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
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) 1-2 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tamemoto et al. (herein Tamemoto) (JP 2022046318, English translation appended).Regarding Claim 1:In Figures 1-12, Tamemoto discloses an electric compressor (100) comprising: a case (110) having: a suction passage (117) through which a refrigerant is introduced into the case (see paragraph [0063] of the translation); and a discharge passage (119); an electric motor (10) accommodated in the case (see Figure 1); a compression mechanism (30) accommodated in the case (110) and aligned with the electric motor (10) in a horizontal direction (as seen in Figure 1), the compression mechanism (30) being configured to draw in the refrigerant introduced through the suction passage (as depicted by the flow direction arrows in Figure 8), compress the refrigerant, and discharge the refrigerant compressed through the discharge passage (see paragraphs [0070]-[0071]); and a partition member (111, 121) dividing an interior of the case (110) into a first region (113) which is in communication with the suction passage (as seen in Figure 8) and in which the electric motor (10) is disposed (see Figure 1) and a second region (115) in which the compression mechanism (30) is disposed (see Figure 1), wherein the compression mechanism (30) includes a rotary shaft (200) that is driven by the electric motor (see paragraph [0018]), and the partition member (111, 121) has: a suction port (62) which opens into the first region (113) at a position above an axis (axis not shown but passes horizontally through the center of the rotary shaft 200, henceforth referred to as C) of the rotary shaft (as seen in Figure 8, 62 is above the axis C) and through which the refrigerant in the first region (113) is drawn into the partition member (as depicted by the flow direction arrows into 62 from 113 in Figure 8); a discharge port (61/60 in Figure 8) which is located below the axis (C) and through which the refrigerant drawn through the suction port (117) is discharged from the partition member (112, 121) into the compression mechanism (as depicted by the flow direction arrows in Figure 8); and an evaporation passage (45A) which is located inside the partition member (inside 111) and through which the suction port (113) is in communication with the discharge port (61) so that a liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant drawn through the suction port (62) evaporates in the evaporation passage (it is well known in the art that liquid refrigerant in an open passage such as 45A will evaporate over time to form a gas).Regarding Claim 2:In Figures 1-12, Tamemoto discloses an electric compressor (100), wherein the evaporation passage (45A) has a curved portion (45A is formed around cylindrical boss portion 111a (as evident from Figure 7) of the partition wall portion 111 and so would form an annular curved portion around the axis) when viewed from a direction of the axis (C).Regarding Claim 6:In Figures 1-12, Tamemoto discloses an electric compressor (100), wherein the compression mechanism (30) includes: a piston (eccentric roller 33A) configured to rotate with the rotation of the rotary shaft (200) while being eccentric with respect to the axis (C) of the rotary shaft (see paragraph [0064]); a vane (35A) disposed below the piston (33A) and in contact with the piston (as seen in Figure 2); a cylinder (31A) accommodating the piston (33A) and the vane (35A) and having a compression chamber (37A) formed between the piston (33A) and the vane (35A) so that the refrigerant is compressed in the compression chamber (as seen in Figure 3 and mentioned in paragraph [0068]); and a suction hole (41A) which is located below the axis (C) and through which the refrigerant is drawn into the compression chamber (as depicted by the flow direction arrows in Figure 8 and mentioned in paragraph [0067]), the refrigerant introduced to the first region (113) through the suction passage (117) contains a lubricant oil (as mentioned in paragraph [0071] the lubricating oil O is separated from the refrigerant indicating that the incoming refrigerant contains lubricating oil), the lubricant oil (O) separated from the refrigerant is stored in the second region (see paragraph [0071]), and the cylinder (31A) has a supply passage (61a to 41A) which opens on a lower portion of an outer peripheral surface of the cylinder (see Figure A) and through which the lubricant oil stored in the second region (115) is supplied to the vane (as depicted by the flow direction arrows showing lubricating oil flow in Figure 9 and mentioned in paragraph [0065]).
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) 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamemoto et al. (herein Tamemoto) (JP 2022046318, English translation appended) in view of Morozumi et al. (herein Morozumi) (US 2008/0236184). Regarding Claims 4-5:Tamemoto fails to disclose a fin disposed in and formed along the evaporation passage (per claims 4-5). However, in Figure 19, Morozumi discloses a similar electric compressor (631) wherein a similar partition member (163L) comprises multiple fins (280) that promotes heat exchange between sucked in refrigerant and lubricating oil in a chamber (180Le, see paragraph [0154]). Hence, based on Morozumi’s teachings, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have included one or more fins (of the type taught by Morozumi) to be disposed in and along Tamemoto’s evaporation passage (45A) in order to promote heat exchange (as taught by Morozumi in paragraph [0154]) such that this heat exchange would also assist in evaporation along said fins.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 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 3 states: the evaporation passage (45) has a storage portion (47) which is located below the discharge port (44) and in which the refrigerant is stored. This type of storage portion is not found in Tamemoto’s evaporation passage (45A) since this evaporation passage is located fully above Tamemoto’s discharge port (61). Modifying this evaporation passage to incorporate the storage space would require impermissible hindsight reconstruction.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20160047379 – Rotary compressor with partition evaporation passageUS 20030106330 – Rotary compressor with vaneUS 20190211823 – Rotary compressor with partition evaporation passageUS 20120174618 – Rotary compressor with partition evaporation passageSee appended PTO-892 for more relevant prior art related to electric compressors and flow passages within these compressors.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOMINICK L PLAKKOOTTAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7571. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 12 pm -8 pm ET.
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, 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.
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.
/DOMINICK L PLAKKOOTTAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
Prosecution Insights