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 .
Response to Amendment
This action is responsive to the amendment dated 4/28/2026. The previous specification objection has been withdrawn due to applicant’s amendment to the specification. The previous claim interpretations under 112(f) have been withdrawn due to applicant’s amendment. The previous 112 rejections have been withdrawn due to applicant’s amendment. Claims 1-11 remain pending. Claims 9-11 are newly presented. Any new ground(s) of rejection below have been made due to applicant’s amendment. This action is Final.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(a), first paragraph
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
The originally filed disclose does not provide support for the amended recitation in claims 1 and 9 for the first through hole “always causes the throttle port to communicate with the annular space”. There does not appear to be any description of this in the specification nor do the drawings provide definitive evidence of this scenario. See figures 3 and 6 which show flow positions through 221 (first through hole) and 34a (throttle port); however, the structure appears to allow for farther axial travel of the spool to the left and right in figures 3 and 6 to stop communication between the throttle port and annular space via the first through hole.
Claims 2-8 and 10-11 are rejected due to their dependency on claims 1 and 9, respectively, above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b), second paragraph
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.
Claim 11 is 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.
Claim 11 recites a secondary side compression spring to bias the spool toward the secondary chamber side. It is unclear how the compression spring would be able to bias the spool toward the same side that the compression spring is located, as the compression would appear to bias the spring in the direction opposite to the side the spring is located – in this instance, the primary chamber side. However, per claim 9, the tension spring is already performing this biasing. It is unclear how the tension spring from claim 9 and the compression spring from claim 11 would interact together.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code 102 not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JPH047415 (cited by the applicant in the IDS dated 4/9/2025 with included translation which is referred to below)(hereinafter “JP415”).
JP415 discloses a valve comprising: a housing (A, 1, 2); a spool (3) having a throttle port (17), disposed in the housing to be movable in an axial direction (left to right in figs. 1-2), and partitioning off the housing into a primary chamber (at 6) and a secondary chamber (at 8); and a compression spring (7) configured to bias the spool toward a primary chamber side in an axial direction (figs. 1-2), wherein the spool operates in the axial direction due to a pressure difference between the primary chamber and the secondary chamber (figs. 1-2, see also the first full paragraph beginning with “Since the spool 3” on page 2 of the translation), the spool is disposed between the primary chamber and the secondary chamber in the axial direction (figs. 1-2), the housing is provided with a primary chamber side inlet (the opening on the left side of A in fig. 1) which communicates with the primary chamber and is open in the axial direction (figs. 1-2), and a secondary chamber side inlet/outlet (the opening at the right end of A near numeral 11 in fig. 1) which communicates with the secondary chamber (figs. 1-2) and which is open in the axial direction (figs. 1-2), the housing has an annular space (at 12 leading to 13 in figs. 1-2 and also from 11 to 14 in figs. 1-2) formed therein and extending along an outer periphery of the spool, the housing further has an inner wall portion (1) formed between the annular space and the spool, the inner wall portion of the housing is provided with a first through hole (14) which always causes the throttle port to communicate with the annular space (pg. 3 of the translation, the line beginning with “As shown in this figure” approximately 11 lines down), and the compression spring is disposed on a secondary chamber side with respect to the throttle port (figs. 1-2).
Regarding claim 2, JP415 further discloses wherein the spool has a step portion (the wider part of 3 at the right end that steps down and leads to the end 4 forming the step) with which an end of the compression spring comes into contact (figs. 1-2).
Regarding claim 3, JP415 further discloses wherein the step portion is provided on an inner peripheral surface of the spool (radially inner portion).
Regarding claim 4, JP415 further discloses wherein the spool is further provided with an open-close port (15) configured to switch a communication state between the primary chamber and the secondary chamber (figs. 1-2), the housing is provided with a second through hole (13) which always communicates with the annular space (figs. 1-2) and which is configured to switch between communicating with (fig. 1) and not communicating (fig. 2) with the open-close port in accordance with movement of the spool, and the compression spring is disposed on the secondary chamber side with respect to the open-close port (figs. 1-2).
