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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on application JP2021-122449 filed in Japan on 7/27/2021. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 2/27/2024, 9/27/2024, and 7/28/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character not mentioned in the description: “21a” (See Fig. 2).
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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. 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.
Claim Objections
Claims 4-5 and 8-10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In Claim 4 Line 3, “on the side of the valve unit” should be revised to “on the valve unit side” to ensure using terminology consistent with what is used elsewhere throughout the claims.
In Claim 5 Line 5, “in a case where” should be revised to “when” to ensure proper grammar.
In Claim 5 Line 7, “in a case where” should be revised to “when” to ensure proper grammar.
In Claim 8 Line 5, “in a case where” should be revised to “when” to ensure proper grammar.
In Claim 8 Line 7, “in a case where” should be revised to “when” to ensure proper grammar.
In Claim 9 Line 5, “in a case where” should be revised to “when” to ensure proper grammar.
In Claim 9 Line 7, “in a case where” should be revised to “when” to ensure proper grammar.
In Claim 10 Line 5, “in a case where” should be revised to “when” to ensure proper grammar.
In Claim 10 Line 7, “in a case where” should be revised to “when” to ensure proper grammar.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 5-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US PGPUB 2007/0057218 A1 to Kuno (“Kuno”).
As to Claim 1, Kuno discloses a solenoid device (#28 and #29) that drives a valve unit (#30) of a solenoid valve (#6) provided to a fuel injection device by an electromagnetic force (See Paragraph 0008), the solenoid device comprising:
a core (#29, including #35) formed in a tubular shape (See Fig. 1, the core #29 that includes #35 has tubular structure) and having an opposing surface that opposes the valve unit (See Annotated Fig. 1);
a coil (#28) wound around the core (See Fig. 1 and Paragraph 0028, the coil #28 is wound on #33 around portions of the core); and
a recessed portion (See Annotated Fig. 1) provided in the opposing surface of the core at a position that overlaps with the valve unit (See Annotated Fig. 1) as viewed from an axial direction of a central axis of the core (See axis A1 in Annotated Fig. 1 and See Fig. 2).
As to Claim 2, in reference to the solenoid device of Kuno as applied to Claim 1 above, Kuno further discloses wherein the recessed portion has an annular shape centered on the central axis as viewed from the axial direction (See Annotated Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Paragraph 0028).
As to Claim 3, in reference to the solenoid device of Kuno as applied to Claim 1 above, Kuno further discloses wherein the core includes a magnetic body portion (#29) that is formed using a magnetic body (See Paragraph 0029), is open to a valve unit side (See Paragraph 0029 and Annotated Fig. 1), accommodates the coil (See Fig. 1), and includes an annular space section as viewed from the axial direction (See Annotated Fig. 1), and a sealing portion (#34) that is formed using a resin material and seals the space section (See Paragraph 0028), and
the recessed portion is provided at the sealing portion (See Annotated Fig. 1).
As to Claim 5, in reference to the solenoid device of Kuno as applied to Claim 1 above, Kuno further discloses a solenoid valve of a fuel injection device (#6) comprising:
the solenoid device (See Fig. 1); and
a valve unit (#30) that is formed using a magnetic body (See Paragraph 0031), that is disposed to oppose the opposing surface of the core (See Annotated Fig. 1), to which an elastic force is applied in a direction away from the core in the axial direction (See Paragraph 0033 and Annotated Fig. 1), that presses, in a case where an electromagnetic force is not generated in the solenoid device, a fuel flow passage by the elastic force to close the flow passage (See Paragraph 0041), and that opens, in a case where an electromagnetic force is generated in the solenoid device, the flow passage by being pulled toward the core to a position, at which the valve unit comes into contact with the opposing surface, to be separated from the flow passage by the electromagnetic force (See Paragraph 0042).
As to Claim 6, in reference to the solenoid valve of the fuel injection of Kuno as applied to Claim 5 above, Kuno further discloses wherein the valve unit includes an armature that opposes the opposing surface (See Annotated Fig. 1), and a valve body (#42) that extends from the armature in the axial direction (See Annotated Fig. 1),
the armature includes a through-hole (#30b) that penetrates the armature in the axial direction (See Annotated Fig. 1), and
the recessed portion is disposed at a position that overlaps with the through-hole as viewed from the axial direction (See Annotated Fig. 1 and See Fig. 2 and Paragraph 0038).
