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 § 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.
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) 1, 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al (CN 107606211 A) in view of Suzuki et al (JP H09233875 A).
Regarding claim(s) 1, 3, Zhao discloses a motor-operated valve comprising: a motor 10 generating rotational driving force by supply of electric power (necessary supply of motor power); a valve seat 4 having a valve port 101 through which fluid passes; a valve body 17,18 for opening and closing the valve port; a magnetic gear 22 for magnetically transmitting the rotational driving force from an output shaft 11 of the motor to the valve body. Zhao would necessarily have a motor controller to move the valve between fully closed, fully open and intermediate positions.
Zhao fails to disclose the motor as electrically driven motor with a controller adjusting the valve between fully closed, fully open and intermediate positions. Suzuki teaches an electrically driven motor 50 with a controller (CPU) adjusting the valve between fully closed, fully open and intermediate (throttle) positions.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the system disclosed by Zhao with an electrically driven motor with a controller adjusting the valve between fully closed, fully open and intermediate positions as taught by Suzuki in order to enable automatic electrically driven valve control.
Zhao as such modified would have controller configured to control electric current supplied to the motor, wherein the controller is configured to control the electric current supplied to the motor to be equal to an adjusting current value (valve actuation) during a fully-closed operation in which the valve port is to be fully closed by the valve body, and also an adjusting current value (valve actuation) by which an electric current is supplied to the motor during opening adjustment when an opening degree of the valve port is adjusted by the valve body. Zhao fails to disclose limiting the adjusting current value (valve actuation) for fully or partially opening or closing the valve to less than an upper limit (fully-closed/opened current limit value). Suzuki (translation , abstract) teaches limiting the current valve to a valve motor to an upper limit (below an above-limit value). Suzuki teaches controller configured to perform abnormality determination (by current sensor “R”) control to determine that an abnormality (overcurrent) has occurred in operation of the valve body in response to the electric current supplied to the motor reaching a determination current value (limit value), and the determination current value is greater than the adjusting current value (normal valve actuation) and less than the (upper-current-limit value).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the system disclosed by Zhao with detecting motor current and determining the current reaching a limit value and limiting the valve actuation electric current value to less than an upper unsafe limit as taught by Suzuki in order to prevent over speeding of valve.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 2, 4-9 is/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 Atif Chaudry at phone number 571-270-3768. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (9:30AM-6:00PM EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisors can be reached by phone. Kenneth Rinehart can be reached at 571-272-4881, or Craig Schneider can be reached at 571-272-3607. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ATIF H CHAUDRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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