DETAILED ACTION
This office action is set to be a second non-final action, thus replacing the non-final action posted on 10/23/2025. A new ground(s) of rejections have been made, therefore, the office action posted on 10/23/2025 is withdrawn.
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 § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-19, 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Macbain (US 2010/0107683 A1), in view of Gupte (US 2002/0179294 A1).
Claim 1: Macbain discloses a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and/or refrigeration system (i.e., FIG.4), comprising:
a first refrigerant circuit (i.e., 23) comprising a first evaporator (i.e., 27) configured to place a first refrigerant (i.e., paragraph [28]: two circuits design with refrigerant in each circuit) in a heat exchange relationship with a conditioning fluid (i.e., paragraph [31]: water passes through between circuits), wherein the first evaporator (i.e., 27) comprises a first set of first tubes (i.e., tubes 41 on lower section; paragraph [31]: tubes bundle 41) and a second set of first tubes (i.e., tubes 41 on upper section) configured to direct the conditioning fluid through the first evaporator (i.e., 27),
a first water box (i.e., 36), and an inlet (i.e., inlet is inherent as part of the structure to receive fluid; abstract: waterbox having an inlet flow and outlet flow connection) configured to direct the conditioning fluid into the first water box (i.e., functional language/intended use);
a second refrigerant circuit (i.e., 29) comprising a second evaporator (i.e., 33) configured to place a second refrigerant (i.e., paragraph [28]: two circuits design with refrigerant in each circuit) in a heat exchange relationship with the conditioning fluid (i.e., paragraph [31]: water passes through between circuits),
wherein the second evaporator (i.e., 33) comprises a first set of second tubes (i.e., tubes 42 on lower section) and a second set of second tubes (i.e., tubes 42 on upper section) configured to direct the conditioning fluid through the second evaporator (i.e., 33),
a second water box (i.e., 37), and an outlet (i.e., outlet is inherent as part of the structure to exit fluid; abstract: waterbox having an inlet flow and outlet flow connection) configured to discharge the conditioning fluid from the second water box and the second evaporator (i.e., functional language/intended use);
[AltContent: textbox (conduit)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (conduit)]
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Macbain discloses the claimed limitations in claim 1, but fails to disclose a conduit disposed external to the first water box and the second water box, wherein the conduit extends from the outlet of the second evaporator to the inlet of the first evaporator; and a conditioning fluid circuit configured to circulate the conditioning fluid serially through the first set of second tubes, the second set of second tubes, the first set of first tubes, and the second set of first tubes.
However, Gupte teaches a conduit (annotated FIG.5) disposed external to the first water box (76 used as 1-waterbox) and the second water box (78 used as 2-waterbox), wherein the conduit (annotated FIG.5) extends from the outlet (inherent in order to exit fluid) of the second heat exchanger (annotated FIG.5; to clarify first and second evaporators disclosed by Macbain, Gupte is only used to teach the conduit cross connecting waterboxes) to the inlet (inherent in order to receive fluid) of the first heat exchanger (annotated FIG.5); and a conditioning fluid circuit (to clarify, fluid circuit A/B through the system) configured to circulate the conditioning fluid serially through the first set (annotated FIG.5) of second tubes (to clarify, second tubes of second heat exchanger), the second set (annotated FIG.5) of second tubes, the first set (annotated FIG.5) of first tubes (to clarify, first tubes of first heat exchanger), and the second set (annotated FIG.5) of first tubes (first tubes of first heat exchanger) for the purpose of improving heat transfer and improving coefficient of performance for multiple circuit system (paragraph [38]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify the invention of Macbain to include a conduit disposed external to the first water box and the second water box, wherein the conduit extends from the outlet of the second evaporator to the inlet of the first evaporator; and a conditioning fluid circuit configured to circulate the conditioning fluid serially through the first set of second tubes, the second set of second tubes, the first set of first tubes, and the second set of first tubes as taught by Gupte in order to improve heat transfer and to improve coefficient of performance for multiple circuit system.
[AltContent: textbox (second set)][AltContent: textbox (first set )][AltContent: textbox (second set )][AltContent: textbox (first set)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (first heat exchanger )][AltContent: textbox (second heat exchanger )][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (conduit)]
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Claim 2: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first set of first tubes (i.e., tubes 41 on lower section) defines a lower pass of the first evaporator (i.e., 27), and the second set of first tubes (i.e., tubes 41 on upper section) defines an upper pass of the first evaporator (i.e., 27).