Regarding claims 5-8, JP415 further discloses a primary chamber side compression spring (5) configured to bias the spool toward the secondary chamber side in the axial direction (figs. 1-2).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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) 9-11, claim 11 as best understood, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP415 in view of Hayama et al. (U.S. 2021/0033082).
JP415 discloses a valve comprising: a housing (A, 1, 2); a spool (3) having a throttle port (17), disposed in the housing to be movable in an axial direction (left to right in figs. 1-2), and partitioning off the housing into a primary chamber (at 6) and a secondary chamber (at 8); and a spring (7) configured to bias the spool toward a primary chamber side in an axial direction (figs. 1-2, toward the left side), wherein the spool operates in the axial direction due to a pressure difference between the primary chamber and the secondary chamber (figs. 1-2, see also the first full paragraph beginning with “Since the spool 3” on page 2 of the translation), the spool is disposed between the primary chamber and the secondary chamber in the axial direction (figs. 1-2), the housing is provided with a primary chamber side inlet (the opening on the left side of A in fig. 1) which communicates with the primary chamber and is open in the axial direction (figs. 1-2), and a secondary chamber side inlet/outlet (the opening at the right end of A near numeral 11 in fig. 1) which communicates with the secondary chamber (figs. 1-2) and which is open in the axial direction (figs. 1-2), the housing has an annular space (at 12 leading to 13 in figs. 1-2 and also from 11 to 14 in figs. 1-2) formed therein and extending along an outer periphery of the spool, the housing further has an inner wall portion (1) formed between the annular space and the spool, the inner wall portion of the housing is provided with a first through hole (14) which always causes the throttle port to communicate with the annular space (pg. 3 of the translation, the line beginning with “As shown in this figure” approximately 11 lines down),
JP415 does not appear to disclose the spring being a tension spring that is disposed on the primary chamber side with respect to the throttle port (figs. 1-2). Rather, the spring of JP415 is a compression spring and thus disposed on the secondary chamber side in order to bias the spool toward the primary chamber side.
Hayama teaches that it is known in the art that a coil spring can be a compression spring or tension spring (para. 88).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify JP415 by having the spring(s) (either spring 7 or both springs 5 and 7) be tension spring(s) instead of compression spring(s) as Hayama teaches these are known functional alternative equivalents and if a user so desired for the biasing members to exhibit a pulling force instead of a pushing force for a particular application or need. It is noted the tension spring would be located on the opposite side of the location of the compression spring in order to provide the same direction of biasing force toward the same desired side. In this instance, the tension spring will be on the primary chamber side in order to bias the spring toward the primary chamber side. Likewise, a secondary chamber side tension spring would be located on the secondary chamber side.
Regarding claim 10, JP415 as modified further discloses wherein the spool is further provided with an open-close port (15) configured to switch a communication state between the primary chamber and the secondary chamber (figs. 1-2), the housing is provided with a second through hole (13) which always communicates with the annular space (figs. 1-2) and which is configured to switch between communicating with (fig. 1) and not communicating (fig. 2) with the open-close port in accordance with movement of the spool, and the tension spring is disposed on the primary chamber side with respect to the open-close port (as taught above by Hayama).
Regarding claim 11, as best understood, JP415 as modified further discloses a secondary chamber side compression spring (5) configured to bias the spool toward the secondary chamber side in the axial direction (figs. 1-2).
Alternatively, in the event that claim 11 is seen to recite a tension spring configured to bias the spool toward the secondary chamber side in the axial direction, as stated above, Hayama teaches that it is known in the art to have both springs be tension springs (see the rejection of claim 9 above). One spring would be located on each side (the primary chamber side and secondary chamber side) to bias the spool toward the primary chamber side and secondary chamber side, respectively.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 9 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 MICHAEL R REID whose telephone number is (313)446-4859. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9am-5pm est.
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 supervisors can be reached by phone. 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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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) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form.
/MICHAEL R REID/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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