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 .
Response to Amendment
This action is responsive to the amendment dated 9/2/2026. The previous drawing objection has been withdrawn due to applicant’s amendment. Claims 1 and 5-8 remain pending. This action is Non-Final.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 8/31/2026 was filed after the mailing date of the Non-Final Rejection on 6/12/2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code 102 not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Dae Jung Valve Co. Ltd. (KR10-2018-0098717)(cited by the applicant in the IDS dated 8/31/2026, machine translation included herewith)(hereinafter “Daejung”).
Daejung discloses a valve comprising: a valve main body (102) that includes a valve chamber (within 102) communicably connecting an inlet passage (103) and an outlet passage (104); a seat member (120) that has a cylindrical shape (fig. 1), that includes an inlet-side communicating passage communicably connected to the inlet passage (132), an outlet-side communicating passage communicably connected to the outlet passage (130), and a valve seat (the upper portion that contacts the valve body 112, 122, see fig. 1) provided at an outlet-side end of the outlet-side communicating passage (fig. 1, at the upper end), and that is disposed inside the valve chamber (fig. 1); and a valve body (112, 122) that comes into abutment against and separates from the valve seat (para. 28, 33), wherein the inlet-side communicating passage opens to an outer peripheral surface of the seat member (fig. 1), and the inlet passage and the inlet-side communicating passage are communicably connected to each other via an annular space (at 131) formed between the outer peripheral surface of the seat member and an inner peripheral surface of the valve chamber.
Regarding claim 7, Daejung further discloses wherein a longitudinal cross-sectional area of the annular space is larger than a longitudinal cross-sectional area of the inlet-side communicating passage (see fig. 1, larger than the narrower portion of 103 that is directly adjacent to the valve chamber).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code 103 not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Daejung in view of Gabriel et al. (U.S. 2022/0381367).
Daejung discloses the claimed invention but does not appear to disclose the inlet-side communicating passage having a cross-sectional shape that is an oval shape.
Gabriel teaches it was known in the art to have a similar type of valve with radial passages that are oval shaped (para. 16, 56 and claim 7).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Daejung by having the communicating passage have an oval cross-sectional shape as taught by Gabriel in order to potentially increase the capacity for a maximum flow area (para. 16), potentially reduce noise if so desired (para. 16) and allow for specific flow characteristics desired by a user for a particular application (such as pressure, flow, etc.) and especially as it has been held that a change of shape of a component generally involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP2144.04.
Claim(s) 6 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Daejung in view of Wears et al. (U.S. 7,854,239).
Regarding claims 6 and 8, Daejung discloses the claimed invention and further discloses wherein the valve chamber includes a large-diameter portion that is communicably connected to the inlet passage (the larger portion in the area of 132, 131, 137) and a small-diameter portion (the narrower portion above the larger-diameter portion, closer to 122) but does not appear to disclose the small-diameter portion an inner peripheral surface of which is provided with a female thread, and the seat member and the valve main body are fixed to each other by screwing a male thread provided on an outer peripheral surface of the seat member into the female thread.
Wears teaches it was known in the art to have a similar seat for a valve that is threadingly connected to a valve body via male threads for the seat and female threads on the valve chamber housing (threads 52 and 56 for the housing and seat 42, see fig. 1, in a narrower diameter portion of the chamber).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Daejung by having the seat have male threads that are threaded into female threads of the body (and thus at the area of the small-diameter portion) as taught by Wears in order to removably but securely couple the seat assembly to the valve body.
Response to Arguments
Without conceding to the applicant’s arguments presented in the Non-Final Rejection dated 6/12/2026, a new ground(s) of rejection is presented above.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 5-8 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL R REID whose telephone number is (313)446-4859. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9am-5pm est.
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 supervisors can be reached by phone. Craig Schneider can be reached at 571-272-3607, or Ken Rinehart can be reached at 571-272-4881. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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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) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form.
/MICHAEL R REID/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
