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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the to-be-connected member and the welding joint (claim 7) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-20 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1, line 2 includes the phrase “an cylinder” which should be “a cylinder” Appropriate correction is required.
In claim 6, r0 and r0 are used. They should be the same font to maintain consistency.
Claims 2-20 are also objected to as they depend on an objected claim.
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, 9, 11-12 and 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhou et al. (herein Zhou) (CN 108953153A, English translation provided with IDS). Regarding Claim 1:In Figures 2-7, Zhou discloses a pump body assembly comprising: an cylinder (1), wherein the cylinder (1) is provided with an air suction hole (14) and a sliding vane groove (13) at intervals (as seen in Figure 6); an upper flange (2) disposed on the cylinder (1, see Figure 4), wherein the upper flange (2) is disposed above the cylinder (1, see Figure 4), a return passage (21) is disposed on the upper flange (2), the return passage (21) passes through the upper flange (2, see Figure 2) in an axial direction of the upper flange (2, see Figure 2), and the return passage (21) extends in a circumferential direction of the upper flange (2, as seen in Figure 7); wherein, along the circumferential direction of the upper flange (2), at least one of the air suction hole (14) and the sliding vane groove (13) is disposed in a staggered manner relative to a distribution interval of the return passage (as seen in Figures 6-7 and mentioned in paragraph [0043], the air suction hole 14 is staggered relative to the distribution interval of the return passage 21). Note: The phrase “distribution interval” is broadly interpreted as the boundaries of any one of Zhou’s return passages (21) disposed along the circumference of the upper flange as depicted in Figure 7. This interpretation is used for all claims that do not clearly specify the boundaries of the distribution interval. It is also noted that the term “staggered” is being interpreted as have any circumferential non-overlapping portions. The applicant is requested to more precisely define these terms in the body of the claims to overcome these interpretations. Regarding Claim 2:In Figures 2-7, Zhou discloses the pump body assembly, wherein the air suction hole (14) and the sliding vane groove (13) are disposed at intervals along a circumferential direction of the cylinder (as seen in Figure 6); wherein, along the circumferential direction of the upper flange (2), distribution intervals of the air suction hole (14) and the sliding vane groove (13) are disposed in a staggered manner relative to the distribution interval of the return passage (as seen in Figure 6-7, 13 and 14 are staggered with respect to one or more of the return passages 21).Regarding Claim 3:In Figures 2-7, Zhou discloses the pump body assembly, wherein the cylinder (1) comprises a cylinder block (11) and a connecting portion (12) that are connected to each other, the connecting portion (12) is protruded from a side portion of the cylinder block (as seen in Figure 6), the connecting portion (12) is provided with the air suction hole (14) and the sliding vane groove (13, see Figure 6), and the connecting portion (12) extends in a circumferential direction of the cylinder block (as seen in Figure 6);wherein, along the circumferential direction of the upper flange (2), the connecting portion (12) and the distribution interval of the return passage (121) are disposed in a staggered manner (as seen in Figures 6-7, the return passage has a distribution interval outside the sector depicted by the angle α, while the connecting portion 12 is at least partially within this sector indicating that they are staggered relative to one another).Regarding Claim 4:In Figures 2-7, Zhou discloses the pump body assembly, wherein the upper flange (2) comprises a flange body (body of 2, see Figure 7) and an exhaust valve seat (exhaust valve seat shown in Figure 7 to the left of the sector formed by the angle α, henceforth referred to as EVS) that are connected to each other (as seen in Figure 7); wherein, along the circumferential direction of the upper flange (2), the exhaust valve seat (EVS) and the distribution interval of the return passage (21) are disposed in a staggered manner (as seen in Figure 7, EVS is staggered with respect to one or more of the return passages 21. It is also noted that the EVS partially enters the sector formed by the angle α and so is staggered with respect to the distribution interval of the return passage).Regarding Claim 9:In Figures 2-7, Zhou discloses the pump body assembly, wherein the cylinder (1) is provided with a process hole (15); wherein, along a circumferential direction of the cylinder (1), the process hole (15) and the distribution interval of the return passage (21) are disposed in a staggered manner (as seen in Figures 6-7, 15 is at least partially staggered with respect to one or more return passages 21).Regarding Claims 11 and 14-16:In Figures 2-7, Zhou discloses the pump body assembly, wherein the return passage (21) comprises a plurality of return holes (as seen in Figure 7) disposed at intervals along the circumferential direction of the upper flange (see Figure 7), and a distance between two return holes (hole to the left of the sector formed by angle α and the hole to the right of this sector) at two ends of the plurality of return holes (21) forms a distribution interval of the return passage (as seen in Figure 7).Regarding Claim 12:In Figures 2-7, Zhou discloses a compressor, comprising the pump body assembly as claimed in claim 1 (see paragraph [0035]).
