from the inlet to the chamber (As shown in at least Figures 1 and 3; At least the oil cooling passage 70 is shown arranged longitudinally through the case such that it is shown extending in the direction which is arranged along an extension line from the compressor inlet to the compression chamber, the oil in passage 70 is shown in a heat exchange relationship with the refrigerant as such refrigerant passes along the interior radial surface of the motor housing such that heat transfer between the two fluids takes place, passage 70 is also communicative with heat exchanger 50 which is further arranged for heat transfer with the refrigerant as further described in at least Cl. 4, ln. 40 – Cl . 6, ln. 14).
Regarding Claim 2: Butterworth discloses the HVAC&R system of claim 1; Butterworth further discloses wherein the channel is configured to place the oil in the heat exchange relationship with the refrigerant directed along the refrigerant flow path between the inlet and the chamber with respect to a flow of the refrigerant along the refrigerant flow path (As shown in at least Figures 1 and 3; At least the oil cooling passage 70 is shown arranged longitudinally through the case such that it is shown extending in the direction which is arranged along an extension line from the compressor inlet to the compression chamber).
Regarding Claim 3: Butterworth discloses the HVAC&R system of claim 1; Butterworth further discloses wherein the compressor comprises a support (20, 58, and the structure of compressor 14 indicated by hatch lines in at least Figures 1 and 3) defining the chamber, and the channel is formed through the support (As shown in at least Figures 1 – 6; The structural elements of the end cap 20, the motor housing 58, and the compressor housing as indicated are broadly interpreted as forming structural components which form the internal volume of the compressor is defined, the oil channel is shown formed through said components in at least Figures 1 and 3).
Regarding Claim 4: Butterworth discloses the HVAC&R system of claim 3; Butterworth further discloses wherein the displacement component comprises a screw, and the screw comprises threads positioned within the chamber (As shown in at least Figure 1; Cl. 3, ln. 61, “The suction gas is compressed, and therefore heated, between the pair of meshing screw rotors mounted for rotation within the working chamber. Only one rotor, 26, is illustrated in FIG. 1.”).
Regarding Claim 5: Butterworth discloses the HVAC&R system of claim 3; Butterworth further discloses wherein the chamber is a first chamber (The first chamber interpreted as being formed as at least the compression chamber in which rotor 26 is housed), the support defines a second chamber (54), the compressor comprises a motor (18) coupled to the displacement component and configured to drive movement of the displacement component to cause the displacement component to pressurize the refrigerant (As shown in at least Figure 1; Motor 18 is arranged to drive the compression element).
Regarding Claim 6: Butterworth discloses the HVAC&R system of claim 5; Butterworth further discloses wherein the motor and the support cooperatively define a passage (56) through which the refrigerant flows along the refrigerant flow path at least partially along the direction extending from the inlet to the chamber (As shown in at least Figures 1 – 6; The flow through the heat exchanger is shown at least partially along the direction extending from the inlet to the chamber), and the channel is configured to place the oil in the heat exchange relationship with the refrigerant flowing through the passage (Heat exchanger 50 which is further arranged for heat transfer with the refrigerant as further described in at least Cl. 4, ln. 40 – Cl . 6, ln. 14).
Regarding Claim 7: Butterworth discloses the HVAC&R system of claim 1; Butterworth further discloses comprising an oil filter (64) configured to discharge the oil into the channel (Cl. 5, ln. 25 – 40; “Oil entering passage 56 from feed line 48 is forced by the discharge pressure which exists upstream of the passage in sump 34, through filtering media 64. Media 64 acts to trap and block the further passage of debris within the oil stream.”).
Regarding Claim 8: Butterworth discloses the HVAC&R system of claim 1; Butterworth further discloses wherein the oil conduit system comprises a first port (The exit orifice of passage 76 shown to the right of the compression chamber in at least Figure 1) configured to discharge the oil into the refrigerant flow path upstream of the chamber with respect to a flow of the refrigerant along the refrigerant flow path (As shown by the arrangement in at least Figure 1), a second port (The exit orifice of passage 76 shown to the left of the compression chamber in at least Figure 1) configured to discharge the oil into the refrigerant flow path downstream of the chamber with respect to the flow of the refrigerant through the refrigerant flow path (As shown by the arrangement in at least Figure 1), or both (Both a first and second passage are shown as described).
