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 05/09/2025 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 1-8, 14-18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hilberer (DE 102005057003).
Hilberer discloses:
1. A pneumatic system (fig. 2) for a vehicle (commercial vehicle; “nutzfahrzeug” in Background paragraphs), comprising: an air tank (36), a first valve (56), a second valve (54), and an air compressor (12) configured to provide air from an output of the air compressor for pressurizing the air tank, wherein a flow passage (26) extending from the output of the air compressor is bifurcated such that a first branch of the flow passage extends to the first valve (56) and a second branch of the flow passage extends to the second valve (54) (this arrangement is seen in fig. 2), wherein the first valve (56) is configured to control air flow from the output of the air compressor to the air tank (seen in fig. 2), wherein the first valve has a first state in which air is prevented from passing from the output of the air compressor to the air tank via the first valve (when valve 56 is closed), and has a second state in which air is allowed to pass from the output of the air compressor to the air tank via the first valve (valve 56 is open), wherein the pneumatic system is operable in a first mode of operation in which the first valve is in said first state, wherein, in said first mode of operation of the pneumatic system, the second valve (54) is configured to control air flow from the output of the air compressor to ambient environment (via 3), the second valve having a closed state in which air is prevented from passing from the output of the air compressor to the ambient environment via the second valve, and an open state in which air is allowed to pass from the output of the air compressor to the ambient environment via the second valve, wherein the second valve (54) is configured to change to, or remain in, said open state when the pressure of the air in said second branch is higher than a predetermined threshold, and to change to, or remain in, said closed state when the pressure of the air in the second branch is lower than the predetermined threshold (valve 54 is a safety valve that allows any overpressure to drain 3).
2. The pneumatic system of claim 1, wherein the pneumatic system is operable in a second mode of operation in which the first valve (56) is in the second state (valve is open) and in which the air tank becomes loaded with pressurized air supplied from the output of the air compressor via the first valve (valve being open would allow pressure from the compressor 12 to the tank 38; see fig. 2).
3. The pneumatic system of claim 1, further comprising a filter (16) located downstream of the first valve (56) such that in the second state (open) of the first valve, air that passes from the output of the air compressor (12) to the air tank (38) via the first valve, also passes through the filter (16) after it has passed through the first valve (56), before the air reaches the air tank (38)(as seen in fig. 2).
4. The pneumatic system of claim 3, wherein the pneumatic system is operable in a third mode of operation in which the first valve (56) is in the first state (closed) and in which pressurized air from the air tank (38) is provided to the filter to regenerate the filter (regeneration mode is when valves 20, 22 are energized, and line 26 between 12 and 16 is blocked-with 56 closed).
5. The pneumatic system of claim 1, further comprising: a first energizable valve device (20), a second energizable valve device (22), and processing circuitry (18) configured to set a current mode of operation of the pneumatic system by selectively energizing the first and second valve devices (fig. 2).
6. The pneumatic system of claim 5, wherein the air tank has a cut-off pressure, wherein when the air pressure in the air tank reaches the cut-off pressure, the processing circuitry energizes the first energizable valve device (pressure sensors 48, 50 measure the pressures in tanks 36, 38 send the signals to unit 18 to control valves 20, 22), thereby allowing pressurized air that is present in a volume between the air tank and the first energizable valve (20) device to pass through the first energizable valve device and reach the first valve (56) so as to pneumatically activate the first valve to change to its first state (as seen in fig. 2).
7. The pneumatic system of claim 5, wherein in order to set the pneumatic system in said third mode of operation, the processing circuitry is configured to energize the second energizable valve device (22), thereby allowing pressurized air that is present in a volume between the air tank (38) and the second energizable valve device to pass through the second energizable valve device and reach the filter (16) so as to regenerate the filter in said third mode of operation (see fig. 2).
8. The pneumatic system of claim 7, wherein in order to set the pneumatic system in said third mode of operation, the processing circuitry (18) is also configured to energize the first energizable valve device (20) to allow pressurized air to pass through the first energizable valve device to pneumatically activate the first valve (56) to change to its first state (as seen in fig. 2).
14. The pneumatic system of claim 3, further comprising a bypass passage (with valve 58) which allows for fluid communication between a first point and a second point (seen in fig. 2), wherein the first point is located in an air passage between the first valve (56) and the filter (16), and wherein the second point is located in an air passage between the second valve (54) and the first valve (56).
15. The pneumatic system of claim 1, wherein the first valve (56) is spring-biased towards the second state (spring biased open, as seen in fig. 2).
16. The pneumatic system of claim 1, wherein the second valve (54) is spring-biased towards the closed state (spring biases closed as seen in fig. 2).
17. The pneumatic system of claim 3, further comprising a check-valve (28), wherein the filter (16) is located between the first valve (56) and the check-valve (28), wherein the check-valve allows air to flow from the filter (16) through the check valve (28) to the air tank (38), but prevents air flow in the opposite direction (as seen in fig. 2).
18. The pneumatic system of claim 17, wherein said check-valve is a first check-valve (28), the pneumatic system further comprising a second check-valve (30), wherein the second check-valve (30) is located in an air passage extending from the second energizable valve device (22) to a point located between the filter(16) and the first check-valve (28) (as seen in fig. 2).
20. A vehicle (commercial vehicle; “nutzfahrzeug” in Background paragraphs) comprising the pneumatic system 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.
Claims 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hilberer (DE 102005057003) in view of Sugio (EP 3903908).
Hilberer discloses the invention as essentially claimed, except for specifying wherein the air compressor is an oil-lubricated air compressor; and further comprising an air dryer located downstream of the air compressor and upstream of the air tank, wherein the first valve and the second valve are integrated in the air dryer.
Sugio teaches a related pneumatic system for a vehicle, wherein the air compressor is an oil-lubricated air compressor, in a manner conventional in the art [0002]; and further comprising an air dryer (11) located downstream of the air compressor (4) and upstream of the air tank (13)(see fig. 1), wherein the valves controlling flow between the compressor, the air tank and a drain are integrated in the air dryer (as seen in figs. 1, 2), for the purpose of removing impurities such as water and oil from the compressed air ([0002]-[0003]), in a manner conventional in the art.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Hilberer, such that the air compressor is an oil-lubricated air compressor; and further comprising an air dryer located downstream of the air compressor and upstream of the air tank, wherein the first valve and the second valve are integrated in the air dryer, as taught by Sugio, in a manner conventional in the art and which removes impurities such as water and oil from the compressed air to reduce rust and swelling of rubber members in a vehicle with such a system.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-11 and 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. DE 102015012494 discloses a related pneumatic system for a vehicle which includes a compressor, two switching valves, a filter, a dryer, and a vent.
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
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