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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 1/17/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because in Fig. 4 the leader lines for #20 and #21 are not clearly pointing to the corresponding features. Page 6 of the Specification states “The first friction surface 20 is formed on the first connecting part 7 and a corresponding second friction surface 21 is formed on the second connecting part 8”, however in Fig. 4 the leader line for #21 appears to end at #7 and the leader line for #20 appears to end at #8. Appropriate correction is required.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-3, 5, and 9 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In Claim 1 Lines 9-10, “fore- or positive-locking connection” should be revised to ‘force-locking or positive-locking connection” to ensure clarity in the claim.
In Claim 2 Line 2, “screwing surface in the first connecting part” should be revised to “screwing surface of the first connecting part” to ensure clarity in the claim.
In Claim 3 Line 3, “and which tool” should be revised to “and wherein the tool” to ensure proper grammar.
In Claim 5 Line 2, “the screwing surface is in the form of a polygonal profile is formed” should be revised to “the screwing surface, which has a polygonal profile, is formed” to ensure clarity in the claim.
In Claim 9 Lines 1-2, “screwing surface in the first connecting part” should be revised to “screwing surface of the first connecting part” to ensure clarity in the claim.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US PGPUB 2004/0079339 A1 to Reiter (“Reiter”).
As to Claim 1, Reiter discloses a fuel injector for metered delivery of a gaseous or liquid fuel (See #1 in Fig. 3 and See Paragraph 0030) having a housing (See H in Annotated Fig. 3, which is made up #22 and #17) in which a compensating chamber (See CC in Annotated Fig. 3 and See Paragraph 0002 disclosing compensation) bounded by a tubular crimping bellows (#3) and fillable with a lubricant is formed (See Annotated Fig. 3, the compensating chamber CC is capable of being filled with some lubricant), wherein the crimping bellows is connected at one end with a first connecting part (#16) and at another end with a second connecting part (#4) in a fluid-tight manner (See Fig. 3 and Paragraphs 0030-0031),
wherein
a thread (#6) and a screwing surface accessible from an interior of the crimping bellows are formed on the first connecting part (See SCS in Annotated Fig. 3, an interior surface SCS of #16 is a surface that is capable of being used to screw #16 to #17 and can be accessed from within #3), wherein a screwing force can be applied to the first connecting part on the screwing surface by a force- or positive-locking connection with a tool or with another component of the fuel injector (See Annotated Fig. 3, the screwing surface SCS on #16 is arranged such that some tool is capable of forming a force-locking or positive-locking connection with the screwing surface SCS), in order to screw the first connecting part into a fastening thread in the housing (See Paragraph 0030 disclosing a fastening thread on #17 that #6 screws onto. See Annotated Fig. 3 showing fastening thread FT.).
As to Claim 7, in reference to the fuel injector of Reiter as applied to Claim 1 above, Reiter further discloses wherein flats are configured on an outer side of the second connecting part to exert a screwing force (See flat surfaces F1 and F2 in Annotated Fig. 3. The second connecting part has flat surfaces F1 and F2 on an outer side that are arranged such that they are capable of exerting a screwing force).
As to Claim 8, in reference to the fuel injector of Reiter as applied to Claim 1 above, Reiter further discloses wherein a sealing surface is formed on the first connecting part, which causes a formation of a fluid-tight connection when the first connecting part is screwed into the fastening thread at a sealing seat (See SES in Annotated Fig. 3 and See Paragraph 0030. The sealing surface SES forms a fluid tight connection between #16 and #3 when #6 is screwed onto FT such that SES seals on #19).
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.
Claims 2-4 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reiter in view of US PGPUB 2019/0055910 A1 to Scheller (“Scheller”).
Regarding Claim 2, in reference to the fuel injector of Reiter as applied to Claim 1 above, Reiter does not specifically disclose wherein the screwing surface in the first connecting part is formed as a polygonal socket (See Annotated Fig. 3. Reiter does not specifically disclose a cross sectional shape of SCS).
However, Scheller discloses, in the same field of endeavor of fuel injection (See Paragraph 0002), a fuel injector (See Fig. 3) comprising a first connecting part (#24) having a thread (#34) and a screwing surface (#44) , wherein a screwing force can be applied to the first connecting part on the screwing surface by a force-locking or positive-locking connection with a tool (See Paragraph 0046) in order to screw the first connecting part into a fastening thread (#36) in a housing (#14), wherein the screwing surface is formed as a polygonal socket (See Fig. 4 and Paragraph 0011 disclosing a hexagonal socket).
