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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, Species A (Figs. 2 and 4) and Species F (Figs. 12 and 13) (i.e. Claims 1, 7, and ) in the reply filed on 6/2/2026 is acknowledged.
Drawings
Figure 1 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US Pub. No. 20200266464 (“Kim”).
Kim teaches a fuel cell membrane humidifier comprising a mid-case (10), a cap (20) fastened to the mid-case and having a dry gas discharge hole through which dry gas is discharged, and a pressure regulator (100 – valve) formed in an inner wall of the cap to regulate the pressure of the dry gas in the cap (Abstract, Fig. 1, [0009], [0011], [0025]-[0028], [0031], [0034], and [0035]).
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.
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Pub. No. 20140162150 (“Kim”) as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of KR 1020040110707 (“Lee”).
Kim teaches its pressure regulator (100 – valve), but does not teach the claimed structure of the valve.
However, Lee discloses a valve comprising a thermally expandable metal (221a and/or 221b) and expanding according to a change in temperature, and a through-hole formed in the thermally expandable metal and partially opening a discharge hole (212) according to expansion of the thermally expandable metal. Lee further teaches that the valve comprises a stopper at an end of the thermally expandable metal and formed of a heat-resistant material (i.e. the structure and size of 211a at the end of the thermally expandable metal will also influence how much the metal expands or stop expanding) (Abstract, Figs. 7-10, and Page 3: Lines 34-54 provided in the translated document). Please see annotated Figs. 9-10 of Lee below disclosing said features.
PNG
media_image1.png
378
625
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
407
501
media_image2.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have Kim’s pressure regulator valve have the claimed structure, as demonstrated by Lee, in order to maximize heat/dry gas dissipation (Page 2: Lines 14-15) and optimize the balance between performance, reliability, safety, maintenance, energy efficiency, and cost.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LISA CHAU whose telephone number is (571)270-5496. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 11 AM-730 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Ruthkosky can be reached at (571) 272-1291. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LC/
Lisa Chau
Art Unit 1785
/Holly Rickman/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785
Prosecution Insights