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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gray (US 11,454,330).
Regarding claim 1, Gray discloses a rotary valve (Fig. 24) comprising: a rotor (250) that includes a cylindrical rotor body (the body portion of 250) having a rotor opening (the opening that extends to the center of 250 that is defined by the two facing portions) through which a fluid flows and that rotates about an axis; and a seal member (110) that is disposed along a circumferential direction of the rotor body, wherein the rotor body includes two facing portions (the surfaces on each side of the rotor opening) that face each other in the circumferential direction in an edge portion forming the rotor opening (Exhibit A), the seal member includes a seal body (the body portion that makes up 110) that is disposed on an outer side with respect to the rotor body in a radial direction (Fig. 24) and in which a seal opening (the openings formed through the side portions of 110 defined by 111, 112, 113) communicating with the rotor opening is formed, and an inner annular rib (the inner portion of 113 at 115) that surrounds the seal opening and that protrudes from the seal body toward an inner side in the radial direction (see how 116 are lands that intend to provide sealing contact as shown in Fig. 18; Col. 10, line 27 through Col. 11, line 8), and the inner annular rib includes an inclined rib portion that forms an acute angle with the facing portions (the surfaces at 114 form an incline as shown in Fig. 18; Col. 10, line 27 through Col. 11, line 8).
Exhibit A
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421
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Regarding claim 5, Gray further discloses the rotary valve according to claim 1, wherein a chamfered region chamfered inward in the radial direction is formed in the facing portion. (Fig. 24)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 and 6 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 PAUL J GRAY whose telephone number is (571)270-0544. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday - Friday.
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/PAUL J GRAY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753