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 .
Election/Restrictions
In the response riled 11/26/2025 applicant elected invention I which includes 1, 2, 4-10, 12-17, 19, 20, and 22. Claims 23-25 are withdrawn as not being included in the elected invention.
Applicant's election with traverse of the restriction in the reply filed on 11/26/2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the process of manufacturing claims 23, 24, and 25 would not create a serious search and examination burden for the Examiner. This is not found persuasive because the process of manufacturing claims would require searches in CPC schemes B21D 53/02 and B21D 53/085 which have over 9,000 patent documents, thus creating a serious search burden.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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 following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 17, 19, and 20 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 17 recites “a second recess” in line 3, which is indefinite as there is no first recess established in the claims. For examining purposes the limitation will be treated under its merits.
Claims 19 and 20 are rejected to due to their dependency on claim 17.
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.
7. Claim(s) 1, 2, 4-7, 12-17, 19, 20, and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ozaki et al. (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0051315, “Ozaki”).
Regarding claim 1, Ozaki discloses a heat exchanger (figs 1-7) comprising:
a plurality of fin tubes (2, 3), each of the plurality of fin tubes comprising a fin (3) and a tube (2) defining a passage through which refrigerant flows, and the fin and the tube for each of the plurality of fin tubes being integrally formed (fig 1); and
a header (6) coupled to ends of the plurality of fin tubes, wherein the header comprises:
a header body (6) having an open side; and
a sheet (5) provided on the open side of the header body, having a plurality of slits (5c) into which the ends of the plurality of fin tubes are respectively inserted (fig 2), and bent into a corrugated shape to define a plurality of corrugated regions (fig 4).
Regarding claim 2, Ozaki further discloses wherein the plurality of slits (5c) extend in a first direction (see annotated fig 4 below) intersecting a second direction (see annotated fig 4 below) in which the plurality of corrugated regions are provided, and wherein the ends of the plurality of fin tubes (2, 3) are inserted to a depth that is at least a thickness of the sheet (see fig 2).
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Regarding claim 4, Ozaki further discloses wherein the plurality of corrugated regions comprise:
a plurality of crest regions and a plurality of trough regions alternately provided with each other (see annotated fig 6A below); and
a plurality of inclined flat regions formed at intervals between the plurality of crest regions and the plurality of trough regions (see annotated fig 6A below), and
wherein the plurality of slits (5c) extend along at least one of the plurality of crest regions.
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Regarding claim 5, Ozaki further discloses wherein a pair of the flat regions (see annotated fig 6A above), formed adjacent to a slit (5c) among the plurality of slits, face opposite surfaces of the end of one of the plurality of fin tubes (2, 3) inserted into the slit.
Regarding claim 6, Ozaki further discloses wherein each of the plurality of slits (5c) is formed on one of the plurality of crest regions (see annotated fig 6A below), and wherein, areas between the trough regions (see annotated fig 6A below) and of the flat regions (see annotated fig 6A below) are defined as boundary regions, and one of the boundary regions is in contact with the end one of the plurality of fin tubes (2, 3) inserted into one of the plurality of slits.
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Regarding claim 7, Ozaki further discloses wherein the sheet is configured such that the plurality of corrugated are compressible in a direction in which the plurality of corrugated regions are provided (as they are corrugated and thus could be compressed by applying force to each side), and wherein a pitch between an adjacent pair of the plurality of trough region decreases when the sheet is compressed (as this would occur if said force was applied).
Regarding claim 12, Ozaki further discloses wherein the header body (6) includes a first recess (see annotated fig 2 below) recessed from an inner surface (see annotated fig 2 below) thereof to extend in a first direction (see annotated fig 2 below) and configured to guide insertion of the sheet (4) in the first direction.
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Regarding claim 13, Ozaki further discloses wherein the plurality of corrugated regions are provided in the first direction (see annotated fig 4 below).
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Regarding claim 14, Ozaki further discloses wherein the first recess (see annotated fig 2 below) comprises:
a sheet insertion hole (see annotated fig 2 below) connected to an outside (see annotated fig 2 below) and configured to allow the sheet to be inserted from the outside; and
a sheet guide recess (see annotated fig 2 below) extending from the sheet insertion hole in the first direction and configured to guide insertion of the sheet.
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Regarding claim 15, Ozaki further discloses wherein the sheet insertion hole (see annotated fig 2 below) has a shape that gradually narrows (see annotated fig 2 below) in a direction in which the sheet is inserted.
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Regarding claim 16, Ozaki further discloses wherein the header (6) comprises a header cover (see annotated fig 2 below) coupled to an end of the header body to be in contact with an end of the sheet (5).
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Regarding claim 17, Ozaki further discloses wherein the plurality of corrugated regions (see annotated fig 4 below) are provided in a first direction (see annotated fig 2 below), and wherein the header body (6) includes a second recess (see annotated fig 2 below) recessed from an inner surface thereof to extend in a second direction (see annotated fig 1 below) and configured to guide insertion of the header cover (see annotated fig 2 below, insertion into sheet 5) in the second direction.
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Regarding claim 19, Ozaki further discloses wherein a side surface and a lower surface of the header cover (6) extend in the second direction (see annotated fig 1 above), and wherein the header cover comprises a cover edge (see annotated fig 2 below) region formed between the side surface and the lower surface of the header cover and having-a rounded shape from the lower surface of the header cover to the side surface of the header cover (see annotated fig 2 below).
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Regarding claim 20, Ozaki further discloses wherein the second recess (see annotated fig 2 below) comprises:
a cover insertion hole (see annotated fig 2 below) connected to an outside (see annotated fig 2 below) and configured to allow the header cover to be inserted from the outside; and
a cover guide recess (see annotated fig 2 below) extending from the cover insertion hole in the second direction and configured to guide insertion of the header cover.
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Regarding claim 22, Ozaki further discloses a filler metal provided in a gap between the sheet (5) and each fin tube (2,3, the tubes are brazed to the slits and thus there must be a filler material, see ¶0047).
Claim(s) 9 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ozaki as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kato (Japanese Patent Publication JP2001194088A).
Regarding claim 9, Ozaki discloses all previous claim limitations. Ozaki further discloses wherein one of the plurality of slits comprises: a tube slit section (5a) into which the tube is inserted (fig 4).
However, Ozaki does not explicitly disclose a fin slit section into which the fin is inserted. Kato, however, discloses a heat exchanger (fig 1) with fin slit section (formed between elements 321) into which the fin (220) is inserted. Kato teaches that the fins slits improve pressure resistance (¶0005). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Ozaki to provide the fin slit section of Kato in order to improve pressure resistance.
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Ozaki and Kato discloses all previous claim limitations. Ozaki further discloses wherein the sheet comprises a groove (see annotated fig 4 below) extending from the tube slit section (5a) along the corrugated shape of the sheet and recessed to surround the tubes inserted into the tube slit section.
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Conclusion
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HARRY E ARANT whose telephone number is (571)272-1105. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10-6 ET.
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, Jianying Atkisson can be reached at (571)270-7740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HARRY E ARANT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763