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 .
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.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed on 13 June 2025 has been entered. Claims 1-9 and 12-15 remain pending in the application. Applicant’s amendments to the Claims overcome each and every objection and 112(b) rejection previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 30 Sept 2024.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fatehi et al (US 10,520,103) in view of Vetal et al (US 2020/0173678) in further view of Amirthasamy et al (US 2018/0218586).
Regarding Claim 1, Fatehi et al disclose a method comprising automatic operation and functional checking of line valves (Figures 1A and 12A), situated in pipelines (170) of fluid distribution networks (Col 6, lines 9-18), said line valves (175) being kept in an open configuration under normal operating conditions of a respective fluid distribution network (Col 6, lines 61-65 disclose turning the valve off during abnormal conditions, thereby proving for the valve to be open during normal operating conditions), each line valve of said line valves (175) being associated with a rotation driver (145 generally), external to a body of said line valve (Figure 1A), aimed at opening and closing said line valve (Figure 1B; Col 7, lines 22-29), a gear motor assembly (together gearbox 155 and motor 115), mechanically associated to said rotation driver (145; Figures 1A-1B), and an electronic processing and control unit (120), electrically connected to said gear motor assembly (Col 8, lines 24-30), aimed at controlling the gear assembly (Col 8, lines 24-30); a transceiver apparatus (125), connected to said electronic unit (120) and to a remote communication line (wireless through the antenna 130; Col 8, lines 63- Col 9-1), aimed at transmitting and receiving data and instructions to/from a remote operating station (1205 in Figure 12A; Col 13, lines 44-54);
But fails to expressly disclose where said method including cyclic operations of efficiency maintenance and functional check of said each line valve of said line valves, controlled at predefined time intervals, each of said operations comprising:
sending of input signals, transmitted by radiofrequency from said remote operating station to said electronic processing and control unit provided in each of said each line valves;
activating of a program procedure in said processing and control unit including instructions to control the partial opening and subsequent closing of said line valve;
consequent first activating of said gear motor assembly by said processing and control unit for a period of time necessary to make said each line valve rotate in the partial closing direction of said each line valve, by a predefined angular amplitude of rotation, such as not to interrupt the flow of fluid through said each line valve;
checking the achievement of the predefined angular amplitude of rotation by means of a first sensor element associated to said gear motor assembly and electrically connected to said processing and control unit and capable of transmitting coded information relating to a current position of each said line valve to said processing and control unit;
subsequent stopping of said gear motor assembly;
subsequent second activating of said gear motor assembly in the direction of a reopening of said each line valve;
checking of an achievement of a fully open position of said each line valve by means of said first sensor element,
each of said operations further comprising:
during the first activating and the second activating of the gear motor assembly, detecting a flow rate, a pressure of the fluid, or both the flow rate and the pressure of the fluid upstream or downstream of said each line valve.
Vetal et al teach a system (Figure 2) and method of performing a partial stroke test (¶ 4) where said method including cyclic operations (Figure 17) of efficiency maintenance and functional check of each of said line valves (¶ 159), controlled at predefined time intervals (¶ 159), each of said operations comprising:
sending of input signals (¶ 160), transmitted by radiofrequency (¶ 72) from said remote operating unit (¶ 154) to said electronic processing and control unit (506) provided in each of said line valves 1600);
activating of a program procedure in said processing and control unit including instructions to control the partial opening and subsequent closing of said line valve (¶ 155);
consequent first activating of said motor assembly (where Fatehi et al disclose where the motor assembly is a gear motor assembly; ¶ 155) by said processing and control unit (506) for a period of time necessary to make said valve rotate in the partial closing direction of said line (¶ 155), by a predefined rotation angle (approximately 5 degrees as taught in ¶ 155), such as not to interrupt the flow of fluid through said valve (¶ 155);
checking the achievement of the predefined angular amplitude of rotation by means of a first sensor element (¶ 161 via the taught sensor) associated to said motor assembly and electrically connected to said processing and control unit (506) and capable of transmitting coded information relating to the current position of said valve to said processing and control unit (¶ 161; where ¶ 93 and ¶ 94 additionally teach where the actuator controller is implemented as a processor 508 and memory unit 510 which transmits signals as code);
subsequent stopping of said motor assembly (¶ 161);
subsequent second activation of said gear motor assembly in the direction of the reopening of said line (1714; ¶ 161);
checking of the achievement of the fully open position of said valve by means of said first sensor element (¶ 161).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Fatehi et al with the method as taught by Vetal et al for the advantage of ensuring proper functioning of the valve, as taught by Vetal et al (¶ 43).
