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
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) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by TW M610687 Chen.
Examiner notes that applicant’s foreign priority is to CN202323370034.3 filed on 11 December 2023. The Taiwanese reference Chen was published on 21 April 2021, more than one year prior to applicant’s foreign priority document, and therefore qualifies as prior art under 102a1.
Regarding claim 1, Chen discloses a 360-degree rotational (intended function of the structure claimed below, Chen discloses the structure below) cam hydraulic door closer for a narrow frame door (for a door, whether the frame is “narrow” is a relative measurement, and is not relevant to the closer claimed below), the 360-degree rotational cam hydraulic door closer comprising:
PNG
media_image1.png
359
796
media_image1.png
Greyscale
a door closer housing 11, the door closer housing being provided therein along an axis direction (left to right in figure 3) thereof with an inner chamber;
a cam shaft 2, an axial direction of the cam shaft 2 being perpendicular to an extending direction of the door closer housing (as shown in figure 2), the cam shaft 2 being 360-degree rotatably supported in the door closer housing (is connected by bearings on the top and bottom of the cam shaft, shown in figure 2), the cam shaft 2 being equipped at a middle part thereof with an eccentric cam 21 rotating simultaneously with the cam shaft;
a bidirectional piston (annotated in figure 3 above), the bidirectional piston being slidingly disposed in the inner chamber and located at a right side of the eccentric cam (as shown in figure 3), a damping roller 41 being rotationally disposed at a side of the bidirectional piston close to the eccentric cam 21 (abutting eccentric cam 21); and
a drive spring (made of inner spring 7 and outer spring 8), the drive spring being accommodated in the inner chamber and abutted against the bidirectional piston (as shown in figure 3) and the door closer housing 11 (at end cap 13), the drive spring driving the damping roller 41 to be consistently flexibly abutted against an outer peripheral surface of the eccentric cam 21;
wherein the outer peripheral surface of the eccentric cam (best shown in figure 3) is provided clockwise in order with a left closing arc recess 213, an upper damping protrusion 211, a right closing arc recess 214 and a lower damping protrusion 212; the left closing arc recess and the right closing arc recess are located on a same horizontal line (opposite each other, as shown in figure 3); the upper damping protrusion and the lower damping protrusion are located on a same vertical line (opposite each other, as shown in figure 3).
Note that it has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations. MPEP 2114. Examiner notes the phrases in italics above, and throughout the action, are considered intended use. Examiner contends that the structure capable of performing the intended use is met in the prior art, and is described how the structure disclosed performs the claimed functions in the parentheses; therefore, all italicized language is considered and shown in the prior art. Further, examiner notes that the disclosed structure is capable of performing the intended use claimed by applicant.
Regarding claim 2, Chen discloses the 360-degree rotational cam hydraulic door closer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bidirectional piston (as annotated above) is equipped at the side thereof close to the eccentric cam with a fixed pin 43; the damping roller 41 is rotationally installed on the fixed pin 43.
Regarding claim 3, Chen discloses the 360-degree rotational cam hydraulic door closer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drive spring (inner and outer springs 7 and 8) comprises an inner spring 7 and an outer spring 8; the outer spring is sleeved outside the inner spring (as shown in figure 3); an end of the outer spring and the inner spring are abutted against the door closer housing (at end cap 13) at the same time; another end of the outer spring and the inner spring are abutted against the bidirectional piston (as annotated in figure 3) at the same time.
PNG
media_image2.png
800
770
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 4, Chen discloses the 360-degree rotational cam hydraulic door closer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the door closer housing 11 is equipped with a first bushing (annotated figure 2) correspondingly to a lower end of the cam shaft 2; the door closer housing is equipped with a positionally limiting installation seat 14 correspondingly to an upper end of the cam shaft, and at the same time the positionally limiting installation seat is equipped with a second bushing (as annotated in figure 2); midpoints of the first bushing and the second bushing are located on a same axis (as shown in figure 2); the cam shaft is inserted in the first bushing and the second bushing (figure 2).
Regarding claim 5, Chen discloses the 360-degree rotational cam hydraulic door closer as claimed in claim 4, wherein an outer sealing ring (annotated) is disposed between an outer end surface of the positionally limiting installation seat (annotated) and the door closer housing; an inner sealing ring is disposed between an inner end surface of the positionally limiting installation seat and the cam shaft (as shown in figure 2, as annotated).
Regarding claim 6, Chen discloses the 360-degree rotational cam hydraulic door closer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the door closer housing 11 comprises: a housing main body 11, the housing main body being hollow inside and having two lateral openings (closed by the end caps), the cam shaft 2 being pivoted to the housing main body 11; and two sealing end caps (annotated in figure 3 above), the two sealing end caps being fixedly disposed on the two lateral openings of the housing main body respectively to form the inner chamber in an enclosed manner, an end cap sealing ring (gasket, located in the openings provided in figure 3) being disposed between an outer end surface of the sealing end cap and the housing main body.
Regarding claim 7, Chen discloses the 360-degree rotational cam hydraulic door closer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the 360-degree rotational cam hydraulic door closer further comprises an automatic compensation valve assembly (detailed in figure 2 above) slidingly disposed in the inner chamber and located at a left side of the eccentric cam 21; the automatic compensation valve assembly and the bidirectional piston collectively partition the inner chamber into a first oil channel located at a left side of the automatic compensation valve assembly (in an identical manner disclosed by applicant), a second oil channel located at a right side of the bidirectional piston, and a third oil channel located between the automatic compensation valve assembly and the bidirectional piston (three “oil passages” in paragraph 4, page 4); the first oil channel, the second oil channel and the third oil channel are all filled with hydraulic oil; the hydraulic oil flows between the second oil channel and the third oil channel through the bidirectional piston, and the automatic compensation valve assembly is configured in a way that if pressure in the first oil channel exceeds a threshold pressure, the automatic compensation valve assembly allows the hydraulic oil to flow between the first oil channel and the third oil channel.
Regarding claim 8, Chen discloses the 360-degree rotational cam hydraulic door closer as claimed in claim 7, wherein the automatic compensation valve assembly comprises: a valve piston (annotated in figure 2), the valve piston being slidingly disposed in the inner chamber; a valve body 5 (annotated in figure 2), the valve body being installed in the valve piston, at the same time the valve body being provided therethrough with a valve flow channel (annotated in figure 2) communicating with the first oil channel and the third oil channel; a valve core member (annotated in figure 2), the valve core member being movably disposed in the valve flow channel for realizing open or shut of the valve flow channel (common manner of valve function, movable based on valve core spring); and a valve core spring (annotated figure 2), the valve core spring being accommodated in the valve flow channel, an end of the valve core spring being connected with the valve body, another end of the valve core spring being connected with the valve core member for driving the valve core member to shut off the valve flow channel.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see 892. Examiner notes that the GB reference cited would also be a 102 prior art for claim 1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EMILY M MORGAN whose telephone number is (303)297-4260. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 8-5 MST.
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 supervisor, Jason San can be reached at (571)272-6531. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/EMILY M MORGAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3677
Prosecution Insights