Claim 3: Macbain discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first evaporator (i.e., 27) comprises reverse a flow direction of the conditioning fluid through the first evaporator (i.e., 27), and direct the conditioning fluid into the second set of first tubes (i.e., tubes 41 on upper section), except for a third water box configured to receive the conditioning fluid from the first set of first tubes (functional language). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify the apparatus of Macbain to include a third water box in order to achieve water flow passes to the circuits, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a known device involves only routine skill in the art - Duplication of parts: MPEP 2144.04 VI-B).
Claim 4: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first set of second tubes (i.e., tubes bundle 42) defines a lower pass (i.e., tubes 42 on lower section) of the second evaporator (i.e., 33), and the second set of second tubes (i.e., tubes bundle 42) defines an upper pass (i.e., tubes 42 on upper section) of the second evaporator (i.e., 33).
Claim 5: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the outlet (i.e., inherent) of the second evaporator (i.e., 33) is configured to direct the conditioning fluid from the second set of second tubes (i.e., tubes 42 on upper section) and the second water box (i.e., 37) toward the conduit (i.e., annotated FIG.4), and the inlet (i.e., inherent) of the first evaporator (i.e., 27) is configured to direct the conditioning fluid toward the first water box (i.e., 36) and the first set of first tubes (i.e., tubes 41 on lower section).
Claim 6: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first evaporator (i.e., 27) comprises an additional outlet (i.e., inherent; to direct the refrigerant flow to second evaporator 33), the second evaporator (i.e., 33) comprises an additional inlet (i.e., inherent; to receive refrigerant flow from first evaporator 27), the additional outlet is configured to direct the conditioning fluid toward a cooling load, and the additional inlet is configured to receive the conditioning fluid from the cooling load (i.e., functional language).
Claim 7: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first evaporator (i.e., 27) and the second evaporator (i.e., 33) are arranged in an end-to-end configuration relative to one another.
Claim 8: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first evaporator (i.e., 27) and the second evaporator (i.e., 33) are arranged in a side-by-side configuration relative to one another.
Claim 9: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, comprising a chiller (i.e., paragraph [37]: use of water cooled chiller, the invention applicable to chiller) having the first refrigerant circuit (i.e., 23) and the second refrigerant circuit (i.e., 29), wherein the first refrigerant circuit (i.e., 23) comprises a first condenser (i.e., 24) configured to place the first refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with ambient air (i.e., functional language), and the second refrigerant circuit (i.e., 29) comprises a second condenser (i.e., 31) configured to place the second refrigerant in a heat exchange relationship with ambient air (i.e., functional language).
Claim 10: Macbain discloses a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and/or refrigeration system, comprising:
a first evaporator (i.e., 27) comprising a first lower tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 41 on lower section) and a first upper tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 41 on upper section), wherein the first lower tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 41 on lower section) and the first upper tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 41 on upper section) are each configured to place a conditioning fluid (i.e., paragraph [31]: water passes through between circuits) in a heat exchange relationship with a first refrigerant (i.e., paragraph [28]: two circuits design with refrigerant in each circuit);
a second evaporator (i.e., 33) comprising a second lower tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 42 on lower section) and a second upper tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 42 on upper section), wherein the second lower tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 42 on lower section) and the second upper tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 42 on upper section) are each configured to place the conditioning fluid in a heat exchange relationship with a second refrigerant (i.e., paragraph [28]: two circuits design with refrigerant in each circuit);
Macbain discloses the claimed limitations in claim 10, but fails to disclose a conduit fluidly extending between the first evaporator and the second evaporator and fluidly coupling the first lower tube bundle and the second upper tube bundle; and a conditioning fluid circuit configured to circulate the conditioning fluid serially through the second lower tube bundle, the second upper tube bundle, the conduit, the first lower tube bundle, and the first upper tube bundle.
