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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 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.
Claim Objections
Claims 6 and 9 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“discharge part” in claim 6 lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 9 recites “wherein one condensate discharge hole is formed on each of side walls”. The examiner believes the limitation should recite “wherein one condensate discharge hole is formed on each of the side walls”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GB 1302697 A hereinafter referred to as Ref. 1.
Regarding claim 18, Ref. 1 teaches of:
An air heating apparatus comprising:
an expansion tank configured to preserve water (Fig. 2, 35);
a water heater (Fig. 1, 5) configured to receive heat from a combustion gas generated through a combustion reaction (Pg. 1, line 47, “The section 1 includes a gas-fired boiler 5 having a water jacket”) and heat the water (Figs. 1-2, 35 is connected to 22 which supplies water to the water jacket at 23 and therefore the water heater 5 heats water supplied from the expansion tank 35);
a heating heat exchanger (Fig. 2, 13) configured to receive the water heated by the water heater (Fig. 2, 13 receives water via line 12 and pump 14 which transports water heated from 5 into the heat exchanger 13) and exchange heat with air that is to be discharged for heating (Fig. 2, 13 exchanges heat with air from fan 15 and discharges the heated air through apertures 15 and 17);
a fan (Fig. 2, 15) configured to send the air to the heating heat exchanger (15 sends air to 13); and
a main passage (Figs. 1-2, 12) connecting the expansion tank (12 directly connects and extends between the water heater 5 and heat exchanger 13 and therefore connects the expansion tank as it is a part of the loop connected by 12), the water heater (Fig. 1, 12 is directly connected to 5), and the heating heat exchanger (Fig. 2, 12 is directly connected to 13),
wherein the main passage includes:
a first part (Fig. 2, portion of 12 in section 2);
a second part (Fig. 1, portion of 12 in section 1) communicated with the first part (both parts communicate with one another) and the expansion tank (all parts within the pressurized loop communicate with one another);
a case (the case is defined by frames 3 and 4 with removable panels; Pg. 2, lines 37-40, “The frame structures 3 and 4 have detachable panels fitted thereto to provide a neat cabinet-like appearance,”), in which the expansion tank, the water heater, the heating heat exchanger, the fan, and the main passage are included in an interior thereof (all of the components are contained within the case); and
a recovery passage (Figs. 1-2, 22) connecting the heating heat exchanger and the first part to guide the water introduced into the heating heat exchanger to the first part (22 extends directly between and directly connects heat exchanger 13 and water heater 5, since the entire system is a loop, 22 connects 12 and the first part of 12 in section 1 and guides the water between the two),
wherein the case includes:
an outer box (frames 3 and 4); and
a first partition wall coupled to the outer box (Ref. 1, the partition wall dividing frames 3 and 4 is the first partition wall), and extending along the reference direction to divide an interior of the outer box to a first division space and a second division space (the partition wall extends parallel to the opening of the front panel shown in Fig. 2 of Ref . 1 and partitions the outer box into the first division space 1 and the second division space 2),
wherein the recovery passage includes:
an upper part located on an upper side of the first partition wall (Fig. 1, portion of 22 that is in first division space 1);
a lower part located on a lower side of the first partition wall (Fig. 1, portion of 11 that is in the second division space 2); and
a second adapter passing through the first partition wall (Figs. 1-2, see connections point of 12 with a partition wall dividing the first and second sections of the case, at the connection point an adapter is shown to facilitate the passthrough of 12 through the partition wall), and connecting the upper part and the lower part (the adapter connects the first and second parts of 12 through the partition wall).