As to Claim 7, in reference to the solenoid device of Kuno as applied to Claim 2 above, Kuno further discloses wherein the core includes a magnetic body portion (#29) that is formed using a magnetic body (See Paragraph 0029), is open to a valve unit side (See Paragraph 0029 and Annotated Fig. 1), accommodates the coil (See Fig. 1), and includes an annular space section as viewed from the axial direction (See Annotated Fig. 1), and a sealing portion (#34) that is formed using a resin material and seals the space section (See Paragraph 0028), and
the recessed portion is provided at the sealing portion (See Annotated Fig. 1).
As to Claim 8, in reference to the solenoid device of Kuno as applied to Claim 2 above, Kuno further discloses a solenoid valve of a fuel injection device (#6) comprising:
the solenoid device (See Fig. 1); and
a valve unit (#30) that is formed using a magnetic body (See Paragraph 0031), that is disposed to oppose the opposing surface of the core (See Annotated Fig. 1), to which an elastic force is applied in a direction away from the core in the axial direction (See Paragraph 0033 and Annotated Fig. 1), that presses, in a case where an electromagnetic force is not generated in the solenoid device, a fuel flow passage by the elastic force to close the flow passage (See Paragraph 0041), and that opens, in a case where an electromagnetic force is generated in the solenoid device, the flow passage by being pulled toward the core to a position, at which the valve unit comes into contact with the opposing surface, to be separated from the flow passage by the electromagnetic force (See Paragraph 0042).
As to Claim 9, in reference to the solenoid device of Kuno as applied to Claim 3 above, Kuno further discloses a solenoid valve of a fuel injection device (#6) comprising:
the solenoid device (See Fig. 1); and
a valve unit (#30) that is formed using a magnetic body (See Paragraph 0031), that is disposed to oppose the opposing surface of the core (See Annotated Fig. 1), to which an elastic force is applied in a direction away from the core in the axial direction (See Paragraph 0033 and Annotated Fig. 1), that presses, in a case where an electromagnetic force is not generated in the solenoid device, a fuel flow passage by the elastic force to close the flow passage (See Paragraph 0041), and that opens, in a case where an electromagnetic force is generated in the solenoid device, the flow passage by being pulled toward the core to a position, at which the valve unit comes into contact with the opposing surface, to be separated from the flow passage by the electromagnetic force (See Paragraph 0042).
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 4 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuno in view of NPL Document “Beveling and Chamfering: What’s the Difference?” to Marous (“Marous”).
Regarding Claim 4, in reference to the solenoid device of Kuno as applied to Claim 3 above, Kuno does not specifically disclose wherein the magnetic body portion includes a chamfered section at an end portion of the space section on the side of the valve unit in the axial direction (See Annotated Fig. 1, the end portion of the space section is straight without a chamfer shown).
However, Marous discloses wherein a chamfer is applied to a hole to assist in putting parts in an assembly together (See Page 2 Paragraphs 3-4 which state “Another use of chamfering is to make it easier to guide a tightly toleranced part into a hole during an assembly process. By chamfering the edges slightly, the risk of misalignment and gouging the edge of the hole is reduced. Similarly, chamfering may be required as part of a final assembly dimension, either on an outer or inner surface. The chamfered area may serve as an alignment guide or a sink to help hold another piece in place within an assembly”).
Therefore, 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 solenoid device of Kuno such that the magnetic body portion includes a chamfered section at an end portion of the space section on the side of the valve unit in the axial direction, since doing so would utilize a known technique taught by Marous of chamfering a hole to yield the predictable result of helping prevent misalignment and gouging when assembling the coil to the magnetic body (See Marous Page 2 Paragraphs 3-4).
As to Claim 10, in reference to the solenoid device of Kuno in view of Marous as applied to Claim 4 above, Kuno further discloses a solenoid valve of a fuel injection device (#6) comprising:
the solenoid device (See Fig. 1); and
a valve unit (#30) that is formed using a magnetic body (See Paragraph 0031), that is disposed to oppose the opposing surface of the core (See Annotated Fig. 1), to which an elastic force is applied in a direction away from the core in the axial direction (See Paragraph 0033 and Annotated Fig. 1), that presses, in a case where an electromagnetic force is not generated in the solenoid device, a fuel flow passage by the elastic force to close the flow passage (See Paragraph 0041), and that opens, in a case where an electromagnetic force is generated in the solenoid device, the flow passage by being pulled toward the core to a position, at which the valve unit comes into contact with the opposing surface, to be separated from the flow passage by the electromagnetic force (See Paragraph 0042).
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Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See Notice of References Cited Form PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN E SCHWARTZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1770. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00AM - 5:00PM MST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Arthur O Hall can be reached at (571)-270-1814. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KEVIN EDWARD SCHWARTZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3752 January 5, 2026