DETAILED ACTION
Non-Final Rejection
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS’s) submitted on 30 April 2024 and 9 May 2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-7 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sansum (U.S. Patent Publication 2017/0152956) in view of Sun (U.S. Patent 8,714,520).
Regarding claim 1, Sansum discloses a valve device 1 configured to regulate a flow rate of a liquid, which is a water-based coolant, at a vehicle, the valve device comprising:
a first valve element 61 that is placed in a first flow passage (15/17-19/20) which is configured to conduct the liquid; and
a second valve element 63 that is placed in the first flow passage, wherein:
a surface (top of 61 in FIG. 3) of the first valve element has a first sliding surface which is opposed to the second valve element;
a surface (bottom of 63 in FIG. 3) of the second valve element has a second sliding surface which is opposed to the first valve element;
the first sliding surface and the second sliding surface are configured to slide relative to each other to change an opening degree of an opening between the first flow passage and a second flow passage (other path of 15/17-19/20); and
an edge portion (bottom outer edge of 63 in FIG. 3) of at least one sliding surface among the first sliding surface and the second sliding surface is joined to a notched surface (bottom left edge of 63 in FIG. 3) (FIG. 3, 7-10; Paragraph 35, 61-64).
Sansum is silent regarding the edge portion being joined to a sloped surface, the sloped surface is sloped by an acute angle relative to a mating sliding surface which is another sliding surface among the first sliding surface and the second sliding surface and mates with the at least one sliding surface.
However, Sun teaches a valve device 10 comprising:
a first valve element 50;
a second valve element 40;
a surface (top of 50 in FIG. 4) of the first valve element has a first sliding surface which is opposed to the second valve element;
a surface (bottom of 40 in FIG. 4) of the second valve element has a second sliding surface which is opposed to the first valve element;
an edge portion (lower outer edge of 40 in FIG. 4) of at least one sliding surface among the first sliding surface and the second sliding surface is joined to a sloped surface (see bottom left edge of 40 in FIG. 4) (FIG. 4; Col. 3 ln 9-62).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify Sansum by making the edge portion being joined to a sloped surface, as taught by Sun, for the purpose of providing an easier to form edge on the sliding surface that will result in the edge depicted below in the annotation of FIG. 3 of Sansum which results in the edge being sloped by an acute angle relative to a mating sliding surface which is another sliding surface among the first sliding surface and the second sliding surface and mates with the at least one sliding surface.
Annotated FIG. 3 from Sansum (showing the modification as taught by Sun)
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Regarding claim 2, Sansum, as modified above, discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1.
Samsun further discloses the sloped surface is a chamfer (Annotated FIG. 3 above combining Sansum FIG. 3 with the modification as taught by Sun FIG. 4).
Regarding claim 3, Sansum, as modified above, discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1.
Samsun further discloses the sloped surface is not a chamfer, and the sloped surface is joined to the at least one sliding surface and is a portion of a peripheral surface which is joined to an opposite surface that is opposite to the at least one sliding surface (Annotated FIG. 3 above combining Sansum FIG. 3 with the modification as taught by Sun FIG. 4).
Regarding claim 4, Sansum, as modified above, discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1.
Samsun further discloses a shaft (“operatively coupled” paragraph 83) that is fixed to the second valve element; and
a drive device (“user operable control means” paragraph 83) that includes a stepping motor which is configured to transmit a rotational force to the shaft (Paragraph 83).
Regarding claim 5, Sansum, as modified above, discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1.
Samsun further discloses the first valve element and the second valve element are respectively shaped in a disk valve form (FIG. 3-5).
Regarding claim 6, Sansum, as modified above, discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1.
Samsun further discloses the second sliding surface is configured to slide relative to the first sliding surface when the second sliding surface is rotated about a central axis (A); and
the sloped surface is joined to an outer peripheral end of the at least one sliding surface which is centered on the central axis (FIG. 3-5; Annotated FIG. 3 above combining Sansum FIG. 3 with the modification as taught by Sun FIG. 4; Paragraph 61-62).
Regarding claim 7, Sansum, as modified above, discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1.
Samsun further discloses the first valve element and the second valve element are respectively formed to include ceramic (Paragraph 61).
Regarding claim 9, Sansum, as modified above, discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1.
Samsun further discloses the liquid contains water (Abstract).
Regarding claim 10, Sansum, as modified above, discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1.
Samsun further discloses the at least one sliding surface, which is joined to the sloped surface, is one of the first sliding surface and the second sliding surface which has an outer diameter smaller than an outer diameter of another one of the first sliding surface and the second sliding surface (Annotated FIG. 3 above combining Sansum FIG. 3 with the modification as taught by Sun FIG. 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the closest prior art fails to anticipate or make obvious an auxiliary surface is joined to an edge portion of the sloped surface which is opposite to the at least one sliding surface; and a slope angle of the auxiliary surface relative to the mating sliding surface is smaller than a slope angle of the sloped surface relative to the mating sliding surface, along with the other limitations of the claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Picha (U.S. Patent 8,960,231) discloses a valve device similar to the one disclosed in the present application.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER D BALLMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-9984. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 6:00-3:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Craig M Schneider can be reached at 571-272-3607. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER D BALLMAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3753
/CRAIG M SCHNEIDER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3753