Ref. 1 fails to explicitly teach:
a first part that is a part extending downwards from the expansion tank and configured to discharge water from the expansion tank;
a second part communicated with the first part and the expansion tank, extending from the expansion tank, and one end of which extends upwards to be connected to the water heater
wherein the first part connects the expansion tank, the water heater, and the heating heat exchanger
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Ref. 1 to rearrange the connection point of the expansion tank 35 to connect to the second part of 12 in section 2 resulting in the first part of 12 extending downward from the expansion tank and discharging water from the tank in section 2 and the second part of 12 communicating with the first and the expansion tank so that it is extending from the expansion tank and upwards to connect to the water heater and so that the first part of 12 connects the expansion tank, the water heater and the heat exchanger based on the following rationale:
it has been found that when the only difference between the prior art and the claims is the position of an element, moving said element would not modify the function of the prior art and applicant has placed no criticality on the claimed position, then rearranging the part in the prior art to the claimed position would be obvious (see MPEP 2144.04.VI.C). In the instant case, modifying the location of the expansion tank would not impact the thermal expansion compensating function of the tank as the entire system is pressurized (Ref. 1, Pg. 2, lines 55-65, “In a possible modification of the described embodiment, the primary return communicates with an expansion tank 35, illustrated in broken lines in Figure 2. The expansion tank is of cylindrical shape with domed ends and has an intermediate flexible partition behind which a mass of inert gas is trapped so that the tank can accommodate a degree of expansion within the system, which can accordingly be of the pressurized type”). Further, neither applicant or Ref. has a made a statement on unexpected results for the connection point of the expansion tank with their specifications and therefore the position does not have criticality in either instant application or Ref. 1. As a result, the modification of the connection point of the expansion tank to be at the second part of 12 would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Claim(s) 1, 4-6, 8, 11-13, 16-17 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GB 1302697 A hereinafter referred to as Ref. 1 in view of Rolph (US 6886756 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Ref. 1 teaches of:
An air heating apparatus comprising:
an expansion tank configured to preserve water (Fig. 2, 35);
a water heater (Fig. 1, 5) disposed above the expansion tank (Figs. 1-2, Fig. 1 represents section 1 which is the top half of the system and Fig. 2 represents section 2 which is the bottom half of the system, water heater 5 is in section 1 and is therefore above 35) and configured to receive heat from a combustion gas generated through a combustion reaction (Pg. 1, line 47, “The section 1 includes a gas-fired boiler 5 having a water jacket”) and heat the water supplied from the expansion tank (Figs. 1-2, 35 is connected to 22 which supplies water to the water jacket at 23 and therefore the water heater 5 heats water supplied from the expansion tank 35);
a heating heat exchanger (Fig. 2, 13) configured to receive the water heated by the water heater (Fig. 2, 13 receives water via line 12 and pump 14 which transports water heated from 5 into the heat exchanger 13) and exchange heat with air that is to be discharged for heating (Fig. 2, 13 exchanges heat with air from fan 15 and discharges the heated air through apertures 15 and 17);
a fan (Fig. 2, 15) configured to send the air to the heating heat exchanger (15 sends air to 13); and
a main passage (Figs. 1-2, 12) connecting the expansion tank (12 directly connects and extends between the water heater 5 and heat exchanger 13 and therefore connects the expansion tank as it is a part of the loop connected by 12), the water heater (Fig. 1, 12 is directly connected to 5), and the heating heat exchanger (Fig. 2, 12 is directly connected to 13),
wherein the main passage includes:
a first part (Fig. 2, portion of 12 in section 2);
a second part (Fig. 1, portion of 12 in section 1)
Ref. 1 fails to explicitly teach:
a first part that is a part extending downwards from the expansion tank and configured to discharge water from the expansion tank;
a second part communicated with the first part and the expansion tank, extending from the expansion tank, and one end of which extends upwards to be connected to the water heater
a water discharge port connected to a lower side of the first part and communicating the first part and an outside of the first part; and
a water discharge valve configured to open and close the water discharge port.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Ref. 1 to rearrange the connection point of the expansion tank 35 to connect to the second part of 12 in section 2 resulting in the first part of 12 extending downward from the expansion tank and discharging water from the tank in section 2 and the second part of 12 communicating with the first and the expansion tank so that it is extending from the expansion tank and upwards to connect to the water heater based on the following rationale:
it has been found that when the only difference between the prior art and the claims is the position of an element, moving said element would not modify the function of the prior art and applicant has placed no criticality on the claimed position, then rearranging the part in the prior art to the claimed position would be obvious (see MPEP 2144.04.VI.C). In the instant case, modifying the location of the expansion tank would not impact the thermal expansion compensating function of the tank as the entire system is pressurized (Ref. 1, Pg. 2, lines 55-65, “In a possible modification of the described embodiment, the primary return communicates with an expansion tank 35, illustrated in broken lines in Figure 2. The expansion tank is of cylindrical shape with domed ends and has an intermediate flexible partition behind which a mass of inert gas is trapped so that the tank can accommodate a degree of expansion within the system, which can accordingly be of the pressurized type”). Further, neither applicant or Ref. has a made a statement on unexpected results for the connection point of the expansion tank with their specifications and therefore the position does not have criticality in either instant application or Ref. 1. As a result, the modification of the connection point of the expansion tank to be at the second part of 12 would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Rolph teaches of:
a water discharge port (Fig. 6, see drain valve 56 which is connected to a discharge port on the underside of heat exchanger 14; Col. 6, lines 15-16, “To facilitate draining of the heat exchanger 14, a boiler drain valve 56 is provided on the water return pipe 16”) connected to a lower side of the first part and communicating the first part and an outside of the first part (see combination made below); and
a water discharge valve (Fig. 6, 56) configured to open and close the water discharge port (56 opens and closes a discharge port of the heat exchanger)
The primary reference can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
connect a discharge port with valve 56 to the bottom of the heat exchanger 13 so that the water flowing through the heat exchanger from main passage 12 can be drained, thus connecting a lower side of the first part of 12 and communicating the first part of 12 with an outside of 12
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would allow for the water to be evacuated from the heat exchanger and main passage as needed, such as for maintenance or transport
Regarding claim 4, the combined teachings teach of the air heating apparatus of claim 1, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
further comprising:
a pump part disposed in the second part and configured to pump water that passes through the second part to the water heater.
