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 .
Status of the Claims
The status of the claims as filed in the reply dated 7/17/2025 are as follows:
Claims 1, 13, and 16 are amended,
Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
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 1-20 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 now recites in lines 5-7 “wherein the first heat exchanger, the fan unit, and the air duct are stacked to form a sandwich with the first heat exchanger, the fan unit, and the air duct having a matching footprint”. However, this indefinite as it is unclear what is meant by a “matching footprint”, the description does not provide clarity. Further, definitions of the term found online would not inform a person of ordinary skill on the metes and bounds of the claim. For example, merriam-webster.com defines “footprint” as the area on a surface covered by something. It is not clear what area and what surface the claim would be referring to.
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) 1-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rogg (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0017138, previously cited) in view of Bireaud et al. (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023/0008669, “Bireaud”).
Regarding claim 1, Rogg discloses heat exchanger module comprising:
a first heat exchanger (14) configured to exchange heat with air;
a fan unit (20) configured to induce flow of the air through the first heat exchanger; and
an air duct (see annotated fig 1 below) configured to guide the flow of the air to the first heat exchanger;
wherein the air duct includes a first duct portion, a second duct portion and a third duct portion (as evident in annotated fig 3 below), with the first duct portion and the second duct portion being connected to the first heat exchanger, and the third duct portion being connected to the fan unit (as all of the components of the heat exchanger module are connected).
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However, Rogg does not explicitly disclose wherein the first heat exchanger, the fan unit, and the air duct are stacked to form a sandwich with the first heat exchanger, the fan unit, and the air duct having a matching footprint. Bireaud, however, discloses a heat exchanger module (fig 1) wherein a heat exchanger (3), fan unit (5), and air duct (1) are stacked to form a sandwich with the first heat exchanger, the fan unit, and the air duct having a matching footprint (fig 1). Bireaud teaches that this arrangement ensures maximum airflow (¶0002). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Rogg to have the first heat exchanger, the fan unit, and the air duct sandwiched with matching footprints in order to ensure maximum air flow.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses wherein the heat exchanger module is an inclined heat exchanger module (see annotated fig 1 below).
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Regarding claim 3, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses wherein the first heat exchanger (14) is arranged between the fan unit (20) and the air duct (at least part of air duct upstream the heat exchanger) along the flow of the air.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses wherein the air duct has a quadrilateral shape with an upper duct side, a lower duct side, a first lateral duct side and a second lateral duct side, when viewed in a direction of the flow of the air (as evident in annotated fig 3 below).
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Regarding claim 5, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses wherein the first duct portion is the first lateral duct side of the air duct and the second duct portion is the second lateral duct side of the air duct (see annotated fig 3 below).
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Regarding claim 6, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. However, they do not explicitly disclose wherein the first heat exchanger includes a primary-first collector and a secondary-first collector, with the first duct portion being connected to the primary-first collector and the second duct portion being connected to the secondary-first collector. However, the Examiner takes Official Notice that it is old well known in the art of heat exchangers to provide collectors in order to distribute the refrigerant evenly thus through the heat exchanger and thus improve heat exchange efficiency. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Rogg, as modified, to provide a primary-first collector and a secondary-first collector in order to improve heat exchange efficiency. This would result in the first duct portion being connected to the primary-first collector and the second duct portion being connected to the secondary-first collector (as all of the components of the heat exchanger module are connected).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses wherein the third duct portion is the upper duct side (see annotated fig 3 above).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses wherein the fan unit (20) includes an upper fan side, with the upper duct side being connected to the upper fan side (see annotated fig 1 below).
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Regarding claim 9, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses wherein the lower duct side (see annotated fig 1 below) is connected to the fan unit (20).
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Regarding claim 10, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses wherein the fan unit (20) includes a lower fan side, with the lower duct side being connected to the lower fan side (see annotated fig 1 below).
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Regarding claim 11, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses wherein the fan unit (20) includes a first lateral fan side and a second lateral fan side (see annotated fig 3 below), with the first lateral fan side and the second lateral fan side being connected to the first heat exchanger (14).
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Regarding claim 12, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. However, they do not explicitly disclose wherein the first heat exchanger includes a primary-first collector and a secondary-first collector, with the first lateral fan side being connected to the primary-first collector and the second lateral fan side being connected to the secondary-first collector. However, the Examiner takes Official Notice that it is old well known in the art of heat exchangers to provide collectors in order to distribute the refrigerant evenly thus through the heat exchanger and thus improve heat exchange efficiency. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Rogg, as modified, to provide a primary-first collector and a secondary-first collector in order to improve heat exchange efficiency. This would result in the first lateral fan side being connected to the primary-first collector and the second lateral fan side being connected to the secondary-first collector (as all of the components of the heat exchanger module are connected).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses a second heat exchanger (15) connected to the first heat exchanger (14) and configured to exchange heat with air.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses wherein the second heat exchanger (15) is arranged between the first heat exchanger (14) and the fan unit (20) in the flow of the air.
