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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 6/4/2026, with respect to the objection to the drawings have been fully considered and are persuasive. The objection of the drawings have been withdrawn. Applicant’s arguments and amendment with respect to the objection to the specification are hereby acknowledged. The objection of the specification has been withdrawn. Applicant’s arguments, with respect to the rejection of claims 4, 5 and 15 under 35 USC 112 (indefiniteness) have been fully considered and the amendments are sufficient to overcome the previously cited rejections. The rejection of claims 4, 5 and 15 have been withdrawn. Applicant’s arguments and amendment filed with respect to the rejection of claims 18, 21, 23, 25 and 26 as being rejected under 35 USC 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chaudhry (10,895,404) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections of claims 18, 21, 23, 25 and 26 have been withdrawn. Applicant’s arguments, filed with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-5, 7, 9, 15, 17-19, 21, 23, 25 and 26 under 35 USC 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Scott et al (10,801,748) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of a new interpretation of Scott et al (10,801,748).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-5, 7, 9, 15, 17-19, 21, 23, 25 and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Scott et al (10,801,748). Scott et al discloses a water heater (100) including a top water outlet (110); a water tank (102); a top cover assembly (104) having a top surface (SEE Figures 3 & 4), wherein the top water outlet is disposed on the top surface to output water from the water tank (SEE Figure 3); a multi-pass heat exchanger (230) positioned in the water tank, wherein the multi-pass heat exchanger includes a first-pass flue tube (202), a plurality of second-pass flue tube (204, 206, 208, 210), and a plurality of third-pass flue tube (212, 214, 216, 218, 220, 222, 224, 226), wherein the first-pass flue tube is configured to pass hot air (hot gas) to the plurality of second-pass flue tube, wherein the plurality of second-pass flue tube is configured to pass the hot air from the first-pass flue tube to the top plenum, and wherein the top plenum is configured to divert the hot air from the plurality second-pass flue tube to the plurality of third-pass flue tube (SEE column 3, lines 10 – column 4, line 33) and a top plenum (302) disposed at a top end portion of the water heater, wherein the top plenum comprises a single horse-shoe-shaped plenum which is interpreted by the examiner in that Scott et al anticipates (in column 6, lines 46-55) the applicants design of a single horse-shoe-shaped plenum, which is the result of the joining of flue covers (406) and (408) such that the resulting structure inherently extend across all of the plurality of second-pass flue tubes and all of the plurality of third-pass flue tubes (SEE Annotated Drawing of Figure 7 as envisioned by the examiner).
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In re claim 3, Scott et al discloses that the first-pass flue (202) tube is centrally disposed within the water tank (SEE Figures 2 & 3), wherein the second-pass flue tube is radially disposed from the first-pass flue tube, and wherein the third-pass flue tube is radially disposed from the first-pass flue tube and is adjacent to the second-pass flue tube (as per Figures 2 & 3). In re claim 4, Scott et al discloses a second second-pass flue tube radially disposed from the first-pass flue tube (Figure 2); and a second third-pass flue tube radially disposed from the first-pass flue tube (Figure 2), wherein the third-pass flue tube is additionally adjacent to the second third-pass flue tube, and wherein the second third-pass flue tube is additionally adjacent to the second second-pass flue tube (as best understood by the examiner is also illustrated in both Figures 2 & 3). In re claim 5, as best understood by the examiner, Scott et al illustrates in Figures 2 & 3 that a second third-pass flue tube is radially disposed from the first-pass flue tube, wherein the second third-pass flue tube is adjacent to the third-pass flue tube, and wherein the top water outlet (110) is disposed adjacent to the second third-pass flue tube. In re claim 7, Scott et al discloses that the multi-pass heat exchanger includes a plurality of second-pass flue tubes (204, 206, 208, 210), and a plurality of third-pass flue tubes (212, 214, 216, 218, 220, 222, 224, 226), wherein the plurality of second-pass flue tubes includes the second-pass flue tube (redundant?), wherein the plurality of third-pass flue tube includes the third-pass flue tube (redundant?), wherein there are more third-pass flue tubes than there are second-pass flue tubes. In re claim 9, Scott et al discloses a gasket (412, 414), wherein the top cover assembly includes a horse-shoe-shaped diverter (SEE Figures 4, 7 & 8) mounted to a tank cover plate (402) such that the top plenum is defined by a space between the horse-shoe-shaped diverter and the tank cover plate, and wherein the