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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-2 and 5-7are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by RÖSSELER et al. (DE-102019215555).
Regarding claim 1, RÖSSELER et al. discloses a valve support (fig 1, 29) with an annular groove (33); an annular valve element (fig 8, 35A/35B) with a variable diameter is arranged in the annular groove, which, together with a flow guide surface(39), forms a throttle point; wherein, with increasing flow velocity within the throttle point (37), the annular valve element switches from an open position to a throttle position (translation p. 3, paragraph 8, at least wherein “the carrier 29 has a circumferential groove 33 on, in which a variable diameter ring element 35 is led. This ring element 35 is radially elastic and forms a valve body for a throttle point 37 as part of the damping valve device 1. The ring element 35 forms with an inner wall of the cylinder 11 the throttle point, the inner wall 39 represents a flow guide surface”); and an annular and slotted return spring (fig 8, at least 65/69/71), which rests against a vertical lateral surface of the annular valve element (figs 1 and 8, 29/35A/35B/69/71) and having two impacting ends (77/73), moves the annular valve element back in a direction of the open position (translation p. 4, paragraph 7- p. 5, paragraph 2, wherein 65/69/71 imparts a pretention force on 35), wherein the vertical lateral surface has at least one radially oriented recess for receiving one of the two impacting ends (at least fig 8 wherein the recesses have been interpreted as portions housing ends 77 and 73).
Regarding claim 2, RÖSSELER et al. discloses wherein the annular valve element has a plurality of recesses arranged in a row for at least one of the two impacting ends of the return spring (figs 8 and 9, wherein the plurality of recesses have been interpreted as the different degrees of radial support). With regards to figures 8 and 9, the different degrees of radial support of the ends 73/77 are shown at different radial locations along valve element 35. In at least pages 2-3 of the translation, RÖSSELER et al. discloses wherein the leaf spring sections used can also be different in terms of the spring force characteristics, so that the ring element sections are radially supported to different degrees and thus move within the throttle point even at different flow velocities. There is also the possibility that the leaf spring asymmetrically braces two ring element sections in the circumferential direction. The asymmetry can e.g. B. can be achieved via unequal ring element sections, but also by an asymmetrical arrangement of the leaf spring element with two similar ring element sections. The asymmetry can e.g. B. can also be implemented in the spatial configuration of the leaf spring, for. B. by dimensioning the web width of the leaf spring differently over its spring length.
Regarding claim 5, RÖSSELER et al. discloses wherein the annular valve element comprises a plurality of segments (35A/35B) with an identical basic shape (figs 8-9), wherein the plurality of segments have at least two recesses which are oriented in opposite directions (figs 8-9, at least recesses housing 77/73).
Regarding claim 6, RÖSSELER et al. discloses wherein the at least one recess has a closure in the direction of an axial cover side of the annular valve element (fig 1 at or near 35/41 and figs 8-9 at or near 75/73 which has been interpreted to be held axially by a closure).
Regarding claim 7, RÖSSELER et al. discloses wherein the closure forms part of the annular valve element (fig 1 at or near 35/41 wherein 29 axially holds or closes 35).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 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: As to claim 3, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious wherein two recesses in the annular valve element for the two impacting ends of the return spring move relative to each other as the variable diameter of the annular valve element changes, wherein a circumferential distance between a first recess and a second recess is dimensioned such that only one end face of the impacting end of the return spring comes to rest in one of the recesses.
Conclusion
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/J.K.H/Examiner, Art Unit 3616
/Robert A. Siconolfi/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3616
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