2019 (Gyo-Ke) 10120 [Oil-Cooled Screw Compressor] <Tsuruoka>
Updated: 6 hours ago
Article information
Article type: Case note
Category: Patents
Topics: Motivation and teaching away
First published on this website: 2026-11-01
Display and classification checked: November 2, 2026
Originally published on Ameblo: 2024-12-16 (Japan time). Full English translation.
2019 (Gyo-Ke) 10120 [Oil-Cooled Screw Compressor] <Tsuruoka>
*A general problem
*No teaching away: failure to prove the “facts” underlying the alleged teaching away
“…Even if it bypasses …, compressor 10 is not found to become nonfunctional. Nor is there a basis for concluding that changing the configuration in this way … would substantially increase the number of liquid-pipe joints.”
(Excerpts from the court's reasoning)
…A person skilled in the art would recognize that the problem of reverse thrust force (a reverse-thrust load state) arises …in screw compressors generally, and could recognize that it also arises in the invention in Exhibit Ko 1…. Thus, for that invention too, …motivation arises to provide an unpressurized path to eliminate reverse-thrust loading and solve that problem…. Accordingly, even if Exhibit Ko 1 does not directly mention the technical problem of reverse thrust force (a reverse-thrust load state) or its elimination, motivation arises to provide an unpressurized path in that invention to solve the problem….
…
The defendant argues that providing a path that does not pass through pressurizing pump 140 or cavity 134 would cause liquid supplied to thrust piston chamber 60 to bypass filter 146, allowing foreign matter …to reach that chamber and cause clogging or other problems, ultimately causing compressor 10 to malfunction; it therefore asserts …a teaching away…. However, even if the liquid supplied to thrust piston chamber 60 bypasses filter 146, most foreign matter will eventually pass through and be removed by the filter as liquid repeatedly circulates through the compressor. If necessary, the configuration can also be changed so that liquid passes through a filter before the pump, allowing both pressurized and unpressurized liquid to pass through the filter. Compressor 10 therefore cannot be found to become nonfunctional. Nor is there a basis for concluding that such a change would substantially increase the number of liquid-pipe joints outside the compressor.
Update history
The first-published date remains unchanged. Display maintenance, classification changes, related-article updates, and text corrections are recorded separately.
November 1, 2026: First published on this website.
November 2, 2026: Added article information, classification, topics, language navigation, related articles where the same case was confirmed, consultation guidance, and SEO. The original text and first-published date were preserved.
Comments