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 .
Response to Amendments
The amendments filed on August 8, 2025 have been entered. Accordingly, claims 13 and 17-20 have been canceled, wherein claims 1-12 and 14-16 are currently pending.
Drawings
The drawings objections made of record in the Office action of March 11, 2025 (“the previous Office action”) have been reconsidered in light of applicant’s arguments (see page 7 of the Remarks filed on August 8, 2025). Therefore, the drawing objections are hereby withdrawn.
Specification
The specification objection(s) made of record in the previous Office action have been reconsidered in light of the amendments to claim 15. Therefore, the specification objections are hereby withdrawn.
Claim Objections
The following claims are objected to because of informalities, wherein appropriate correction is required:
In claim 2: the recitation of “the power supply”, in the last two lines, should be amended to –the power supply circuit—.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The rejections of claims 1, 2 and 10 under § 112(b) made of record in the previous Office action have been reconsidered and withdrawn in view of applicant’s amendments and arguments (see page 10 of the Remarks). Namely, claims 1 and 2 have been amended to respectively clarify the antecedent basis issue of the “fluid” and the indefiniteness of the previously claimed “power supply unit”. Regarding claim 10, applicant’s arguments that the term “substantially” is a broad term, per MPEP § 2173.05(b)(III)(D), are considered persuasive. However, some indefiniteness issues do not appear to have been addressed:
Claims 6-7, 11-12 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 6 recites “a first pump”, despite claim 1 already reciting “a pump”. It is unclear whether “a first pump” requires a separate and distinct pump from the one in claim 1, or if they are the same. As currently recited, the subject matter may be ambiguously interpreted as: A) one pump (i.e., the same, single pump); or B) two pumps. For examination purposes, the recitation in claim 6 will be construed as the same pump as claim 1.
Claim 11 recites the limitation "and configured to receive fluid from and return fluid to the control unit via the tubing", in lines 3-4. It is unclear whether the two recitations of “fluid” are the same or different from “a fluid” in line 1 of the claim. For examination purposes, the quoted limitation will be interpreted as --and configured to receive the fluid from and return the fluid to the control unit via the tubing--.
Claim 11 was amended to recite the limitation of “a second pump”, in lines 7-8, without a corresponding “first pump”. It is unclear whether two separate and distinct pumps are require for anticipation or infringement. For examination purposes, the claim will be construed as requiring only one pump.
Claim 11 recites the limitation "and wherein the accumulator is operable to receive fluid returning from the thermally-regulated article", in the last limitation. It is unclear whether “fluid” is the same or different from “a fluid” in line 1 of the claim. For examination purposes, the quoted limitation will be interpreted as –and wherein the accumulator is operable to receive the fluid returning from the thermally-regulated article--.
Claim 15 recites the limitation "operable to move fluid", in line 3. It is unclear whether “fluid” is the same or different from “a fluid” in line 1 of claim 11. The limitation will be interpreted as –operable to move the fluid--.
Any remaining claims are rejected by virtue of their dependency.
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.
Claims 1-6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Youngblood et al. (US 20180110960 A1), herein Youngblood.
Regarding claim 1, Youngblood discloses a system for heating or cooling a fluid (see at least Fig. 3, 10, 10’, 11), comprising:
a control unit (10 or 10’) comprising a first section (section of 31) and a second section (section of 32; see at least fig. 5);
wherein the first section (of 31) of the control unit (10) comprises a fluid reservoir (22) connected to a pump (81);
wherein the pump (81) is disposed downstream (via 24, 28) of the fluid reservoir (22) and upstream (via 25) of a thermoelectric heating/cooling device (33A), the pump (81) being operable to move the fluid from the fluid reservoir (22) into the thermoelectric heating/cooling device (33A) that is thermally coupled to the fluid (via 41A, etc.);
wherein the thermoelectric heating/cooling device (33A) includes first and second opposed heat-exchange sides (51, 52) and a set of current-conducting nodes (i.e., necessarily as part of the Peltier chip; see ¶ 152) that, when energized, cause the device to heat and/or cool the fluid (evidenced by at least ¶ 143);
wherein the second section (of 32) of the control unit (10) comprises a heat sink (61A, etc.) connected to the thermoelectric heating/cooling device (33A) and a fan (71);
wherein the fan (71) generates an air path over the heat sink (see fig. 5 and ¶ 153); and
wherein a partition (13, 21, outer structure of 22, etc.) separates the first section (of 31) from the second section (of 32), such that the air path generated by the fan (71) does not intersect the fluid reservoir (22) or the thermoelectric heating/cooling device (evident from the discrete structures for each of the fluids shown in figs. 4-5).
Regarding claim 2, Youngblood discloses wherein the second section (of 32) of the control unit (10) comprises a power supply circuit (48 and related components) operable to supply electrical power to the control unit (see at least ¶ 152), and wherein the air path generated by the fan (71) intersects with the power supply circuit (e.g., see location of 48 in fig. 5 and the plurality of airflow openings 13 in fig. 4).
