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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This is responsive to the claims filed 6/24/2025. Claims 1 – 18 are pending in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements filed 6/24/2025, 7/16/2025 and 4/24/2026 are acknowledged by the examiner.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
Claims 1 – 3, 5, 12 – 13, 15, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication to Bunda et al. (2021/0131575) in view of Chinese Patent Document to Guo (CN 114732284).
Regarding claim 1, Bunda et al. disclose a fluid control valve comprising: a housing (22, Fig. 1) including a cylinder, a bottom on one side in an axial direction of the cylinder – shown in figure 6, and a port (24g, Fig. 6) penetrating an outer wall and an inner wall of the cylinder; a valve (34, Fig. 1) rotatable inside the housing about a predetermined axial center and having a flow path (66, Fig. 6) recessed from an outer side of a side wall in a radial direction toward the axial center; a seal member (32, Fig. 1) provided between an inner wall of the housing and the valve, and has a surface on a housing side in contact with a periphery of the port in the inner wall of the housing, and a surface on a valve side in sliding contact with the side wall of the valve; a cover (28, Fig. 1)closing an opening of the cylinder of the housing on another side in the axial direction
Bunda et al. do not disclose a cover-side regulating portion provided inside the cover and configured to regulate movement of the seal member inward in the radial direction and toward the other side in the axial direction of the cylinder.
However, Guo also teaching rotary valve teaches regulating portion (121, 122 Fig. 1) to avoid displacement of the seal during use.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the person having ordinary skill in the art at a time prior to the effective filing date of the application to have modified the cover disclosed by Bunda et al. with the seal regulating portion taught by Guo to avoid displacement of the seal during use.
Regarding claim 2, in the combination the cover disclosed by Bunda et al. and modified by the regulating teaching of Guo will have the cover-side regulating portion configured to regulate deformation of the seal member from a curved surface along the inner wall of the cylinder of the housing and the side wall of the valve.
Regarding claim 3, in the combination Guo teaches a housing-side regulating portion provided at a bottom of the housing (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 5, in the combination, the cover-side regulating portion taught by Guo includes an inclined portion inclined inward in the radial direction from the other side toward the one side in the axial direction of the cylinder (Fig. 1).
Regarding claims 12 – 13, and 15 the seal (32, Fig. 3) disclosed by Bunda et al. reads on the claimed subject matter.
Claims 7 – 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication to Bunda et al. (2021/0131575) in view of Chinese Patent Document to Guo (CN 114732284) and in further view of US Patent Application Publication to Boecker et al. (2022/0178453).
Regarding claim 7, Bunda et al. does not disclose a conical valve member or a biasing member.
However, Boecker et al. teaching a rotary valve teach a conical valve member (7, Fig. 1), a biasing member (17, Fig. 3) to hold the valve member in the vertical location.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the person having ordinary skill in the art at a time prior to the effective filing date of the application to have modified the valve disclosed by Bunda et al. with the conical valve member and a biasing member taught by Boecker et al. as a simple combination of prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
In the combination of the prior art elements, one of ordinary skill in the art would have reasonably expected the elements to maintain their respective properties or functions.
Regarding claim 8, the combination teaches the claimed invention, including conical shape, except for utilization of the specific angle recited. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to 5° range recited, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233
Regarding claim 9, in the combination Boecker et al. teach the inner wall of the cylinder of the housing is shaped along a side surface of a conical shape that is similar to and coaxial with the conical shape along which the side wall of the valve extends (Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 10, flow path 8 taught by Boecker et al. reads on the claimed subject matter.
Claims 17 – 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication to Bunda et al. (2021/0131575) in view of Chinese Patent Document to Guo (CN 114732284) and in further view of European Patent document to Netzel (EP 2843276)
Regarding claims 17 – 18, Bunda et al. do not disclose stops for the rotor interacting the housing stops.
However, Netzel teaches a valve including a stopper (26, Fig. 2) protruding in the axial direction from a one-side end surface at a position away from the axial center, and the housing includes a stopper contact portion (31, 32 Fig. 5) receiving the stopper of the valve, the stopper contact portion taught by Netzel is included in the bottom of the housing without being provided in the cover.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the person having ordinary skill in the art at a time prior to the effective filing date of the application to have modified the valve disclosed by Bunda et al. with the stop taught by Netzel as a means of providing a positive stop for the switching positions.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 6, 11, 14 and 16 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 Patent to Witzel (3,908,697) and US Patent to Tiemeyer et al. (12,123,505) both disclosing rotary valves.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to UMASHANKAR VENKATESAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5602. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner' s supervisors Craig Schneider can be reached at (571) 272-3607 or Ken 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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/UMASHANKAR VENKATESAN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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