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 § 103
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 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 1 – 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aydemir et al. (DE 10 2016 100 139) in view of Rauen (US 2,274,460).
With respect to claims 1 and 10, Aydemir et al. teach an exhaust port for a pneumatic valve or an air valve of a vehicle, such as at an air drier or air processing unit of a vehicle (Specification: Description ¶ [0001] and [0002]), comprising an outer shell (Fig.2), the outer shell comprising a bell mouth shell portion (Fig.2, Item 10’) configured to receive air from said pneumatic valve or air valve, the bell mouth shell portion having a narrow end and a wide end, wherein the bell mouth shell portion guides the received air from the narrow end towards the wide end, a cylindrical shell portion (Fig.2, Item 16’) located adjacent to the wide end of the bell mouth shell portion, the cylindrical shell portion comprising an open upper end configured to receive air that has passed through the bell mouth shell portion, and an opposite closed lower end (Fig.2, Item 16’), but fail to disclose a plurality of elongated elements contained within the cylindrical shell portion and extending in an axial direction of the cylindrical shell portion towards, but ending before, the closed lower end, thereby presenting a resonance chamber between the closed lower end and said elongated elements.
On the other hand, Rauen teaches an exhaust port comprising an outer shell comprising a bell mouth shell portion (Fig.1, Item 32) configured to receive air, wherein the bell mouth shell portion guides the received air from a narrow end towards a wide end, a cylindrical shell portion (Fig.1, Item 46) located adjacent to the wide end of the bell mouth shell portion, the cylindrical shell portion comprising an open upper end configured to receive air that has passed through the bell mouth shell portion, and an opposite closed lower end (Fig.1, Item 53), a plurality of elongated elements (Fig.1, Item 48) contained within the cylindrical shell portion and extending in an axial direction of the cylindrical shell portion towards, but ending before, the closed lower end (Fig.1, Item 53), thereby presenting a resonance chamber (Fig.1, Item 53) between the closed lower end and said elongated elements (Fig.1, Items 48).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the Rauen configuration with the Aydemir et al. design because it would improve the acoustic performance of the exhaust port by providing a configuration that would permit the sound waves traveling in the air inside the cylindrical shell to be reflected at the closed end and cancel each other.
With respect to claim 2, Rauen teaches wherein said plurality of elongated elements is in the form of a plurality of perforated tubes (Fig.1, Items 48).
With respect to claim 3, Rauen teaches wherein each perforated tube (Fig.1, Items 48) has an upper section (Fig.1, Item 49) located nearest the open upper end of the cylindrical shell portion (Fig.1, Item 46), and a lower section (Fig.1, Item 49’) located nearest the closed lower end (Fig.1, Item 53) of the cylindrical shell portion, wherein the lower section is provided with perforations (Fig.1, Item 50) allowing air that has entered through the upper section to exit through the perforations in the lower section.
With respect to claim 4, The Examiner takes official notice that it is well-known in the art to provide the upper section of an exhaust tube void of perforations because it would help control the airflow through the system in this manner providing a desired airflow and acoustic profile as necessitated by the specific requirements of the particular application. Fukano et al. (US 7,753,167) teach such a configuration.
With respect to claim 5, The Examiner takes official notice that it is well-known in the art to provide the upper sections of a plurality of perforated tubes present an array in the form of a honeycomb chamber because it would improve the airflow performance of the system as necessitated by the specific requirements of the particular application, as disclosed by Everett (US 2,998,860).
With respect to claim 6, Rauen teaches further comprising an upper plate (Fig.1, Item 47) and a lower plate (Fig.1, Item 56), each plate being provided with a plurality of holes (Figs.1 and 2, Items 48) and at least one of the plates being attached to the cylindrical shell portion, wherein each tube extends from a respective hole of the upper plate to a respective hole of the lower plate (Fig.1).
With respect to claims 7 – 9, Aydemir et al. teach a cylindrical shell portion being defined by a circumferential wall extending from the open upper end to the closed lower end, wherein the circumferential wall is provided with perforations (Fig.2, Items 36’) for expelling air to the environment. The Examiner takes official notice that it is well-known in the art to provide a circumferential wall being provided with downwardly inclined perforations for expelling air downwardly to the environment because it would direct the exhaust air in a predetermined direction away from harm ways, and wherein the direction of extension of the downwardly inclined perforations, and thus the expelling direction, presents an angle in the range of 300 - 450 relative to the circumferential wall, as disclosed by Jatcko (US 3,923,120).
Conclusion
The attached hereto PTO Form 892 lists prior art made of record that the Examiner considered it pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDGARDO SAN MARTIN whose telephone number is (571)272-2074. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00 - 5:00 M - F.
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/Edgardo San Martin/
Edgardo San Martín
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2837
September 13, 2026
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