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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, the limitation of “the first group of flow channels are in a working state, a switching valve is provided at the through-hole, and the switching valve switches one group of the second group of flow channels and the third group of flow channels into the working state” is indefinite. There appears to be grammatical errors with this limitation which renders the claim indefinite. For example, is the first group of flow channels always in a working state or is this limitation intending to claim that there is a specific condition that occurs when the first group of flow channels are in a working state. Please amend the claim accordingly and specify exactly what is intended.
Claims not specifically referenced are rejected as being dependent upon a rejected base claim.
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, 2, 4 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Keefer et al. (US 6,063,161, hereafter “Keefer”).
Regarding claim 1, Keefer discloses a rotary valve (77) comprising: a valve body (80) provided with a first group of flow channels (the flow channels extending from 91, 94), a second group of flow channels (the flow channels extending from 90, 93) and a third group of flow channels (the flow channels extending from 92, 95), ports of the first group of flow channels, the second group of flow channels and the third group of flow channels are disposed on a surface of the valve body (Figs. 1 and 3); and a valve sleeve (78) sleeved coaxially hermetically outside the valve body (Fig. 1), and the valve sleeve is evenly opened with a plurality of through-holes (the through holes extending from 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75), and an inner end of each through-hole is provided with a vertical groove extending up and down along an inner wall of the valve sleeve (see how the portions at 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75 are formed as circular grooves; note that any limitation directed to how the grooves were formed would be product-by-process), the vertical groove is divided into three sections along the vertical direction, which communicate with the ports of the first group of flow channels, the second group of flow channels and the third group of flow channels, respectively (there are necessarily three different sections in the grooves as shown in Fig. 1), the first group of flow channels are in a working state, a switching valve is provided at the through-hole, and the switching valve switches one group of the second group of flow channels and the third group of flow channels into the working state (as best understood, Col. 14 line 40 through Col. 16, line 67), the valve body rotates around a rotation axis (83) relative to the valve sleeve, so that the plurality of through-holes communicate with the ports of the one group of the second group of flow channels and the third group of flow channels that is in the working state and the first group of flow channels by means of a predetermined combination to achieve different process sequences, and each through-hole at most communicates with ports of the first group of flow channels, one group of the second group of flow channels or the third group of flow channels (the valve of Keefer is capable of fluidically communicating the through-holes and ports in order to meet this limitation as described in Fig. 1; Col. 14 line 40 through Col. 16, line 67).
Regarding claim 2, Keefer further discloses the rotary valve according to claim 1, wherein the second group of flow channels includes a plurality of flow channels, and the third group of flow channels includes a plurality of flow channels. (as defined above)
Regarding claim 4, Keefer further discloses the rotary valve according to claim 1, wherein the second group of flow channels and the third group of flow channels correspond to the same or different process sequences. (this limitation is necessarily true)
Regarding claim 5, Keefer further discloses the rotary valve according to claim 1, wherein one port of the first group of flow channels is located at the center of the top surface of the valve body (91 can be interpreted to be located along a center based on a side view of 80), and the other port (90) of the first group of flow channels is located on the sidewall of the valve body and is provided with an arc-shaped groove extending horizontally along the outer sidewall of the valve body. (Fig. 3; for the purposes of this claim 90 and 91 are being interpreted as the first group of flow channels)
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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keefer.
Regarding claim 3, Keefer further discloses the rotary valve according to claim 1, but fails to disclose wherein the valve body is composed of at least two valve blocks, the at least two valve blocks are detachably connected, and the second group of flow channels and the third group of flow channels are arranged in different valve blocks.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to modify the valve body of Keefer to be composed of at least two valve blocks with the second group of flow channels and third group of flow channels arranged in different valve blocks since separating parts that were once integral involves only routine skill in the art. The motivation for doing so would be to provide a valve body that can have individual parts replaced in case they are damaged without having to replace the entire valve body.
Furthermore, absent a teaching as to criticality that having the valve body of Keefer to be composed of at least two valve blocks with the second group of flow channels and third group of flow channels arranged in different valve blocks, this particular arrangement is deemed to have been known by those skilled in the art since the instant specification and evidence of record fail to attribute any significance (novel or unexpected results) to a particular arrangement. In re Kuhle, 526 F.2d 553,555,188 USPQ 7, 9 (CCPA 1975). In this case, the specification does not disclose any criticality of having the valve body be composed of at least two valve blocks.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-18 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL J GRAY whose telephone number is (571)270-0544. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday - Friday.
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/PAUL J GRAY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753