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 07/14/2025 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, 3-10, and 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (US 20210190059).
Kim et al. disclose:
1. A valve component (144) capable of use for a reciprocating pump, the valve component comprising: a body (445b/545b in embodiments of figs. 18, 19, and 21) comprising a base portion defining a recess (as seen in figs. 18, 19, and 21, the layers of the seal are received in recessed portions of the body 445b/545b); and a sealing element (445a/545a) configured to be positioned within the recess to form a valve sealing surface with the body, wherein the sealing element comprises a first surface (545a2 in fig. 21) configured to abut the base portion of the body (as seen in figs. 21, the surface of the 545a2 layer contacts the body at 545b2), a second surface (545a1), opposite the first surface, configured to form a portion of the valve sealing surface (to seal against 141d), and a plurality of fabric panel layers (fabric layers A as seen in 445a/545a) stacked against one another to extend to the second surface (as seen in figs. 18, 19, 21), each fabric panel layer of the plurality of fabric panel layers comprising a woven fabric infused with elastomeric material (woven fabric layers A are impregnated with a resin B; [in reference to how the layers are formed, [0133] states “resin B is impregnated into a fabric in which the reinforced fiber A is woven to prepare a composite sheet 1451, and a plurality of composite sheets 1451 is sequentially stacked to prepare a composite unit 1452”).
3. The valve component of claim 1, wherein the sealing element comprises separate fabric panels (seen with fabric layers A in figs. 18, 19, 21) forming the plurality of fabric panel layers.
4. The valve component of claim 1, wherein the elastomeric material infused in the woven fabric of fabric panel layers of the plurality of fabric panel layers is bonded to adhere the fabric panel layers of the plurality of fabric panel layers to one another ([0133] states “resin B is impregnated into a fabric in which the reinforced fiber A is woven to prepare a composite sheet 1451, and a plurality of composite sheets 1451 is sequentially stacked to prepare a composite unit 1452”).
5. The valve component of claim 1, the woven fabric of a fabric panel layer of the plurality of fabric panel layers comprises a weave of fibers extending radially outward from a central axis extending through the sealing element (fig. 17 shows the cross weave of layers A, which includes one direction extending radially outward to the outer edge).
6. The valve component of claim 1, wherein each fabric panel layer of the plurality of fabric panel layers extends radially outward to an outer perimeter of the sealing element (as seen in the sectional views of figs. 17, 18, and 19, it can be seen some fibers of A extend to the radial end).
7. The valve component of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fabric panel layers is stacked to form a third surface of the sealing element extending between the first surface and the second surface, and the third surface is configured to abut the body (embodiments of figs. 18, 19, 21 show a surface 445a3/445a4 of the plurality of layers that abuts the sidewall of recess)
8. A method for manufacturing a valve component, the method comprising: forming a plurality of woven fabric panel layers (fabric layers A in 445a/545a); infusing each woven fabric panel layer of the plurality of woven fabric panel layers with elastomeric material (B) to provide a plurality of reinforced fabric layers ([0133] states “resin B is impregnated into a fabric in which the reinforced fiber A is woven to prepare a composite sheet 1451, and a plurality of composite sheets 1451 is sequentially stacked to prepare a composite unit 1452;” as seen in figs. 18, 19, 21); stacking the plurality of reinforced fabric layers against one another to provide a fiber reinforced sealing element (445a/545a) extending between a first surface (545a1 or 545a2 in fig. 21) and a second surface (other of 545a1 and 545a2), opposite the first surface; and positioning the fiber reinforced sealing element in a recess of a body of the valve component (as seen in figs. 18, 19, and 21, the layers of the seal are received in recessed portions of the body 445b/545b).
9. The method of claim 8, wherein infusing each woven fabric panel layer of the plurality of woven fabric panel layers with elastomeric material comprises overmolding elastomeric material onto each woven fabric panel of the plurality of woven fabric panel layers (compression overmolding is described in [0134]-[0136]).
10. The method of claim 8, wherein positioning the fiber reinforced sealing element in the recess of the body of the valve component forms a valve sealing surface with the body and the second surface of the fiber reinforced sealing element (the layers are molded to the body and therefore would provide a sealing surface between the body and the second surface which abuts against it).
12. The method of claim 8, wherein forming the plurality of woven fabric panel layers comprises forming separate woven fabric panels (several fabric panels A shown in figs. 18, 19).
13. The method of claim 8, comprising compression molding the fiber reinforced sealing element to adhere the plurality of reinforced fabric layers to one another (compression overmolding is described in [0134]-[0136]).
14. The method of claim 13, wherein compression molding the fiber reinforced sealing element bonds the elastomeric material of adjacent reinforced fabric layers of the plurality of reinforced fabric layers to one another to adhere the plurality of reinforced fabric layers to one another (as described in [0134]-[0136]).
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the fiber reinforced sealing element is compression molded within the recess of the body of the valve component to compression mold the fiber reinforced sealing element to the body (as described in [0134]-[0136]).
16. The method of claim 8, wherein forming the plurality of woven fabric panel layers comprises orienting a weave of fibers of a woven fabric panel layer of the plurality of woven fabric panel layers to extend radially outward from a central axis extending through the fiber reinforced sealing element (fig. 17 shows the cross weave of layers A, which includes one direction extending radially outward to the outer edge).
17. A sealing element (445a/545a in figs. 18, 19, 21) for a valve capable of use in a reciprocating pump, the sealing element comprising: a first surface (545a2); a second surface (545a1), opposite the first surface; and a plurality of fabric panel layers (fabric layers A in 445a/545a) stacked against one another to form the second surface, wherein each fabric panel layer of the plurality of fabric panel layers comprises a woven fabric (A) infused with elastomeric material (B), and the elastomeric material of adjacent fabric panel layers of the plurality of fabric panel layers are bonded to one another ([0133] states “resin B is impregnated into a fabric in which the reinforced fiber A is woven to prepare a composite sheet 1451, and a plurality of composite sheets 1451 is sequentially stacked to prepare a composite unit 1452;” as seen in figs. 18, 19, 21).
18. The sealing element of claim 17, wherein the sealing element is configured to couple to a base (545b) of the valve such that the first surface of the sealing element abuts the base (at 545b2) and the second surface of the sealing element forms a valve sealing surface with the base (545a1 extends from 545b1 and seals against 141d).
19. The sealing element of claim 17, wherein the plurality of fabric panel layers is stacked against one another to form a third surface of the sealing element extending between the first surface and the second surface (as seen in figs. 18, 19, 21, the layers form a side surface which abuts the vertical wall of the recess in which the seal is situated).
20. The sealing element of claim 17, wherein each fabric panel layer of the plurality of fabric panel layers is annularly shaped (annular shape seen in fig. 17).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 11 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. WO 2019173231, US 20170089470, US 20140367602, US 20110079302, US 2903235 each disclose related valve seals which include a fabric material within an elastomeric material.
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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