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 12/20/2024. Claims 1 – 9 are pending in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 12/20/2024 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.
Claims 1, 4, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Korean Patent Document to Heo et al. (KR 20210091539).
Regarding claim 1, Heo et al. disclose a recirculation valve (Fig. 2) comprising: a hot water housing fluidically connected to a hot water supply pipe configured to supply hot water generated by heating raw water, the hot water housing being configured to form a hot water passage through which the hot water flows in a first reference direction – vertically in figure 2 from 222 to 221; a direct water (cold water) housing fluidically connected to a direct water supply pipe configured to supply direct water being raw water, the direct water housing being configured to form a direct water passage through which the direct water flows; a recirculation housing configured to form a recirculation passage in a second reference direction (D, Fig. 2) perpendicular to the first reference direction to fluidically connect the hot water passage and the direct water passage and cause the hot water in the hot water passage to flow into the direct water passage; a water-pressure opening/closing body – closing passage 24 in figure 2 - provided in the direct water housing to close or open the recirculation passage; and a bimetal plate (25, Fig. 2) disposed in the recirculation housing and deformed depending on a water temperature of the hot water to open or close an inlet passage being a portion of the recirculation passage, wherein the recirculation housing includes an inlet case located upstream of the bimetal plate based on the second reference direction, and wherein the inlet case includes a case body having the inlet passage formed therein and a case locking jaw configured to protrude from the case body in a direction opposite to the second reference direction and surround the inlet passage.
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Regarding claim 4, Heo et al. discloses the case locking jaw is formed in a cylindrical shape being hollow and open in the second reference direction as shown above.
Regarding claim 6, Heo et al. disclose the inlet passage includes a first inlet passage and a second inlet passage in order in the second reference direction, and wherein a cross-sectional area obtained by cutting the first inlet passage with a plane perpendicular to the second reference direction is greater than a cross-sectional area of the second inlet passage.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 – 3, 5, 7 – 9 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 to Son et al. (11,149,870) disclosing a recirculation valve.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to UMASHANKAR VENKATESAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5602. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner' s supervisors Craig Schneider can be reached at (571) 272-3607 or Ken 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.
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/UMASHANKAR VENKATESAN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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