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) 1-4, 6, and 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Noro et al (US PGPub No. 2017/0254331).
Noro teaches:
limitations from claim 1, a compressor (310; FIG. 10), comprising: a compression mechanism (30); a drive shaft (350), the drive shaft extending in an upward/downward direction (FIG. 10); and an electric motor (40) configured to rotate the drive shaft to drive the compression mechanism (paragraph 65), the electric motor including a rotor (42) coupled to the drive shaft and a stator (41) disposed radially outside the rotor, the rotor including first gas passages (42b) penetrating the rotor in the upward/downward direction, a lid member (371) and a tubular member (372) being disposed above the rotor (FIG. 10-11), the lid member having a plate shape facing open ends of the first gas passages at an upper end of the rotor (FIG. 10-11; paragraph 179, 183), the tubular member being located radially outside the first gas passages and extending downward from the lid member (at C1; FIG. 11), a gap extending in a circumferential direction of the tubular member being formed between a lower end of the tubular member and the upper end of the rotor (FIG. 11), and a first space being formed, the first space being surrounded by the upper end of the rotor, the lid member, and the tubular member and opening radially outward through the gap (the space (~C’) formed between tube 372 and lid 371 in FIG. 11, and bracketed on the bottom by rotor 42 in FIG. 10);
limitations from claim 2, wherein the drive shaft (350) is provided with a balance weight (360) disposed above the lid member and a cover (372b) covering an outer periphery of the balance weight (see FIG. 11), the cover extends further downward than a lower end of the balance weight (FIG. 11; paragraph 191), and the tubular member (372) is a portion of the cover (372b) extending further downward than the lower end of the balance weight (FIG. 11);
limitations from claim 3, wherein the lid member (371) is fixed to a lower surface of the balance weight (FIG. 11 via bolt 374; paragraph 183);
limitations from claim 4, further comprising: a casing (20) that houses the compression mechanism, the drive shaft, and the electric motor (FIG. 10), a second gas passage (43) extending in the upward/downward direction being formed between an outer periphery of the stator and the casing (paragraph 68);
limitations from claim 6, wherein an outer diameter of the tubular member (372) is equal to or smaller than an outer diameter of the rotor (FIG. 10; paragraph 190);
limitations from claim 9, wherein the lid member and the tubular member are integral with each other (FIG. 11 via bolt 374 and weight 360; paragraph 183);
limitations from claim 10, a refrigeration apparatus including the compressor of claim 1 (paragraph 47);
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) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noro et al (US PGPub No. 2017/0254331) as applied to claim 1 above, and in further view of Doepker et al (US PGPub No. 2017/0268515).
Noro does not teach stator windings through which a channel is formed;
Doepker teaches a compressor (10) including a compression mechanism (20) driven by a motor (18); the motor includes a rotor (50), and a stator (48), and wherein the stator includes passages through windings of the motor (paragraphs 86-87);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of compressors at the time the invention was filed to provide passages in the stator of Noro, as taught by Doepker, in order to effective cooling to the motor (paragraph 87 of Doepker);
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-8 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.
Claim 7 recites a particular relationship between the distances between the rotor and the lid/tubular member respectively (d≤h/3). The prior art does not teach these limitations in particular, and it would not have been a mere design choice as the specification (paragraph 119 for example) teaches that these relative dimensions have criticality in that an improved oil carryover rate is achieved.
Claim 8 recites a relationship between the distance between the rotor and the tubular member, and a gas passage areas, tubular member diameter, and π (M/(π x D2) ≤ d). The prior art does not teach these limitations in particular, and it would not have been a mere design choice as the specification (paragraph 120 for example) teaches that these relative dimensions have criticality in that an improved oil carryover rate is achieved.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 9388808 teaches a compressor (1) that includes a tubular cover (48) for a counterweight;
US 2017/0089624 teaches a compressor (100) wherein a cover is provided about a weight (31);
US 12092112 teaches a cover (110) for a weight (90);
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER S BOBISH whose telephone number is (571)270-5289. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9-5.
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/CHRISTOPHER S BOBISH/Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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