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 .
Status of Application
Claims 1-6 are pending and presented for examination.
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.
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.
1. Claim(s) 1-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Komuro et al. (WO 2021/014762, reference is made to the provided translation) in view of Arai et al. (U.S. PGPUB No. 2016/0061642) and Volz et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5957158) and Cao et al. (“Surface modification of poly(phenylene sulfide) using photoinitiated chlorine dioxide radical as an oxidant”).
I. Regarding claims 1-3, Komuro teaches an electronic component (title) comprising: a casing (abstract and element 11, Figure 1); a cover attached to the casing and including an opening (abstract and element 12, Figure 1); a rotor arranged inside the casing and including an operating portion exposed through the opening of the cover (element 14, Figure 1 and Description of Embodiments section); and the casing and cover formed of resin material (Description of Embodiments section). Komuro teaches the cover attached to the casing by laser welding the resins together (see Production method section). Komuro fails to teach the resin material of the casing and cover is the same and selected from the group as claimed in claims 2 and 3. Komuro additionally fails to teach the cover is a different color from the color of the rotor and an oxide layer included on the surface of the cover.
First, Arai teaches that covers and housings can be laser welded together and the applicable resins for both the cover and housing can be polyamide 6T or polyphenylene sulfide (0052-0053). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Komuro’s component by substituting polyamide 6T and/or polyphenylene sulfide for the generic resins of Komura. One would have been motivated to make this substitution as one could have made this substitution with a reasonable expectation of success (particularly given that Arai teaches these materials are suitable for laser welding and suitable as covers and housings, see above), and the predictable result of providing the electronic component.
Second, Volz teaches that it is conventional to provide a rotor of a rotary valve that is a different color than the cover (column 4, lines 47-65). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Komuro’s component by having the color of the cover different from a color of the rotor. One would have been motivated to make this modification as Volz teaches that the contrast in color allows for easy identification of the state of the rotor/valve (column 4, lines 47-65).
Finally, Cao teaches oxidizing the surface of polyphenylene sulfide to provide an oxide surface (abstract and Figure 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Komuro in view of Arai and Volz’s component by oxidizing the polyphenylene sulfide resin of the cover to provide an oxide surface. One would have been motivated to make this modification as Cao teaches that the oxidized surface provides improved properties, such as improved hydrophilicity and adhesion (abstract).
II. Regarding claims 4-6, Komuro teaches a manufacturing method comprising: preparing a casing of a resin material, a cover formed of a resin material and including an opening, and a rotor including an operating portion (Production method and Figure 1); arranging the rotor inside the casing (Production method and Figure 1), exposing the operating portion through the opening of the cover (Figure 1), and arranging the cover on the casing (Figure 1); and applying a laser beam to surrounding of the cover to weld the cover to the casing (Production method). Komuro fails to teach the casing, cover and rotor all formed of the same resin material selected from the group as claimed in claims 5 and 6. Komuro further fails to teach a step of forming an oxide layer on a surface of the cover and that the color of the cover is different than the color of the rotor.
First, Arai teaches that covers and housings can be laser welded together and the applicable resins for both the cover and housing can be polyamide 6T or polyphenylene sulfide (0052-0053). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Komuro’s process by substituting polyamide 6T and/or polyphenylene sulfide for the generic resins of Komura and for the generic material of the rotor. One would have been motivated to make this substitution as one could have made this substitution with a reasonable expectation of success (particularly given that Arai teaches these materials are suitable for laser welding and suitable as covers and housings, see above), and the predictable result of providing the electronic component while using the same material for as much of the device as possible.
Second, Volz teaches that it is conventional to provide a rotor of a rotary valve that is a different color than the cover (column 4, lines 47-65). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Komuro’s process by having the color of the cover different from a color of the rotor. One would have been motivated to make this modification as Volz teaches that the contrast in color allows for easy identification of the state of the rotor/valve (column 4, lines 47-65).
Finally, Cao teaches oxidizing the surface of polyphenylene sulfide to provide an oxide surface (abstract and Figure 1) using a thermal process in an atmosphere (Surface modification of PPS films section). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Komuro in view of Arai and Volz’s process by oxidizing the polyphenylene sulfide resin of the cover using a thermal process in an atmosphere to provide an oxide layer on the surface of the cover. One would have been motivated to make this modification as Cao teaches that the oxidized surface provides improved properties, such as improved hydrophilicity and adhesion (see abstract).
Conclusion
Claims 1-6 are pending.
Claims 1-6 are rejected.
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/ROBERT S WALTERS JR/
August 6, 2026Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1717
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