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 Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (Pub. No. US 2023/0415541) in view of Surve et al. (Pub. No. US 2022/0316607).
Regarding claim 1, Lin et al. disclose a valve assembly (Figs. 1-9) comprising: a valve housing (110) including a plurality of housing ports (115-119); a valve manifold (middle manifold portion of 110, Fig. 4) disposed in the valve housing (110) and including a plurality of communication holes (Fig. 4) and a manifold port (Fig. 4), which are fluidly connected (Fig. 4) to the plurality of housing ports (115-119); and a valve body (130), wherein the valve body (130), the plurality of communication holes of the valve manifold (Fig. 4), and the plurality of housing ports (115-119) of the valve housing (110) are configured to cooperate to form a plurality of coolant flow paths (paragraph 48), but lacks disclosure of a valve body configured to rotate between the valve housing and the valve manifold, and the valve body including a plurality of channels selectively and fluidly connected to the plurality of communication holes, wherein based on rotation of the valve body, the plurality of channels of the valve body, and the plurality of communication holes of the valve manifold are configured to cooperate to form a plurality of coolant flow paths.
Surve et al. teach a nine port valve (100) comprising a housing (128) with a manifold plate (126) having nine communication holes (112-120 and 142, Fig. 3), and a valve body (104) within the housing (128) having a plurality of channels (paragraphs 28-31) selectively and fluidly connected to the plurality of communication holes (paragraphs 28-31), wherein based on rotation of the valve body (104) the plurality of channels (paragraphs 28-31) of the valve body (104), and the plurality of communication holes (112-120 and 142) of the valve housing (128) are configured to cooperate to form a plurality of coolant flow paths (paragraphs 34-35).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the 9 port valve of Lin et al. with a 9 port valve as taught by Surve et al. since they are considered art recognized equivalents in the art of coolant valves that perform the same function of controlling coolant flow through 9 ports.
Regarding claim 2, Lin et al. disclose the valve assembly (Figs. 1-9), wherein the plurality of communication holes (Fig. 4) of the valve manifold (middle portion of 110) includes: a first communication hole to a fifth communication hole (Fig. 4) formed sequentially (Fig. 4) along an axial direction (Fig. 6) of the valve body (130); and a sixth communication hole to a ninth communication hole (Fig. 4) formed sequentially adjacent to the first to fifth communication holes (Fig. 4) in a circumferential direction of the valve body (130).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-18 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.
Claims 19-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The cited prior art references do not render obvious in combination with the rest of the claim limitations a central channel formed along a rotational axis of the valve body, and a plurality of channel assemblies formed at multiple positions in a circumferential direction of the valve body, each channel assembly including a plurality of channels selectively and fluidly connectable to at least one of the plurality of communication holes and to the central channel.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yeon et al. (Pub. No. US 2024/0217304) disclose a similar valve assembly with a valve manifold connected to a rotatable valve body.
Krull et al. (Pub. No. US 2017/03733559) disclose a similar valve assembly with a housing having a valve manifold connected to a valve body and pumps.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Reinaldo Sanchez-Medina, telephone number 571-270-5168, fax number 571-270-6168. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (7:30AM-4:00PM EST).
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/REINALDO SANCHEZ-MEDINA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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