However, Gupte teaches a conduit (annotated FIG.5) fluidly extending between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger (annotated FIG.5; to clarify first and second evaporators disclosed by Macbain, Gupte is only used to teach the conduit cross connecting heat exchangers) and fluidly coupling the first lower tube bundle (annotated FIG.5) and the second upper tube bundle (annotated FIG.5); and a conditioning fluid circuit (to clarify, fluid circuit A/B through the system) configured to circulate the conditioning fluid serially through the second lower tube bundle (annotated FIG.5), the second upper tube bundle (annotated FIG.5), the conduit (annotated FIG.5), the first lower tube bundle (annotated FIG.5), and the first upper tube bundle (annotated FIG.5) for the purpose of improving heat transfer and improving coefficient of performance for multiple circuit system (paragraph [38]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify the invention of Macbain to include a conduit fluidly extending between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger and fluidly coupling the first lower tube bundle and the second upper tube bundle; and a conditioning fluid circuit configured to circulate the conditioning fluid serially through the second lower tube bundle, the second upper tube bundle, the conduit, the first lower tube bundle, and the first upper tube bundle as taught by Gupte in order to improve heat transfer and to improve coefficient of performance for multiple circuit system.
[AltContent: textbox (second heat exchanger )][AltContent: textbox (first heat exchanger )][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (conduit)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (first upper tube bunddle )][AltContent: textbox (second lower tube bunddle )][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (first lower tube bunddle )][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (second upper tube bunddle )]
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Claim 11: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the conditioning fluid circuit (i.e., between chilled fluid in & chilled fluid out) is configured to direct the conditioning fluid (i.e., paragraph [31]: water passes through between circuits) from a cooling load to the second lower tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 42 on lower section) and from the first upper tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 41 on upper section) to the cooling load (i.e., functional language/intended use).
Claim 12: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first lower tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 41 on lower section) defines a first pass of the first evaporator (i.e., 27), and the first upper tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 41 on upper section) defines a second pass of the first evaporator (i.e., 27).
Claim 13: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the second lower tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 42 on lower section) defines a first pass of the second evaporator (i.e., 33), and the second upper tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 42 on upper section) defines a second pass of the second evaporator (i.e., 33).
Claim 14: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 10, comprising:
a first refrigerant circuit (i.e., 23) comprising the first evaporator (i.e., 27), a first compressor (i.e., 28), and a first condenser (i.e., 24), wherein the first condenser (i.e., 24) is configured to place the first refrigerant (i.e., paragraph [28]: two circuits design with refrigerant in each circuit) in a heat exchange relationship with ambient air; and
a second refrigerant circuit (i.e., 29) comprising the second evaporator (i.e., 33), a second compressor, and
a second condenser (i.e., 31), wherein the second condenser is configured to place the second refrigerant (i.e., paragraph [28]: two circuits design with refrigerant in each circuit) in a heat exchange relationship with ambient air (i.e., functional language/intended use), wherein the first refrigerant circuit (i.e., 23) and the second refrigerant circuit (i.e., 29) are fluidly separate from one another,
the first evaporator (i.e., 27) comprises a first water box (i.e., 36) configured to direct the conditioning fluid into the first lower tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 41 on lower section), the second evaporator (i.e., 33) comprises a second water box (i.e., 37) configured to receive the conditioning fluid from the second upper tube bundle (i.e., tubes bundle 42 on upper section), the conduit (Gupte, annotated FIG.5) is disposed external to the first water box (Gupte, 76 used as 1-waterbox) and the second water box (Gupte, 78 used as 2-waterbox), and
the conduit (Gupte, annotated FIG.5) is configured to direct the conditioning fluid from the second water box (Gupte, 78 used as 2-waterbox) of the second evaporator (i.e., 33) to the first water box (Gupte, 76 used as 1-waterbox) of the first evaporator (i.e., 27).