Regarding Claim 9: Butterworth discloses the HVAC&R system of claim 8; Butterworth further discloses comprising a first bearing (72) configured to support the displacement component (As shown in at least Figure 1; Cl. 5, ln. 56, “oil exits passage 56 and next enters oil feed line 70 from which it is directed, still under the influence of the discharge pressure in the upstream oil separator section, to various bearing surfaces 72 in the compressor assembly”), a second bearing (72) configured to support the displacement component (As shown in at least Figure 1; Cl. 5, ln. 56, “oil exits passage 56 and next enters oil feed line 70 from which it is directed, still under the influence of the discharge pressure in the upstream oil separator section, to various bearing surfaces 72 in the compressor assembly”), or both (As first and second bearing as shown in at least Figure 1), wherein the first bearing is positioned upstream of the chamber with respect to the flow of the refrigerant along the refrigerant flow path (As shown in at least Figure 1, wherein the first bearing is interpreted as comprising the bearing to the left of the compression chamber), and the second bearing is positioned downstream of the chamber with respect to the flow of the refrigerant along the refrigerant flow path (As shown in at least Figure 1, wherein the first bearing is interpreted as comprising the bearing to the right of the compression chamber).
Regarding Claim 10: Butterworth discloses the HVAC&R system of claim 1; Butterworth further discloses wherein the channel is configured to place the oil in the heat exchange relationship with the refrigerant upstream of a location where the displacement component initiates pressurization of the refrigerant relative to a flow of the refrigerant along the refrigerant flow path (As shown in at least Figures 1 and 3; The channel is shown arranged in a heat exchange relationship at points extending upstream, to the left in Figure 1, of the compression component).
Regarding Claim 11: Butterworth discloses the HVAC&R system of claim 1; Butterworth further discloses wherein the displacement component comprises a screw (As screw compression element is shown in at least Figure 1 and as further described in at least Cl. 3, ln. 61, “The suction gas is compressed, and therefore heated, between the pair of meshing screw rotors mounted for rotation within the working chamber. Only one rotor, 26, is illustrated in FIG. 1.”), a scroll, a piston, an impeller, or a diaphragm.
Regarding Claim 12: Butterworth discloses an oil conduit system for a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) system (Figures 1 – 6; Cl. 4, ln. 21, As shown an oil conduit system is shown arranged within and supporting operation of the compressor as described “Compressed refrigerant gas, from which oil has been separated, passes out of oil separator section 12 via port 36 and is delivered, in a typical screw refrigeration system, to a condenser 38”), the oil conduit system comprising: an oil filter (64) configured to remove impurities from an oil flow (Cl. 5, ln. 25 – 40; “Oil entering passage 56 from feed line 48 is forced by the discharge pressure which exists upstream of the passage in sump 34, through filtering media 64. Media 64 acts to trap and block the further passage of debris within the oil stream.”); and a channel (At least 56, 70, 76, 74) positioned adjacent a refrigerant flow path through a compressor (As shown in at least Figures 1 – 6), wherein the channel is configured to receive the oil flow from the oil filter and direct the oil flow into a heat exchange relationship with a refrigerant directed along the refrigerant flow path (As shown in at least Figures 1 and 3; At least the oil cooling passage 70 is shown arranged longitudinally through the case such that it is shown extending in the direction which is arranged along an extension line from the compressor inlet to the compression chamber, the oil in passage 70 is shown in a heat exchange relationship with the refrigerant as such refrigerant passes along the interior radial surface of the motor housing such that heat transfer between the two fluids takes place, passage 70 is also communicative with heat exchanger 50 which is further arranged for heat transfer with the refrigerant as further described in at least Cl. 4, ln. 40 – Cl . 6, ln. 14; Cl. 5, ln. 25 – 40; “Oil entering passage 56 from feed line 48 is forced by the discharge pressure which exists upstream of the passage in sump 34, through filtering media 64. Media 64 acts to trap and block the further passage of debris within the oil stream.”).
Regarding Claim 13: Butterworth discloses the oil conduit system of claim 12; Butterworth further discloses wherein the channel is configured to discharge the oil flow into the refrigerant flow path via one or more ports (As shown in at least Figure 1; The orifice openings of conduits 76 and 74 are shown arranged to discharge the oil in to the refrigerant flow path).
Regarding Claim 14: Butterworth discloses the oil conduit system of claim 13; Butterworth further discloses wherein a first port of the one or more ports (The exit orifice of passage 76 shown to the right of the compression chamber in at least Figure 1) is positioned upstream of a screw of the compressor relative to a flow direction of the refrigerant through the refrigerant flow path (As shown by the arrangement in at least Figure 1), and wherein a second port of the one or more ports (The exit orifice of passage 76 shown to the left of the compression chamber in at least Figure 1) is positioned downstream of the screw of the compressor relative to the flow direction of the refrigerant through the refrigerant flow path (As shown by the arrangement in at least Figure 1).
