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 6, 9, and 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.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the seat" in lines 1-2. Claim 6 depends from claim 5, which depends from claim 1. Claim 1 recites “a first seat”. Therefore, its dependent claims must refer back to the limitation using “said first seat” or “the first seat”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "the seat" in line 3. Claim 9 depends from claim 5, which depends from claim 1. Claim 1 recites “a first seat”. Therefore, its dependent claims must refer back to the limitation using “said first seat” or “the first seat”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 18 recites the limitation “the stem” in lines 2 and 3, “the first sleeve” in line 2, and “the first diameter” in line 3. Claim 18 depends from claim 1 which does not recite any stem, a first sleeve or a first diameter. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 1-2, 5-11, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cline et al. (“Cline” hereinafter) (US PG PUB 2002/0014496) in view of Li et al. (“Li” hereinafter) (CN 107081232) (see applicant provided machine translation).
Regarding claims 1, 5, and 20, Cline teaches an applicator (item 49, figure 1) for a dispensing system (item 1, figure 1), the applicator comprising:
an applicator body (figure 2) having a first flowpath (two flow paths that end in exits 114, figure 2) extending therethrough; and
a control valve (items 82, 99, 102, figure 2) disposed within the applicator body, the control valve including:
a first seat (item 110, figure 2) disposed in the first flowpath; and
a valve member (formed of bellows 82 and rod 88, figure 2) configured to shift between a first position in which a first needle (item 88, figure 1) of the valve member is engaged with the first seat such that the control valve is in a closed state (figure 3, paragraph [0031]) and a second position in which the first needle is disengaged from the first seat such that the control valve is in an open state (figure 2, paragraph [0030]); wherein the first needle is elongate along a needle axis (figure 2);
the valve member is configured to shift axially between the open state and the closed state (see figures 2 and 3).
Cline is silent to the exterior surface of the first needle having a mean roughness depth (Rz) of up to 0.8 micrometers.
Li teaches another applicator mechanism comprising a valve member that includes a valve needle (items 1, 2, and 3, figure 1) made of ceramic or a compound material (paragraphs [0011-0013] and [0018-0021] of the machine translation) with a mean roughness depth that is equal to or less than 0.8 micrometers (paragraph [0026] of the machine translation). Li teaches that keeping the roughness less results in a smoother valve needle surface which provides better wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and improved sealing of the valve needle (paragraph [0027] of the machine translation).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the valve needle of Cline’s applicator as taught by Li such that the valve needle is made of ceramic blends or suitable metal and ceramic blends with a surface roughness of 0.8 micrometers or less to ensure that the valve needle is smooth. As taught by Li, such smoothness improves sealing performance of the valve needle and provides it with better wear and corrosion resistance.
Regarding claim 2, Cline teaches that the first needle extends through a first seal (item 90, figure 2) into the first flowpath, and wherein the first seal is a cup seal oriented towards the first seat.
Regarding claim 6, Cline teaches that the first needle engages an upstream side of the first seat with the control valve in the closed state (see figure 3).
Regarding claim 7, Cline teaches that the first needle engages a downstream side of the first seat with the control valve in the closed state (depending on how far the valve rod extends down, it can engage an upstream or a downstream portion of the valve stem 110, figure 3).
Regarding claim 8, Cline teaches that the first needle extends through the first seat (figures 2 and 3).
Regarding claim 9, Cline teaches that the first needle includes a head (item 96, figure 5) configured to engage the first seat, and wherein an interface between the head and the first seat is formed between a first sloped surface of the head (figure 5) and a sloped lip of the first seat (sloped portion of the seat 110, figure 3).
Regarding claim 10, Cline teaches that the first needle comprises: a needle body elongate along the needle axis (figure 2); and a sleeve (item 82, figures 3 and 5) disposed on the needle body, wherein the exterior surface of the first needle is formed by the sleeve (figure 3).
Regarding claim 11, Cline teaches that the needle body includes a barrel (item 92, figure 5) having a first diameter and a stem (rod body 88, figure 5) extending from the barrel and having a second diameter, wherein the first diameter is larger than the second diameter (figure 6), and wherein the sleeve (item 82, figure 5) is disposed on the stem.
Regarding claim 18, Cline teaches that the first needle (item 88, figure 3) further comprises: a retainer (item 96, figure 5) disposed on a stem (opening of 98, figure 6) and maintaining a first sleeve (item 94, figure 5) on the stem, wherein the retainer has a second diameter smaller than a first diameter of the stem (screw shaft of 96 comprises a smaller diameter than the diameter of stem 98, figure 5).
Regarding claim 19, Cline as modified by Li teaches (as discussed in claim 1 above) a second seat (item 110, figure 2, Cline) is disposed in a second flowpath (see figure 2, Cline) through the applicator body; the valve member further comprises: an actuator piston (item 102, figure 2, Cline) disposed in an actuation chamber forming the applicator body, the first needle connected to the actuator piston to be actuated by the actuator piston (figure 2, Cline); a second needle (item 88, figure 2, Cline) extending from the actuator piston, the second needle configured to engage the second seat with the control valve in the closed state (see figures 2 and 3, Cline)
and Li teaches that an exterior surface of the second needle has a mean roughness depth (Rz) of up to 0.8 micrometers (paragraph [0026] of the machine translation, Li).
Claim 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cline in view of Li, as applied to claim 1 above, further in view of Dubois (US PG PUB 2016/0319936).
Regarding claims 3 and 4, Cline teaches the first seal but is silent to it being formed from an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene or a microsphere-filled ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene.
However, seals and gaskets are often made with flexible yet durable and hard materials in the art.
Furthermore, Dubois teaches seals or gaskets made of appropriate polymer materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, etc. (paragraph [0027]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention of Cline such that first seal is made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene or a microsphere-filled ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene or any other suitable material as taught by Dubois since doing so is old and well-known in the art.
Furthermore, it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. (See MPEP § 2144.07).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following documents disclose subject matter related to fluid applicators utilizing valve needles as means to dispense fluid to a substrate: US PN 2,983,480, US PN 4,320,858, US PN 4,907,741, US PN 5,857,589, US PG PUB 2004/0007686, and US PN 6,691,895.
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/Vishal Pancholi/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754