Ref. 1 teaches of a pump being positioned outside the second part, however, it would have been obvious to modify Ref. 1 to position the pump to be disposed in the second part based on the following rationale:
it has been found that when the only difference between the prior art and the claims is the position of an element, moving said element would not modify the function of the prior art and applicant has placed no criticality on the claimed position, then rearranging the part in the prior art to the claimed position would be obvious (see MPEP 2144.04.VI.C). In the instant case, Ref. 1 teaches of pump 14 to be positioned in the first part of 12 in section 2. The system of Ref. 1 is pressurized and all water lines are interconnected. Therefore, modifying the position of pump 14 to be in the second part of 12 in section 1 would still allow for water to be moved through the system and for the function of Ref. 1 to remain the same. Neither Applicant or Ref. 1 has made a statement on unexpected results for the claimed position of the pump within their specifications and therefore the position does not have criticality in either instant application or Ref. 1. As a result, the modification of the position of pump 14 to be in the second part of 12 would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 5, the combined teachings teach of the air heating apparatus of claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
a recovery passage (Ref. 1, Figs. 1-2, 22) connecting the heating heat exchanger and the first part to guide the water introduced into the heating heat exchanger to the first part (22 extends directly between and directly connects heat exchanger 13 and water heater 5, since the entire system is a loop, 22 connects 12 and the first part of 12 in section 1 and guides the water between the two).
Regarding claim 6, the combined teachings teach of the air heating apparatus of claim 5, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the water discharge part is disposed on a lower side of a connection point of the first part and the recovery passage (see combination made above, the discharge port is connected on the lower side of the heat exchanger 13 of Ref. 1 so that it can drain the water from the heat exchanger and the main passage, the connection point of the discharge part is lower than the connection point between the first part of 22 and the heat exchanger 13).
Regarding claim 8, the combined teachings teach of the air heating apparatus of claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
a case (Ref. 1, the case is defined by frames 3 and 4 with removable panels; Pg. 2, lines 37-40, “The frame structures 3 and 4 have detachable panels fitted thereto to provide a neat cabinet-like appearance,”), in which the expansion tank, the water heater, the heating heat exchanger, the fan, and the main passage are included in an interior thereof (all of the components are contained within the case),
wherein the case includes:
an outer box (frames 3 and 4) having a first opening in a reference direction that is one direction that is perpendicular to an upward/downward direction (the panels are removable on frames 3 and 4 and therefore the opening shown in Fig. 2 on the front side of frame 4 is the first opening that is perpendicular to the upward/downward direction); and
a first opening cover coupled to the outer box (see above, the removable panel that covers the front side opening of frame 4 is the first opening cover), and covering the first opening when being coupled to the outer box (when the removable panel is in place it covers the first opening of the outer box defined by frame 4).
Regarding claim 11, the combined teachings teach of the air heating apparatus of claim 8, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the case further includes:
a first partition wall coupled to the outer box (Ref. 1, the partition wall dividing frames 3 and 4 is the first partition wall), and extending along the reference direction to divide an interior of the outer box to a first division space and a second division space (the partition wall extends parallel to the opening of the front panel shown in Fig. 2 of Ref . 1).
