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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the self-closing hinge stated in claim 20 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. In this case, the disclosure does not provide sufficient information to support “a self-closing hinge” and how the ”self-closing hinge” is related/linked to the “variable-speed buffer oil cylinder” structurally and functionally. The claimed invention cannot be fully understood.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 7-9 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claim 7, line 3, “a second sealing ring” is misleading, without defining “a first sealing ring” in any intervening claim. Note similar issue in claim 18, line 3.
In claim 20, it is not clear exactly what is defined as a “self-closing hinge” and how this hinge is related/linked to a door leaf and a variable-speed buffer oil cylinder to define “A self-closing hinge” stated in the preamble of the hinge. Apparently, a door leaf cannot be considered as part of the self-closing hinge. Further, from line 3 of the claim, it is not clear whether the variable-speed buffer oil cylinder is part of the hinge or part of the door. Thus, the scope of the claim is vague and confusing.
Note that other claims, depending from the rejected claims, are also considered vague and indefinite.
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 1-4, 6-10, 12-15 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN ‘511 (CN 210888511 U) in view of Corradini et al. ‘593 (US 6,467,593 B1).
Regard claim 1, CN ‘511 (figs. 5-8) discloses a buffer oil cylinder as claimed, including a housing (1007) having an inner cavity and provided with an opening at a top of the housing (fig. 7), a piston comprising a plunger (1002) movably fitted with the inner cavity and a piston rod (1001) connected to the plunger and extending out of the opening, wherein the plunger divides the inner cavity into an upper oil chamber (1006) and a lower oil chamber (1005), and a check valve (see seal ring check valve of figs. 7-8). CN does not show a variable-diameter oil needle vertically extending from a bottom surface of the cavity cooperating with a first oil channel in communication with the upper and lower chambers. Corradini et al. teaches a buffer oil cylinder (fig. 2) including a variable-diameter oil needle (5) vertically disposed on a bottom surface of the inner cavity, and a first oil channel (10, 10A) provided in the piston. The oil needle cooperates with the first oil channel such that the progressive increase or decrease of the braking effect (i.e., damping) can be obtained (col. 4, lines 39-col. 5, line 28; col. 6, lines 38-51). 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 buffer oil cylinder of CN with a variable-diameter oil needle and a first channel taught by Corradini et al. so that the desired progressive increase or decrease of the buffering effect can be obtained.
As to claim 2, the first oil channel of Corradini et al. comprises a blind hole oil channel extending from the bottom surface of the plunger (3, figs. 1 and 2) into an interior of the piston rod and a side hole channel (10A) provided on a side of the piston rod and in communication with the blind hole oil channel, and wherein the variable-diameter oil channel cooperates with the blind hole oil channel.
As to claim 3, the plunger of Corradini et al. is provided with a convex ring step (see inward protrusion “10” at the opening of blind hole in figs. 1 and 2) that narrows a port of the blind hole oil channel, and the convex ring step is provided with a through hole that allows the variable-diameter oil needle to enter the blind hole oil channel.
As the claim 4, the check valve of CN is oriented to allow flow from the upper oil chamber to the lower oil chamber (fig. 8). A diameter of the variable-diameter oil needle increase from top to bottom (Corradini et al, figs. 1-2, col. 4, lines 39-45).
As to claim 6, the opening of CN is provided with a first sealing ring (1004) and wherein the first sealing ring is in sliding fit with the piston rod (figs. 7-8).
As to claim 7, CN shows a sealing ring groove (figs. 7-8) provided on a periphery of the plunger, and a second sealing ring is provided on the sealing ring groove.
As to claim 8, CN shows an oil passing hole in communication with a bottom surface and a side surface of the sealing ring groove (see right-side of fig. 8, below the 0-ring), an oil return channel in communication with the side surface of the sealing ring groove (see right-side of figure 8, above the O-ring). The sealing ring groove, the second sealing ring, the oil passing hole, and the oil return channel form the check valve (figs. 7-8).
As to claim 9, CN does not show the check valve comprising a valve cavity disposed in the plunger and a valve core disposed in the valve cavity (i.e., a ball check valve). However, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to modify check valve of CN with a ball check to control the flow, since applicant has not disclosed that using a ball check valve solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the ring check valve of CN would perform equally well for control the oil flow. In re Kuhle, 188 USPQ 7.
As to claim 10, the lower oil chamber of CN is provided with a return spring (1003) that is sleeved over the variable-diameter oil needle in the CN-Corradini et al. combination.
As to claims 12-13, see explanation of claims 1-2 above.
As to claim 14, see explanation of claim 3 above.
As to claim 15, see explanation of claim 4 above.
As to claim 17, see explanation of claim 6 above.
As to claim 18, see explanation of claim 7 above.
As to claim 19, see explanation of claim 8 above.
As to claim 20, see explanation of claims 1 above. Note that “a door leaf” is an inherent element in CN, and the variable-speed buffer oil cylinder is coupled to the door leaf through the hinge (e.g., figs. 1 and 3).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 5, 11 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN ‘511 and Corradini et al. ‘593 as applied to claims 1-2, 6-10, 12-15 and 17-20 above, and further in view of Katz ‘346 (4,624,346).
Regarding claims 5 and 16, the combination of CN and Corradini et al. stated above does not show the variable-diameter oil needle having an oil channel ring groove provided on the periphery of the lower section thereof. Kate teaches an oil channel ring groove (42, in an alternative embodiment of fig. 4), on the periphery of the lower section of the oil needle to obtain more of less braking in the direction of traction or compression (col. 3, line 50-col. 4, line 2). 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 oil needle of Corradini et al. with an oil channel ring groove taught by Kate as an alternative, to obtain more or less braking in the direction of traction or compression.
As to claim 11, the lower oil chamber of CN is provided with a return spring (1003) that is sleeved over the variable-diameter oil needle in the CN-Corradini et al. combination.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892.
Related prior art:
JP S6028826 Y2 (JP) shows an oil pressure buffer including a piston rod having an oil channel, a variable-diameter oil needle extending from one end of the oil cylinder and cooperating with the oil channel to provide variable damping effects to the bumpers of vehicles.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHUCK MAH whose telephone number is (571)272-7059. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00-3:00.
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/CHUCK Y MAH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3677 CM
June 13, 2026
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