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 § 102
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) 1-3, 7, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Elz (US PG-pub 20230167912).
Regarding claims 1-3, 7, and 11, Elz teaches a housing 102 (fig. 1a) with a fluid chamber 104 delimited by an inner surface of the housing and with at least two ports 114a, 114b opening into the fluid chamber, a valve slide 130 arranged rotatably about a rotation axis in the fluid chamber, wherein the valve slide divides the fluid chamber into at least two fluid areas, and wherein the valve slide bears against the inner surface (surface of gate 116a, 116b) at least in sections to seal the fluid areas with respect to one another, and an actuation mechanism 3000 arranged at least partially in the fluid chamber for rotating the valve slide; a first wall section (between port 114b and 112), a second wall section (between port 112 and 114a), and a bearing section between the two wall sections (bearing sections considered the bottom of the valve body between ports 114a and 114b that the valve slide slides along), wherein the first wall section and the second wall section are arranged facing away from each other (wall sections of ports 114a and 114b), and wherein the bearing section defines the rotation axis or coincides with the rotation axis (bearing section which is the valve body floor coincides with the axis of rotation of the valve slide); wherein the inner surface in a first inner surface section is shaped substantially round or cylindrical about the rotation axis and the at least two ports extend from the first inner surface section (the inner surface of the valve body is round); (claim 7) the valve slide includes at least one first end flank 132 which is at least substantially linearly adjacent to the first inner surface section, and wherein at least one of the first wall section or the second wall section includes one of the at least one first end flank (first wall section includes the end flank); (claim 11) the housing includes at least one stop (the portion of walls 116a, 116b surrounding the outlet is considered the stop) against which the valve slide abuts to define a first rotational position of the valve slide.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 20 is allowed.
Claims 4-6, 8-10, and 12-19 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Elz fails to disclose (claim 4) a third inner surface section; (claim 8) at least one second end flank which at least substantially flatly adjoins the first inner surface section and extends at least substantially in a circumferential direction; (claim 12) wherein an angle between two ports adjacent in the circumferential direction about the rotation axis is at least 10 degrees and up to 170 degrees; (claim 15) a first housing section of the housing, facing away from the fluid chamber is configured to correspond mechanically to a second housing section of the housing to stack two identical valve devices with coaxially arranged rotation axes in an interlocking manner; (claim 16) an adjustment element; (claim 19) valve device is configured to supply the heat source or the heat sink with the fluid flow as a function of a temperature of the fluid flow; (claim 20) the method step of rotating the valve slide as a function of temperature.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Baumann teaches a throttle valve for a multiport system.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to P. MACADE NICHOLS whose telephone number is (571)270-5428. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9:00-5:00 P.M..
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, 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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/P. MACADE NICHOLS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
