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 .
Status of the Claims
Examiner acknowledges receipt of Applicant’s amendments and arguments filed with the Office on May 27th, 2026 in response to the Non-Final Office Action mailed on February 27th, 2026. Per Applicant's response, Claims 1, 5, 8, 11, 17-18, & 20 have been amended. All other claims have been left in their previously-presented form. Consequently, Claims 1, 3-8, & 10-22 still remain pending in the instant application. The Examiner has carefully considered each of Applicant’s amendments and/or arguments, and they will be addressed below.
Drawings
The drawings were previously objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). Applicant’s amendments have obviated these objections, rendering them moot.
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 limitation “each of the end portion of the support member and the end portion of the movable member is on a side of the opening” (of Claims 1, 11, & 20) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. As far as the Examiner understands the invention, the supplied figures depict the movable member 16 being arranged on a side (i.e. a top side in Figs. 2-9C) of the opening 10, while the end portion of the support 15 is depicted as being spaced away from the opening 10. There does not appear to be a view/figure of the invention showing any portion of the support being arranged “on a side of the opening”.
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 Objections
Claim 20 was previously objected to for minor informalities. Applicant’s amendments have remedied these issues, rendering them moot.
Claims 1, 3-8, & 10-22 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 18 should read “the non-overlapping region is a distinct region different from the overlapping region”
Claim 5, line 2 should read “to claim 1, wherein a shape of”
Claim 10, line 4 should read “a length of the opening”
Claim 11, line 36 should read “the non-overlapping region is a distinct region different from the overlapping region”
Claim 14, line 5 should read “is at the intake port”
Claim 14, line 6 should read “is at the discharge port”
Claim 15, line 5 should read “is at the intake port”
Claim 15, line 6 should read “is at the discharge port”
Claim 16, line 5 should read “is at the intake port”
Claim 16, line 6 should read “is at the discharge port”
Claim 20, line 40 should read “the non-overlapping region is a distinct region different from the overlapping region”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 17 was previously rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Applicant’s amendments have obviated these issues, rendering the rejections moot.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 3-8, & 10-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1, 11, and 20 have all been amended to now recite the limitation “each of the end portion of the support member and the end portion of the movable member is on a side of the opening”; such an arrangement does not appear to be depicted in the invention (see Drawing Objection section above), and thus, it is not clear how the invention must be arranged. As far as the Examiner understands the invention, the supplied figures depict the movable member 16 being arranged on a side (i.e. a top side in Figs. 2-9C) of the opening 10, while the end portion of the support 15 is depicted as being spaced away from the opening 10 due to the movable member 16 therebetween. In other words, a portion of the limitation in question is clearly depicted and described in the specification, while another portion of the limitation in question is not. This brings about ambiguity as to what arrangement is actually being required of the phrase “on a side of the opening” as it relates to the support member, rendering the claim indefinite. As such, the metes and bounds of the claim cannot be determined. For examination purposes herein, the limitation in question has been interpreted as requiring the end portion of the support member to be mounted to a side of the opening via the movable member.
Claim 12, line 4 recites the limitation “an end portion of the first valve module is brought into contact with an inner surface of the recess portion”; this limitation renders the claim indefinite because it is not made clear whether the phrase “an end portion” is 1) attempting to refer back to the one of the end portions previously recited in Claim 11 or 2) introducing another end portion altogether. As such, the metes and bounds of the claim cannot be determined. For examination purposes herein, the examiner has applied the second interpretation.
Appropriate correction is required.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 13-19, filed May 27th, 2026, with respect to the prior art rejections have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the previous rejections are hereby withdrawn.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 3-8, & 10-22 are found to be provisionally allowable, pending Applicant overcoming the above-noted claim objections and rejections. Applicant should be aware that no claim(s) can be properly allowed until each and every issue has been fully remedied by Applicant.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Applicant’s amendments filed on May 27th, 2026 have overcome the teachings of Tajima applied in the previous office action. In view of this, the examiner has conducted an updated prior art search and has determined that no other prior art reference or combination or references successfully discloses or renders obvious Applicant’s invention as now recited in the claims.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER BRYANT COMLEY whose telephone number is (571)270-3772. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9AM-6PM CST.
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 supervisor, Mark Laurenzi can be reached at 571-270-7878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALEXANDER B COMLEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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