Further, Fatehi et al disclose a third sensor element (Col 40, lines 33-35 disclose where the system can have more than one sensor and Col 9, lines 10-19 disclose different types of sensors) associated with the corresponding pipeline (170).
Amirthasamy et al teach a system (Figure 1) for automatic operation and function check of line valves (Figure 3; ¶ 35) and during the first activating and the second activating of the gear motor assembly (taught by Vetal et al as discussed above), detecting a flow rate (via a flow rate sensor of ¶ 3), a pressure of the fluid (via the pressure sensors of ¶ 35), or both the flow rate and the pressure of the fluid upstream or downstream of said each line valve (¶ 35 discloses placing the pressure sensor both upstream and downstream of device 114).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Fatehi et al as modified by Vetal et al with the sensors as taught by Amirthasamy et al for the advantage of combining prior art elements according to known methods (the sensors of Amirthasamy et al with the system of Fatehi et al) to yield predictable results (to monitor flow rate and fluid pressure within the system to determine system status and possible system failure).
Regarding Claim 2, Fatehi et al disclose all essential elements of the current invention as discussed above but fails to expressly disclose where one or more of said cyclic operations further comprises a final phase of preparing a report containing at least positional data detected by said first sensor element and of transmitting said report to said remote operation station.
Vetal teach where each of said cyclic operations further comprises a final phase of preparing a report (via the reporting software on client device 368; ¶ 68) containing at least positional data detected by said first sensor element (via 520 ¶ 102) and of transmitting said report to said remote operation station (¶ 68).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Fatehi et al with the method as taught by Vetal et al for the advantage of ensuring proper functioning of the valve, as taught by Vetal et al (¶ 43).
Regarding Claim 3, Fatehi et al disclose all essential elements of the current invention as discussed above but fails to expressly disclose where said instructions for controlling the partial opening and subsequent closing of said valve are transmitted remotely from said remote operation station to said processing and control unit via said remote communication line.
Vetal teach said instructions for controlling the partial opening and subsequent closing of said valve are transmitted remotely from said remote operation station (¶ 154) to said processing and control unit (506) via said remote communication line (¶ 154).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Fatehi et al with the method as taught by Vetal et al for the advantage of ensuring proper functioning of the valve, as taught by Vetal et al (¶ 43).
Regarding Claim 4, Fatehi et al disclose all essential elements of the current invention as discussed above but fails to expressly disclose where during the aforesaid activation phase of the gear motor assembly, the first sensor element associated to said gear motor assembly detects the angular amplitude of rotation and a direction of rotation imposed to said rotation driver; and a report concerning the result of the cyclic operations carried out on the rotation driver of the respective ball valve is sent by radiofrequency to said remote operating station.
Vetal teach where during the aforesaid activation phase of the gear motor assembly (¶ 155), a first sensor element associated to said motor assembly (¶ 161; where Fatehi et al disclose where the motor assembly is a gear motor assembly) detects the angular amplitude and the direction of the rotations imposed to said rotation driver (¶ 161); and in that a report concerning the result of the cyclic operations carried out on the rotation driver of the respective ball valve is sent by radiofrequency to said remote operating station (¶ 154).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Fatehi et al with the method as taught by Vetal et al for the advantage of ensuring proper functioning of the valve, as taught by Vetal et al (¶ 43).
Regarding Claim 6, Fatehi et al disclose a third sensor element (Col 40, lines 33-35 disclose where the system can have more than one sensor and Col 9, lines 10-19 disclose different types of sensors) associated with the corresponding pipeline (170),
But fails to expressly disclose where during said activation phase of the gear motor assembly at least a flow sensor element associated with the corresponding pipeline, upstream and/or downstream of said ball valve, detects the flow rate of the fluid transported by said pipeline, in that a report containing data relative to the value of said flow rate is transmitted to said remote operation station.
Amirthasamy et al teach a system (Figure 1) for automatic operation and function check of line valves (Figure 3; ¶ 35) where the flow sensor element (¶ 35 teaches sensor and ¶ 3 teaches flow rate sensors) is provided upstream and/or downstream of said ball valve (¶ 35 disclose the field device 114 is a control valve) and aimed at detecting the flow rate of the fluid transported (¶ 3 disclose flow rate sensors and ¶ 35 disclose placing sensor upstream and downstream of the device 114) by said pipeline (the portion of the valve controlled by the control valve; ¶ 35) and at sending a corresponding signal (via 116) to said electronic processing and control unit (128).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Fatehi et al with the system as taught by Amirthasamy et al for the advantage of combining prior art elements according to known methods (the sensor of Amirthasamy et al with the system of Fatehi et al) to yield predictable results (to monitor flow rate within the system).