Claim 15: Macbain discloses a chiller system, comprising:
a first refrigerant circuit (i.e., 23) comprising a first evaporator (i.e., 27) configured to place a first refrigerant (i.e., paragraph [28]: two circuits design with refrigerant in each circuit) in a heat exchange relationship with a conditioning fluid (i.e., paragraph [31]: water passes through between circuits), wherein the first evaporator (i.e., 27) comprises
a first plurality of first tubes (i.e., tubes 41 on lower section; paragraph [31]: tubes bundle 41) and
a second plurality of first tubes (i.e., tubes 41 on upper section) configured to direct the conditioning fluid (i.e., paragraph [31]: water passes through between circuits) through the first evaporator (i.e., 27), wherein the first plurality of first tubes (i.e., tubes 41 on lower section) defines a lower pass of the first evaporator (i.e., 27), and the second plurality of first tubes (i.e., tubes 41 on upper section) defines an upper pass of the first evaporator (i.e., 27);
a second refrigerant circuit (i.e., 29) comprising a second evaporator (i.e., 33) configured to place a second refrigerant (i.e., paragraph [28]: two circuits design with refrigerant in each circuit) in a heat exchange relationship with the conditioning fluid (i.e., paragraph [31]: water passes through between circuits),
wherein the second evaporator (i.e., 33) comprises a first plurality of second tubes (i.e., tubes 42 on lower section) and
a second plurality of second tubes (i.e., tubes 42 on upper section) configured to direct the conditioning fluid (i.e., paragraph [31]: water passes through between circuits) through the second evaporator (i.e., 33), wherein the first plurality of second tubes (i.e., tubes 42 on lower section) defines a lower pass of the second evaporator (i.e., 33), and the second plurality of second tubes (i.e., tubes 42 on upper section) defines an upper pass of the second evaporator (i.e., 33);
Macbain discloses the claimed limitations in claim 15, but fails to disclose a conduit extending between and fluidly coupling the second plurality of second tubes and the first plurality of first tubes.
However, Gupte teaches a conduit (annotated FIG.5) extending between and fluidly coupling the second plurality of second tubes (annotated FIG.5) and the first plurality of first tubes (annotated FIG.5) for the purpose of improving heat transfer and improving coefficient of performance for multiple circuit system (paragraph [38]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify the invention of Macbain to include a conduit extending between and fluidly coupling the second plurality of second tubes and the first plurality of first tubes as taught by Gupte in order to improve heat transfer and to improve coefficient of performance for multiple circuit system.
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Claim 16: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein the first evaporator (i.e., 27), the second evaporator (i.e., 33), and the conduit (Kim i.e., 400) are configured to direct the conditioning fluid (i.e., paragraph [31]: water passes through between circuits) serially through the second plurality of second tubes (i.e., tubes 42 on upper section), the first plurality of second tubes (i.e., tubes 42 on lower section), the conduit (Kim i.e., 400), the first plurality of first tubes (i.e., tubes 41 on lower section), and the second plurality of first tubes (i.e., tubes 41 on upper section).
Claim 17: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein the first refrigerant circuit (i.e., 23) comprises a first air-cooled condenser (i.e., 24), the second refrigerant circuit (i.e., 29) comprises a second air-cooled condenser (i.e., 31), and the first refrigerant circuit (i.e., 23) and the second refrigerant circuit (i.e., 29) are fluidly separate from one another.
Claim 18: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein the first evaporator (i.e., 27) and the second evaporator (i.e., 33) are positioned in an end-to-end arrangement relative to one another.
Claim 19: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein the first evaporator (i.e., 27) and the second evaporator (i.e., 33) are positioned in a side-by-side arrangement relative to one another.
Claim 21: Macbain as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein the first evaporator (i.e., 27) comprises a first water box (i.e., 36) configured to direct the conditioning fluid into the first plurality of first tubes (i.e., tubes 41 on lower section; paragraph [31]: tubes bundle 41), the second evaporator (i.e., 33) comprises a second water box (i.e., 37) configured to receive the conditioning fluid from the second plurality of second tubes (i.e., tubes 42 on upper section), the conduit (Gupte, annotated FIG.5) is disposed external to the first water box (Gupte, 76 used as 1-waterbox) and the second water box (Gupte, 78 used as 2-waterbox), and the conduit (Gupte, annotated FIG.5) is configured to direct the conditioning fluid from the second water box (Gupte, 78 used as 2-waterbox) of the second evaporator (i.e., 33) to the first water box (Gupte, 76 used as 1-waterbox) of the first evaporator (i.e., 27).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure which is relevant to refrigeration device:
Tamura (20110146314 A1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAMRAN TAVAKOLDAVANI whose telephone number is (313)446-6612. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:00 am to 5:00 pm EST.
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/KAMRAN TAVAKOLDAVANI/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/LEN TRAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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