Regarding Claim 16: Butterworth discloses the oil conduit system of claim 12; Butterworth further discloses comprising: an oil separator (30) configured to: receive an oil and refrigerant mixture from the compressor (As shown in at least Figure 1); separate the oil and refrigerant mixture into the oil flow and a refrigerant flow (As least Cl. 4, ln. 11 – 20, “hot discharge mixture passes through the passage internally defined by oil separator 30, the oil, which is heavier than the gaseous portion of the mixture, is centrifugally forced radially outward interior of the separator and eventually passes through permeable outer shell 32”); and discharge the oil flow toward the oil filter (As shown in at least Figure 1).
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.
Claim(s) 17 – 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 4,780,061, “Butterworth,” in view of US 2017/0328269, “Yamashita.”
Regarding Claim 17: Butterworth discloses a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) system (Figures 1 – 6; Cl. 4, ln. 21, “Compressed refrigerant gas, from which oil has been separated, passes out of oil separator section 12 via port 36 and is delivered, in a typical screw refrigeration system, to a condenser 38”), comprising: a compressor (10) comprising a support (20, 58, and the structure of compressor 14 indicated by hatch lines in at least Figures 1 and 3) to support an actuator (18) of the compressor; and an oil conduit system comprising a channel (56, 70, 76, 74) configured to direct oil therethrough (As shown in at least Figures 1 and 3), and wherein the channel is configured to place the oil in a heat exchange relationship with the refrigerant directed through the plurality of passages (Passage 70 is communicative with heat exchanger 50 which is further arranged for heat transfer with the refrigerant as further described in at least Cl. 4, ln. 40 – Cl . 6, ln. 14).); however, Butterworth fails to explicitly disclose a support having a plurality of ribs extending inwardly to support an actuator of the compressor, wherein the plurality of ribs defines a plurality of passages configured to receive refrigerant and direct the refrigerant therethrough, wherein the channel is formed through at least one rib of the plurality of ribs.
Yamashita teaches an arrangement of a compressor (8) (Figures 1 – 5) comprising an actuator (11, 21, 22) of the compressor ([0036]), a support (15, 23, 24, 20) having a plurality of ribs (23, 24) extending inwardly to support an actuator of the compressor (As shown in at least Figures 1 and 2), wherein the plurality of ribs defines a plurality of passages configured to receive refrigerant and direct the refrigerant therethrough (Interpreted as the gap between adjacent ribs as shown in at least Figures 1 and 2), wherein the channel (34, 32) is formed through at least one rib of the plurality of ribs (A cooling channel is shown formed in the ribs in at least Figures 1 – 3; shown as cooling passages 34 and 32).
It would have bene obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the support arrangement of Butterworth to incorporate the plurality of rib support arrangement, as taught by Yamashita, with the predicted results that such an arrangement will provide increased support along the axial direction of the motor as opposed to the cantilevered support arrangement of Butterworth while still miniating the flow passages for both the refrigerant and the oil as shown and described by Yamashita.
Regarding Claim 18: Butterworth, in view of Yamashita, teaches the HVAC&R system of claim 17; once combined, Yamashita further teaches wherein each of the plurality of ribs is circumferentially offset from one another around the actuator of the compressor (The ribs are shown arranged in a radially, and circumferentially offset manner, as shown in at least Figures 1, 2, and 3).
Regarding Claim 19: Butterworth, in view of Yamashita, teaches the HVAC&R system of claim 17; once combined, Yamashita further teaches wherein each of the plurality of ribs is composed of a conductive material to facilitate the heat exchange relationship between the oil directed through the channel and the refrigerant directed through the plurality of passages (The ribs are described as being formed of a metal, broadly interpreted as a conductive material in at least [0037], “Motor housing 20 is made of a metal material. As shown in FIGS. 2-3, motor housing 20 has a plurality of radiating fins 23 formed integral with the outer periphery of the cylindrical motor housing 20, and a plurality of ribs 24 formed integral with the outer periphery of the cylindrical motor housing 20.”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15, and 20, 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 15 recites the limitation “comprising a valve configured to control distribution of the oil flow between the first port and the second port,” Butterworth fails to disclose, teach, or suggest an arrangement “comprising a valve configured to control distribution of the oil flow between the first port and the second port,” and the inclusion of such a valve would potentially alter the operation of the device of Butterworth.
Claim 20 recites the limitation “wherein the at least one rib through which the channel is formed is offset from the actuator to form a gap, wherein the gap is configured to receive the refrigerant and direct the refrigerant therethrough to facilitate the heat exchange relationship between the oil directed through the channel and the refrigerant directed through the gap,” in the combination of Butterworth, in view of Yamashita, Yamashita teaches each of the ribs arranged in the same radial length and fails to further teach wherein at least one rib is formed with a gap to the actuator which would allow for the passage of refrigerant through the gap.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/BENJAMIN DOYLE/Examiner, Art Unit 3746 2026.06.23
/MARK A LAURENZI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3746 6/24/2026
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