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.
Claims 1-8, 10, 15-17, 19, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by JP 10019478 A.
JP 10019478 A (Fig. 1; English Abstract) teaches a wet surface air cooler (WSAC) comprising an evaporative spiral plate heat exchanger including at least one spiral sheet wound to form a first spiral channel (claims 15 and 21) that is closed at the top and bottom (claim 3) to receive a process medium for flow from an inlet at the radial outer side to the outlet at the radial center of the heat exchanger (claims 4 and 19). The windings of the closed first channel forms a set of second channels therebetween that are open at the top and bottom thereof (claim 3), the second channels extending axially through the spiral plate heat exchanger for receiving air and cooling medium in counterflow therethrough (claims 2, 17, and 19). The device includes a rotating spray pipe (8) arranged above the evaporative spiral plate heat exchanger for spraying cooling medium downwardly through the second channels and a fan (4) arranged above the spray pipe for drawing air up through the second channels of the spiral plate heat exchanger, the air and cooling medium contacting to at least partially evaporate some of the cooling medium within the evaporative spiral plate heat exchanger to cause the temperature of the process medium to decrease during passage through the first channel of the spiral plate heat exchanger (claims 1 and 16). The air and cooling medium flow vertically through the heat exchanger and the process medium flows horizontally, or perpendicular to the air and cooling medium (claim 5). The bottom portion of the apparatus (lower housing) forms a basin to collect the sprayed cooling medium and a plurality of air inlet passages (5) into the device (claim 6) to allow air to flow from the outside to the inside of the WSAC (claim 7). The evaporative spiral plate heat exchanger is provided on the lower housing, with the fan above the heat exchanger (claim 8), the fan, spray system and evaporative spiral plate heat exchanger being stacked vertically (claim 10).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 11-14, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 10019478 A.
JP 10019478 A (Fig. 1; English Abstract) as applied above substantially discloses applicant’s invention as recited by instant claims 11-14, and 18, except for the concentric spray system of claim 11, the fan being horizontally spaced from the heat exchanger, as set forth by instant claim 12, and the process medium flowing from the inside to the outside of the heat exchanger, as required by instant claim 18. It is noted that the structures as set forth by instant claims 13 and 14 are specifically taught by the reference, and would have been rejected in paragraph 3 above as being anticipated, if not for their dependencies on instant claim 12.
JP 10019478 A (Fig. 1; English Abstract) does disclose a rotating spray pipe with a plurality of spray openings along its length, which when rotating, provides a concentrically arranged spray pattern. Since the rotating spray pipe (8) of the reference provides applicant’s desired concentric spray pattern to efficiently wet the open second channels of the evaporative spiral plate heat exchanger, it would have been obvious for an artisan, at the time of the filing of the application, to modify the rotating pipe of JP ‘478, to be in the form of plural, stationary, concentric spray pipes, since such would provide the same functionality without the extra maintenance costs associated with the rotating pipe structure.
With regard to the requirement by instant claim 12, that the fan be horizontally offset from the heat exchanger, such a modification in design would have been an obvious design expedient dictated by the space available within the facility that was intended to house the claimed WSAC. As such, one having ordinary skill in the art would have found it to have been entirely obvious at the time of the filing of the application, to rearrange the known elements of the known device, as taught by JP 10019478 A, since such would allow for convenient placement of the device within the available building space. As stated above, the structures as set forth by instant claims 13 and 14 are clearly taught by JP ‘478, and therefore, it would have been obvious for an artisan at the time of the filing of the application, to provide the structures of instant claims 13 and 14 within an apparatus in which the fan was horizontally spaced from the heat exchanger, as required by claim 12, from which claims 13 and 14 depend.
With regard to instant claim 18, wherein applicant apparently equates the operation of the device where the process medium flows from the outside to the center, with the operation of the device where the process medium flows from the center to the outside, by presentation of claims to both operational manners, without apparent preference or advantage of one operation over the other, it would have been obvious for an artisan at the time of the filing of the application, to reverse the flow of the process fluid through the evaporative spiral plate heat exchanger of JP ‘478 from the disclosed outside to center to the center to outside, as set forth by instant claim 18, if such were desired.
Claims 9 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP ‘478 as applied to claims 1-8, 1-19, and 21 above, and further in view of Aaron et al ‘619.
JP 10019478 A (Fig. 1; English Abstract) as applied above substantially discloses applicant’s invention as recited by instant claims 9 and 20, except for the modular construction of the WSAC apparatus.
Aaron et al ‘619 (Figs. 3 and 7) disclose a wet surface air cooler similar to that of the Japanese reference, wherein the structure of the device is assembled in a modular type construction. Wherein it is common within the art of direct contact heat exchange to use modular construction, as evidenced by Aaron et al ‘619, it would have been obvious for an artisan at the time of the filing of the application, to construct the lower and upper housing elements, that are arranged below and above the evaporative spiral plate heat exchanger of JP ‘478, in a modular manner, such that interchangeable modules could be assembled in conjunction with spiral heat exchanger, such that the operational parameters could be easily changed, or the outward form of the device could be easily modified to fit a chosen location.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES S BUSHEY whose telephone number is (571)272-1153. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 6:30-5:00.
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/C.S.B/1-2-26
/CHARLES S BUSHEY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1776