Appeal 2007-0605
Application 10/231,771
1 Appellant invented an unloading/venting valve having integrated
2 therewith a high-pressure protection valve (Specification 1). Claim 1 is
3 representative of the claimed invention and reads as follows:
4 1. An air system with a pressure reducing valve having a
5 discharge port in communication with the air system and a vent
6 comprising:
7
8 a valve body, said valve body biased to form a seal
9 between the discharge port and the vent;
10
11 a governor for monitoring the air pressure in the system,
12 said governor generating a signal when a first threshold
13 pressure within the system is reached;
14
15 wherein, said valve body is movable against the bias in
16 response to the signal generated by said governor, such that the
17 discharge port is in communication with the vent thereby
18 allowing air to escape from the system; and
19
20 wherein, in the case of a governor failure when said valve
21 body is not moved when the first threshold pressure within the
22 system is reached, said valve body is movable against the bias
23 in response to a second threshold pressure, greater than the first
24 threshold pressure, within the system being reached such that
25 the discharge port is in communication with the vent thereby
26 allowing air to escape from the system.
27
28 The Examiner rejected claims 1-3, 5-16, 18, and 20 under 35 U.S.C.
29 § 103(a) (2004) as being unpatentable over Daubenberger in view of known
30 air compressor systems.
31 The Examiner rejected claims 4, 17, and 19 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a)
32 as being unpatentable over Daubenberger in view of known air compressor
33 systems and Compton.
2
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