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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 6/6/2025 was filed prior to the mailing date of the mailing of this action. The submission complies with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
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 open position of the shutter (claim 7) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “18” and “11” have been used to designate both end portion and check valve in Figures 1 and 4. As seen in the figures they each have a different design configuration to reverse the installation of the valve, therefore as a suggestion the characters in figure 4 should be changed to 11’ and 18’, with a corresponding change to the specification.
The drawings are objected to because the line quality of the drawing figures have poor line quality for reproducibility (see MPEP CFR 1.84 (l)).
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 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.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, regards as the invention.
Claim 6 recites the limitation " and to the one along which" in the last two lines. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation 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 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, 2, 5, and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Obermark (US 10107406).
Regarding claim 1, Obermark discloses a ball valve (10) comprising:
a body (18) which delimits an input section (at 18 connecting with 14), an outlet section (at 18 connecting with 16) and a central portion (at 18 and 50) interposed between said input section and said output section, and a first path (from 22 to 24 as shown in Fig. 3), which develops between said input section and said outlet section, for a passage of a fluid,
a shutter (20,26) housed in said central portion, wherein said shutter is spherical and has a first opening (the main largest opening in 20) which extends through said shutter, said shutter being selectively rotatable around a control axis (the inherent vertical centerline axis through 30) to allow or prevent the passage of the fluid along said first path, said body delimiting a second path (52-62-28-64), bypassing said first path, which develops between said inlet section, said shutter and said outlet section, wherein the passage through said shutter occurs through a second opening (in 62) and a third opening (64) delimited in said shutter and in mutual communication,
wherein said ball valve (10) further comprises a check valve (54) positioned along said second path, and wherein, when the passage of the fluid along said first path is prevented by said shutter, a pressure difference greater than a pre-established threshold value between said inlet section and said outlet section determines an opening of said check valve (col.6, lns. 4-25).
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Regarding claim 2, Obermark discloses said check valve comprises a mobile shutter (ball 56) and a contrasting elastic element (58) configured to keep said mobile shutter in a closed position until a pre-established threshold value of a pressure gradient between said inlet section and said outlet section is reached and exceeded (col.6, lns. 4-25).
Regarding claim 5, Obermark discloses said second path includes a first section (at 52) and a second section (the vertical open section within 50), in succession with each other, both positioned between said inlet section and said shutter, wherein said first section departs from said first path and wherein said second section develops along a direction parallel to said control axis and places said first section in communication with an inside of said shutter through said second opening.
Regarding claim 7, Obermark discloses wherein when said shutter is in an open position, said first opening puts said inlet section in communication with said outlet section through said first path, occluding said second path and when said shutter is in a closed position said first path is occluded and said second path is open, placing said check valve in fluid communication with said inlet section and with said outlet section (col.6, lns. 4-25).
Regarding claim 8, Obermark discloses a first annular seal (42) positioned in said central portion to define a seal along said first path between said shutter and said inlet section, when said shutter is in the closed position and a second annular seal (44) positioned in said central portion to define a seal along said first path between said shutter and said outlet section when said shutter is in the closed position (see Fig. 2,3).
Regarding claim 9, Obermark discloses said check valve (54) is positioned along said second section, along a direction parallel to said control axis (as shown in Fig. 2).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Obermark ‘406 in view of Bonomi (IT 202000012049, as supplied by applicant).
Regarding claim 10, Obermark discloses all of the features of the claimed invention, although is silent that a cap that can be removably connected to said body at said central portion to block access to said second section through which to access said check valve, wherein said check valve is connected in a removable and sealed manner to said central portion.
Bonomi teaches the use of a cap (12, see Fig.8,9) that can be removably connected to said body at said central portion to block access to said second section through which to access said check valve (17,18,13), wherein said check valve is connected in a removable and sealed (at 15) manner to said central portion (at 10).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ a cap as taught by Bonomi into the device of Bonomi to have a cap that can be removably connected to said body at said central portion to block access to said second section through which to access said check valve, wherein said check valve is connected in a removable and sealed manner to said central portion, in order to permit easy access to the check valve for maintenance purposes.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 4 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: None of the prior art discloses or renders as obvious, “said check valve further comprises a hollow support in which said mobile shutter is housed, and wherein said hollow support has an end portion which projects into said central portion of said body and at least partially engages said shutter through said second opening” in combination with the rest of the limitations in claim 3.
Claim 6 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Craig Price, whose telephone number is (571)272-2712 or via facsimile (571)273-2712. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (8:00AM-4:30PM EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Craig Schneider, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-3607, Kenneth 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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/CRAIG J PRICE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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