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
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) 1-3, 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Nam et al (KR 20130139019 A).
Regarding claim 1, Nam, discloses a valve for metering a volumetric flow through a flow opening (G), the valve comprising: a valve plate 23 for closing the flow opening in a closed position of the valve; and at least two valve rods 33 and (32+322) which are in each case inherently elongate, wherein the valve rods are being fastened to the valve plate 23 at mutually spaced-apart locations, and at least one of the valve rods is driven in a linearly displaceable manner by a valve drive (connections to 313), so as to adjust the valve plate between the closed position and a maximum open position, and wherein the valve rods are designed with a different stiffness (rods 33 and 32+322 can be seen in Fig 7 as a having different diameters while having same hatch pattern indicating same material) relative to one another in terms of a deflection transverse (buckling stiffness is proportional to cross-sectional area) to a respective longitudinal extent of the valve rods.
As to claim 2, the valve rods are formed from a same material (rods 33 and 32+322 can be seen in Fig 7 as a having different diameters while having same hatch pattern indicating same material).
As to claim 3, the valve rods 33,32+322 have a different diameter relative to one another.
As to claims 5-7, Nam shows a respective dedicated valve drive (separate connection for each rod 33,32+322 to piston 313 drives the valve) for each of the valve rods is driven by a dedicated valve drive of the valve. The valve drives of the valve rods are mutually synchronized (all are rigidly connected to a single piston 313 and therefore move together unison). Each of the valve rods 33,32+322 is linearly driven by the respective valve drive over an entire adjustment path of the valve plate between the closed position and the maximum open position.
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) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nam et al (KR 20130139019 A).
Regarding claim(s) 4, in Nam, the valve rod 32+322 which is stiffer in terms of the deflection transverse to the longitudinal extent thereof has a section modulus (which depends on diameter) that is greater than the other valve rod but fails to disclose optimal claimed range of ratio of section modulus of two rods. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to employ optimal claimed range of ratio of section modulus of two rods, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 8-10 is/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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Atif Chaudry at phone number 571-270-3768. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (9:30AM-6:00PM EST).
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/ATIF H CHAUDRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753