DETAILED ACTION
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 14-20 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 14 repeatedly recites orientation of the pump elements using the term “side”. However, the descriptions of these sides have multiple modifiers, as detailed below:
“a circuit board located at the housing at another side in an axial direction” in lines 8-9
“a pump portion coupled to the rotor at one side in an axial direction” in lines 10-11
“a partition wall portion provided to cover the rotor from another side in an axial direction” in lines 12-13
“the housing includes an upper wall portion located at the partition wall portion at the other side in the axial direction” in lines 15-16
Therefore, the claim limitations are indefinite because without consistency of claim terms it is unclear how the elements are oriented relative to one another within the pump assembly. Thus, claim 14 is indefinite.
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.
Claims 1-5 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Irie 10,077,781.
Irie (embodiment in Figs. 7-11) discloses, regarding claim 1, an electric pump comprising: a shaft 7 extending in an axial direction; a rotatable rotor 9 located at an outer side of the shaft 7 in a radial direction; a stator 6 located at an outer side of the rotor 9 in a radial direction and surrounding the rotor 9; a pump portion 8 coupled to the rotor 9 at one side in an axial direction; a housing 50 configured to accommodate the rotor 9 and the stator 6; a circuit board 60 located at another side of the housing 50 in an axial direction; and a cover 51 configured to cover another side of the circuit board 60 in an axial direction; wherein the cover includes (see embodiment in Figs. 7-11): a base portion 55; a plurality of heat dissipation portions 54b protruding more toward another side in an axial direction than the base portion 55; and a raised portion (see 53a – wall 53a is the top wall of a larger raised protrusion encasing recess 53) protruding more toward another side in an axial direction than the base portion 55 and the plurality of heat dissipation portions 54b; Re claim 2, wherein the raised portion (53a) includes a wall surface portion (see the side wall of the larger raised protrusion that faces 54b in Figs. 8 and 10 – this wall has a protrusion labeled 53b) extending in a first direction intersecting an axial direction; and the wall surface portion (a portion of the wall including 53b) is exposed to another side in an axial direction more than end portions of the plurality of heat dissipation portions 54b at another side in an axial direction, as viewed from a radial direction (this is clearly shown in Figs. 8 and 10); Re claim 3, wherein the base portion 55 has a round shape as viewed from an axial direction (clearly shown in Fig. 8); and a length of the wall surface portion (substantially broad, this is could any length of the wall which faces 54b, or just wall portion 53b) in the first direction is smaller than a diameter of the base portion 55 (because of the broad nature of the claim, this limitation is clearly met by a small portion of the wall which faces 54b in Figs. 8 and 10); Re claim 4, wherein the base portion 55 has a round shape as viewed from an axial direction (clearly shown in Fig. 8); and the raised portion includes a curved surface portion 51a extending along an outer circumferential edge portion of the base portion 55 (clearly shown in Figs. 8 and 10); Re claim 5, wherein the base portion 55 has a round shape as viewed from an axial direction (clearly shown in Fig. 8); the raised portion (53a) includes a curved surface portion 51a extending along an outer circumferential edge portion of the base portion 55; the curved surface portion 51a is located at one end side of the base portion in a second direction intersecting the wall surface portion; and the plurality of heat dissipation portions 54b are located between the wall surface portion and another end side of the base portion 55 in the second direction (clearly shown in Figs. 8 and 10); Re claim 8, further comprising a thermal dissipation section 57 between the circuit board 60 and the base portion 55 in an axial direction.
Claims 1 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Irie 10,077,781 (alternate interpretation)
Irie (embodiment in Figs. 1-5) discloses, regarding claim 1, an electric pump comprising: a shaft 7 extending in an axial direction; a rotatable rotor 9 located at an outer side of the shaft 7 in a radial direction; a stator 6 located at an outer side of the rotor 9 in a radial direction and surrounding the rotor 9; a pump portion 8 coupled to the rotor 9 at one side in an axial direction; a housing 3/4 configured to accommodate the rotor 9 and the stator 6; a circuit board 23 located at another side of the housing 3/4 in an axial direction; and a cover 5 configured to cover another side of the circuit board 23 in an axial direction; wherein the cover 5 includes (see embodiment in Figs. 1-5): a base portion (see portion of 5 which meets element 4, from which elements 5d, A, and B extend; see annotated Fig. 2 of Irie below); a plurality of heat dissipation portions 5d and B protruding more toward another side in an axial direction than the base portion; and a raised portion A (see annotated Fig. 2 of Irie below) protruding more toward another side in an axial direction than the base portion and the plurality of heat dissipation portions 5d and B (clearly shown in Figs. 1-5, and well as the annotated Figure below); Re claim 6, wherein the plurality of heat dissipation portions 5d and B cover an electronic component mounted on the circuit board 23 (see electronic components covered by 5d and B on PCB 23 in the annotated Figure below), and include an accommodation recessed portion (within B) recessed toward another side in an axial direction (clearly shown in the annotated Figure below).
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Irie Annotated Fig. 2
Claims 9-11, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ikeda US 2021/0388851 A1.
