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) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Manzo (US PGPub No. 2018/0187984).
Regarding claim 12, Vlahinos discloses a heat exchanger (an in-line oil cooler, Figs. 12-13) comprising:
a first flow path configured to allow a first fluid to flow therethrough (first channel from inlet 1206 to an outlet opposite the inlet 1206, a first fluid inherently flows between the inlet and outlet);
a second flow path adjacent to the first flow path and configured to allow a second fluid to flow therethrough (second channel from inlet 1208 to an outlet 1210, a second fluid inherently flows between the inlet and outlet); and
a housing accommodating the first flow path and the second flow path (cylindrical housing 1202),
wherein the heat exchanger performs heat exchange inside the housing between the first fluid flowing through the first flow path and the second fluid flowing through the second flow path (the first and second fluids perform heat exchange inside the housing 1202),
wherein inside the housing, the first flow path and the second flow path are partitioned by a partition wall (walls of a monolithic bi-continuous core structures or MBC 1201) and form flow paths independent of each other (flow paths defined by different surfaces of the MBC 1201),
wherein the partition wall has a three-dimensional curved surface shape (see Fig. 13),
wherein the first flow path and the second flow path extend three-dimensionally (see Figs. 13),
wherein the three-dimensional curved surface shape of the partition wall has a gyroid structure (the MBC 1201 may be a gyroid minimal surface structure, see last three lines of paragraph 0030), and
wherein a flow direction of the first fluid and a flow direction of the second fluid are opposite to each other inside the housing so that the first fluid and the second fluid are counterflows with each other (the first fluid flow and second fluid flow in the gyroid structure are counterflow between the inlet 1208 and outlet 1210).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 12 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 and 4-10 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Although Vlahinos discloses that the gyroid structure has an expression of sina cosb + sinb cosc + sinc cosa = 0, Vlahinos lacks explicit teaching of the gyroid coordinates a axis, b axis and c axis are rotated with respected to the heat exchanger coordinates X axis, Y axis and Z axis by a predetermined angle about the x axis and y axis set forth in claim 1.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FOR K LING whose telephone number is (571)272-8752. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5 pm.
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.
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.
/JIANYING C ATKISSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/F.K.L/Examiner, Art Unit 3763