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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “14” has been used to designate both “thermos-electric heat element” and “a bottom wall”. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: the reference sign “38” indicated in the description is not show in the drawing. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-5 are objected to because of the following informalities:
The limitation “the chamber” in claims 1-2, 4 and 5 which should be recited to --the insulated chamber-- for proper antecedent basis.
The limitation “the channel” in claim 3 which should be recited to --the cooling channel-- for proper antecedent basis.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-5 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 “the circulation channel” in line 7 of page 2 which is unclear and renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear whether the limitation refers to “the cooling channel”, “the exhaust channel” or something else. For examination purposes, the limitation has been interpreted as “the cooling channel”.
Claim 2 recites the limitation “a second fan” in line 2 which is unclear and renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear whether the limitation refers to “the one or more fan” or something else. For examination purposes, the limitation has been interpreted as “a second fan of the one or more fans”.
Claim 5 recites the limitation “the circulation channel” in line 6 of page 4 which is unclear and renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear whether the limitation refers to “the cooling channel”, “the exhaust channel” or something else. For examination purposes, the limitation has been interpreted as “the cooling channel”.
Claims 3-4 are rejected by their virtual dependencies of claim 1.
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) 1-2 and 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Korean Reference (KR200353322Y1) hereinafter “KR322” in view of Dekeyser (WO2021242816A1).
Regarding claim 1, KR322 discloses a refrigerated container (10; see figures 1-2 and 5-6) having a thermo-electric cooler pump (the cooler pump of the container 10; see figures 1-2 and 5-6), the refrigerated container comprising:
a container body (10) having insulated side and bottom walls defining an insulated chamber (11; the heat insulating material of the body makes chamber 11 insulated; see abstract), the side walls defining a top opening (see figures 1-2 and 5-6),
a lid (20) sized to fit over the top opening of the container body (10) for closing the chamber (see figures 1-2 and 5-6), the lid (20) having an insulated base (see figure 6), a cooling channel (61), an exhaust channel (51), a thermo-electric element (30, 40 and 41), one or more fans (50 and 60), the insulated base having an underside and a top side (see figure 5),
the cooling channel (61) formed on the underside of the base and having an inlet port and an outlet port (see figure 6), a first one of the one or more fans (60) disposed at the outlet port for driving air pulled from the chamber into the cooling channel (61; see figure 5),
the exhaust channel (51) disposed on or above the top side of the insulated base (the base of the lid 20; see figure 6), the exhaust channel (51) having an exhaust port for expelling air from the lid (20; see figure 5),
the thermo-electric element (30, 40 and 41) having a cold-side heat exchanger (41), a hot-side heat exchanger (40) and an electrically conductive element (30) therebetween (see figure 5), electric current passing through the electrically conductive element (30) causing a temperature differential between the cold-side heat exchanger (41) and the hot-side heat exchanger (40; see figure 6), the cold-side heat exchanger (41) extending into the cooling channel (61) on the underside of the base of the lid (20; see figure 5), the hot-side heat exchanger (40) extending into the exhaust channel (51) on the top side of the base of the lid (20; see figure 5), wherein passage of electric current through the electrically conductive element (30) activates the thermo-electric element (30, 40 and 41) thereby causing heat to flow from the cold-side heat exchanger (41) to the hot-side heat exchanger (40), a power source (solar cells 81 and 82) connected to the thermo-electric element (30, 40 and 41; see figure 6),
a controller (the circuit diagram 110, 120 and 150) connected to the power source (81 and 82),
a sensor (a temperature switch 140) in communication with the controller (110 and 120) for detecting temperature (the set temperature of the thermoelectric element 30) in the chamber (11; paragraphs 6-9 of page 5; see figures 5-6), such that when the sensor (140) detects a temperature in the chamber over a selected threshold the controller is configured to activate the first fan (60) to circulate air drawn from the chamber (11) through the circulation channel (61) across the cold-side heat exchanger (41) and to activate the thermo-electric element (30), thereby transferring heat from the chamber (11) across the insulated base of the lid (20) into the exhaust channel (51; see figures 5-6).
However, KR 322 fails to disclose the first one of the one or more fans (60) disposed at the inlet port.
Dekeyser teaches a modular thermoelectric apparatus for use in portable container comprising a first one of the one or more fans (620) disposed at the inlet port (610) of a cooling channel (630; see figures 3-4).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claim invention to modify the refrigerated container of KR322 to incorporate the claimed location for the first fan which disposed at the inlet port as taught by Dekeyser in order to obtain the similar or predictable result which to withdraw air from the chamber of the container to the cold side heat exchanger for performing heat transfer.