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) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou et al. (herein Zhou) (CN 108953153A) as evidenced by Wan et al. (herein Wan) (US 2017/0342982).Zhou is silent regarding an air conditioner using the compressor of claim 12. However, it is extremely well known in the art that sliding vane compressor are routinely used in air conditioners and produce high efficiency compression. For instance in paragraph [0001] Wan states: “The present application relates to the field of air conditioners, and more particularly, to a sliding vane type compressor and an exhaust structure thereof.”Hence, based on common knowledge in the art and the evidence provided by Wan, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have utilized Zhou’s sliding vane compressor (of claim 12) in an air conditioner, since doing so would be obvious to try (conventional usage of a sliding vane compressor) and would yield predictable results such as providing a high reliability compressor for an air conditioner with lower power consumption and lower routine maintenance costs.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-8, 10 and 17-20 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 5 recites: an exhaust volume of the pump body assembly is V, an operating frequency of the pump body assembly is f, and a flow area of the return passage (121) is S; wherein 0.1 < S/(0.001 Vf) < 0.6. This relationship between the claimed parameters is not disclosed by Zhou and not anticipated or rendered obvious by any other prior art references.
Claim 6 recites: a radius of a central circle corresponding to the return passage (121) is r0, an outer radius of the upper flange (12) is R, and a maximum radial width of the return passage (121) is w; wherein 1- (r0+0.5w) /R>0.05. This relationship between the claimed parameters is not disclosed by Zhou and not anticipated or rendered obvious by any other prior art references.
Claim 7 recites: wherein the upper flange (12) is welded to a to-be-connected member; wherein, along the circumferential direction of the upper flange (12), a welding joint where the upper flange (12) and the to-be-connected member are welded and the distribution interval of the return passage (121) are disposed in a staggered manner. While Zhou mentions welding the upper flange (2) to the cylinder (1), there is no specific mention of any to-be-connected member being welded to the upper flange. Additionally the spatial relationship between the return passage and the weld joint is considered novel and unique.
Claim 8 recites: wherein a tail hole (1121) is disposed at an end of the sliding vane groove (112), the tail hole (1121) is a circular hole, and a diameter of the tail hole (1121) is d; wherein the upper flange (12) is provided with a first yielding hole (124) corresponding to the tail hole (1121), the first yielding hole (124) is disposed opposite to the tail hole (1121), the first yielding hole (124) is disposed opposite the tail hole (1121), the first yielding hole (124) is a circular hole, and a diameter of the first yielding hole (124) is D; wherein d < D < d +0.5mm. This relationship between the claimed parameters is not disclosed by Zhou and not anticipated or rendered obvious by any other prior art references.
Claim 10 recites: wherein the upper flange (12) is provided with a second yielding hole (125) opposite to the process hole (115), the process hole (115) and the second yielding hole (125) are both circular holes, a diameter of the process hole (115) is d1, and a diameter of the second yielding hole (125) is D1; wherein d1< D1 < d1 + 0.5mm. This relationship between the claimed parameters is not disclosed by Zhou and not anticipated or rendered obvious by any other prior art references.
Claims 17-20 are dependent on one of the aforementioned claims and so are allowable for the same reasons.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20210270268 – Pump body assembly. US 20200018314 – Sliding vane compressor exhaust structure. US 10151513 - Sliding vane compressor return passage arrangement.
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
