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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (CN 215928493 U, hereafter “Wang”).
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses a multi-way valve (Figs. 1-9), comprising: a valve seat (1), the valve seat being provided with a valve chamber (the chamber formed within 1) and a plurality of valve ports (the valve ports defined by 121); a first valve core (2), arranged in the valve chamber, a plurality of sub-chambers (21, 22, 23, 211, 212) being distributed in the first valve core, wherein when the first valve core rotates, different sub-chambers can be switched to be in communication with at least one corresponding valve port of the plurality of valve ports (page 7), respectively; and a second valve core (3), arranged in the valve chamber, the second valve core being provided with a flow diversion chamber (31), the flow diversion chamber being in communication with at least one of the plurality of sub-chambers, and wherein the flow diversion chamber can be in communication with two valve ports of the plurality of valve ports, and when the second valve core rotates, a ratio of fluid conveyed from the flow diversion chamber to the two valve ports in communication with the flow diversion chamber can be adjusted (page 7).
Regarding claim 2, Wang further discloses the multi-way valve according to claim 1, wherein the two valve ports in communication with the flow diversion chamber and an opening of the flow diversion chamber are all arranged along a circumferential direction of the second valve core, and when the second valve core rotates, the ratio of fluid is adjusted by adjusting an overlapping area between the opening of the flow diversion chamber and the two valve ports. (page 7; Figs. 1-9)
Regarding claim 3, Wang further discloses the multi-way valve according to claim 1, wherein the first valve core is sequentially provided with multiple layers of circulation chambers along an axial direction thereof (Figs. 1-9), and each layer of the circulation chambers is divided into the plurality of sub-chambers along a circumferential direction of the first valve core (Figs. 1-9); wherein at least one sub-chamber of a circulation chamber adjacent to the flow diversion chamber is in communication with the flow diversion chamber, or at least one sub-chamber of a circulation chamber spaced apart from the flow diversion chamber is in communication with the flow diversion chamber. (page 7; Figs. 1-9)
Regarding claim 4, Wang further discloses the multi-way valve according to claim 1, wherein the first valve core and the second valve core are coaxially arranged (Fig. 2), the first valve core has an inner passage (as shown best in Fig. 6, see the passage in 2 that opens towards 3 such that the inner passage is in fluid communication with 3) extending in an axial direction thereof, and an end of the inner passage is in communication with an inlet of the flow diversion chamber, and at least one of the plurality of sub-chambers is in communication with the inner passage; and the multi-way valve further comprises a first sealing ring (see Fig. 3, there is a seal positioned between 2 and 3), wherein the first sealing ring is located between the first valve core and the second valve core, and the first sealing ring is arranged around the inner passage and the inlet of the flow diversion chamber. (Figs. 1-9)
Regarding claim 6, Wang further discloses the multi-way valve according to claim 1, wherein the multi-way valve further comprises a rotating shaft (61) and a shaft sleeve (824b and outer portion of 61), wherein a part of the rotating shaft is arranged in the first valve core, the rotating shaft passes through the second valve core, a part of the shaft sleeve is arranged in the second valve core, and the shaft sleeve is sleeved on the rotating shaft, the rotating shaft is configured to drive the first valve core to rotate, and the shaft sleeve is configured to drive the second valve core to rotate (Figs. 2 and 3); and the multi-way valve further comprises a second sealing ring (the sealing ring positioned directly above 2 and abuts against 2 as shown in Fig. 3), wherein the second sealing ring is sleeved on the rotating shaft, a first side of the second sealing ring abuts against the first valve core, and a second side of the second sealing ring abuts against the shaft sleeve or the second valve core. (Fig. 3)
Regarding claim 8, Wang further discloses the multi-way valve according to claim 1, wherein the second valve core comprises an outer cylinder (32), an inner cylinder (62) and a connecting plate (one of the 3 plates that extends radially to connect 32 and 62), wherein the inner cylinder is located in the outer cylinder and is coaxially arranged with the outer cylinder, and the connecting plate is connected to both the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder (Fig. 14); and the flow diversion chamber comprises input chambers (331) and an output chamber (321) in communication with each other, wherein a region between an outer surface of the inner cylinder, an inner surface of the outer cylinder and the connecting plate form the input chambers, the input chambers are in communication with at least one of the plurality of sub-chambers, and the output chamber is located in a side wall of the outer cylinder, an opening of the output chamber is located on an outer surface of the outer cylinder, and the output chamber can be in communication with two of the plurality of valve ports. (Figs. 1-9 and 14)
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.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang.
Regarding claim 9, Wang further discloses the multi-way valve according to claim 8, but fails to disclose wherein the connecting plate comprises a first plate body and a second plate body which are arranged in parallel, wherein the first plate body and the second plate body are connected to two sides of the inner cylinder respectively, and the first plate body and the second plate body are both connected to the inner surface of the outer cylinder; and there are two input chambers, and the two input chambers are oppositely arranged with respect to a plane where the first plate body and the second plate body are located.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to modify the single connecting plate of Wang to include two parallel connecting plates since a mere duplication of essential working part of device involves only routine skill in the art. The motivation for doing so would be to provide two separate plates that can be fixed to each other to provide a stronger and more secure construction of the second valve core.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 7, and 10-19 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 PAUL J GRAY whose telephone number is (571)270-0544. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday - Friday.
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/PAUL J GRAY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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