DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the communication(s) filed on 6/08/2026.
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 § 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.
Claims 1-4 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Brock et al (US 2021/0254583 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Brock discloses a fuel tank isolation valve assembly (fig. 1) configured to selectively vent fuel vapor from a fuel tank (16) to a vapor recovery canister (18), the fuel tank isolation valve assembly (fig. 1) comprising: a housing (34) having an inlet (33) and an outlet (35), wherein the fuel tank isolation valve assembly is fluidly coupled between the fuel tank (16) and the vapor recovery canister (18), wherein the inlet (33) is fluidly coupled to a vapor space of the fuel tank (16) (fig. 1), and the outlet (35) is fluidly coupled to the vapor recovery canister (18) (fig. 1), wherein the housing (34) generally defines an inlet cavity (fig. 1), a flow passage cavity (fig. 1) that defines a flow passage cavity axis (34A), an over-pressure relief (OPR) cavity (having vents 221, 222) that defines an OPR cavity axis (34A), and an outlet cavity (fig. 1), wherein the flow passage cavity axis and the OPR cavity axis are colinear (fig. 1, they both share an axis which makes them colinear, see also fig. 4-4B).
Regarding claim 2, Brock further discloses further comprising: an armature (24A) having a first coupling structure; and a poppet (see at least fig. 6-8) having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end including a second coupling structure that couples to the first coupling structure, the distal end including a seal (see at least fig. 6-8).
Regarding claim 3, Brock further discloses wherein the seal further comprises an outboard seal portion configured to selectively seal against the housing and an inboard seal portion configured to selectively seal against a hat valve, wherein the hat valve is normally urged against the inboard seal portion by a biasing member (fig. 1, 3-12, see also at least paragraph 0063).
Regarding claim 4, Brock further discloses wherein the hat valve is disposed in the OPR cavity (fig. 1, 3-12, see also at least paragraph 0063).
Regarding claim 16, Brock discloses a fuel tank (16) system comprising: a fuel tank (16) having a vapor space; a vapor recovery canister (18); and a valve assembly (fig. 1) having a housing (34), wherein the valve assembly (fig. 1) is fluidly coupled between the fuel tank (16) and the vapor recovery canister (18) and arranged to selectively control fuel vapor flow between the fuel tank (16) and the vapor recovery canister (18), wherein the housing (34) of the valve assembly (fig. 1) includes an inlet (33) fluidly coupled to the vapor space (of fuel tank 16), a valve (12) disposed therein, and an outlet (35) fluidly coupled to the vapor recovery canister (18), wherein the housing (34) generally defines an inlet cavity (fig. 1), a flow passage cavity (fig. 1) that defines a flow cavity axis (34A), an over-pressure relief (OPR) cavity (having vents 221, 222) that defines an OPR cavity axis (34A), and an outlet cavity (fig. 1), wherein the flow cavity axis and the OPR cavity axis are colinear (fig. 1, they both share an axis which makes them colinear, see also fig. 4-4B).
Regarding claim 17, Brock further discloses a controller that receives a signal from a pressure sensor and that communicates the signal to the valve assembly to open and allow vapor to pass to the vapor recovery canister (normal function of an electromagnetically actuated FTIV, see fig. 1).
Regarding claim 18, Brock further discloses wherein the valve assembly further comprises: a solenoid (26) assembly arranged within the housing (34), wherein the solenoid (26) assembly comprises an armature (24A), a solenoid spring (40), and a coil (fig. 1), wherein the solenoid spring is configured to generate a force sufficient to urge the armature out of the solenoid assembly when the solenoid assembly is not energized (fig. 1-12).
Regarding claim 19, Brock further discloses wherein the armature further comprises a first coupling structure, the valve assembly further comprising: a poppet having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end including a second coupling structure that couples to the first coupling structure, the distal end including a seal (see at least fig. 6-8).
Regarding claim 20, Brock further discloses wherein the seal further comprises an outboard seal portion configured to selectively seal against the housing and an inboard seal portion configured to selectively seal against a hat valve, wherein the hat valve is normally urged against the inboard seal portion by a biasing member (fig. 1, 3-12, see also at least paragraph 0063).
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.
Claims 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brock et al (US 2021/0254583 A1), in view of Kishi et al. (US 2015/0027571 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Brock further discloses the invention above.
Brock is not relied upon to teach wherein the inlet and outlet are arranged on the housing at a transverse relationship.
Kishi discloses a fuel tank isolation valve wherein the inlet and outlet are arranged on the housing at a transverse relationship. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to modify the fuel tank isolation valve of Brock to having the transverse relationship of the inlet and outlet in order to promote fluid flow by reducing the number of bends in the pipe.
Regarding claim 9, Brock as modified by Kishi further discloses wherein the inlet defines the inlet cavity, and the outlet defines the outlet cavity, wherein the inlet cavity defines an inlet axis, wherein the inlet axis and the OPR cavity axis are non-parallel, wherein the inlet axis and the OPR cavity axis are transverse (see at least fig. 1 or Brock and Kishi).
Regarding claim 10, Brock as modified by Kishi further discloses wherein a passage defined between the flow passage cavity, wherein the OPR cavity defines a passage axis that is parallel to the OPR cavity axis (see at least fig. 1 or Brock and Kishi).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7 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
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/XIAO EN MO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
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