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 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoshino et al. (US 2019/0199171; hereinafter Yoshino).
Regarding claim 1, Yoshino (Fig. 1-11 - specifically embodiment shown in Fig. 10) discloses a blower comprising: a housing (51b) including a recess (shown best in Fig. 2) that is open upward; a sleeve (50b) disposed in the recess and including a through-hole; a shaft (1b) extending through the through-hole; a cap portion (8b and 9b) disposed above the sleeve (50b) with the shaft (1b) extending through the through-hole; a propeller (200) connected to an upper end of the shaft (1b); and a lubricant (Abstract: lubricating oil contained in sleeve bearing) contained in the recess, wherein the cap portion (8b and 9b) includes a first cap (9b) and a second cap (8b) disposed above the first cap (9b), the first cap (9b) includes a first vent (92b) and a first pass-through portion (shaft 1b extends through ) through which the shaft (1b) extends, and the second cap (8b) includes a second pass-through portion through which the shaft (1b) extends.
Regarding claim 5, Yoshino discloses the blower according to claim 1, wherein Yoshino (Fig. 10) further discloses a first distance between the first cap (9b) and the second cap (8b) is greater than a second distance between the sleeve (50b) and the first cap (9b).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 and 6-10 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.
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Hensel (US 5,433,529) discloses a fluid bearing with a thrust plate with pressure compensation ports.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIELLE M CHRISTENSEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3275. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5 PM.
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, Courtney Heinle can be reached at 571-270-3508. 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.
/Danielle M. Christensen/Examiner, Art Unit 3745
Prosecution Insights