Vetal teach where during the aforesaid activation phase of the gear motor assembly (¶ 155), a sensor element associated to said motor assembly (¶ 161; where Fatehi et al disclose where the motor assembly is a gear motor assembly) where that a report containing data relative to the value of said flow rate (taught by Amirthasamy et al as discussed above) is transmitted to said remote operation station (¶ 154).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Fatehi et al with the method as taught by Vetal et al for the advantage of ensuring proper functioning of the valve, as taught by Vetal et al (¶ 43).
Regarding Claim 7, Fatehi et al disclose a fourth sensor element (Col 40, lines 33-35 disclose where the system can have more than one sensor and Col 9, lines 10-19 disclose different types of sensors) associated with the corresponding pipeline (170),
But fails to expressly disclose where during said activation phase of the gear motor assembly at least a pressure sensor element associated with the corresponding pipeline upstream and/or downstream of said ball valve, detects the pressure of the flow rate of the fluid transported by said pipeline, in that a report concerning the value of said pressure is transmitted to said remote operation station.
Amirthasamy et al teach a system (Figure 1) for automatic operation and function check of line valves (Figure 3; ¶ 35) where the pressure sensor element (¶ 35) is provided upstream and/or downstream of said ball valve (¶ 35 disclose the field device 114 is a control valve) and aimed at detecting the pressure of the fluid transported (¶ 35 disclose placing sensor upstream and downstream of the device 114) by said pipeline (the portion of the valve controlled by the control valve; ¶ 35) and at sending a corresponding signal (via 116) to said electronic processing and control unit (128).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Fatehi et al with the system as taught by Amirthasamy et al for the advantage of combining prior art elements according to known methods (the sensor of Amirthasamy et al with the system of Fatehi et al) to yield predictable results (to monitor pressure within the system).
Vetal teach where during the aforesaid activation phase of the gear motor assembly (¶ 155), a sensor element associated to said motor assembly (¶ 161; where Fatehi et al disclose where the motor assembly is a gear motor assembly) where that a report containing data relative to the value of said pressure (taught by Amirthasamy et al as discussed above) is transmitted to said remote operation station (¶ 154).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Fatehi et al with the method as taught by Vetal et al for the advantage of ensuring proper functioning of the valve, as taught by Vetal et al (¶ 43).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fatehi et al (US 10,520,103) in view of Vetal et al (US 2020/0173678) in further view of Amirthasamy et al (US 2018/0218586) in further view of Casada (US 5,483,841).
Regarding Claim 5, Fatehi et al disclose a second sensor element (Col 40, lines 33-35 disclose where the system can have more than one sensor and Col 9, lines 10-19 disclose different types of sensors) associated with said gear motor assembly (155),
But fails to expressly disclose where the sensor is aimed at detecting an amount of electric power absorbed by the gear motor assembly in order to carryout the rotations by the rotation driver and to send a corresponding signal to said electronic processing and control unit; and
where during the aforesaid activation phase of the gear motor assembly, a second sensor element in that a report containing data relative to the amount of electric power absorbed is transmitted to said remote operation station.
Casada teaches a system (Figure 1) for automatic operation and function check of valves (Col 3, line 65 – Col 4, line 3) with a sensor (10 generally) is aimed at detecting the amount of electric power absorbed by the gear motor assembly (Col 6, lines 8-12 teaches using torque and speed to order to detect the power absorbed and used by the valve and Col 6, lines 15-18 disclose where the motor assembly is a gear motor assembly) in order to carryout the rotations by the rotation driver (the shaft power as taught in Col 5, lines 61-64) in and to send a corresponding signal to said electronic processing and control unit (via 38).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Fatehi et al with the system as taught by Casada for the advantage of combining prior art elements according to known methods (the sensor arrangement of Casada with the system of Fatehi et al) to yield predictable results (to monitor power within the system).
Vetal teach where during the aforesaid activation phase of the gear motor assembly (¶ 155), a sensor element associated to said motor assembly (¶ 161; where Fatehi et al disclose where the motor assembly is a gear motor assembly) where that a report containing data (where the data being relative to the value of said power absorbed is taught by Casada as discussed above) is transmitted to said remote operation station (¶ 154).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Fatehi et al with the method as taught by Vetal et al for the advantage of ensuring proper functioning of the valve, as taught by Vetal et al (¶ 43).
Claim(s) 8, 12 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fatehi et al (US 10,520,103) in view of Amirthasamy et al (US 2018/0218586).
