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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This is responsive to the claims filed 5/30/2024. Claims 1 – 15 are pending in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements filed 5/30/2024, 4/29/2025, 8/4/2025 and 11/4/2025 are acknowledged by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “balance channel” as claimed in claim 10 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required: “connecting sleeve”, “a sleeve”, “nut sleeve”, as claimed in claim 11, and “guide sleeve” as claimed in claim 13.
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 11 – 13 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.
Regarding claim 11, it is not clear from the initial disclosure the claimed elements “connecting sleeve”, “a sleeve”, and “nut sleeve” are referring to. Element 70 in figure 3 appears to disclose a screw, the screw is threaded against a stationary nut shown in figure 1.
Applicant does not describe a nut sleeve. The ordinary and customary meaning of the term “sleeve” is “a tubular part designed to fit over another part”. Applicant does not describe any tubular part fitting over the stationary nut shown in figure 1.
Based on the foregoing, claim 11 is rejected for containing 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 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 1 – 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chinese Patent document to Zhan et al. (CN 112212016).
Regarding claim 1, Zhan et al. disclose a valve seat (12, Fig. 1), wherein the valve seat (12, Fig. 1) is provided with a first mounting channel extending in an axial direction, and a valve port is provided in the first mounting channel; a valve needle (20, Fig.1), which is movably disposed in the first mounting channel to adjust an opening degree of the valve port, wherein a mounting gap (211, Fig. 2) is provided between a wall surface of the first mounting channel and an outer wall of the valve needle (20); and a first sealing piece (40, Fig. 2), which is disposed on the valve needle (20, Fig. 1), wherein the first sealing piece (40, Fig. 2) is disposed in the mounting gap, so as to seal the mounting gap by means of the first sealing piece (40, Fig. 2); wherein the first sealing piece (40. Fig. 2) and the first mounting channel are of interference fit structures.
Zhan et al. do not disclose the interference amount of the first sealing piece is I, and I > 0.3 mm.
Zhan et al. disclose the sealing piece and the mounting channel are in an interference fit to avoid abrasion [para. 44]. Zhan et al. disclose the claimed invention, including interference fit, except for utilization of the specific fit ranges recited. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to claimed interference range recited, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233
Regarding claim 2, Zhan et al. disclose the first sealing piece (40, Fig. 2) is a sealing ring, and the sealing ring is sleeved on the valve needle (20, Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 3, Zahn et al. disclose wherein the outer wall of the valve needle (20, Fig. 1) is provided with a mounting groove, the sealing ring is disposed in the mounting groove – shown in figure 2, and an outer diameter of the sealing ring is greater than an outer diameter of the valve needle (20, Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 4, Zhan et al. disclose a distance between the wall surface of the first mounting channel and the outer wall of the valve needle is d, and 0 < d is 0.04 – 0.12 mm [para. 44]
Regarding claim 5, Zahn et al. disclose the valve seat (12, Fig. 1) is further provided with a communication channel (121, Fig. 1) extending in a radial direction, the communication channel communicates with the first mounting channel, and the first sealing piece (40, Fig. 2) is disposed on a side, away from the valve port, of the first mounting channel.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chinese Patent document to Zhan et al. (CN 112212016) in view of Chinese Patent Document CN 1128795574
Regarding claim 15, Zhan et al. do not disclose a mounting base body, wherein a second mounting channel is further provided in the mounting base body, the valve seat is disposed in the second mounting channel, the mounting base body is further provided with an annular groove communicating with the second mounting channel, and an outer wall of the mounting base body is provided with a first opening communicating with the annular groove and a second opening communicating with the second mounting channel.
However, Chinese Patent Document CN 1128795574 teaches a mounting base body (14, Fig. 2), wherein a second mounting channel is further provided in the mounting base body (14, Fig. 2), the valve seat (131, Fig. 2) is disposed in the second mounting channel, the mounting base body is further provided with an annular groove communicating with the second mounting channel, and an outer wall of the mounting base body is provided with a first opening (141, Fig. 2) communicating with the annular groove and a second opening communicating with the second mounting channel (142, Fig. 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the person having ordinary skill in the art at a time prior to the effective filing date of the application to have modified the valve disclosed by Zhan et al. with the mounting base body taught by Chinese Patent Document CN 1128795574 to reduce assembling difficulty and improve the assembling efficiency.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 – 10 and 14 are 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US Patents to Zhan et al. (US 8,651,456 & US 9,810,456) disclosing expansion valves.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to UMASHANKAR VENKATESAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5602. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner' s supervisors Craig Schneider can be reached at (571) 272-3607 or Ken Rinehart can be reached at (571) 272-4881. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/UMASHANKAR VENKATESAN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753