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 .
Amendment filed December 22, 2025 has been acknowledged. Claims 1-8 remain pending in the application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 1 requires “said swivel joint is placed near said filling nozzle and spaced therefrom by a distance which is selected to prevent said filling hose from bending sharply when said filling nozzle is connected to a corresponding receptacle to prevent any occurrence of an elastic rebound force in said filling hose which could impede detachment of said filling nozzle from said receptacle”. However, par. 0012 of Applicant’s specification provides support for placing the swivel joint near the filling nozzle, but does not provide support for spacing the swivel joint a distance from the filling nozzle. If “placed near” and “spaced therefrom” have the same meaning, then “spaced therefrom” is redundant. If “spaced therefrom” has a different meaning from “placed near”, it has not been described in the specification.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kanamori (JPH0676117B2).
Regarding claim 1, Kanamori discloses a filling nozzle support structure including a swivel joint (see annotated Fig. 4) interposed in a filling hose (5) that connects a filling nozzle (8) and a gas supply pipe (6) of a dispenser, said swivel joint comprising: a nozzle side member (11) communicating with the filling nozzle side and a dispenser side member (14) communicating with the dispenser side, wherein said nozzle side member and said dispenser side member are relatively rotatable with each other, and a high-pressure gas flow path formed in the nozzle side member and a high-pressure gas flow path formed in the dispenser side member are orthogonal to each other (Figs. 2 and 3); and wherein said swivel joint is placed near said filling nozzle and spaced therefrom by a distance which is selected to prevent said filling hose from bending sharply when said filling nozzle is connected to a corresponding receptacle to prevent any occurrence of an elastic rebound force in said filling hose which could impede detachment of said filling nozzle from said receptacle (Fig. 4 shows spacing between the two parts).
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Regarding claim 5, at a bent part of piping is located a swivel joint (10) having two members (3 and 8) with internal flow paths, and central axes of the flow paths of these two members intersect each other (Fig. 4).
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.
Claim(s) 2-4 and 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanamori in view of Takezawa et al. (20190017616).
Regarding claim 2, Kanamori DIFFERS in that it does not disclose an end of the filling hose connected to the swivel joint is connected to a safety coupling, the safety coupling has a nozzle side member and a dispenser side member, a flow path in the nozzle side member and a flow path in the dispenser side member are orthogonal to each other, and the dispenser side member of the safety coupling is coupled with a bearing. Attention, however, is directed to the Takezawa reference, which discloses a safety coupling (100), the safety coupling has a nozzle side member (20) and a dispenser side member (10), a flow path in the nozzle side member and a flow path in the dispenser side member are orthogonal to each other (Figs. 1-2 and 4), and the dispenser side member of the safety coupling is coupled with a bearing (26).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Kanamori reference in view of the teachings of the Takezawa reference by employing a safety coupling for the purpose of protecting the filling nozzle support structure from damage.
Regarding claim 3, said dispenser side member of the safety coupling is connected (via hose 5 of Kanamori) to a second swivel joint (15 of Kanamori).
Regarding claim 4, said swivel joint interposed in the filling nozzle is connected a second swivel joint (15 or 10 of Kanamori).
Regarding claims 6-8, at a bent part of piping is located a swivel joint (10 of Kanamori) having two members (3 and 8 of Kanamori) with internal flow paths, and central axes of the flow paths of these two members intersect each other (Fig. 4 of Kanamori).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed December 22, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive because the claimed arrangement of the swivel joint is disclosed in Kanamori.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DONNELL ALAN LONG whose telephone number is (571)270-5610. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8AM-5PM.
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/DONNELL A LONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754