DETAILED ACTION
This is a first Non-Final Office Action on the merits in response to the application filed 01/19/24. This application claims domestic priority to a PCT filed 07/29/21. Claims 16-30 are currently pending yet all are rejected as detailed below. 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 § 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.
Sakai
Claim(s) 16 and 18-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sakai (U.S. Patent No. 7,131,654). Sakai is directed to a vehicle suspension system. See Abstract.
Claim 16: Sakai discloses a damping system [Fig. 5] comprising: a first fluid damper (86) and a second fluid damper (88) each having a damping volume (94) containing a damping fluid, and one single fluid reservoir (134) comprising a reservoir piston (156, 158, 162) partitioning an inner volume of the one single fluid reservoir into a damping chamber (150 and/or 152) containing the damping fluid and a recoil chamber (160) containing a recoil fluid, and a fluid conduit (132) connecting the damping volumes of the first fluid damper and of the second fluid damper to the damping chamber of the one single fluid reservoir in a fluid-conducting manner, wherein the reservoir piston is movable in a compression [see Fig. 5 (156/158 to the right)] direction increasing a volume of the damping chamber and decreasing a volume of the recoil chamber, wherein the reservoir piston is movable in a dilatation direction [see Fig. 5 (156/158 to the left)] decreasing the volume of the damping chamber and increasing the volume of the recoil chamber, wherein the reservoir piston comprises a damping chamber surface [see Fig. 5 (side of 156 facing 150)] facing the damping chamber and a recoil chamber surface [see Fig. 5 (side of 158 facing 160)] facing the recoil chamber, wherein a surface area of the damping chamber surface is smaller than a surface area of the recoil chamber surface. See Fig. 5.
Claim 18: Sakai discloses the reservoir piston of the one single fluid reservoir comprises a reservoir piston rod (162) extending into the damping chamber of the one single fluid reservoir. See Fig. 5.
Claim 19: Sakai discloses that the damping chamber of the one single fluid reservoir has a smaller diameter than the recoil chamber of the one single fluid reservoir. See Fig. 5 (150 smaller than 160).
Claim 20: Sakai discloses that a lateral reservoir wall of the one single fluid reservoir delimiting the damping chamber and the recoil chamber of the one single fluid reservoir has the same wall thickness at the damping chamber and at the recoil chamber. See Fig. 5.
Claim 21: Sakai discloses that a lateral reservoir wall of the one single fluid reservoir delimiting the damping chamber and the recoil chamber of the one single fluid reservoir is made in one piece. See Fig. 5.
Claim 22: Sakai discloses that the one single fluid reservoir comprises an adjustment means (A, 114) for adjusting a volume of the recoil chamber. See Fig. 5.
Claim 23: Sakai discloses that a lateral reservoir wall of the one single fluid reservoir comprises a low friction surface layer to reduce friction between the lateral reservoir wall and the reservoir piston of the one single fluid reservoir. See Fig. 5 (note: inherent, since “low friction” is a relative term).
Claim 24: Sakai discloses that the first fluid damper and the second fluid damper each comprise a damper piston (96), wherein the damper piston partitions the damping volume of the respective fluid damper into a back chamber (92) and a front chamber (94), wherein the damping chamber of the one single fluid reservoir is connected to the front chamber in a fluid conducting manner (via 124, 132), wherein the damper piston is movable in an insertion direction increasing a volume of the back chamber and decreasing a volume of the front chamber, and wherein the damper piston is movable in an extraction direction decreasing the volume of the back chamber and increasing the volume of the front chamber. See Fig. 5.
Claim 25: Sakai discloses that the first fluid damper and the second fluid damper each comprise at least one overflow channel connecting the back chamber to the front chamber in a fluid conducting manner.
Claim 26: Sakai discloses that the first fluid damper and the second fluid damper each comprise a first overflow channel allowing the damping fluid to flow only from the back chamber to the front chamber, and a second overflow channel allowing the damping fluid to flow only from the front chamber to the back chamber, wherein the first overflow channel has a different flow resistance for the damping fluid than the second overflow channel. See Fig. 5 (98, 100); see also col. 5, lines 26-47 (“…more than one aperture and flow between the two chambers can occur at differing flow rates…”).
Claim 27: Sakai discloses that the damping chamber of the one single fluid reservoir is connected to the back chamber and to the front chamber of the first fluid damper and the second fluid damper in a fluid conducting manner. See Fig. 5 (via 98, 100); see also col. 5, lines 26-47.
Claim 28: Sakai discloses that the damping system includes at least one overflow valve for adjusting a flow of the damping fluid between the back chamber and the front chamber of the first fluid damper and the second fluid damper. See Fig. 5 (via 98, 100); see also col. 5, lines 26-47.
Claim 29: Sakai discloses that only the front chambers of each of the first fluid damper and the second fluid damper are connected to the damping chamber of the one single fluid reservoir in a fluid-conducting manner. See Fig. 5 (via 124, 132).
Claim 30: Sakai discloses that the damping system is arranged for damping movements of a component being displaceable from a resting position in a first direction and in a second direction, wherein the first fluid damper is arranged for damping a movement of the component, when the component is displaced from the resting position in the first direction, and wherein the second fluid damper is arranged for damping a movement of the component, when the component is displaced from the resting position in the second direction. See Fig. 5.
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.
Sakai in view of Tatsuya
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakai in view of Tatsuya (EP 0855296 A2) (attached). Tatsuya is directed to a suspension apparatus. See Abstract.
Claim 17: Sakai is relied upon as in claim 16 but does not disclose a “pump” to adjust pressure in the recoil chamber of the reservoir. Tatsuya discloses a damping system with two fluid dampers (11) that are fluidly connected to a reservoir (2) with a piston (26), wherein a pump (53) is connected in a fluid conducting matter to a chamber (h) of the reservoir for adjusting a pressure of the chamber. See Fig. 4. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to use a pump to adjust pressure in the recoil chamber of the reservoir because Sakai explicitly discusses that the reservoir recoil chamber (160) “can be charged to a desired pressure.” See col. 9, lines 49-51. This would allow user-adjustment of the damping system to achieve desired damping properties.
Conclusion
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VISHAL SAHNI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3657
/VISHAL R SAHNI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616 July 15, 2026
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