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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 07/07/2026 has been entered.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 7, 9 and 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kariya (US 2026/0258983) in view of Peng (CN 211823947 U, as previously presented).
Regarding claim 1, Kariya discloses a low-pressure boiling cooling system (refer to fig.1) comprising:
a sealed chamber (10) containing a refrigerant (Lf) and configured to convert the refrigerant into vapor (Gf) by boiling the refrigerant therein;
a high-temperature portion (52) located inside the sealed chamber (10) and configured to boil the refrigerant,
a heating portion (T) located outside the sealed chamber (10) and configured to generate heat;
a vacuum pump (22) connected to the sealed chamber (10) and configured to lower pressure inside the sealed chamber by discharging the vapor into an atmosphere (refer to par.92);
a refrigerant tank (33) containing a supplementary refrigerant; and
a refrigerant transfer portion (34) configured to supply the supplementary refrigerant from the refrigerant tank into the sealed chamber,
wherein the high-temperature portion (52) is configured to receive heat generated from the heating portion (T) and directly transfer heat to the refrigerant in the sealed chamber (refer to par.8),
wherein the refrigerant and the supplementary refrigerant are water (refer to par.148, wherein the various other refrigerants can be used in the cooling system S1, for example, water may be used), and
wherein a fluid flowing inside the high-temperature portion (52) and the heating portion (T) circulates through a circuit (51) that is independent of the refrigerant in the sealed chamber (refer to fig.1).
While Kariya discloses the high-temperature portion, Kariya fails to explicitly disclose wherein a surface of high-temperature portion has a roughness to increase bubble formation.
However, Peng teaches that it is known in the art of refrigeration, to provide a surface of a pipe having a roughness (refer to outer wall of the pipe as can be seen from figs. 1-2, including grooves 2 and 3) to increase bubble formation (refer to the Abstract, and Background of the invention, wherein the pipe is provided with multiple groove types to generate and gather bubbles in order to improve the heat transfer pipe comprehensive heat transfer performance).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Kariya such that a surface of the high-temperature portion has a roughness to increase bubble formation in view of the teachings by Peng, in order to improve the high-temperature portion comprehensive heat transfer performance.
Regarding claim 2, Kariya as modified meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 1. Further, Kariya as modified discloses wherein the high-temperature portion (52) is formed by connecting a tube-shaped heat transfer duct (refer to par.119), and the heating portion (T) is disposed between both end portions (15 and 16) of the high-temperature portion.
Regarding claim 7, Kariya as modified meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 1. Further, Kariya as modified discloses a water level measurement sensor (refer to liquid level sensor 73) configured to measure a water level of the refrigerant inside the sealed chamber (10), wherein the refrigerant transfer portion (13) is configured to control an amount of the supplementary refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant tank when the water level of the refrigerant measured by the water level measurement sensor is out of a predetermined reference value (refer to par.133, wherein a target height of the liquid surface of the refrigerant in liquid form in the sealed chamber 10 is input to and held in the bypass amount adjustment unit 103 by, for example, an input device, then, the bypass amount adjustment unit 103 controls the three-way valve 34 using the detection result from the liquid level sensor 73 such that the liquid level height of the refrigerant in liquid form in the sealed container 10 is maintained at the above target height as a predetermined height).
Regarding claim 9, Kariya as modified meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 7. Further, Kariya as modified discloses wherein the refrigerant transfer portion (34) is a valve (three-way valve) capable of adjusting a flow rate and is individually configured to control the water level of the refrigerant in the sealed chamber (10).
Regarding claim 16, Kariya as modified meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 1. Further, Kariya as modified discloses wherein a surface area of the high-temperature portion (52) is such that temperature inside of the sealed chamber is lower than the temperature of the high-temperature portion (refer to par.80, wherein the cooling system S1 cools the heat medium circulated by the heat medium circulation device 50 in the sealed chamber 10, and the heat medium circulation device 50 sends the cooled heat medium to a temperature control target T).
Regarding claim 17, Kariya as modified meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 1. Further, Kariya as modified discloses wherein the sealed chamber is pre-conditioned such that a first temperature inside of the sealed chamber is lower than or equal to a second temperature of the high-temperature portion (in the instant case, the sealed chamber has the capability of being pre-conditioned such that a first temperature inside of the sealed chamber is lower than or equal to a second temperature of the high-temperature portion by means of sensors 71, 74, 73 and 72, as well as through the pressure reducing device 30, and refrigerant circulation device 30).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pp.8-11, filed on 07/07/2026, with respect to claims 1-2, 7, 9 and 16-17 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 1-2, 7, 9 and 16-17 has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of newly amended claims.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following references are considered in the same field of endeavor as this application: Lee (US 7,263,845).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANA M VAZQUEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-0611. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7-4.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Len Tran can be reached at 571-272-1184. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ANA M VAZQUEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
