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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) were filed on 12/06/2024 and 01/26/2026. The submissions are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 1-16 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 and 15 disclose the limitation “the washer is essentially arranged on an outer side of one of the first and second flange portions”. It is unclear what is meant by the washer being “essentially” arranged and how that would differ from the washer simply being “arranged”.
For the purposes of compact prosecution, the limitation is being treated as reciting “the washer is arranged…”.
Claims 2-14 and 16 are rejected due to their dependence upon rejected independent Claim 1.
Claim 15 also discloses a use of a washer but fails to set forth any steps involved in the potential process of using said washer. See MPEP 2173.05(q).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claim does not proport to claim a process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter but rather a use of a washer. See MPEP 2173.05(q).
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) 1-11 and 13-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Max (US Patent No: 9,822,666).
Regarding Claim 1: Max discloses a flange assembly (Figures 2 & 5) for a turbocharging system comprising a housing component (32, 34) of the turbocharger system having a first flange portion (Figure 2); and an auxiliary component of the turbocharging system having a second flange portion (Figure 2); wherein the housing component and the auxiliary component are attached to each other via the first and second flange portions with a plurality of fastening elements (72); a washer (46) at least partially arranged at and fixed to one of the first and second flange portions, wherein the washer is arranged on an outer side of one of the first and second flange portions (Figure 2), the washer comprising a first radial inward portion and circumferentially spaced apart therefrom a second radial inward portion each containing a through-bore (100, 108) (Figure 4) with a respective one of the fastening elements extending therethrough (Figure 3); a third radial inward portion circumferentially spaced apart from the first and second radial inward portions (Figure 4), wherein the third radial inward portion is configured to provide a contact area for one of the first and second flange portions (Figures 6A-B); and a connecting portion (90) connected to each of the first, second and third radial inward portions (Figure 4; Column 4, Lines 52-67). The manner of using the flange assembly does not differentiate the claimed flange assembly from the prior art flange assembly. The 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, if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim (See MPEP 2114(II)). In this case, all the structural limitations of the claimed flange assembly are taught by the prior art flange assembly; therefore, the manner in which the claimed flange assembly is employed, i.e. within a turbocharging system, does not differentiate the claimed flange assembly from the prior art flange assembly.
Regarding Claim 2: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 1, wherein the third radial inward portion is configured to provide a contact area for one of the first and second flange portions between adjacent fastening elements (Figure 2).
Regarding Claim 3: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 1, wherein the third radial inward portion is circumferentially arranged between the first and the second radial inward portion (Figure 4).
Regarding Claim 4: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 1, wherein each of the first radial inward portion and the second radial inward portion are disposed between one of the fastening elements and the second flange portion of the auxiliary component (Figures 3-4).
Regarding Claim 5: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 1, wherein the third radial inward portion does not contain a bore (Figure 4).
Regarding Claim 6: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 1, wherein the connecting portion is arranged radially outward of a radial end of the flange portions (Figure 4).
Regarding Claim 7: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 1, wherein the washer is substantially flat (Figure 5).
Regarding Claim 8: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 1, wherein the first, second and third radial inward portions are arranged in a common plane and the connecting portion defines a connecting plane arranged at an angle with respect to the common plane (Figures 3-4 and 6A-B).
Regarding Claim 9: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 1, wherein the connecting portion substantially extends along an axial longitudinal direction (Figures 2-4).
Regarding Claim 10: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 1, wherein the housing component is a housing component of a compressor (Figures 1-2).
Regarding Claim 11: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 1, wherein the auxiliary component is an air inlet component of the system (Figure 2).
Regarding Claim 13: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 1, further comprising a second washer (46) at least partially arranged at and fixed to one of the first and second flange portions (Figure 2), the second washer containing a radial inward flat portion having one through-bore (100) with a fastening element (72) extending therethrough, wherein the second washer further contains a radial outward portion arranged at an angle with the radial inward flat portion (Figure 4).
Regarding Claim 17: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 13, wherein the radial inward flat portion is substantially perpendicular to the radial outward portion (Figure 4).
Regarding Claim 14: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 1, wherein the auxiliary component has a plurality of struts (36) circumferentially arranged at the flange portion (Figure 2).
Regarding Claim 18: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 14, wherein each of the first, second and third radial inward portions of the washer are disposed between adjacent struts (Figure 2).
Regarding Claim 16: Max dislocses the flange assembly of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary component is a supply line component for connecting a first turbocharging stage with a second turbocharging stage (Figure 2).
Regarding Claim 15: Max discloses a use of a washer (46) in a flange assembly of a system for containing the system in case of damage to the flange assembly, wherein the washer is configured to be arranged on an outer side of a flange portion of the flange assembly, the washer comprising a first radial inward portion (Figure 4) and circumferentially spaced apart therefrom a second radial inward portion (Figure 4) each containing a through-bore (100, 108) for receiving a fastening element (72) therethrough (Figures 3 and 6A-B); a third radial inward portion circumferentially spaced apart from the first and second radial inward portions (Figure 4), wherein the third radial inward portion is configured to provide a contact area for a flange portion of the system (Figures 2 & 4); and a connecting portion (90) connected to each of the first, second and third radial inward portions (Figure 4). The manner of using the flange assembly does not differentiate the claimed flange assembly from the prior art flange assembly. The 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, if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim (See MPEP 2114(II)). In this case, all the structural limitations of the claimed flange assembly are taught by the prior art flange assembly; therefore, the manner in which the claimed flange assembly is employed, i.e. within a turbocharging system, does not differentiate the claimed flange assembly from the prior art flange assembly.
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) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Max in view of Gaudry (US Patent No: 9,109,465).
Regarding Claim 12: Max discloses the flange assembly of Claim 1; however, Max fails to disclose the auxiliary component being a casted aluminum air inlet component and/or the auxiliary component and the housing component differing in brittleness and the washer is arranged at the more brittle flange.
Gaudry teaches an engine auxiliary component (Figure 1, No. 100) being an aluminum air inlet component (Column 3, Lines 47-49).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the material of the auxiliary component of Gaudry in for the material of the auxiliary component of Max. Both materials are known elements for auxiliary components, and substituting the material of the auxiliary component of Gaudry in for the material of the auxiliary component of Max still results in an aluminum air inlet for the engine as the auxiliary component. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the material of the auxiliary component of Gaudry in for the material of the auxiliary component of Max, thus making the auxiliary component an aluminum air inlet component.
The limitation “casted” is being treated as a product-by-process limitation; that is, the aluminum air inlet component is made by casting. Product-by-process claims are limited ONLY to the structure implied by the cited steps, NOT to the manipulation of the recited steps. It has been held that if the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable, even though the prior product was made by a different process, and the burden shifts to the applicant to show an unobvious difference. See MPEP 2113.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL L SEHN whose telephone number is (571)270-3564. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 AM-6 PM, every other Friday off.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Courtney Heinle can be reached at 571-270-3508. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL L SEHN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
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