Regarding Claim 8, Fatehi et al discloses a system (Figures 1A-1B) for automatic operation and functional check of line valves (175), including ball valves (Col 6, line 21) situated in pipelines (170) of fluid distribution networks (Col 6, lines 9-18), said ball valves (175) kept in an open configuration under normal operating conditions of the respective fluid distribution network (Col 6, lines 61-65 disclose turning the valve off during abnormal conditions, thereby proving for the valve to be open during normal operating conditions), and of the type provided with a rotation driver (145) external to the valve body aimed at opening and closing the valve (Col 6, lines 19-26), said system comprising:
for each ball valve (175) to be operated, the gear motor assembly (155 and 115) associated with said rotation driver (145) of said corresponding ball valve (175) and aimed at manipulating it in one direction or the other (Col 7, lines 22-29);
at least one first sensor element (160) associated to said gear motor assembly (155; Col 9 lines 10-19), aimed at detecting the angular amplitude (via the disclosed encoder position sensor of Col 9, lines 10-19) and the direction of the rotation (via the disclosed encoder position sensor of Col 9, lines 10-19) imposed to said rotation driver (145) of the ball valve (175);
an electronic processing and control unit (120), provided to activate/deactivate said gear motor assembly (155; Col 8, line 63-65), according to predefined modes (Col 9, lines 47-59 disclose at least two modes to health status monitoring, either responding to a request or pushing regular updates; and Col 13, lines 44-62 disclose activating the gear motor assembly (155 and 115) as a response to these signals), and to receive feedback signals provided by said at least one sensor element (Col 9, lines 47-59);
a radio-frequency transceiver apparatus (125) interfaced with said electronic processing and control unit (120) and aimed at communicating with a remote operation center (1205 and 1210 of Figure 12A), in order to send thereto a report concerning the outcome of each single rotating operation carried out on the rotation driver (Col 8, line 63 – Col 9 line 19 disclose providing feed back to the control unit of the position of the valve and Col 39, lines 34-43 disclose providing this report to the user) of the respective ball valve (175),
but fails to expressly disclose
a third sensor element provided upstream or downstream of a pipeline corresponding to said each ball valve for detecting a flow rate of fluid transported by the pipeline corresponding to said each ball valve and for sending a corresponding flow rate signal indicative of said flow rate to said electronic processing and control unit; and
a fourth sensor element provided upstream or downstream of the pipeline corresponding to said each ball valve for detecting pressure of the fluid associated with the corresponding pipeline-transported by the pipeline corresponding to said each ball valve and for sending a corresponding pressure signal indicative of said pressure to said electronic processing and control unit.
Fatehi et al disclose at least a third sensor element and a fourth sensor element (Col 40, lines 33-35 disclose where the system can have more than one sensor and Col 9, lines 10-19 disclose different types of sensors) associated with the corresponding pipeline (170),
Amirthasamy et al teach a system (Figure 1) for automatic operation and function check of line valves (Figure 3; ¶ 35) where the sensor (¶ 35) is provided upstream and/or downstream of said ball valve (¶ 35 disclose the field device 114 is a control valve) and aimed at detecting the flow rate of the fluid transported (¶ 3 disclose flow rate sensors and ¶ 35 disclose placing sensor upstream and downstream of the device 114) by said pipeline (the portion of the valve controlled by the control valve; ¶ 35) and at sending a corresponding signal (via 116) to said electronic processing and control unit (128);
where the sensor (¶ 35) is provided upstream and/or downstream of said ball valve (¶ 35 disclose the field device 114 is a control valve) and aimed at detecting pressure of the fluid transported (¶ 35 disclose placing sensor upstream and downstream of the device 114) by said pipeline (the portion of the valve controlled by the control valve; ¶ 35) and for sending a corresponding pressure signal (via 116) to said electronic processing and control unit (128).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Fatehi et al with the system as taught by Amirthasamy et al for the advantage of combining prior art elements according to known methods (the sensor of Amirthasamy et al with the system of Fatehi et al) to yield predictable results (to monitor pressure within the system).
Regarding Claim 12, Fatehi et al disclose a module (140) for supplying electric energy (via the battery 110) in which at least one photovoltaic panel (105), a battery charger (the wired connection between the battery and the solar cell as disclosed in Col 13, lines 15-23) and at least one accumulator (the rechargeable battery 110) are provided, the latter (110) being aimed at supplying electric current to said gear motor assembly (155), the processing and control electronic unit (120) and a transceiver apparatus (125), during the active phases of said system (Figure 1A).
