DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I in the reply filed on 2/24/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 14-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 2/24/2026.
Applicant's election with traverse of the election of subspecies I in the reply filed on 2/24/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the requirement did not clarify the specific embodiments in the specification or the drawings. This is found persuasive, although the linking species (MPEP 809) do require a different search query, such as the term seal, bearing or manifold, for the purposes of this action, claims 1-13 will be examined.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Drawings
New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.84(h) (3) are required in this application because “hatching must be used to indicate section portions of an object...”, see MPEP 608.02, see 37 CFR 1.84(n) chart IX, applicant’s drawings do not distinguish between material differences such as rubber, and metal. Applicant is advised that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer prepares new drawings.
See the drawings in US patent 7,789,066 as a representative example for drawings.
The drawings are objected to because in Figure 4a, it is unclear as to how seals 144a,b remain in position (are the seals installed within a bore intersecting with port 136).
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.
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-7 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Lee et al. (US 9988966).
Regarding claim 1, Lee et al. disclose a rotating valve system (110) comprising:
a housing (260) defining a valve cavity (the openings surrounding 225a,b), wherein the housing includes one or more inlet ports (at 130,140) and one or more outlet housing ports (the housing ports connected to 292,294,296,298);
a valve assembly (255a,255b,265,210,215) positioned within the valve cavity and configured to receive fluid via the one or more inlet ports at a first rate and to output the fluid via the one or more outlet housing ports at a second rate (inherently the rate of fluid will change from the inlet to the outlet due to pressures losses in the internal passageways), wherein the valve assembly comprises a plurality of cartridges (255a,b) mechanically engaged with one another and each of the plurality of cartridges being configured to rotate about an axis of rotation between a first position and a second position; and
a drive assembly (200,205,210,215) configured to rotate the plurality of cartridges between the first position and the second position.
PNG
media_image1.png
455
474
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 2, Lee et al. disclose each of the plurality of cartridges comprises a body portion (at 255a or 255b) and a gear portion (at 210,215).
Regarding claim 3, Lee et al. disclose the body portion defines an inlet port (at the left end of each body) configured to receive the fluid from the one or more inlet ports and at least one exit hole (250a,250b) in a sidewall of the body portion configured to deliver the fluid to one of the one or more outlet housing ports.
Regarding claim 4, Lee et al. disclose when in the first position, the at least one exit hole is configured to not align with any of the one or more outlet housing ports to prevent fluid flow therethrough (col. 5, lns. 54- Col. 6, lns 4, “the sealing member 265 may inhibit or prevent coolant”).
Regarding claim 5, Lee et al. disclose when in the second position, the at least one exit hole is configured to fully align with one of the one or more outlet housing ports to enable fluid flow therethrough (col. 5, lns. 54-56).
Regarding claim 6, Lee et al. disclose each of the plurality of cartridges is configured to rotate between the first position and the second position via an intermediate position and, when in the intermediate position (as the cartridges rotate they are configured to have the intermediate position, first and second positions), the at least one exit hole is configured to partially align with one of the one or more outlet housing ports to enable partial fluid flow therethrough (as shown, 255a having the different spaced holes (250a exit hole) is configured to operate in the claimed manner).
Regarding claim 7, Lee et al. disclose a seal (265) positioned at a flow interface between the housing and the cartridge.
PNG
media_image2.png
371
379
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 12, Lee et al. disclose the drive assembly comprises an actuator (M,200), a driveshaft (the shaft connected from M to 205), and a drive gear (205), wherein the drive gear is configured to interface with the valve assembly via a gear portion (one of the gear teeth at 210) formed in or on one of the plurality of cartridges.
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.
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) 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. ‘966 in view of Jang et al. (US 10352460).
Regarding claims 8 and 9, Lee et al. disclose a seal, although are silent that this seal comprises a PTFE ring and an annular ring, and, wherein the annular ring is configured to provide a spring force that biases the PTFE ring to maintain contact with a surface of the cartridge during rotation thereof.
Jang et al. teach the use of a seal comprises a PTFE ring (220) and an annular ring (230), and, wherein the annular ring is configured to provide a spring force (due to the rubber material within 230) that biases the PTFE ring to maintain contact with a surface of the cartridge during rotation thereof.
PNG
media_image3.png
550
771
media_image3.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute a sealing assembly having the PTFE ring and annular ring as taught by Jang et al. for the oring in Lee et al. to have the seal comprises a PTFE ring and an annular ring, and, wherein the annular ring is configured to provide a spring force that biases the PTFE ring to maintain contact with a surface of the cartridge during rotation thereof, since it has been held, that an express suggestion to substitute one equivalent component (one sealing means for another seal means) or process for another is not necessary to render such substitution obvious. Additionally, the well-known expected outcome of providing a seal for the valve, would result from the combination. Additionally, the seal modification being made in order to provide for a sealing structure to be more stable (Jang et al., col. 2, lns. 1-4).
Claim(s) 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. ‘966 in view of Gill et al. (US 20230235832).
Regarding claim 10, Lee et al. disclose a housing, although are silent to having a manifold coupled to the housing and configured to receive the fluid via the one or more outlet housing ports.
Gill et al. teach the use of a manifold (14c or 14d) coupled to the housing (12) and configured to receive the fluid via the one or more outlet housing ports.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ a manifold as taught by Gill et al. into the device of Lee et al. to have a manifold coupled to the housing and configured to receive the fluid via the one or more outlet housing ports, in order to provide for connection locations that can be flexible for different various locations of the multiple fluid conduits (Gill, et al., para.0003).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. ‘966 in view of Britton (US 2399460).
Regarding claim 11, Lee et al. disclose that each cartridge includes a first bearing (the opening through housing 260 that each valve stem from the gear connects to the valve), although are silent to having a second bearing to support the cartridge during rotation thereof.
Britton teaches the use of a second bearing (42, page 2, left col., lns 25-31) to support the cartridge during rotation thereof.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ a bearing as taught by Britton into the device of Lee et al. to have a second bearing to support the cartridge during rotation thereof, in order to provide a proper alignment of the flow openings through the device and to have the spaced relation to the walls of the chamber (Britton, page 2, left col., lns 30-34).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. ‘966 in view of Paralkar et al. (US 20250129855).
Regarding claim 13, Lee et al. disclose all of the features of the claimed invention, although are silent to having a bearing and a seal surrounding at least a portion of the driveshaft.
Paralkar et al. teach the use of a bearing (80) and a seal (82) surrounding at least a portion of the driveshaft (41).
PNG
media_image4.png
1165
1050
media_image4.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ a bearing and seal as taught by Paralkar et al. into the device of Lee et al. to have a bearing and a seal surrounding at least a portion of the driveshaft, in order to provide smooth rotation of the shaft and a sealing mechanism to ensure the fluid stays within the main valve housing.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Craig Price, whose telephone number is (571)272-2712 or via facsimile (571)273-2712. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (8:00AM-4:30PM EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Craig Schneider, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-3607, Kenneth 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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center, for more information about Patent Center and, https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx, for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
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) Form at Form at;
https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated-interview-request-air-form.
/CRAIG J PRICE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753