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 .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 02/06/2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 3-6, 9, 11-14, 16-17 & 19-25 are pending in the application. Claims 16-17 & 19-21 are withdrawn. Claims 2, 7-8, 10, 15 & 18 are cancelled.
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 following must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s).
The first cross-sectional surface area, claimed in Claims 22 & 24
The second cross-sectional surface area, claimed in Claims 22 & 24
No new matter should be entered.
It is noted Applicant submitted an amended Figure 4 to show the above features. However, the 02/06/2026 drawings were not entered, since the figures show new matter. For example, new Elements SA, which represent the first cross-sectional area in the 02/06/2026 Figures 4/5, would not be interpreted by one of ordinary skill in the art as a surface. Additionally, the originally claimed first cross-sectional area could have been any cross-sectional area of the plunger bore. By defining the first cross-sectional area to just what is shown in the 02/06/2026 Figures 4/5, Applicant has narrowed what was originally claimed and described in the original disclosure, without sufficient support. Similarly, by defining the second cross-sectional area SB to just what is shown in the 02/06/2026 Figures 4/5, Applicant has narrowed what was originally claimed and described in the original disclosure, without sufficient support.
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.
Specification
The amendment filed 08/28/2025 is objected to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure. 35 U.S.C. 132(a) states that no amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention. The added material which is not supported by the original disclosure is as follows.
New Paragraph 0045 recites a cross-sectional area of the plunger bore. The only cross-sectional area previously disclosed was of the face 111, which is not part of the plunger bore.
New Paragraph 0045 attempts to define the first cross-sectional area SB as a cross-sectional surface area. However, the original disclosure has no support for this feature being a surface area. This is evident with Applicant’s attempt to submit a new Figure 4, which shows the area as an open space. As such, this amendment is considered new matter.
New Paragraphs 0025 & 0047-0055 refer to Figures 6A-6G, and respective Element Numbers. Since the drawings submitted on 02/06/2026 are not entered for containing new matter, the specification cannot refer to Figures 6A-6G, or any structure within Figures 6A-6G.
Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 3-6, 9, 11-14 & 22-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
As to Claims 1 & 9, applicant has failed to show possession of the claimed invention by failing to provide sufficient detail needed to understand what the invention is and how it works. Applicant claims the stop being disposed in the first pocket adjacent to the inlet seat and being disposed away from the cyclic pressure forces in the fluid chamber. This raises questions to what applicant had possession of, in that neither the specification nor the drawings, or a combination thereof, adequately explain how the stop is disposed away from the cyclic pressure forces.
Instant application Figure 4 shows stop 126 within fluid chamber 115. As such, one of ordinary skill in the art would conclude stop 126 is within the cyclic pressure forces within fluid chamber 115. As such, the original disclosure does not have support for the stop being away from the cyclic pressure forces in the fluid chamber, rendering the limitation new matter.
As to Claims 23 & 25, applicant has failed to show possession of the claimed invention by failing to provide sufficient detail needed to understand what the invention is and how it works. Applicant claims only a first radius of curvature, a non-uniform surface defined second radii of curvature, a dome-shaped surface, and an elliptical surface. This raises questions to what applicant had possession of, in that neither the specification nor the drawings, or a combination thereof, adequately describe the uniform hemispherical surface ONLY being defined by a first radius. As such, the limitation is considered new matter.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/06/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding the Drawing Objections, the objections are maintained. The new drawings, submitted on 02/06/2026 contain new matter, as described above, so were not entered. As such, the objections rely on the previous drawings, which do not contain the claimed structure.
Regarding the Specification Objections, Applicant did not address the previous rejections, so the previous objections are maintained.
Regarding the 112(a) rejections for Claims 1 & 9, Applicant only addressed a portion of the rejections, so the portions not addressed by Applicant are maintained.
Additionally, new rejections for Claims 23 & 25 are presented above due to amendments to the claims.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID BRANDT whose telephone number is (303)297-4776. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 10-6, MT.
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/DAVID N BRANDT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783