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 Objections
Applicant is advised that should claim 6 be found allowable, claims 7, 8, 9, & 10 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof.
Applicant is advised that should claim 15 be found allowable, claim 18 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof.
When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
Additionally, applicant is warned that if claim 6 is placed in independent form claims 7, 8, 9, & 10 will be rejected under §112(d) as failing to further limit.
Additionally, applicant is warned that if claim 15 is placed in independent form claim 18 will be rejected under §112(d) as failing to further limit.
Claims 6-14 and 16-17 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 6 currently states in part:
“the pump cover portion and the main housing are integrally formed or sealingly connected to each other, and the stator assembly of the pump assembly is located in the first driving housing; and”.
Should be changed to state:
--the pump cover portion and the main housing are integrally formed or sealingly connected to each other, and [[the]] a stator assembly of the pump assembly is located in the first driving housing; and --.
Claim 7 currently states in part:
“the pump cover portion and the main housing are integrally formed or sealingly connected to each other, and the stator assembly of the pump assembly is located in the first driving housing; and”.
Should be changed to state:
--the pump cover portion and the main housing are integrally formed or sealingly connected to each other, and [[the]] a stator assembly of the pump assembly is located in the first driving housing; and --.
Claim 8 currently states in part:
“the pump cover portion and the main housing are integrally formed or sealingly connected to each other, and the stator assembly of the pump assembly is located in the first driving housing; and”.
Should be changed to state:
--the pump cover portion and the main housing are integrally formed or sealingly connected to each other, and [[the]] a stator assembly of the pump assembly is located in the first driving housing; and --.
Claim 9 currently states in part:
“the pump cover portion and the main housing are integrally formed or sealingly connected to each other, and the stator assembly of the pump assembly is located in the first driving housing; and”.
Should be changed to state:
--the pump cover portion and the main housing are integrally formed or sealingly connected to each other, and [[the]] a stator assembly of the pump assembly is located in the first driving housing; and --.
Claim 10 currently states in part:
“the pump cover portion and the main housing are integrally formed or sealingly connected to each other, and the stator assembly of the pump assembly is located in the first driving housing; and”.
Should be changed to state:
--the pump cover portion and the main housing are integrally formed or sealingly connected to each other, and [[the]] a stator assembly of the pump assembly is located in the first driving housing; and --.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Pawellek US 2018/0238348.
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Annotated diagram of bus rail 35 & channel 15 in main housing 11 (Attached Figure B)
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Annotated Figure 8 of Pawellek US 2018/0238348 (Attached Figure C)
Regarding Claim 1: Pawellek US 2018/0238348 does disclose the limitations: An integrated assembly (the integrated assembly is defined by the sum of its parts), comprising:
a main housing (11, Fig 3, ¶0058);
a fluid control assembly (the fluid control assembly is defined by the sum of its parts and includes elements 2,27,20); and
a control device (the control device is defined by the sum of its parts and includes element 3,¶0052, ¶0065-¶0066), wherein
the main housing 11 comprises an electrical signal connection portion (electrical signal connection portion = top axial half of channel 15 in Fig 8, ¶0055, see Annotated Figure 8 of Pawellek US 2018/0238348 (Attached Figure C) above), the electrical signal connection portion comprises a first housing portion (see Annotated diagram of bus rail 35 and channel 15 in the main housing 11 (Attached Figure B) above, the identified first housing portion extends along the entire axial length of the material for element 35 which surrounds the conductors of rail 35) and a connection pin (connection pin = upper axial half of the three conductors of rail 35 (e.g. the part of the conductors which enter chamber 30 in Fig 8 and extend halfway along element 35 in Fig 8)), and at least a part of the connection pin is located in the first housing portion (given what is shown in Attached Figure B, Fig 3 and Fig 8 at least part of the articulated connection pin would be located in the identified first housing portion – as the connection pin would be located radially inside the identified first housing portion in Attached Figure B and Attached Figure C);
