DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the initial filing dated 9/10/2025. Claims 1-3 are pending.
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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 9/10/2025 is acknowledged and has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 9/10/2025. These drawings are acceptable.
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 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Stover (US 3,025,875).
Regarding claim 1, the Stover reference discloses an inlet housing (1) including a port portion for allowing a working fluid to be supplied thereto,
the port portion (see “port portion” in the annotated figure 4 below) being formed in plurality (see figure 4 for the “port portion” including a first port portion connected with inlet 3 and a second port portion connected with inlet 4),
the inlet housing comprising a merging portion (see “merging portion” in the annotated figure 4 below) therein, the merging portion being configured to allow the working fluid from the plurality of port portions to merge (see figure 4).
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In regards to claim 2, the Stover reference discloses wherein a joint (it is considered that the combination of 15 and 20 including the passages 17, and 18 and 22 constitute a “joint”) in which an inlet port (22; see “Passage of Inlet Port” in the annotated figure 4 above) to which the working fluid is supplied is formed is attachable to and detachable from each of the plurality of port portions (it is considered that the elements 15 and 20 are able to be removed from the “first port portion” and the “second port portion” based on the threading at 19),
the inlet housing further comprises a plurality of internal passages (see “first internal passage” and “second internal passage” in the annotated figure 4 above) configured to allow inlet ports attached to the plurality of port portions to communicate with the merging portion (see “merging portion” in the annotated figure 4 above), and
a passage cross-sectional area of a minimum passage portion having a narrowest passage in the internal passages corresponding to a plurality of the inlet ports is larger than a passage cross-sectional area of the inlet port (see figure 4 for the cross-sectional area of either the “first internal passage” or the “second internal passage” are larger than the cross-sectional area of the inlet port at the “passage of inlet port” (22) as depicted in the annotated figure 4).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stover (US 3,025,875).
In regards to claim 3, the Stover reference discloses a plurality of internal passages (see “first internal passage” and “second internal passage” in the annotated figure 4 above) configured to allow the plurality of port portions to communicate with the merging portion.
The Stover reference does not expressly disclose wherein the merging portion has a passage cross-sectional area larger than a total passage cross-sectional area of minimum passage portions having a narrowest passage in the plurality of internal passages.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to cause the device of Stover to have a passage cross-section area of the merging portion to be larger than a total passage cross-sectional area of the minimum passage portions having a narrowest passage in the plurality of internal passages since it has been held that “where the only different between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimension of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device” Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 SPQ 232 (1984). In the instant case, providing the merging section of the Stover reference with a larger cross-sectional area than a total passage cross-sectional area of minimum passage portions having a narrowest passage in the plurality of internal passages would permit a desired flow through the inlet housing that is needed at the outlet and connected devices.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Terao et al. ( US 9,810,243), Pitsch et al. (US 6,202,686), Ko (US 5,778,921), Hinderer et al. (US 3,166,097), Fukuda et al. (US 2024/0376988), Weickel et al. (US 2018/0306212) and Wittbold et al. (US 2013/0308411) disclose various housings that include a plurality of port portions that are connected to a merging portion.
Van Wie (US 5,339,863) discloses an inlet housing having a plurality of port portions wherein the plurality of port portions include a joint having an inlet port (see figure 2).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Andrew J. Rost whose telephone number is (571) 272-2711. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Craig Schneider can be reached at 571-272-3607 or 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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/ANDREW J ROST/Examiner, Art Unit 3753
/MICHAEL R REID/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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