Regarding claim 2, KR322 discloses the refrigerated container further comprising:
a second fan (50) disposed above the top side of the insulated base for driving ambient air into the exhaust channel (51; see figure 5), and when the sensor (140) detects a temperature in the chamber (11) over a selected threshold the controller (110, 120 and 150) being configured to activate the second fan (50) to drive air through the exhaust channel (51) across the hot-side heat exchanger (40) and out of the lid (20) through the exhaust port (see figures 5-6).
Regarding claim 4, KR322 discloses the chamber (11) is sized to hold cold drinks (paragraph 3 of page 2). Noted that the limitation “the chamber is sized to hold medical drug containers or bio-tissue samples” has been considered a recitation of intended use. The refrigerated container of KR322 is capable of being used to hold medical drug containers or bio-tissue samples. It has been held that the recitation with respect to the matter in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations. Ex part Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (1987).
Regarding claim 5, KR322 as modified in detail as in claim 1 above discloses a refrigerated container (10) having a thermo-electric cooler pump (the cooler pump of the container 10; see figures 1-2 and 5-6), the refrigerated container comprising:
a container body (10) having insulated side and bottom walls defining an insulated chamber (11; the heat insulating material of the body makes chamber 11 insulated; see abstract), the side walls defining a top opening (see figures 1-2 and 5),
a lid (20) sized to fit over the top opening of the container body (10) for closing the chamber (11), the lid (20) having an insulated base (the base of the lid 20), a cooling channel (61), an exhaust channel (51), a thermo-electric element (30, 40 and 41), two or more fans (50 and 60), the insulated base having an underside and a top side (see figure 5),
the cooling channel (61) formed on the underside of the base and having an inlet port and an outlet port (see figure 5), a first fan (60) of the two or more fans (50 and 60) disposed at the inlet port for driving air pulled from the chamber (11) into the cooling channel (61; KR322 in view of Dekeyser; see figure 3 of Dekeyser),
the exhaust channel (51) disposed on or above the top side of the insulated base (see figure 5), the exhaust channel (51) having an exhaust port for expelling air from the lid (20; see figure 5), a second fan (50) of the two or more fans (50 and 60) disposed above the top side of the insulated base for driving ambient air into the exhaust channel (51; see figure 5),
the thermo-electric element (30, 40 and 41) having a cold-side heat exchanger (41), a hot-side heat exchanger (40) and an electrically conductive element (30) therebetween (see figure 5), electric current passing through the electrically conductive element (30) causing a temperature differential between the cold-side heat exchanger (41) and the hot-side heat exchanger (40; see figures 5-6), the cold-side heat exchanger (41) extending into the cooling channel (61) on the underside of the base of the lid (20; see figure 5), the hot-side heat exchanger (40) extending into the exhaust channel (51) on the top side of the base of the lid (20; see figure 5-6), wherein passage of electric current through the electrically conductive element (30) activates the thermo-electric element (30, 40 and 41) thereby causing heat to flow from the cold-side heat exchanger (41) to the hot-side heat exchanger (40; see figures 5-6),
a power source (the solar cells 81 and 82) connected to the thermo-electric element (30, 40 and 41),
a controller (110, 120 and 150) connected to the power source (81 and 82),
a sensor (a temperature switch 140) in communication with the controller (110, 120 and 150) for detecting temperature in the chamber (11; paragraphs 6-9 of page 5), such that when the sensor (140) detects a temperature in the chamber (11) over a selected threshold the controller (110, 120 and 150) is configured to activate the first fan (60) to circulate air drawn from the chamber (11) through the circulation channel (61) across the cold-side heat exchanger (41), to activate the thermo-electric element (30) to transfer heat from the chamber (11) across the insulated base of the lid (20) into the exhaust channel (51; see figures 5-6), and to activate the second fan (50) to drive air through the exhaust channel (51) across the hot-side heat exchanger (40) and out of the lid (20) through the exhaust port (see figures 5-6).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR322 in view of Dekeyser as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Liu (CN207350602U).
Regarding claim 3, KR322 as modified fails to discloses the refrigerated container further comprising: one-way valve disposed in the outlet port of the cooling channel restricting air in the channel to only flow from the inlet port to the outlet port.
Liu teaches a refrigeration system comprising an one-way valve (103) disposed in an outlet port (100-2) of a cold air channel (100) restricting air in a cold air channel (100) to only flow from an inlet port (100-1) to the outlet port (100-2; see figure 1).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claim invention to modify the refrigerated container of KR322 to incorporate the claimed check valve as taught by Liu in order to prevent backflow of the cold air.
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 KUN KAI MA whose telephone number is (571)-270-3530. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9am-6pm.
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/KUN KAI MA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763