Regarding claim 12, the combined teachings teach of the air heating apparatus of claim 11, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the main passage passes through the first partition wall (Ref. 1, Figs. 1-2, 12 passes through the first partition wall)
Regarding claim 13, the combined teachings teach of the air heating apparatus of claim 12, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein a main passage packing configured to maintain a sealing state of a portion of the first partition wall, through which the main passage passes, is provided at the portion of the first partition wall, through which the main passage passes (Ref. 1, see portion of 12 passing through the partition wall, a connection mechanism to facilitate the passage of 12 through the partition wall is clearly shown which would constitute “packing” as it is defined in the claim).
Regarding claim 16, the combined teachings teach of the air heating apparatus of claim 11, and the combined teachings further teach of:
a recovery passage (Ref. 1, Figs. 1-2, 22) connecting the heating heat exchanger and the first part to guide the water introduced into the heating heat exchanger to the first part (22 extends directly between and directly connects heat exchanger 13 and water heater 5, since the entire system is a loop, 22 connects 12 and the first part of 12 in section 1 and guides the water between the two),
wherein the recovery passage passes through the first partition wall (22 passes through the partition wall).
Regarding claim 17, the combined teachings teach of the air heating apparatus of claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach of:
wherein the main passage further includes:
a first adapter (Ref. 1, Figs. 1-2, see connections point of 12 with a partition wall dividing the first and second sections of the case, at the connection point an adapter is shown to facilitate the passthrough of 12 through the partition wall) connecting an upper end of the second part and the water heater (the adapter connects the first and second parts of 12 through the partition wall).
Regarding claim 19, Ref. 1 teaches of:
An air heating apparatus comprising:
an expansion tank configured to preserve water (Fig. 2, 35);
a water heater (Fig. 1, 5) configured to receive heat from a combustion gas generated through a combustion reaction (Pg. 1, line 47, “The section 1 includes a gas-fired boiler 5 having a water jacket”) and heat the water (Figs. 1-2, 35 is connected to 22 which supplies water to the water jacket at 23 and therefore the water heater 5 heats water supplied from the expansion tank 35);
a heating heat exchanger (Fig. 2, 13) configured to receive the water heated by the water heater (Fig. 2, 13 receives water via line 12 and pump 14 which transports water heated from 5 into the heat exchanger 13) and exchange heat with air that is to be discharged for heating (Fig. 2, 13 exchanges heat with air from fan 15 and discharges the heated air through apertures 15 and 17);
a fan (Fig. 2, 15) configured to send the air to the heating heat exchanger (15 sends air to 13); and
a main passage (Figs. 1-2, 12) connecting the expansion tank (12 directly connects and extends between the water heater 5 and heat exchanger 13 and therefore connects the expansion tank as it is a part of the loop connected by 12), the water heater (Fig. 1, 12 is directly connected to 5), and the heating heat exchanger (Fig. 2, 12 is directly connected to 13),
wherein the main passage includes:
a first part (Fig. 2, portion of 12 in section 2);
a second part (Fig. 1, portion of 12 in section 1) communicated with the first part (both parts communicate with one another) and the expansion tank (all parts within the pressurized loop communicate with one another);
a case (the case is defined by frames 3 and 4 with removable panels; Pg. 2, lines 37-40, “The frame structures 3 and 4 have detachable panels fitted thereto to provide a neat cabinet-like appearance,”), in which the expansion tank, the water heater, the heating heat exchanger, the fan, and the main passage are included in an interior thereof (all of the components are contained within the case);
a fuel introducing pipe (Fig. 1, 8) connecting the water heater and a fuel tank on an outside of the case to introduce a fuel on the outside of the case into the water heater (8 extends to the outside of the water heater and must connect to some sort of fuel tank in order to receive fuel for the burner)
Ref. 1 fails to explicitly teach:
a first part that is a part extending downwards from the expansion tank and configured to discharge water from the expansion tank;
a second part communicated with the first part and the expansion tank, extending from the expansion tank, and one end of which extends upwards to be connected to the water heater
wherein one fuel introducing hole is formed in each of side walls in opposite directions that are perpendicular to an upward/downward direction of the case and a reference direction that is one direction that is perpendicular to the upward/downward direction, and
wherein the fuel introducing pipe passes any one of the pair of fuel introducing holes of the case.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Ref. 1 to rearrange the connection point of the expansion tank 35 to connect to the second part of 12 in section 2 resulting in the first part of 12 extending downward from the expansion tank and discharging water from the tank in section 2 and the second part of 12 communicating with the first and the expansion tank so that it is extending from the expansion tank and upwards to connect to the water heater based on the following rationale:
it has been found that when the only difference between the prior art and the claims is the position of an element, moving said element would not modify the function of the prior art and applicant has placed no criticality on the claimed position, then rearranging the part in the prior art to the claimed position would be obvious (see MPEP 2144.04.VI.C). In the instant case, modifying the location of the expansion tank would not impact the thermal expansion compensating function of the tank as the entire system is pressurized (Ref. 1, Pg. 2, lines 55-65, “In a possible modification of the described embodiment, the primary return communicates with an expansion tank 35, illustrated in broken lines in Figure 2. The expansion tank is of cylindrical shape with domed ends and has an intermediate flexible partition behind which a mass of inert gas is trapped so that the tank can accommodate a degree of expansion within the system, which can accordingly be of the pressurized type”). Further, neither applicant or Ref. has a made a statement on unexpected results for the connection point of the expansion tank with their specifications and therefore the position does not have criticality in either instant application or Ref. 1. As a result, the modification of the connection point of the expansion tank to be at the second part of 12 would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Rolph teaches of:
wherein one fuel introducing hole is formed in each of side walls in opposite directions (Figs. 2 and 4, 20 is a fuel introducing pipe, knockout holes 78, 80 and 82 are on the opposite side of the system for the optional routing of the fuel introducing pipe from an opposite end of the system) that are perpendicular to an upward/downward direction of the case and a reference direction that is one direction that is perpendicular to the upward/downward direction (See combination made below), and
wherein the fuel introducing pipe passes any one of the pair of fuel introducing holes of the case (Fig. 2, 20 passes through one of the holes)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
provide knockout holes in the vertical sidewalls of the apparatus of Ref. 1 and reroute the fuel introducing pipe 8 through one of the knockout holes in the vertical sidewall
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
providing multiple openings for the fuel introducing pipe would allow for greater flexibility for installation in the system, particularly passing the fuel introducing pipe through the sidewalls would allow for the gas to be routed into the system of Ref. 1 in a situation where there is little room above and below the case
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GB 1302697 A hereinafter referred to as Ref. 1 in view of Hans (US 3308805 A) and in further view of Min (KR 20110086956 A).
Regarding claim 3, the combined teachings teach of the air heating apparatus of claim 1, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
further comprising:
a filter part disposed in the first part and configured to filter water that passes through the first part.
Min teaches of:
further comprising:
a filter part (Fig. 7, 220) disposed in the first part and configured to filter water that passes through the first part (see combination made below).
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
add a filter to the second part of 12 in section 2 of Ref. 1 that is positioned upstream from the expansion tank
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would filter out debris and scale that could clog the system
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GB 1302697 A hereinafter referred to as Ref. 1 in view of Rolph (US 6886756 B2) and in further view of Lombari (US 7108015 B2).
Regarding claim 7, the combined teachings teach of the air heating apparatus of claim 1, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
wherein the expansion tank has a pipe-shaped through-hole extending upwards and downwards, and
wherein the second part passes through the through-hole.
Lombari teaches of:
wherein the expansion tank (Fig. 1) has a pipe-shaped through-hole extending upwards and downwards (4 extends through the tank), and
wherein the second part passes through the through-hole (See combination made below).
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
replace tank 35 of Ref. 1 with tank of Lombari so that the tank of Lombari is positioned in line with the second part of 12 and as such the internal passage of the expansion tank of Lombari forms an extension of the second part of 12 therefore making the second part pass through the through hole of the expansion tank
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
It has been found that the simple substation of one known element for another to obtain predictable results is obvious based upon the following rationale:
The combined teachings contain a device that that differs from the claimed device by the substitution of an expansion tank with a through hole for an expansion tank without a through hole;
An expansion tank with a through hole is known in the art as shown by Lombari above;
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention could have modified the combined teachings to have an expansion tank with a through hole and the function of thermal expansion compensation within the pressurized system would be maintained
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GB 1302697 A hereinafter referred to as Ref. 1 in view of Rolph (US 6886756 B2) in further view of Riephenhoff (US 7036498 B2).