Regarding claim 3, Youngblood discloses wherein the fluid is water (¶ 157).
Regarding claim 4, Youngblood discloses wherein the control unit (10) comprises a fluid outlet line (16), wherein the fluid outlet line (16) is connected to a thermally-regulated article (11), and wherein, when the fluid exits the thermoelectric heating/cooling device (33A), the fluid enters the fluid outlet line (16), and subsequently enters the thermally-regulated article (11; see arrows in fig. 5).
Regarding claim 5, Youngblood discloses wherein the control unit (10) comprises a fluid inlet line (17), wherein the fluid inlet line (17) is connected to the thermally-regulated article (11) and to the pump (81), and wherein the fluid enters the fluid inlet line (17) after exiting the thermally-regulated article (11).
Regarding claim 6, Youngblood discloses a first pump (i.e., 81) disposed downstream of the fluid reservoir (22) and upstream of an accumulator (e.g., 11 accumulates heat or cold, as well as fluid inside 14).
Regarding claim 8, Youngblood discloses wherein the thermoelectric heating/cooling device (33A) comprises at least one Peltier device (described in at least ¶ 152).
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 7, 11-12 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Youngblood (US 20180110960 A1) in view of Bae (KR 20170000492 A: translation previously provided by Examiner).
Regarding claim 7, Youngblood does not disclose wherein the first pump moves the fluid from the fluid reservoir into the accumulator, and wherein a second pump moves the fluid from the accumulator into the thermoelectric heating/cooling device.
Bae teaches moving a fluid from the fluid reservoir (Bae Fig 1 replenishment water supply unit 800, page 11: “The replenishment water supply unit 800 may be a water reservoir for storing water”) into the accumulator (Bae Fig 1 circulation tank unit 100, page 3), and moving the fluid from the accumulator into the thermoelectric heating/cooling device (Bae Fig 2, heat exchange unit 310 including thermoelectric unit 320; Fig 1 and 2: fluid is moved from discharge port 122 of tank unit 100 via supply line 610, see Fig 1, and into cooling unit 300, specifically heat exchange unit 310, see Fig 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the system of Youngblood with the first pump moving the fluid from the fluid reservoir into the accumulator, and wherein a second pump moves the fluid from the accumulator into the thermoelectric heating/cooling device, as taught by Bae, as doing so would benefit the system of Youngblood by including an accumulator to adjust pressure within the system due to changes in water temperature and help prevent noise by preventing air within storage space 111 from flowing back to water supply unit 800 (see Bae page 3 last paragraph). It is noted that the combination of Youngblood and Bae together teach that the first pump moves the fluid from the at least one fluid reservoir into at least one accumulator, and wherein the second pump moves the fluid from the at least one accumulator into the at least one thermoelectric module, since Youngblood together with Bae disclose the first pump and second pump, which work together to enable fluid flow from one component to another within the system.
Regarding claim 11, Youngblood discloses a system (see at least figs. 3-5) for heating or cooling a fluid (e.g., abstract, ¶ 40), comprising:
a control unit (10, 10’, etc.) comprising a first section (section of 31) and a second section (section of 32);
a thermally-regulated article (11) connected to the control unit (10) by tubing (16, 17, etc.) and configured to receive fluid from and return fluid to the control unit (10) via the tubing (see arrows in at least fig. 5);
wherein the first section (of 31) of the control unit (10) comprises a fluid reservoir (22);
wherein the thermoelectric heating/cooling device (33A) includes first and second opposed heat-exchange sides (51, 52) and a set of current-conducting nodes (i.e., necessarily as part of the Peltier chip; see ¶ 152) that, when energized, cause the device to heat and/or cool the fluid (evidenced by at least ¶ 143);
wherein the second section (of 32) of the control unit (10) comprises a heat sink (61A, etc.) connected to the at least one thermoelectric heating/cooling device (33A) and a fan (71).
However, Youngblood may not appear to explicitly disclose the fluid reservoir connected to an accumulator;
wherein the accumulator is connected to a second pump;
wherein the second pump is disposed downstream of the accumulator and upstream from a thermoelectric heating/cooling device, and the second pump is operable to move the fluid from the accumulator into the thermoelectric heating/cooling device that is thermally coupled to the fluid; and
wherein the accumulator is operable to receive fluid returning from the thermally-regulated article.
On the other hand, Bae, directed to a water supply unit for a mattress, discloses the fluid reservoir (800) connected to an accumulator (100);
wherein the accumulator (100) is connected to a second pump (410);
wherein the second pump (410) is disposed downstream (via 610) of the accumulator (100) and upstream from a thermoelectric heating/cooling device (320), and the second pump (410) is operable to move the fluid from (e.g., via 140, 122) the accumulator (100) into the thermoelectric heating/cooling device (320) that is thermally coupled to the fluid (at 300; see figs. 1-2); and
wherein the accumulator (100) is operable to receive fluid (e.g., via 620, 470, etc.) returning from the thermally-regulated article (700).
