Appeal No. 2003-1141
Application 09/572,745
Representative claim 1 reads as follows:1
1. A vacuum pump comprising:
a casing having an inlet port;
a rotor shaft mounted in the casing for undergoing rotation
in a rotational direction about a rotational axis;
exhaust means disposed between the rotor shaft and the
casing for undergoing rotation with the rotor shaft about the
rotational axis to discharge gas molecules which are taken in
through the inlet port of the casing;
a rotational member disposed between the inlet port and the
exhaust means and mounted for undergoing rotation with the rotor
shaft about the rotational axis, the rotational member having a
generally conical-shaped surface gradually decreasing toward the
inlet port; and
a plurality of guiding blades disposed on the conical shaped
surface of the rotational member for undergoing rotation with the
rotational member about the rotational axis to impart an outward
motion component in a radial direction to the gas molecules which
are taken in through the inlet port.
THE REJECTIONS
Claims 1, 10, 21 and 23 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 102(b) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 5,553,998 to
Muhlhoff et al. (Muhlhoff).
Claims 3 through 9, 11, 13 through 16, 22 and 24 through 29
stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable
over Muhlhoff.
1 In the event of further prosecution, the appellants should
correct the lack of proper antecedent basis for the term “the
reflecting surface” in claim 15, and the examiner should consider
whether the references to the “divisor” in claims 5, 27 and 28,
and in the underlying specification, would be understood by one
of ordinary skill in the art and, if not, make an appropriate
objection and/or rejection.
2
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007