Regarding Claim 15, Fatehi et al disclose where said transceiver apparatus (125) is connected to a cellular telephone network or a satellite telephone network (a cellular network is disclosed at Col 9, lines 30-31).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fatehi et al (US 10,520,103) in view of Amirthasamy et al (US 2018/0218586) in further view of Casada (US 5,483,841).
Regarding Claim 9, Fatehi et al disclose a second sensor element (Col 40, lines 33-35 disclose where the system can have more than one sensor and Col 9, lines 10-19 disclose different types of sensors) associated with said gear motor assembly (155),
But fails to expressly disclose where the sensor is aimed at detecting the electric power absorbed by the motor assembly in order to carryout the rotations by the rotation driver and to send a corresponding signal to said electronic processing and control unit.
Casada teaches a system (Figure 1) for automatic operation and function check of valves (Col 3, line 65 – Col 4, line 3) with a power sensor (10 generally) is aimed at detecting the electric power absorbed by the gear motor assembly (Col 6, lines 8-12 teaches using torque and speed to order to detect the power absorbed and used by the valve and Col 6, lines 15-18 disclose where the motor assembly is a gear motor assembly) in order to carryout the rotations by the rotation driver (the shaft power as taught in Col 5, lines 61-64) in and to send a corresponding absorbed power signal to said electronic processing and control unit (via 38).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Fatehi et al with the system as taught by Casada for the advantage of combining prior art elements according to known methods (the sensor arrangement of Casada with the system of Fatehi et al) to yield predictable results (to monitor power within the system).
Claim(s) 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fatehi et al (US 10,520,103) in view of Amirthasamy et al (US 2018/0218586) in further view of Vetal et al (US 2020/0173678).
Regarding Claim 13, Fatehi et al disclose all essential elements of the current invention as described above but is moot to where said remote operation center is supervised by an operator and is provided to send inputs to said electronic processing and control unit concerning a maintenance program of said ball valve, which provides at least one partial closing and at least one subsequent immediate reopening of said ball valve.
Vetal et al teach a system (Figure 2) and method of performing a partial stroke test (¶ 4) where said remote operation center (¶ 154) is supervised by an operator (¶ 154) and is provided to send inputs to said electronic processing and control unit (506; ¶ 160) concerning a maintenance program of said ball valve (Figure 17; ¶ 159), which provides at least one partial closing and at least one subsequent immediate reopening of said ball valve (¶ 155).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Fatehi et al with the method as taught by Vetal et al for the advantage of ensuring proper functioning of the valve, as taught by Vetal et al (¶ 43).
Regarding Claim 14, Fatehi et al disclose all essential elements of the current invention as discussed above but is moot to where said electronic processing and control unit incorporates a software which autonomously governs a program of keeping operative the respective ball valve, which includes at least one partial closing and at least one subsequent immediate reopening of the latter, at predefined time interval, with consequent transmission, to said remote operation center, in real time, of a report concerning the outcome of each single operation performed on said rotation driver of the ball valve.
Vetal et al teach where said electronic processing and control unit (506) incorporates a software which autonomously governs a program of keeping operative the respective ball valve (¶ 154), which includes at least one partial closing and at least one subsequent immediate reopening of the latter (¶ 155), at predefined time interval (Figure 17), with consequent transmission, to said remote operation center (¶ 154), in real time, of a report (¶ 68) concerning the outcome of each single operation performed on said rotation driver of the ball valve (¶ 68).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Fatehi et al with the method as taught by Vetal et al for the advantage of ensuring proper functioning of the valve, as taught by Vetal et al (¶ 43).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 13 June 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant amends Claim 1 by incorporating limitations from Claims 6 and 7 and amends Claim 8 by incorporating limitations from Claims 10 and 11.
Applicant argues that these limitations more clearly express the technical problem that the Applicant’s invention intends to solve.
First, Applicant argues that Fatehi et al fails to disclose the partial opening operations of the valve, since a valve as shown in Fatehi et al would operate under a 90 degree open and close cycle. However, as discussed above Vetal et al teach the partial stroke test as claimed in Claim 1, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Fatehi et al with the method as taught by Vetal et al for the advantage of ensuring proper functioning of the valve, as taught by Vetal et al (¶ 43). Therefore, this argument is unpersuasive.
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., carrying out a PST operation with the maximum guarantee that no events can occur of total interruption of the fluid flow in the line; there can be no unwanted interruption of the fluid flow of the line; creating one or more redundancies of remote monitoring of the fluid line and using tools independent of the mechanism to operate the valve) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
As amended, Fatehi et al, Vetal et al, Amirthasamy et al and Casada teach all essential elements of the current invention as discussed above.
Therefore, these arguments are unpersuasive.
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.
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/NICOLE GARDNER/
Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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