horse-shoe-shaped diverter includes a single gasket track configured to receive the gasket (each of the diverters, as best represented by 412 & 414 has its own single gasket track). In re claim 15, Scott et al discloses an alternative structure in which includes a second third-pass flue tube (as best understood by the examiner, SEE Figures 2 & 3) adjacent to a first third-pass flue tube of the plurality of third-pass flue tubes, wherein a first second-pass flue tube of the plurality of second-pass flue tubes are adjacent to the second third-pass flue tube (as best understood by the examiner, SEE Figures 2 & 3), wherein the multi-pass heat exchanger includes a first-pass flue tube, wherein hot gas from a combustion system flows through the first-pass flue tube, and wherein a portion of the hot gas that flows through the first-pass flue tube flows to the second-pass flue tube (column 3, line 10 – column 4, line 33). In re claim 17, Scott et al discloses a combustion system (108) attached to a mounting flange (602), wherein the flue tubes include a second-pass flue tube and third-pass flue tube, wherein the top plenum (302) provides a hot gas flow path from the second-pass flue tube to the third-pass flue tube (via horse shoe diverters), and wherein the mounting flange is attached to the top cover assembly (402, SEE column 5, lines 48-55). In re claim 18, Scott et al discloses a water heater (100) including a water tank (102); a top cover assembly (104) having a top surface (SEE Figure 3), the top water outlet (110) disposed on the top surface to output water from the water tank; a multi-pass heat exchanger (230) positioned in the water tank, the multi-pass heat exchanger includes a first-pass flue tube; a set of second-pass flue tubes; a set of third-pass flue tubes; and a top plenum (302) at a top end portion of the water heater, the top plenum having a first end and a second end (402, 404) (SEE Figure 4), the first end of the top plenum is separated from the second end of the top plenum so as to define a space, the space including an aperture sized to receive a water outlet pipe through the top water outlet (inherent, to compensate for top water outlet 110). In re claim 19, Scott et al further discloses a gasket (412, 414),wherein the top cover assembly includes a horse-shoe-shaped diverter (SEE Annotated Figure 7 provided above for reference) mounted to a tank cover plate (402) such that the top plenum is defined by a space between the horse-shoe-shaped diverter and the tank cover plate (SEE Figure 4), and wherein the horse-shoe-shaped diverter includes a single gasket track configured to receive the gasket (as per annotated Figure 7 would be the combined gaskets 412 & 414). In re claim 21, Scott et al discloses that the set of second-pass flue tubes are interspersed with the set of third-pass flue tubes (column 4, lines 18-33). In re claim 23, Scott et al further discloses a bottom plenum (305) proximal to a bottom end of the water heater (SEE Figure 3), wherein hot gas from a combustion system flows through the first-pass flue tube to the set of second-pass flue tubes and to the set of third-pass flue tubes, wherein the hot gas enters the bottom plenum from the set of third-pass flue tubes, and wherein the top cover assembly includes a tank cover plate (402, SEE Figures 4 & 5) that defines the top plenum. In re claim 25, Scott et al discloses that the tank cover plate (402) has tube holes and a water outlet hole, and wherein the tube holes are arranged to match a configuration of the set of second-pass flue tubes and the set of third-pass flue tubes (as per Figures 4-6). In re claim 26, Scott et al discloses structure capable of carrying out the method of heating water of the applicants claimed invention including providing, via water input pipe (as per water inlet 112), un-heated water into a water heater comprising: a top water outlet (110); a water tank (102); a top cover assembly (104) having a top surface (SEE Figure 3), the top water outlet disposed on the top surface to output water from the water tank (Figure 3); and a multi-pass heat exchanger (230) positioned in the water tank, the multi-pass heat exchanger comprising a top plenum (302) at a top end portion of the water heater, the top plenum having a first end and a second end (402, 404), the first end of the top plenum separate from the second end of the top plenum so as to define a space, the space including an aperture sized to receive a water outlet pipe through the top water outlet; and heating, via the heat exchanger, the un-heated water (SEE Figure 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-12, 14 and 20 are 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.
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 GREGORY A WILSON whose telephone number is (571)272-4882. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 7:00am-4:30pm.
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, Helena Kosanovic can be reached at 571-272-9059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GREGORY A WILSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762 July 21, 2026
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