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 the fuel injector of Reiter as applied to Claim 1 above such that the screwing surface of the first connecting part is formed as the hexagonal socket of Scheller, since doing so would yield the predictable result of allowing screwing with a suitable socket connection while protecting against misuse and allowing for a smaller design (See Scheller Paragraph 0032).
As to Claim 3, in reference to the fuel injector of Reiter in view of Scheller as applied to Claim 2 above, Reiter as modified by Scheller further discloses wherein an opening is formed in the second connecting part (See OP in Annotated Fig. 3), through which a tool with a polygonal profile can be inserted into the interior of the crimping bellows and which tool can be brought into a positive-locking connection with the polygonal socket (See Annotated Fig. 3. If SCS is modified to be the hexagonal socket of Scheller, then some tool can be inserted through OP and into #3 that can be brought into a positive locking connection with the hexagonal socket on SCS).
As to Claim 4, in reference to the fuel injector of Reiter in view of Scheller as applied to Claim 3 above, Reiter further discloses wherein the opening in the second connecting part can be sealed fluid-tight by a closure element (See Annotated Fig. 3. The opening OP in #4 is capable of being sealed fluid-tight by some closure element inserted into #13).
As to Claim 9, in reference to the fuel injector of Reiter in view of Scheller as applied to Claim 2 above, Scheller further discloses wherein the screwing surface in the first connecting part is formed as a hexagonal socket (See Fig. 4 and Paragraph 0045).
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art fails to teach, disclose, or suggest, in combination with other limitations recited in dependent Claim 5: “wherein the screwing surface in the form of a polygonal profile is formed on the first connecting part and a polygonal socket is formed on the second connecting part such that the second connecting part can be brought into positive-locking engagement with the polygonal profile of the first connecting part by compressing the crimping bellows”.
Regarding Claim 5, in reference to the fuel injector of Reiter as applied to Claim 1 above, Reiter does not disclose wherein the screwing surface in the form of a polygonal profile is formed on the first connecting part and a polygonal socket is formed on the second connecting part such that the second connecting part can be brought into positive-locking engagement with the polygonal profile of the first connecting part by compressing the crimping bellows (See Annotated Fig. 3, the screwing surface SCS is formed internally on #16, and no socket is formed on #4 that can be brought into positive-locking engagement with #16). One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would not be motivated to reconfigure the fuel injector of Reiter as applied to Claim 1 above such that the screwing surface is a polygonal profile that is formed on the first connecting part and such that a polygonal socket is formed on the second connecting part so that the second connecting part can be brought into positive-locking engagement with the polygonal profile of the first connecting part by compressing the crimping bellows as required by dependent Claim 5, as making such a modification would require substantial reconfiguration of the fuel injector and there is no prior teaching in Reiter, Scheller, or other prior art that indicates that making such a modification would be an obvious design choice without utilizing improper hindsight.
The prior art fails to teach, disclose, or suggest, in combination with other limitations recited in dependent Claim 6: “wherein the screwing surface is a first friction surface formed perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the thread on the first connecting part and a second friction surface is formed on the second connecting part aligned parallel to the first friction surface, wherein the first friction surface can be brought into contact with the second friction surface by compressing the crimping bellows for transmission of the screwing force”.
Regarding Claim 5, in reference to the fuel injector of Reiter as applied to Claim 1 above, Reiter does not disclose wherein the screwing surface is a first friction surface formed perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the thread on the first connecting part and a second friction surface is formed on the second connecting part aligned parallel to the first friction surface, wherein the first friction surface can be brought into contact with the second friction surface by compressing the crimping bellows for transmission of the screwing force (See Annotated Fig. 3, the screwing surface SCS is formed internally on #16. While SCS as a whole can be considered a first friction surface that is perpendicular to axis A1 of #6 and a surface S2 can be considered a second friction surface, the first friction surface on SCS is not capable of being brought into contact with S2 by compressing #3 to transmit the screwing force). One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would not be motivated to reconfigure the fuel injector of Reiter as applied to Claim 1 above such that the screwing surface is a first friction surface formed perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the thread on the first connecting part and a second friction surface is formed on the second connecting part aligned parallel to the first friction surface so that the first friction surface can be brought into contact with the second friction surface by compressing the crimping bellows for transmission of the screwing force as required by dependent Claim 6, as making such a modification would require substantial reconfiguration of the fuel injector and there is no prior teaching in Reiter, Scheller, or other prior art that indicates that making such a modification would be an obvious design choice without utilizing improper hindsight.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See Notice of References Cited Form PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN E SCHWARTZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1770. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00AM - 5:00PM 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, Arthur O Hall can be reached at (571)-270-1814. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KEVIN EDWARD SCHWARTZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3752 July 1, 2026
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