the fluid control assembly (2,27,20) is sealingly connected to the main housing (element 27 of the fluid control assembly is sealingly connected to element 11 via leakage seal 41. ¶0054, Fig 3), the fluid control assembly comprises an electrical signal transmission portion (electrical signal transmission portion = bottom axial half of channel 15 in Fig 8 and the part of element 27 in Fig 8 which receives element 35 as seen in Attached Figure C) and a stator assembly (25, ¶0054), the electrical signal transmission portion comprises a second housing portion (see Attached Figure B, the identified second housing portion extends along the entire axial length of the material for element 35) and an electrical transmission pin (electrical transmission pin = bottom axial half of the three conductors of rail 35 (e.g. the part of the conductors which connect to the stator 25 in Fig 3 and extend to the axial middle of element 35 in Fig 8, as shown in Attached Figure C)), at least a part of the electrical transmission pin is located in the second housing portion (given what is shown in Attached Figure B, Fig 3, and Fig 8 at least part of the electrical transmission pin would be located in the identified second housing portion – as the electrical transmission pin would be located radially inside the identified second housing portion in Attached Figure B & Attached Figure C), and the electrical transmission pin is electrically connected to a coil of the stator assembly (coil = coil of stator 25 in Fig 3 & Fig 8; since ¶0055 states that bus rail supplies the coils of stator 25 with electricity, and the electrical transmission pin is defined as the bottom axial half of bus rail 35 – it follows that the electrical transmission pin would inherently be electrically connected to a coil of the stator as claimed);
the control device 3 comprises a control chamber (control chamber = space formed by elements 30,31 in Fig 1, ¶0066) and a circuit board (36, ¶0065) located in the control chamber (as understood from Fig 1 & 3); and
a part of the first housing portion and a part of the second housing portion are arranged one inside the other in a sealing manner (the second housing portion is located inside the first housing portion as seen in Attached Figure B; additionally it is noted that as understood from ¶0032, Fig 1 & Fig 2 of the instant application part of the second housing portion 21 is located inside part of the first housing portion 111; thus since the prior art has the second housing portion located inside the first housing portion as seen in Attached Figure B – and the first and second housing portions are integrally formed (e.g. connected in a sealing manner) – it is understood that the prior art addresses the language of the claim within the same confines as the instant application), a first end portion of the connection pin (first end portion of the connection pin = bottom end of the connection pin (e.g. bottom end of the upper half of the conduits 35 in Fig 8)) is electrically connected to the electrical transmission pin (as seen in Attached Figure C), and a second end portion of the connection pin (Attached Figure C) is electrically connected to the circuit board (i.e. electrically connected to circuit board 36 via lead frame 34, and contact pins 37, ¶0065-¶0067).
Regarding Claim 2: Pawellek US 2018/0238348 does disclose the limitations: wherein
the first housing portion is fixedly connected to the connection pin (as understood from Attached Figure B & Attached Figure C & the disclosure of Pawellek US 2018/0238348 the identified first housing portion is fixedly connected to the connection pin via the structure of the second housing portion, since the first and second housing portion encapsulate the identified connection pin);
the second housing portion is fixedly connected to the electrical transmission pin (as understood From Attached Figure B & Attached Figure C & the disclosure of Pawellek US 2018/0238348 the identified second housing portion is fixedly connected to the electrical transmission pin, since the second housing portion and the first housing portion encapsulate the identified electrical transmission pin); and
the integrated assembly further comprises a first seal (first seal = material defined by the boundary identified in Attached Figure B; since the identified first housing portion, first seal, and second housing portion encapsulate the conductors of rail 35, the articulated first seal would provide a sealing function as it is part of the encapsulation of the conductors) that is arranged between the first housing portion and the second housing portion (as seen in Attached Figure B the boundary/first seal is arranged between the first and second housing portions as claimed).
Regarding Claim 3: Pawellek US 2018/0238348 does disclose the limitations: wherein the electrical signal connection portion is located outside a fluid channel (first channel = central inflow opening 22 of impeller 20, ¶0057 – since the first channel 22 is located inside chamber 10 and the electrical signal connection portion is not (as understood from Figs 3-4 and Attached Figure C) the art addresses the language of the claim), and the integrated assembly further comprises a second seal (42, ¶0056) that is located between the fluid control assembly and the main housing (i.e. located between shaft 21 of the fluid control assembly and main housing 11 as seen in Fig 1) and is spaced apart from the first seal (as understood from Fig 1 and Attached Figure B the second seal is spaced apart from the first seal in the radial direction).
