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 § 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 1-16 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 1 recites the limitation "said external glass pane" in the fourteenth line of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The Examiner believes Applicant is referring to the “an external transparent partition” limitation previously introduced in the claim. In the interest of advancing prosecution, "said external glass pane" will be interpreted as if the claim is amended to read "said external transparent partition".
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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.
Claim(s) 1-8 and 11-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 9851973 A1 (hereinafter “SCHWARZ”) in view of US 20110120452 A1 (hereinafter “MILES”).
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Regarding Claims 1-8 and 11-16, SCHWARZ discloses an assembly for heating water using solar energy, the assembly comprising: (a) a central enclosure comprising: (i) an inner wall (3) that is water-resistant and non-corrosive, (ii) an outer wall (2) that is transparent, said inner and outer walls hermetically sealed together to form a watertight compartment (6) defined between said inner and outer walls, (iii) an inlet port (indicated in annotated Fig. 6 above) located on a lower portion of said central enclosure, (iv) an outlet port (indicated in annotated Fig. 6 above) located on an upper portion of said central enclosure; and (b) an external transparent partition (29) spaced apart from said outer wall and defining an external insulation layer of gas (28) between said external transparent partition and said outer wall; and (c) an internal partition (4) spaced apart from said inner wall and defining an internal insulation layer (5) between said internal partition and said inner wall; wherein said outer wall is a pane of glass (see the provided English translation: “transparent panes 2, 3, 4 e.g. made of glass”); wherein said gas is selected from the including: air, argon, krypton and carbon dioxide (see the provided English translation: “For the construction of the insulation glazing, this means that the triple glazing is supplemented to a quadruple glazing. There are three disc spaces 5, 6, 28. The middle 6 is filled with the circulating liquid 7. So that the k-value of that arranged on the inside of the building Pane space 5 is much better than that on the outside of the building, the inside must be filled with an inert gas, for example xenon, and the outside only with air. The k-value of the outer space 28 can be changed by ventilation flaps 30, which allow a regulated circulation of the air of the outer space between the panes 28 and the outside air.”); further including at least one additional layer of insulation gas (see the provided English translation, specifically the Abstract: “The intermediate space (5) facing the building interior is filled with gas,”), including a corresponding additional glass partition (4) for each of said at least one additional layer of insulation gas; wherein said internal partition has a transparency gradient selected from the group including: transparent, semi- transparent, and opaque (see again the provided English translation: “transparent panes 2, 3, 4 e.g. made of glass”); wherein said inner wall has a transparency gradient selected from the group including: transparent, semi-transparent, and opaque (see again the provided English translation: “transparent panes 2, 3, 4 e.g. made of glass”); wherein said inner wall is made of a material selected from the group including: glass and plastic (see again the provided English translation: “transparent panes 2, 3, 4 e.g. made of glass”); wherein said internal insulation layer includes an insulation medium selected from the group including: gas, fiberglass, mineral wool, cellulose, natural fibers, polystyrene, polyisocyanurate, polyurethane, perlite, cementitious foam, phenolic foam, and insulation facings (see again the provided English translation, specifically the Abstract: “The intermediate space (5) facing the building interior is filled with gas,”); a system for heating water using solar energy, the system comprising: (a) at least one assembly of claim 1; (b) a water tank (11); (c) a hot water pipe (indicated in annotated Fig. 6 above) extending from said outlet port to a hot water intake disposed on an upper portion of said water tank; and (d) a cold water pipe (indicated in annotated Fig. 6 above) extending from cold water outlet disposed on a lower portion of said water tank to said inlet port.
SCHWARZ does not disclose (v) a solar collector member disposed inside said watertight compartment, said member being disposed between said inner and outer walls; wherein said solar collector member is a planar member of heat conductive material; wherein said solar collector member is made of metal; wherein said solar collector member is black in color; wherein said solar collector member includes a plurality of apertures formed therein; wherein said external transparent partition is made of glass.
With regard to wherein said external transparent partition is made of glass: It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify SCHWARZ wherein said external transparent partition is made of glass, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
MILES teaches an assembly for heating water using solar energy, the assembly comprising: a solar collector member (see 320) disposed inside a watertight compartment (see para. [0032]: “The heat transfer component comprises a heat transfer core 320, heat transfer core cover sheet 312, heat transfer core back sheet 324, and support posts 322 on either side of the heat transfer core 320. The support posts may not be required in some embodiments. The support posts 322 physically separate the heat transfer core 320 from the heat transfer core cover sheet 312 thereby to create a fluid flow conduit 313 there between. Likewise, the support posts 322 physically separate the heat transfer core 320 from the heat transfer core back sheet 322 thereby to create a fluid flow conduit 315 there between.”), said member being disposed between an inner and outer walls (see 312, 324); wherein said solar collector member is a planar member of heat conductive material (see para. [0033]: “the heat transfer core 320 may be defined by a porous planar element comprising a number of materials including but not limited to metallic or graphite foams, sintered metals or ceramics, or another material medium with high thermal conductivity and whose porosity can be defined during their manufacture, or through micromachining or other micro-fabrication techniques. Being porous, the heat transfer core 320 may include a myriad of microscopic voids which are connected so that fluids and/or gasses may pass there through. The voids are sized, in certain embodiments, to encourage the passive transport of liquids through the heat transfer core 320 via a wicking phenomenon. Thus, the aforesaid voids serve to perform the fluid transfer function. The porosity of the heat transfer core 320 is designed such that light which strikes its upper surface cannot pass through the entire body of the heat transfer core 320.”); wherein said solar collector member is made of metal (see again the portion of para. [0033] quoted above); wherein said solar collector member is black in color (see para. [0034]: “In some embodiments, the upper surface areas of the heat transfer core 320, which are exposed to incident light, may be coated with one or more light absorbing films. These films are designed to maximize the amount of light absorbed and minimize the amount of heat radiated. Thus, the aforesaid films serve the light absorption function of the core 320. Many such coatings exist including metallic oxynitrides, black chrome, and induced absorber optical stacks.”); wherein said solar collector member includes a plurality of apertures formed therein (see again the portion of para. [0033] quoted above).
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify SCHWARZ to further comprise a solar collector member disposed inside said watertight compartment, said member being disposed between said inner and outer walls; wherein said solar collector member is a planar member of heat conductive material; wherein said solar collector member is made of metal; wherein said solar collector member is black in color; wherein said solar collector member includes a plurality of apertures formed therein as taught and/or suggested by MILES, since such a modification would increase the heat absorbing/transfer surface area, would increase heat transfer due to turbulence induced by said solar collector member and would simultaneously increase the residence time of water flowing through said assembly by providing flow resistance thus allowing more time for said water to be heated through either direct solar energy conversion or heat transfer with said solar collector member.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 and 10 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure because the references are either in the same field of endeavor or are reasonably pertinent to the particular problem with which the applicant was concerned. Please see form PTO-892 (Notice of References Cited) attached to, or included with, this Office Action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JORGE A PEREIRO whose telephone number is (571)270-3932 and whose fax number is (571) 270-4932. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9:00 - 5:00 EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Barrett can be reached on (571) 272-4746. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JORGE A PEREIRO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799