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 § 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, and 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ratcliff (US – 2023/0051485 A1) and further in view of Huang (US – 2002/0175454 A1).
As per claim 1, Ratcliff discloses Adjustable Accumulator For Selectively Modifying Spring Rate Gas Spring comprising:
a main volume (40, 41, Fig: 1A-1B);
an additional volume (80, 81, Fig: 1A-1B); and
a switching valve (100, Fig: 1A-1B) that is configured (i) to connect the additional volume to the main volume in a first operating state of the multi-chamber air spring (When the solenoid valve 100 is open, the accumulator chamber 80 is placed in fluid communication with the gas spring chamber 40, and thus, the working volume of the gas spring 20 includes both the spring chamber volume 41 and the accumulator volume 81, [0059], Fig: 1A), and (ii) to disconnect the additional volume from the main volume in a second operating state of the multi-chamber air spring (When the fluid communication between the accumulator 50 and the gas spring 20 is cut off and the spring chamber volume 41 decreases, the pressure of the gas in the gas spring increases since the mass of the gas within the spring chamber 40 is the same in both positions, [0039], Fig: 1B).
Ratcliff discloses all the structural elements of the claimed invention but fails to explicitly disclose wherein the switching valve is configured to open in the second operating state at a first predetermined limit pressure difference between the additional volume and the main volume.
Huang discloses Shock Absorbing Device Having Air Envelope comprising:
wherein the switching valve (70, Fig: 4) is configured to open in the second operating state at a first predetermined limit pressure difference between the additional volume and the main volume (Particularly, when either of the air envelopes 13, 14 is broken, or when the air pressure in the housing 10 is not good enough for providing enough cushioning effect, the cushioning effect to the vehicle may be bad. At this moment, the pump 3 may be used to easily pump air into the housing 10 by the users themselves, for recovering the cushioning effect to the vehicle, that is open in the second operating state at a first predetermined limit pressure difference between the additional volume and the main volume, [0038]-[0039], Fig: 4).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the Adjustable Accumulator For Selectively Modifying Spring Rate Gas Spring of the Ratcliff to include the control procedure in which wherein the switching valve is configured to open in the second operating state at a first predetermined limit pressure difference between the additional volume and the main volume as taught by Huang in order to provide for preventing the air from flowing out of the shock absorbing device and for allowing the air to be filled into or to be drawn out of the shock absorbing device.
As per claim 2, Ratcliff discloses wherein the switching valve is configured to close in the second operating state at a second predetermined limit pressure difference between the additional volume and the main volume, which is smaller than the first predetermined limit pressure difference ([0043], Fig: 1A).
As per claim 5, Ratcliff discloses a vehicle comprising the multi-chamber air spring (The gas spring shown schematically in FIGS. 1A-B is an air cylinder. It is to be understood that there are many types and configurations of gas springs. For example, in vehicle suspensions, [0054], Fig: 1A-1B).
As per method claim 6, Ratcliff discloses (i) a main volume (40, 41, Fig: 1A-1B), (ii) an additional volume (80, 81, Fig: 1A-1B), and (iii) a switching valve (100, Fig: 1A-1B) that is configured (a) to connect the additional volume to the main volume in a first operating state of the multi-chamber air spring (When the solenoid valve 100 is open, the accumulator chamber 80 is placed in fluid communication with the gas spring chamber 40, and thus, the working volume of the gas spring 20 includes both the spring chamber volume 41 and the accumulator volume 81, [0059], Fig: 1A), and (b) to disconnect the additional volume from the main volume in a second operating state of the multi-chamber air spring, said method comprising (When the fluid communication between the accumulator 50 and the gas spring 20 is cut off and the spring chamber volume 41 decreases, the pressure of the gas in the gas spring increases since the mass of the gas within the spring chamber 40 is the same in both positions, [0039], Fig: 1B);
opening the switching valve in the second operating state at a first predetermined limit pressure difference between the additional volume and the main volume, and/or
closing the switching valve at a second predetermined limit pressure difference between the additional volume and the main volume, which is smaller than the first limit pressure difference (operation of Spring device, [0039] - [0044], fig: 1A-1B).
Claim(s) 3-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ratcliff (US – 2023/0051485 A1) in view of Huang (US – 2002/0175454 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of CHEN J (CN – 109027094 A).
As per claim 3, Ratcliff discloses wherein the switching valves (100) are each configured to connect the additional volume (80, 81, Fig: 1A-1B) to the main volume (40, 41, Fig: 1A-1B), in the first operating state and to disconnect the additional volume from the main volume in a second operating state (When the fluid communication between the accumulator 50 and the gas spring 20 is cut off and the spring chamber volume 41 decreases, the pressure of the gas in the gas spring increases since the mass of the gas within the spring chamber 40 is the same in both positions, [0039], Fig: 1B), wherein at least one of the switching valves is configured to open at the first predetermined limit pressure difference and/or to close at the second limit pressure difference in the second operating state (operation of Spring device, [0039] - [0044], Fig: 1A-1B):
However, Ratcliff fails to explicitly disclose wherein the multi-chamber air spring comprises a plurality of the switching valves, wherein the switching valves are each configured to connect the additional volume to the main volume in the first operating state and to disconnect the additional volume from the main volume in a second operating state.
CHEN discloses Air Damping For Unequal Double Throttle Tube, Has Control Unit That Is Connected Tow Switch Solenoid Valves Through Cable comprising:
wherein the multi-chamber air spring (Fig: 1) comprises a plurality of the switching valves (7, 8, Fig: 1), wherein the switching valves are each configured to connect the additional volume (14, Fig: 1) to the main volume (2, Fig: 1) in the first operating state.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the Adjustable Accumulator For Selectively Modifying Spring Rate Gas Spring of the Ratcliff to make the plurality of the switching valves, wherein the switching valves are each configured to connect the additional volume to the main volume in the first operating state and to disconnect the additional volume from the main volume in a second operating state as taught by CHEN in order to control unit to control the opening and closing of the solenoid valve according to the driving condition of the vehicle, which is beneficial to improve the steering stability and ride comfort of the vehicle.
As per claim 4, CHEN further discloses wherein the plurality of the switching valves (7, 8) are each configured to open in the second operating state at the first predetermined limit pressure difference or to close at the second limit pressure difference (The spring adopts an unequal-diameter double throttle tube and is provided with two switch solenoid valves, which can realize a four-level adjustment function of the air damping spring stiffness transition characteristic and the air damping characteristic. The stiffness and air damping characteristics can be controlled in real time by the control unit to control the opening and closing of the solenoid valve according to the driving condition of the vehicle, which is beneficial to improve the steering stability and ride comfort of the vehicle, ADVANTAGE, Fig: 1).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
A: Adavhany et al. (US – 8,376,100 B2),
B: Belter et al. (US – 2022/0185056 A1),
C: KAMIL et al. (US – 2017/0008364 A1),
D: Bergem et al. (US – 2016/0039643 A1),
E: Nygren et al. (US – 2006/0102440 A1),
F: Easter (US – 2003/0067103 A1), and
G: Dohrmann et l. (US – 2003/0019698 A1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAN M AUNG whose telephone number is (571)270-5792. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM.
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/SAN M AUNG/Examiner, Art Unit 3616
/DAVID R MORRIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616
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