3DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Specification
2. The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: the acronym “HAPS” is used throughout the specification; however the acronym “HAPS” is never defined anywhere in the specification. “HAPS” should at least be defined the first time it is mentioned.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bishop (WO 2020/174213A1) as cited in IDS dated 5/28/24.
Regarding claim 1, Bishop discloses a flight vehicle (100, Fig. 1) comprising: a wing unit(6, Fig. 1); a main body unit(4, Fig. 1); a battery that is arranged in the wing unit(p. 8, lines 1-2); a payload that is arranged in the main body unit and that includes at least any of electronic equipment or a control motor(2, Fig. 1, p. 8, lines 12-16); a radiator(heat exchangers 22a and 22b, Fig. 4); and a heat pipe (14, Fig. 4) that exchanges heat between the battery, the payload, and the radiator (p. 10, lines 1-4, p. 8, lines 11-16) and that has a check valve (see flow control unit 21 in Fig. 4 with controllable valve, p. 11, lines 25-31) which causes a hydraulic fluid to be circulated to transfer the heat of the battery to the payload and the radiator(p. 11, lines 25-29, p. 12, lines 17-18, p. 10, lines 1-4, p. 12, lines 31-33 and p. 13, lines 3-9).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
7. Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bishop (WO 2020/174213A1) as cited in IDS dated 5/28/24 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Wetzel (US 2015/0232191) as cited in IDS dated 5/28/24.
Regarding claim 14, Bishop does not explicitly disclose comprising: an air intake unit that is formed at a position corresponding to the battery on a front side of the wing unit; a heat sink unit that is arranged for the battery and cools the battery by air which flows in from the air intake unit and that includes a ventilation unit having a shape widening from the front side toward a rear side; and an exhaust unit that is formed at a position corresponding to the battery on the rear side of the wing unit and that exhausts air which flows out from the heat sink unit.
Wetzel teaches cooling system for components in (airborne) vehicle structures (title). Wetzel teaches an air intake unit (air inlet 11, Fig. 4) that is formed at a position corresponding to the battery (components 2, Fig. 4, [0014]) on a front side of the wing unit(1, Fig. 4); a heat sink unit that is arranged for the battery and cools the battery by air which flows in from the air intake unit and that includes a ventilation unit having a shape widening from the front side toward a rear side([0023], Fig. 4); and an exhaust unit that is formed at a position corresponding to the battery on the rear side of the wing unit and that exhausts air which flows out from the heat sink unit(air outlet 12, Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to include in the flight vehicle of Bishop, an air intake unit that is formed at a position corresponding to the battery on a front side of the wing unit; a heat sink unit that is arranged for the battery and cools the battery by air which flows in from the air intake unit and that includes a ventilation unit having a shape widening from the front side toward a rear side; and an exhaust unit that is formed at a position corresponding to the battery on the rear side of the wing unit and that exhausts air which flows out from the heat sink unit as taught by Wetzel as applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143.
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claim 2 is 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.
In particular, the allowable limitation is the heat pipe has a battery corresponding portion that corresponds to the battery, a radiator corresponding portion that corresponds to the radiator,
a payload corresponding portion that corresponds to the payload, a first circulation portion that extends from the battery corresponding portion, branches at a branch unit, and is connected to each of the radiator corresponding portion and the payload corresponding portion, a second circulation portion that extends from the payload corresponding portion and is connected to the radiator corresponding portion, and a third circulation portion that extends from the radiator corresponding portion and is connected to the battery corresponding portion.
In the instant invention, the heat pipe 410 may include a first circulation portion 412 that extends from the battery corresponding portion, branches at a branch unit 411, and is connected to each of the radiator corresponding portion and the payload corresponding portion; a second circulation portion 414 that extends from the payload corresponding portion and is connected to the radiator corresponding portion; and a third circulation portion 416 that extends from the radiator corresponding portion and is connected to the battery corresponding portion(Fig. 5, [0052] US 2023/0307738).
Bishop discloses the heat pipe has a battery corresponding portion that corresponds to the battery(p. 10, lines 29-31, p. 8, lines 1-2), a radiator corresponding portion that corresponds to the radiator(p. 9, lines 23-24), a payload corresponding portion that corresponds to the payload(p. 10, lines 10-13), heat pipe extension 14c terminates in proximity to the wing mounted heat exchanger 22c (Fig. 4, p. 11, lines 16-17) but does not disclose, teach or render obvious a first circulation portion that extends from the battery corresponding portion, branches at a branch unit, and is connected to each of the radiator corresponding portion and the payload corresponding portion, a second circulation portion that extends from the payload corresponding portion and is connected to the radiator corresponding portion, and a third circulation portion that extends from the radiator corresponding portion and is connected to the battery corresponding portion.
9. Claims 3-13 and 15-20 are objected to as being dependent upon allowable claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the allowable claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VICTORIA HOM LYNCH whose telephone number is (571)272-0489. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM EST M-F.
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/VICTORIA H LYNCH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1724