Ex Parte Duppert et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Feb 25, 2016

13428337 (P.T.A.B. Feb. 25, 2016)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
13/428,337 03/23/2012
53609 7590 02/29/2016
REINHART BOERNER VAN DEUREN P.C.
2215 PERRYGREEN WAY
ROCKFORD, IL 61107
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
Ronald J. Duppert
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
508925 8137
EXAMINER
HERRMANN, JOSEPH S
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
3746
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
02/29/2016 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address( es):
RockMail@reinhartlaw.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte RONALD J. DUPPERT and XIANGHONG WANG
Appeal 2016-002288
Application 13/428,337
Technology Center 3700
Before LYNNE H. BROWNE, JILL D. HILL, and MARK A. GEIER,
Administrative Patent Judges.
BROWNE, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Ronald J. Duppert and Xianghong Wang (Appellants) appeal under
35 U.S.C. § 134 from the Examiner's decision rejecting claims 2-12 and 14--
21. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We AFFIRM-IN-PART and enter a NEW GROUND OF
REJECTION pursuant to our authority under 37 C.F.R. § 41.50(b).
CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER
The claims are directed to a press-fit bearing housing with a
non-cylindrical diameter. Claims 2, 6, 9, 10, 16, 18, and 19 are independent.
Claim 2, reproduced below, is illustrative of the claimed subject matter:
Appeal2016-002288
Application 13/428,337
2. A scroll compressor, comprising:
a housing comprising a cylindrical shell section;
scroll compressor bodies in the housing having respective
bases and respective scroll ribs that project from the respective
bases and which mutually engage for compressing fluid;
an electrical motor having a stator and a rotor,
a drive shaft for rotation about an axis, the rotor acting
upon the drive shaft that in tum acts upon the scroll compressor
bodies to facilitate relative orbiting movement between the scroll
compressor bodies;
a bearing member adapted to retain the drive shaft, the
bearing member comprising at least two cylinder sections that
include a contact region, the at least two cylinder sections being
angularly spaced apart, and separated by at least two
corresponding gaps;
wherein the bearing member is sized to facilitate press
fitting into the cylindrical shell section such that the cylindrical
shell section forms to the contact region of the at least two
cylinder sections;
wherein the cylindrical shell section defines a smaller
inner radius at the at least two corresponding gaps than an outer
radius defined by the at least two cylinder sections, relative to the
axis.
REFERENCES
The prior art relied upon by the Examiner in rejecting the claims on
appeal is:
Kanamaru
Caillat
Richardson
Skinner
Clendenin1
Yap
us 4,376,333
us 5,102,316
us 5,306,126
US 6,544,017 B 1
US 6,709,247 Bl
US 6,799,956 Bl
Mar. 15, 1983
Apr. 7, 1992
Apr. 26, 1994
Apr. 8, 2003
Mar. 23, 2004
Oct. 5, 2004
1 In the Final Action and Answer, the Examiner refers to this reference as
"Clendin." We understand this to be a typographical error.
2
Appeal2016-002288
Application 13/428,337
Tsuji
Jee
Guo
US 2007 /0092173 Al Apr. 26, 2007
US 2007/0107188 Al May 17, 2007
US 2009/0068044 Al Mar. 12, 2009
REJECTIONS
I. Claims 6, 8, and 14-17 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as
being anticipated by Clendenin.
II. Claim 2 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being
unpatentable over Skinner and Jee.
III. Claims 3 and 4 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being
unpatentable over Skinner, Jee, and Richardson.
IV. Claim 2-5 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being
unpatentable over Guo, Yap, and Jee.
V. Claims 7, 9, and 18 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
unpatentable over Clendenin. 2
VI. Claims 10-12 and 19-21 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
being unpatentable over Clendenin and Tsuji. 3
VII. We reject claim 2 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as anticipated by
Clendenin.
2 The statement of the rejection of claim 7 states that claim 7 is rejected "as
being unpatentable over [Clendenin] USPN 6709247 as applied to claim 6
above, and further in view of legal precedent." Final Act. 27. Legal
precedent is not a ground of rejection. Accordingly, we understand claim 7
to stand rejected as unpatentable over Clendenin. The statement of the
rejection of claims 9 and 18 also states that these claims are rejected as
unpatentable over Clendenin and legal precedent. We likewise understand
that claims 9 and 18 stand rejected as unpatentable over Clendenin.
3 The statements of the rejections of claims 11, 12, 20, and 21, again state
that these claims stand rejected in view of legal precedent. We understand
claims 11, 12, 20, and 21 to stand rejected as unpatentable over Clendenin
and Tsuji, as legal precedent is not a ground of rejection.
3
Appeal2016-002288
Application 13/428,337
Claims 6 and 16
DISCUSSION
Rejection I
The Examiner finds that Clendenin recites each and every limitation
of independent claims 6 and 16. Final Act. 7-12. In particular, the
Examiner finds that Clendenin incorporates Caillat by reference and that
Caillat discloses a pilot ring. See Final Act. 8. In addition, the Examiner
proffers Kanamaru as an evidence reference to explain what a press fit is.
See id.
Contending that "Clendenin does not teach a bearing member
configured for attachment to a pilot ring," Appellants argue that "the
Examiner has improperly relied on a second reference in an effort to support
a Section 102 rejection." Appeal Br. 11, 12.
For a prior art reference to anticipate a claim, the reference must
disclose each claim limitation in a single document. Advanced Display Sys.,
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