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses wherein the second heat exchanger includes a primary-second lateral side and a secondary-second lateral side (see annotated fig 3 below), with the primary-second lateral side and the secondary-second lateral side being connected to the first heat exchanger (14).
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Regarding claim 16, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. However, they do not explicitly disclose wherein a primary-second collector and a secondary-second collector of the second heat exchanger are connected respectively to a primary-first collector and a secondary-first collector of the first heat exchanger respectively. However, the Examiner takes Official Notice that it is old well known in the art of heat exchangers to provide collectors in order to distribute the refrigerant evenly thus through the heat exchanger and thus improve heat exchange efficiency. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Rogg, as modified, to provide primary collectors and secondary collectors in order to improve heat exchange efficiency. This would result in the collectors being connected to one another (as all of the components of the heat exchanger module are connected).
Claim(s) 1, 13, and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rogg (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0017138, previously cited) in view of Bireaud et al. (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023/0008669, “Bireaud”).
Regarding claim 1, Rogg discloses heat exchanger module comprising:
a first heat exchanger (15) configured to exchange heat with air;
a fan unit (20) configured to induce flow of the air through the first heat exchanger; and
an air duct (see annotated fig 1 below) configured to guide the flow of the air to the first heat exchanger;
wherein the air duct includes a first duct portion, a second duct portion and a third duct portion (as evident in annotated fig 3 below), with the first duct portion and the second duct portion being connected to the first heat exchanger, and the third duct portion being connected to the fan unit (as all the components of the heat exchanger module are connected).
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However, Rogg does not explicitly disclose wherein the first heat exchanger, the fan unit, and the air duct are stacked to form a sandwich with the first heat exchanger, the fan unit, and the air duct having a matching footprint. Bireaud, however, discloses a heat exchanger module (fig 1) wherein a heat exchanger (3), fan unit (5), and air duct (1) are stacked to form a sandwich with the first heat exchanger, the fan unit, and the air duct having a matching footprint (fig 1). Bireaud teaches that this arrangement ensures maximum airflow (¶0002). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Rogg to have the first heat exchanger, the fan unit, and the air duct sandwiched with matching footprints in order to ensure maximum air flow.
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses a second heat exchanger (14) connected to the first heat exchanger (15) and configured to exchange heat with air (fig 1).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses wherein the first heat exchanger (15) is a radiator (¶0039).
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. Rogg further discloses wherein the second heat exchanger (14) is a condenser (¶0038).
Claim(s) 19 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rogg and Bireaud (alternative interpretation) as applied to claim 18 above, and further in view of Shembekar et al. (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0149312, “Shembekar”, previously cited).
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Rogg and Bireaud discloses all previous claim limitations. However, they do not explicitly disclose wherein the second heat exchanger includes a receiver dryer, the receiver dryer being connected to the first heat exchanger. Shembekar, however, discloses a condenser (fig 3) which includes a receiver dryer (118). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Rogg to provide the receiver dryer of Shembekar in order to remove gas from the refrigerant thus allowing it to be cooled further in the condenser. This would result in the receiver dryer being connected to the first heat exchanger (as all of the components of the heat exchanger module are connected).
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Rogg, Bireaud, and Shembekar discloses all previous claim limitations. However, they do not explicitly disclose wherein the first heat exchanger includes a primary-first collector and a secondary-first collector, with the receiver dryer being connected to the primary-first collector. However, the Examiner takes Official Notice that it is old well known in the art of heat exchangers to provide collectors in order to distribute the refrigerant evenly thus through the heat exchanger and thus improve heat exchange efficiency. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Rogg to provide a primary-first collector and a secondary-first collector in order to improve heat exchange efficiency. This would result in with the receiver dryer being connected to the primary-first collector (as all of the components of the heat exchanger module are connected).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/17/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Rogg does not teach wherein the first heat exchanger, the fan unit, and the air duct are stacked to form a sandwich with the first heat exchanger, the fan unit, and the air duct having a matching footprint. However, newly cited Bireaud is now being relied upon to teach this limitation.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HARRY E ARANT whose telephone number is (571)272-1105. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10-6 ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jianying Atkisson can be reached at (571)270-7740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HARRY E ARANT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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