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 with respect to the prior art rejection of claim 23 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Examiner notes that Applicant is arguing about limitations added to the claim in an amendment, addressed in the new/modified grounds of rejection, necessitated by amendment, below. Applicant’s arguments filed with respect to claims 1 and 21 are found persuasive in view of the amendment. Accordingly, claims 1 and 21 and their dependents are found allowable. Please see below.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wilson et al. (US 2018/0120017: previously cited) in view of Shin et al. (US 2017/0343270: previously cited).
Regarding claim 23, Wilson et al. discloses a storehouse comprising:
a first space configured to provide a space in which goods are stored (see at least freezer/refrigerated space #22/#24);
a second space configured to provide a space in which a first heat exchanger is accommodated, the second space being fluidly connected to the first space (see at least evaporator module #120; see at least fluid connection realized via air supply vents #56);
a third space configured to provide a space in which a second heat exchanger is accommodated (see at least compressor module #100, which includes condenser #104);
a partition wall that is disposed between the first space and the second space and separates the first space from the second space (see at least wall #144 and/or #62 divide the first and second space(s));
a heat exchanger case accommodating the first heat exchanger (see at least evaporator housing #121); and
a heater provided in the heat exchanger case (see at least heater #190),
wherein the first heat exchanger includes a refrigerant pipe and a plurality of fins (inherent to evaporator #122; see at least Figure 9).
Wilson et al. does not disclose and a support plate that is provided on at least one side of the plurality of fins and forms a pipe penetration opening through which the refrigerant pipe passes, wherein the support plate includes an edge having a plurality of plate grooves, the plurality of plate grooves including a first groove where the heater is inserted and a pair of second grooves where the heater is not inserted, and wherein the first groove is formed between the pair of second grooves.
Shin et al. teaches another storehouse with first heat exchanger, wherein the first heat exchanger further includes a support plate that is provided on at least one side of the plurality of fins (see at least supporting holder #250a) and forms a pipe penetration opening (see at least pipe accommodating portions #252) through which the refrigerant pipe passes (see at least #161; paragraph [0116]), and
wherein the support plate includes an edge having a plurality of plate grooves (see at least #265/#269, the plurality of plate grooves including a first groove where the heater is inserted (see at least #265; paragraph [0112]) and a pair of second grooves where the heater is not inserted (see at least #269), and
wherein the first groove is formed between the pair of second grooves (see at least Figure 4, each #265 is flanked by a pair of #269).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the storehouse of Wilson et al. with wand a support plate that is provided on at least one side of the plurality of fins and forms a pipe penetration opening through which the refrigerant pipe passes, wherein the support plate includes an edge having a plurality of plate grooves, the plurality of plate grooves including a first groove where the heater is inserted and a pair of second grooves where the heater is not inserted, and wherein the first groove is formed between the pair of second grooves, as taught by Shin et al., to improve the storehouse of Wilson et al. by maintaining a plurality of defrost heaters and the refrigerant pipe at specified optimum distances and by allowing for easier insertion of the heater (see at least Shin et al. paragraphs [0110]-[0114]; [0141]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 3-4, 6-8, 10-11, 13-16, 18, 19, 21-22, and 24-26 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: As argued by Applicant, the prior art alone or in combination fails to teach or disclose or render obvious the arrangement of the heat exchanger with respect to the heaters and partition and case wall set forth in independent claims 1 and 21.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAVIA SULLENS whose telephone number is (571)272-3749. The examiner can normally be reached M-R 6:30-4:30 Eastern.
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/TAVIA SULLENS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763