Regarding claim 9, the combined teachings teach of the air heating apparatus of claim 8, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
further comprising:
a condensate discharge pipe connected to the water heater and configured to discharge condensate generated by the heat exchanger,
wherein one condensate discharge hole is formed on each of side walls in opposite directions that are perpendicular to the upward/downward direction of the case and the reference direction, and
wherein the condensate discharge pipe passes through any one of the pair of condensate discharge holes.
Rolph teaches of:
a condensate discharge pipe (Fig. 6, 46) connected to the water heater (see combination made below) and configured to discharge condensate generated by the heat exchanger (46 discharges condensate from heat exchanger 14)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
Modify Ref. 1 so that 13 is connected to a condensate discharge pipe and therefore the condensate discharge pipe is connected to the water heater since the water heater is connected to the heat exchanger
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
It would allow for the discharge of condensate formed in the heat exchanger 13
Riephenhoff teaches of:
wherein one condensate discharge hole is formed on each of side walls in opposite directions that are perpendicular to the upward/downward direction of the case and the reference direction (Fig. 1, see condensate discharge holes 84 on both sidewalls of the system), and
wherein the condensate discharge pipe passes through any one of the pair of condensate discharge holes (see combination made below)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
add optional holes on the left and right side panels of Ref. 1 and pass the condensate discharge pipe of Rolph through one of the holes
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would allow for the condensate discharge pipe to be fed to an external area of the apparatus of the combined teachings no matter the orientation or position
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GB 1302697 A hereinafter referred to as Ref. 1 in view of Rolph (US 6886756 B2) in further view of Doumany (US 3718154 A).
Regarding claim 10, the combined teachings teach of the air heating apparatus of claim 8, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
a water introducing pipe (Ref. 1, Fig. 1, 7) connecting the expansion tank and a water source on an outside of the case to introduce water on the outside of the case into the expansion tank (7 introduces water into the entire system and therefore introduces water from an outside water source into the expansion tank)
The combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
wherein one introduction hole is formed on each of side walls in opposite directions that are perpendicular to the upward/downward direction of the case and the reference direction, and
wherein the water introducing pipe passes through any one of the pair of introduction holes of the case.
Doumany teaches of:
wherein one introduction hole is formed on each of side walls in opposite directions that are perpendicular to the upward/downward direction of the case and the reference direction (Fig. 1, each hole 11 is a knockout hole that can receive water pipes for the apparatus; Col. 2, lines, “ 20-25, “The top 2 and sides 4 and 5 of the box 1 preferably have holes or knockout plugs 11 formed therein to allow passage of cold and hot water pipes therethrough whether pipes leading to the box are directed thereto only through the top or through the sides or upwardly through the bottom thereof.”), and
wherein the water introducing pipe passes through any one of the pair of introduction holes of the case (see combination made below)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
add knockout holes on each of the sidewalls that face perpendicular to the front wall of Ref. 1 and pass 7 of Ref. 1 through on of the sidewalls
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
providing knockout holes on the sidewalls and optionally passing the water introducing pipe through the knockout holes creates flexibility in the assembly of the system, especially for installation in tight spaces
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claim 14:
Claim 14 recites “wherein the condensate discharge pipe passes through the first partition wall” which is not taught by the prior art. Ref. 1 is the best known prior art to teach of an air heating apparatus with an expansion tank below a water heater, a partition wall and a heat exchanger. However, the heat exchanger of Ref. 1 is below the partition wall. All know systems that drain condensate from a heat exchanger and further have the condensate discharge pipe pass through a partition wall oriented in the manner described in claim 11 have the heat exchanger positioned above the partition wall. Since the heat exchanger is below the partition wall, the collected condensate would have to drain upward, through the partition wall, and out of the system. No known art demonstrates this and further no known art provides a motivation to reorganize the system of Ref. 1 to position the heat exchanger above the partition wall. Further, such a modification to position the heat exchanger above the partition wall would require extensive reorganization of the parts within the case, reaching the threshold of non-obviousness.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL J GIORDANO whose telephone number is (571)272-8940. The examiner can normally be reached M-Fr 8 AM - 5 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Helena Kosanovic can be reached at (571) 272-9059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL JAMES GIORDANO/Examiner, Art Unit 3762
/HELENA KOSANOVIC/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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