DETAILED ACTION
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) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kato et al WO2017006467 A1.
Kato teaches a sealing plate constituted by drain pan for a heat exchanger 4 of an air conditioner, comprising: a first connecting portion for connecting with the heat exchanger since the heat sits on the drain pain (at the right side of the drain pan) a second connecting portion for connecting with the heat exchanger since the heat sits on the drain pain (at the back side of the drain pan) a water pump mounting portion for installation of a water pump since the 14 is received for installation in the drain pan. Note that the claim language is very broad and that the recitation of a water pump is an intended use.
Reasons for Allowance
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Claims 1-14 are allowable over the prior art of record. For example, Chen, Suda and Yan teach sealing plates for a heat exchanger arranged inside a casing of an indoor unit, but do not teach said sealing plates comprise a water pump mounting portion for a water pump. Claims 16-24 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.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVE S TANENBAUM whose telephone number is (313)446-6522. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 11 AM - 7 PM.
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/Steve S TANENBAUM/Examiner, Art Unit 3763