Moreover, Bae teaches that using a thermoelectric element increases the amount of heat absorbed in the system (see fourth paragraph of page 5 of the translation). The disclosed configuration allows the cooling efficiency of the system to be increased, wherein the fluid can be rapidly cooled (first paragraph, page 8 of translation).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have taken the teachings of Youngblood and to have modified them with the teachings of Bae, by having the fluid reservoir connected to an accumulator; wherein the accumulator is connected to a second pump; wherein the second pump is disposed downstream of the accumulator and upstream from a thermoelectric heating/cooling device, and the second pump is operable to move the fluid from the accumulator into the thermoelectric heating/cooling device that is thermally coupled to the fluid; and wherein the accumulator is operable to receive fluid returning from the thermally-regulated article, in order to increase the thermal efficiency of the system, as similarly disclosed by Bae, without yielding unpredictable results.
Regarding claim 12, Youngblood discloses wherein the fluid is water (see at least ¶ 157 of Youngblood).
Regarding claim 14, Youngblood as modified discloses wherein the thermoelectric heating/cooling device comprises one Peltier chip (320 of Bae).
Regarding claim 15, Youngblood further discloses further comprising a first pump (81 of Youngblood) disposed along a fluid flow path (28 of Youngblood) downstream (via 24 of Youngblood) of the fluid reservoir (22 of Youngblood) and upstream of the accumulator (e.g., represented by 82 of Youngblood), the first pump (81 of Youngblood) operable to move fluid from the fluid reservoir (22 of Youngblood) into the accumulator (see arrows in fig. 5 of Youngblood).
Regarding claim 16, Youngblood further discloses further comprising a partition (13, 21, outer structure of 22, etc., of Youngblood) separating the first section (of 31 of Youngblood) from the second section (of 32 of Youngblood), such that an air path generated by the fan (71 of Youngblood) does not intersect the fluid reservoir (22 of Youngblood) or the thermoelectric heating/cooling device (evident from the discrete structures for each of the fluids shown in figs. 4-5).
Claims 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Youngblood (US 20180110960 A1) in view of Scorcioni (US 20160136385 A1).
Regarding claim 9, Youngblood further discloses wherein the control unit (10, 10’) includes a plurality of outlet lines (e.g., 16, line downstream 82, etc.; see at least fig. 5) and a plurality of inlet lines (e.g., 17, line upstream 25; see fig. 5), wherein the fluid moves out of the control unit (10, 10’) through one of the plurality of outlet lines (16, etc.; see arrows in fig. 5) and returns to the control unit (10, 10’) through a corresponding one of the plurality of inlet lines (17, etc.; see arrows in fig. 5).
However, Youngblood may not appear to explicitly disclose wherein each inlet line is connected to one of a plurality of separate pumps, and wherein the plurality of separate pumps move the fluid into the thermoelectric heating/cooling device.
On the other hand, Scorcioni, directed to a conditioning device, discloses wherein each inlet line (e.g., represented by the lines upstream each 254) is connected to one of a plurality of separate pumps (254), and wherein the plurality of separate pumps (254) move the fluid into the thermoelectric heating/cooling device (274; see at least fig. 3).
One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that employing multiple pumps would ensure the proper flow of cooling fluid throughout the system.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have taken the system of Youngblood and to have modified it with the teachings of Scorcioni by having each inlet line connected to one of a plurality of separate pumps, and wherein the plurality of separate pumps move the fluid into the thermoelectric heating/cooling device, in order to ensure the proper circulation of cooling fluid, without yielding unpredictable results.
Regarding claim 10, Youngblood as modified further discloses wherein the fluid exiting the control unit (10, 10’ of Youngblood) through each of the plurality of outlet lines (16, etc. of Youngblood) and returning through each of the plurality of inlet lines (17, etc. of Youngblood) is substantially separated from the fluid exiting through different outlet lines and returning through different inlet lines (see at least fig. 3 of Youngblood).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments regarding the previous prior art rejections (see pages 10-12 of the Remarks) have been considered but are unpersuasive for the following reasons:
Applicant first argues that Scorcioni does not teach the limitations of claim 1. However, the current rejection of claim 1 relies on a new prior art reference, rendering applicant’s arguments moot.
Regarding claim 11, Applicant argues that Bae does not teach or suggest a fluid reservoir connected with an accumulator. They argue that Bae shows a pump “downstream” the cooling unit, and that there is no pump downstream the circulation tank unit 100 (see page 12 of the Remarks). However, it should be noted that Bae teaches that the pump (410) can be used to “discharge water contained in the storage space 111 or [introduce] water into the storage space” (see at least the second-to-last paragraph of page 8 of the translation). In other words, the pump can be configured in either a downstream (i.e., to discharge) or upstream (i.e., to introduce) operating mode, rendering Applicant’s arguments unpersuasive.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/JIANYING C ATKISSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763