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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 03/18/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This office action is in response to the amendment filed 03/03/2026. As directed by the amendment - claim 1 is amended. Applicant’s amendments to the claims have overcome the previous rejections in the final office action mailed 01/13/2026.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see remarks, filed 03/03/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-11 under 102 and 103, have been fully considered and are persuasive due to the amendments. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Wang et al. (U.S. 2018/0335156).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 1-4 and 8-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (U.S. 2018/0335156).
PNG
media_image1.png
610
863
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
578
963
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Annotated Figures 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B from Wang.
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses:
A valve for a fluid system, comprising:
Regarding the limitation “aircraft engine”, please note that a recitation with respect to the manner in which the claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitation. Furthermore the limitation has not been given patentable weight because a preamble is denied the effect of a limitation where the claim is drawn to a structure and the portion of the claim following the preamble is a self-contained description of the structure not depending for completeness upon the introductory clause.
a housing (10, 21) defining an internal cavity circumscribed by a peripheral wall extending along a longitudinal axis between a first end (see annotated figure above) and a second end (see annotated figure above), the internal cavity having an outlet (see annotated figure above) extending through the peripheral wall at a location intermediate between the first end (see annotated figure above) and the second end (see annotated figure above), and an inlet (see annotated figure above) at a location between the first end (see annotated figure above) and the outlet (see annotated figure above; see paragraph 0050)
a spool (22) movably received within the internal cavity for reciprocating movement along the longitudinal axis, the spool (22) defining an internal passage (see annotated figure above) extending along the longitudinal axis, the spool (22) having a valving section (see annotated figure above) sealingly engaged to the peripheral wall between the outlet (see annotated figure above) and the second end (see annotated figure above), a guiding section (see annotated figure above) sealingly engaged to the peripheral wall between the outlet (see annotated figure above) and the first end (see annotated figure above), and an apertured section (27) between the guiding section (see annotated figure above) and the valving section (see annotated figure above), the apertured section (27) defining one or more apertures (27) communicating with the internal passage (see annotated figure above) of the spool (22), the spool (22) moveable between: (see paragraph 0054)
a closed position (Figure 2A) in which the valving section (see annotated figure above) overlaps the outlet (see annotated figure above) and in which the spool (22) blocks fluid communication between the inlet (see annotated figure above) and the outlet (see annotated figure above), and an open position (Figure 2B) in which the valving section (see annotated figure above) is offset from the outlet (see annotated figure above) and in which the inlet (see annotated figure above) is fluidly connected to the outlet (see annotated figure above) via the internal passage (see annotated figure above) of the spool (22) and through the one or more apertures (27) of the apertured section (27) of the spool 22 (see paragraphs 0054-0056)
a biasing member (23) biasing the spool (22) to the closed position (see paragraph 0054)
Regarding claim 2, Wang discloses:
wherein the housing (10, 21) includes a sleeve (21), the peripheral wall defined by the sleeve (21), the spool (22) sealingly engaged to the sleeve 21
Regarding claim 3, Wang discloses:
wherein the sleeve (21) defines one or more sleeve apertures (31) aligned with the outlet (see annotated figure above)
Regarding claim 4, Wang discloses:
wherein a cap (see annotated figure above) is removably secured to the peripheral wall of the housing (10, 21) at the second end (see annotated figure above) of the internal cavity
Regarding claim 8, Wang discloses:
wherein the spool (22) divides the internal cavity into a reference cavity between the outlet (see annotated figure above) and the second end (see annotated figure above) and an inlet cavity between the inlet (see annotated figure above) and the outlet (see annotated figure above), the reference cavity fluidly connectable to a source (34) of the fluid being at a reference pressure (see paragraph 0071)
Regarding claim 9, Wang discloses:
wherein the reference cavity is fluidly connected to the outlet (see annotated figure above) via flow passages defined by the housing 10, 21 (see Figure 1A)
Regarding claim 10, Wang discloses:
wherein the flow passages are defined either through a sleeve (21) mounted to the peripheral wall or via slots interspaced between legs of the sleeve (see Figure 1A)
Regarding claim 11, Wang discloses:
wherein the reference cavity is fluidly connected to the source of the fluid via a reference inlet (@34) defined by the housing 10, 21 (see Figure 1A)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claim(s) 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Padilla et al. (U.S. 2018/0023710).
Regarding claims 5-7, Wang discloses the invention as essentially claimed, but fails to disclose an adjustment member threadingly engaged to the peripheral wall of the housing and movable relative to the housing to vary a biasing force generated by the biasing member; wherein the cap has an anti-rotation feature for preventing rotation of the adjustment member once the cap is mounted to the peripheral wall; wherein the adjustment member has an aperture receiving a stem protruding from the cap, the anti-rotation feature defined by an inner face extending around the aperture and an outer face of the stem contacting each other and being non-cylindrical.
Padilla teaches spring biased spool valve comprising an adjustment member (28) threadingly engaged to a peripheral wall of a housing (22) and movable relative to the housing (22) to vary a biasing force generated by a biasing member 24 (see paragraphs 0026 and 0029-0033); wherein a cap (36) has an anti-rotation feature (40) for preventing rotation of the adjustment member (28) once the cap (36) is mounted to the peripheral wall (see paragraphs 0029-0033); wherein the adjustment member (28) has an aperture (44) receiving a stem (42) protruding from the cap (36), the anti-rotation feature (40) defined by an inner face extending around the aperture (44) and an outer face of the stem (42) contacting each other and being non-cylindrical (see paragraphs 0029-0033).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention as effectively filed to have modified Wang to provide an adjustment member threadingly engaged to the peripheral wall of the housing and movable relative to the housing to vary a biasing force generated by the biasing member; wherein the cap has an anti-rotation feature for preventing rotation of the adjustment member once the cap is mounted to the peripheral wall; wherein the adjustment member has an aperture receiving a stem protruding from the cap, the anti-rotation feature defined by an inner face extending around the aperture and an outer face of the stem contacting each other and being non-cylindrical. Doing so would allow the spring force to be adjusted, while also preventing a change in the spring force after assembly, as recognized by Padilla (see paragraph 0029).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12-20 are allowed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KELSEY E CARY whose telephone number is (571)272-9427. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:30am-5:30pm.
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) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisors, Craig Schneider can be reached at (571)-272-3607 or 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.
/KELSEY E CARY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753