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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 08/20/2025 is acknowledged by the Examiner.
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.
(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.
Claims 1-4 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Roussel et al. (US 20200200251).
1. (Currently amended) An electromechanical actuating device (50; 150) for a fluid distribution valve ([0045]), comprising: a support (12), an electric motor (16), which is supported by the support and which is provided with a drive output (20), which is rotatable around a motor axis (A1) relative to the support and which is provided with a leading gearing (22), and a mechanical transmission system (22, 42, 46), which is supported by the support and which is capable of connecting the drive output to a shutter (such as a flap [0004]) of a fluid distribution valve [0045] so that a rotation of the drive output around the motor axis drives the shutter in movement to regulate a fluid through the fluid distribution valve, wherein the transmission system includes a gear wheel (24) which is supported by the support in a mobile manner in rotation around a wheel axis (A2) on which the gear wheel is centered, the gear wheel being provided with both: two frontal faces (100, 102; see labeled Fig. A below), which extend transversely to the wheel axis, a lateral face (104), which extends in the direction of the wheel axis and which connects the two frontal faces to each other a first driven gearing (44 or 44’), which is arranged on the lateral face and which, during the rotation of the gear wheel around the wheel axis, is adapted to mesh with the leading gearing of the drive output when the wheel axis and the motor axis are substantially parallel to each other (note, the limitation following “adapted to” only requires the ability to so perform; 44 can engage with 48 which is a leading gear from an alternate actuator having an axis A3 parallel with wheel axis A2; therefore it would be capable of meshing with an alternate motor leading gear similarly arranged), a second driven gearing (28), which is arranged on a first (100) of the two frontal faces and which, during the rotation of the gear wheel around the wheel axis, is adapted to mesh with the leading gearing (22) of the drive output (20) when the wheel axis (A2) and the motor axis (A1) are substantially perpendicular to each other, and a driving hub (106, integral with the first set of teeth), which is centered on the wheel axis (A2), extending from the first frontal face, and which meshes with the rest of the transmission system when the leading gearing (22) of the drive output meshes indifferently with one of the first and second driven gearings.
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2. (Currently amended) The electromechanical actuating device according to claim 1, wherein the first driven gearing (44) is a straight gearing (as seen in figs. 5-7).
3. (Currently amended) The electromechanical actuating device according to claim 1, wherein the first driven gearing (44’) is a helical gearing (as seen in fig. 8).
4. (Currently amended) The electromechanical actuating device according to claim 1, wherein the second driven gearing (28) is a dog faced gearing (see fig. 7).
8. (Currently amended) The electromechanical actuating device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission system is capable of connecting the drive output to the shutter ([0004], [0045]) so that a rotation of the drive output around the motor axis drives at least a part (inherent) of the shutter in rotation around a shutter axis which is substantially parallel to the wheel axis (not shown, but would align with 30).
9. A fluid distribution valve ([0045]), comprising: - an electromechanical actuating device (10) according to claim 1.
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 of this title, 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 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Roussel et al. (US 20200200251) in view of Kino et al. (CN 2690611).
Roussel et al. teaches a fluid distribution valve comprising the elecetromechanical actuating device according to claim 1, however does not disclose specific structure of the valve connected to the actuating device. Therefore, Roussel et al. is silent regarding a housing, which is fixedly attached to the support and which defines an internal volume through which a fluid passes through the housing, this internal volume being connected to the outside of the housing by an inlet of the housing, through which the fluid enters the internal volume, and by outlets of the housing, through which the fluid exits the internal volume, and a shutter, which is arranged in the internal volume in a movable manner relative to the housing to control the opening/closing of the outlets of the housing, the shutter being driven in movement by the electromechanical actuating device.
Kino et al. teach a related fluid distribution valve (1) connected to an electromechanical actuating device (24, 35), and further including a housing (20), which is fixedly attached to the support (24) and which defines an internal volume (in which 2 is situated in fig. 1) through which a fluid passes through the housing (top arrow in fig. 1), this internal volume being connected to the outside of the housing by an inlet (1a) of the housing, through which the fluid enters the internal volume, and by outlets of the housing (connect to pipe 26 which is the inlet into the connected components downstream), through which the fluid exits the internal volume, and a shutter (2), which is arranged in the internal volume in a movable manner relative to the housing to control the opening/closing of the outlets of the housing, the shutter being driven in movement by the electromechanical actuating device, as conventional structure of an intake throttle valve that would connect to an actuator of Roussel to control flow there past, in a manner yielding predictable results.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Roussel et al., such that the fluid distribution valve included regarding a housing, which is fixedly attached to the support and which defines an internal volume through which a fluid passes through the housing, this internal volume being connected to the outside of the housing by an inlet of the housing, through which the fluid enters the internal volume, and by outlets of the housing, through which the fluid exits the internal volume, and a shutter, which is arranged in the internal volume in a movable manner relative to the housing to control the opening/closing of the outlets of the housing, the shutter being driven in movement by the electromechanical actuating device, as taught by Kino et al., for the purpose of using the actuator to control flow through a throttle valve of conventional structure, in a manner yielding predictable results.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20140260726 and US 10256696 each disclose related electromechanical actuating devices for controlling valves.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARINA TIETJEN, whose telephone number is 571-270-5422. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (10:30AM-7:00PM CST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisors can be reached by phone. Tom Barrett can be reached at 571-272-4746, Ken Rinehart can be reached at 571-272-4881, and Craig Schneider can be reached at 571-272-3607. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MARINA A TIETJEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
