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
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DE-11201600630 (DE’630).
Re: claim 1. DE’630 shows in figures 4, 10, and 10A an end-stop control valve comprising: a piston, as labeled and element 102, that is configured to move longitudinally within a damper tube 54, wherein a radially outermost portion of the piston is configured to be spaced radially apart from an inner wall of the damper tube, as shown, such that hydraulic fluid or oil can flow between the piston and the inner wall of the damper tube outside of an end-of-stroke damping event; a valve disc stack-up 142 disposed longitudinally alongside the piston; and a catch
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piston 80 with which the piston is configured to engage during the end-of- stroke damping event as shown in figure 10A, the catch piston 80 being configured to be disposed on the inner wall of the damper tube 54 in a longitudinally movable manner with sufficient force, as broadly and functionally recited, wherein the piston and the catch piston 80 are configured such that as a contact surface of the piston approaches a contact surface of the catch piston during the end-of-stroke damping event, a pocket, as labeled, for hydraulic fluid is formed longitudinally and radially between the piston and the catch piston; wherein the piston and the catch piston are configured such that a cross-sectional area through which hydraulic fluid can travel to and from the pocket decreases as the contact surface of the piston approaches the contact surface of the catch piston, wherein the pocket ceases or closes to exist while the contact surface of the piston is engaged with the contact surface of the contact piston as shown in figure 10A.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE’630 in view of US Patent 5580034 to Cheng.
DE’630 is silent with regard to the control valve comprising a piston band (since element 102 has been interpreted as part of the piston) that is disposed on the piston.
Cheng teaches in figure 4 a piston comprising a piston band or one of elements 430.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the piston of DE’630 to have included a piston band, in view of the teachings of Cheng, in order to provide an added seal means to provide a redundant means of restricting fluid flow pass the outer surface of the piston during piston travel to create a pressure differential and generate damping. The combination results in the piston band or added seal being configured to engage a sidewall of the catch piton during the end of stroke damping event.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 5-8 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.
Claims 9 and 11-20 are allowed.
Response to Amendment
Upon further review, Examiner has included a rejection of claims 1 and 2, as broadly recited, using the DE’630 reference as a base reference as set forth above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MELODY M BURCH whose telephone number is (571)272-7114. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 6:30AM-3PM, generally.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert Siconolfi can be reached at 571-272-7124. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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mmb
June 17, 2026
/MELODY M BURCH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616
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