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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This is responsive to the claims filed 8/26/2024. Claims 1- 4 are pending in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 8/26/2024 is acknowledged by the examiner.
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 1 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Staedele et al. (2017/0114912).
Regarding claim 1, Staedele et al. disclose a casing (20) including a first pressing portion (step for seal 11); a drive member (5) including a second pressing portion (10), the drive member being provided in the casing, the drive member forming a pressure chamber – examiner is interpreting the wheel passage 2 as the pressure chamber, along with the casing, the drive member being driven by an operating fluid flowing from outside (control fluid); and a sealing member (11) disposed to be sandwiched between the casing and the drive member in a direction perpendicular to a moving direction of the drive member, the sealing member having a ring-shape and sealing the pressure chamber, wherein the first pressing portion and the second pressing portion face each other in the moving direction of the drive member, the sealing member (11) is positioned between the first pressing portion and the second pressing portion, and the second pressing portion moves toward and away from the first pressing portion as the drive member moves, and when the second pressing portion is positioned close to the first pressing portion, the sealing member is configured to be sandwiched between the first pressing portion and the second pressing portion.
Regarding claim 4, examiner is interpreting the supply line disclosed by Staedele et al. to be the body with a flow passage.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 – 3 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US Patent Application Publication to Watanabe et al. (2014/0001391) and US Patent to Shinohara et al. (10,030,789) both disclosing diaphragm valves actuated by a pneumatic actuator.
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/UMASHANKAR VENKATESAN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753