Ikeda (see embodiment in Fig. 3) discloses, regarding claim 9, an electric pump P comprising: a shaft 16/17 extending in an axial direction; a rotatable rotor 1 located at an outer side of the shaft 16/17 in a radial direction; a stator 15 located at an outer side of the rotor 1 in the radial direction and surrounding the rotor 1; a housing (comprising elements 10-13) to accommodate the rotor 1 and the stator 15; a pump portion 2 coupled to the rotor at one side in an axial direction; and a circuit board 35 located at the housing 10-13 at another side in an axial direction; wherein the housing 10-13 includes an upper wall portion 12/13 located more toward another side in an axial direction than the rotor 1 and the stator 15; the circuit board 35 is located more toward another side in an axial direction than the upper wall portion 12/13; and the upper wall portion 12/13 includes a heat transfer plane (substantially broad, the examiner has interpreted said plane as the plane of elements 12, 13, and 36 with the same thickness, extending radially from the axis of 17) extending along a first surface (bottom surface of the heat plane is the bottom surface of 36, which has been interpreted as the first surface) opposing one side of the circuit board 35 in the axial direction, the heat transfer plane (12/13/36) opposing another side in an axial direction (clearly shown in Fig. 3); Re claim 10, wherein the shaft 16/17 includes a shaft end surface (see bottom of 16 in Fig. 3 which is embedded in the frame of 12) which opposes another side in an axial direction and extends along the first surface (bottom surface of 36); and the heat transfer plane (12/13/36) includes the shaft end surface (clearly shown in Fig. 3); Re claim 11, wherein the shaft 16/17 includes a housing fixing section (see narrow portion of element 16) fixed to the upper wall portion (see how 16 is connected to 12 in Fig. 3) at another side in an axial direction; and the shaft end surface (bottom surface of 16) has an outer diameter larger than an outer diameter of the housing fixing section (see how 16 has a smaller diameter at its upper portion than at its bottom surface in Fig. 3); Re claim 13, further comprising: a thermally conductive portion 36 between the circuit board 35 and the upper wall portion 12/13.
Ikeda (see embodiment in Fig. 3) discloses, regarding claim 14, an electric pump P comprising: a shaft 17 extending in an axial direction; a rotatable rotor 1 located at an outer side of the shaft 17 in a radial direction; a stator 15 located at an outer side of the rotor 1 in the radial direction and surrounding the rotor 1; a housing (comprising elements 10-13 and 36) to accommodate the rotor 1 and the stator 15; a pump portion 2 coupled to the rotor at one side in an axial direction; and a circuit board 35 located at the housing (10-13, 36) at another side in an axial direction; a pump portion 2 coupled to the rotor 1 at one side in an axial direction; and a partition wall portion (see the inner walls provided by the molded case element 10 and wall element 13, which surround 1) provided to cover the rotor 1 from another side in an axial direction, and located between the rotor 1 and the pump portion 2, and the stator 15; wherein the housing (10-13, 36) includes an upper wall portion 36 located at the partition wall portion (13) at the other side in the axial direction; the circuit board 35 is provided at the upper wall portion 36 at another side in an axial direction; and the electric pump P includes a reinforcing portion 12 provided between the partition wall portion (13) and the upper wall portion 36, to transfer or dissipate heat generated from the circuit board 35 (element 36 is a heat release sheet), and configured to reinforce the partition wall portion (13).
Claims 9 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bernreuther US 2019/0109516 A1
Bernreuther discloses, regarding claim 9, an electric pump 1 comprising: a shaft 2 extending in an axial direction; a rotatable rotor 3 located at an outer side of the shaft 2 in a radial direction; a stator 20 located at an outer side of the rotor 3 in the radial direction and surrounding the rotor 3; a housing (comprising elements 11 and 19) to accommodate the rotor 3 and the stator 20; a pump portion (see impeller end of 3 within 7) coupled to the rotor 3 at one side in an axial direction; and a circuit board 4 located at the housing 11/19 at another side in an axial direction; wherein the housing 11/19 includes an upper wall portion 11 located more toward another side in an axial direction than the rotor 3 and the stator 20; the circuit board 4 is located more toward another side in an axial direction than the upper wall portion 11; and the upper wall portion 11 includes a heat transfer plane (substantially broad, the examiner has interpreted said plane as the plane of element 11 with the same thickness, extending radially from the axis of 2) extending along a first surface opposing one side of the circuit board 4 in the axial direction (clearly shown in Fig. 1), the heat transfer plane (of 11) opposing another side in an axial direction (clearly shown in Fig. 1); Re claim 12, further comprising: a fixing portion 9 (which comprises spokes 23) configured to fix an end portion of the shaft 2 at one side in an axial direction and the pump portion (see impeller end of 3 within 7); wherein the fixing portion 9 is exposed to an inside of the pump portion (7).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 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.
Claims 15-20 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Peter J Bertheaud whose telephone number is (571)272-3476. The examiner can normally be reached 9am - 5pm M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Laurenzi can be reached at 5712707878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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PJB
/PETER J BERTHEAUD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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