Allowable Subject Matter
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Claims 4-18 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.
Regarding Claim 4: The prior art of record either alone or in combination does not teach or suggest the device recited in claim 4 including “wherein
at least a part of the control device is spaced apart from the main housing in a height direction of the integrated assembly;
the second end portion of the connection pin passes through the main housing to be located in the control chamber, the second end portion of the connection pin is electrically connected to the circuit board through physical contact, and the first end portion of the connection pin is electrically connected to the electrical transmission pin through physical contact; and
one of the connection pin and the electrical transmission pin comprises a connection segment, the other of the connection pin and the electrical transmission pin comprises an engagement segment, and the connection segment is inserted in the engagement segment to be engaged with the engagement segment.” In combination with all the limitations of independent claim 1.
It is the Examiner’s opinion that modification of the available prior art in the claimed manner is neither contemplated nor foreseeable without the benefit of the disclosure of the instant invention. Accordingly, claims 5 & 9-10 are allowable based on their dependency on allowable claim 4.
Regarding Claim 6: The prior art of record either alone or in combination does not teach or suggest the device recited in claim 6 including “wherein
the fluid control assembly comprises at least one pump assembly, the main housing has a mounting chamber, and at least a part of the pump assembly is located in the mounting chamber;
the pump assembly comprises a first driving housing, the integrated assembly comprises a pump cover portion, the pump cover portion is sealingly connected to the first driving housing, the pump cover portion and the main housing are integrally formed or sealingly connected to each other, and a stator assembly of the pump assembly is located in the first driving housing; and
the electrical signal transmission portion comprises a first transmission portion, and the second housing portion of the first transmission portion and at least a part of the first driving housing are integrally formed.” In combination with all the limitations of independent claim 1.
It is the Examiner’s opinion that modification of the available prior art in the claimed manner is neither contemplated nor foreseeable without the benefit of the disclosure of the instant invention. Accordingly, claims 11, and 13-14 are allowable based on their dependency on allowable claim 6.
Regarding Claim 7: The prior art of record either alone or in combination does not teach or suggest the device recited in claim 7 including “wherein
the fluid control assembly comprises at least one pump assembly, the main housing has a mounting chamber, and at least a part of the pump assembly is located in the mounting chamber;
the pump assembly comprises a first driving housing, the integrated assembly comprises a pump cover portion, the pump cover portion is sealingly connected to the first driving housing, the pump cover portion and the main housing are integrally formed or sealingly connected to each other, and a stator assembly of the pump assembly is located in the first driving housing; and
the electrical signal transmission portion comprises a first transmission portion, and the second housing portion of the first transmission portion and at least a part of the first driving housing are integrally formed.” In combination with all the limitations of claims 1 & 2.
It is the Examiner’s opinion that modification of the available prior art in the claimed manner is neither contemplated nor foreseeable without the benefit of the disclosure of the instant invention. Accordingly, claims 12, and 16-17 are allowable based on their dependency on allowable claim 7.
Regarding Claim 8: The prior art of record either alone or in combination does not teach or suggest the device recited in claim 8 including “wherein
the fluid control assembly comprises at least one pump assembly, the main housing has a mounting chamber, and at least a part of the pump assembly is located in the mounting chamber;
the pump assembly comprises a first driving housing, the integrated assembly comprises a pump cover portion, the pump cover portion is sealingly connected to the first driving housing, the pump cover portion and the main housing are integrally formed or sealingly connected to each other, and a stator assembly of the pump assembly is located in the first driving housing; and
the electrical signal transmission portion comprises a first transmission portion, and the second housing portion of the first transmission portion and at least a part of the first driving housing are integrally formed.” In combination with all the limitations of claims 1-3.
It is the Examiner’s opinion that modification of the available prior art in the claimed manner is neither contemplated nor foreseeable without the benefit of the disclosure of the instant invention.
Regarding Claim 15: The prior art of record either alone or in combination does not teach or suggest the device recited in claim 15 including “wherein
the main housing further comprises a flow channel portion and a fluid channel, the flow channel portion forms at least a part of a wall of the fluid channel, and the flow channel portion and the first housing portion are integrally formed;
the integrated assembly further has a communication port, the communication port is at least one of an inlet and an outlet of the fluid control assembly, and the communication port is in communication with the fluid channel; the main housing comprises a housing assembly and a cover assembly, and one side of the cover assembly in a thickness direction of the cover assembly is fixedly and sealingly connected to the housing assembly by welding; and
the control device further comprises a third driving housing that is located on another side of the cover assembly away from the main housing, the third driving housing is fixedly and sealingly connected to the other side of the cover assembly in the thickness direction of the cover assembly by welding, and the third driving housing forms a part of a wall of the control chamber.” In combination with all the limitations of claim 1.
It is the Examiner’s opinion that modification of the available prior art in the claimed manner is neither contemplated nor foreseeable without the benefit of the disclosure of the instant invention.
Regarding Claim 18: The prior art of record either alone or in combination does not teach or suggest the device recited in claim 18 including “wherein the main housing further comprises a flow channel portion and a fluid channel, the flow channel portion forms at least a part of a wall of the fluid channel, and the flow channel portion and the first housing portion are integrally formed; the integrated assembly further has a communication port, the communication port is at least one of an inlet and an outlet of the fluid control assembly, and the communication port is in communication with the fluid channel; the main housing comprises a housing assembly and a cover assembly, and one side of the cover assembly in a thickness direction of the cover assembly is fixedly and sealingly connected to the 11 housing assembly by welding; and the control device further comprises a third driving housing that is located on another side of the cover assembly away from the main housing, the third driving housing is fixedly and sealingly connected to the other side of the cover assembly in the thickness direction of the cover assembly by welding, and the third driving housing forms a part of a wall of the control chamber.” In combination with all the limitations of claims 1-2.
It is the Examiner’s opinion that modification of the available prior art in the claimed manner is neither contemplated nor foreseeable without the benefit of the disclosure of the instant invention.
Examiner's Note: The Examiner respectfully requests of the Applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the entirety of the references as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention.
It is noted, REFERENCES ARE RELEVANT AS PRIOR ART FOR ALL THEY CONTAIN. “The use of patents as references is not limited to what the patentees describe as their own inventions or to the problems with which they are concerned. They are part of the literature of the art, relevant for all they contain.” In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33, 216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006, 1009, 158 USPQ 275, 277 (CCPA 1968)). A reference may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill the art, including nonpreferred embodiments (see MPEP § 2123).
Additionally the origin of the drawing is immaterial. For instance, drawings in a design patent can anticipate or make obvious the claimed invention, as can drawings in utility patents. When the reference is a utility patent, it does not matter that the feature shown is unintended or unexplained in the specification. The drawings must be evaluated for what they reasonably disclose and suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art. In re Aslanian, 590 F.2d 911, 200 USPQ 500 (CCPA 1979). (See MPEP § 2125).
The Examiner has cited particular locations in the reference(s) as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the Applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claims, typically other passages and figures will apply as well.
Furthermore: with respect to the prior art and the determination of obviousness, it has been held that Prior art is not limited just to the references being applied, but includes the understanding of one of ordinary skill in the art. The "mere existence of differences (i.e. a gap) between the prior art and an invention DOES NOT ESTABLISH the inventions nonobviousness." Dann v. Johnston, 425 U.S. 219, 230, 189 USPQ 257, 261 (1976). Rather, in determining obviousness the proper analysis is whether the claimed invention would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art after consideration of all the facts. And factors other than the disclosures of the cited prior art may provide a basis for concluding that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to bridge the gap. (See MPEP § 2141).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Rosinski US 2014/0271123 – teaches a pump structure for a heat transfer system of a motor vehicle.
Nakanishi USPN 7474024 – teaches a pump and control unit for an impeller pump.
KR 102192901 – teaches a vehicle water control module apparatus for controlling the temperature of an engine for the vehicle.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH S HERRMANN whose telephone number is (571)270-3291. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM 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 supervisor, ESSAMA OMGBA can be reached at 469-295-9278. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHARLES G FREAY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
/JOSEPH S. HERRMANN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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