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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Species A in the reply filed on 11/7/2025 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement between species, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)). In the response filed 11/7/2025, the applicant elected Species A with traverse. The traversal was on the grounds that claim 1 is generic. The traversal of the generic claim is not germane to the issue of the species restriction, and thus the species election will be treated as elected without traverse. With regards to the generic claim, the applicant’s argument is persuasive and claim 1 will be treated as generic.
Claims 4 and 9-11 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/7/2025.
Status of Claims
The status of the claims as filed in the submission dated 11/7/2025 are as follows:
Claims 1-11 are pending;
Claims 4 and 9-11 are withdrawn from consideration;
Claims 1-3 and 5-8 are being examined.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked. As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Currently, no claim limitations invoke 112(f).
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.
Claims 1-3 and 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tanaka (US6360814B1, as cited in the IDS).
Re Claim 1. Tanaka teaches a boiling cooler (1) comprising:
a boiling part (2) being operable to boil a refrigerant by heat exchange with a heating element (4) (Figures 1-7; Column 4 lines 48-67, Column 5 lines 1-37, Column 6 lines 1-33); and
a condensing part (3) being operable to condense a refrigerant gas by heat exchange with an external fluid (i.e. ambient air) (Figures 1-7; Column 4 lines 48-67, Column 5 lines 1-37, Column 6 lines 1-33),
wherein the boiling part includes: an accommodation space (6) to accommodate the refrigerant; a refrigerant gas outlet (9, 7) connected to the accommodation space; a refrigerant liquid inlet (8, 7) connected to the accommodation space; a first wall (2b) to which the heating element is mounted; a second wall (2c) facing the first wall via the accommodation space and adjacent to an external passage (i.e. ambient air at the space 14); and a heat conductive portion (10) to connect the first wall to the second wall through the accommodation space (Figures 1-7; Column 4 lines 48-67, Column 5 lines 1-37, Column 6 lines 1-33);
the condensing part includes: a refrigerant passage (13) communicating with the refrigerant gas outlet and the refrigerant liquid inlet; and the external passage (space at 14) provided between the refrigerant passage and the boiling part to allow the external fluid to flow therethrough; and the condensing part is configured to: receive the refrigerant gas through the refrigerant gas outlet; and send a condensed refrigerant liquid to the refrigerant liquid inlet (Figures 1-7; Column 4 lines 48-67, Column 5 lines 1-37, Column 6 lines 1-33; The liquid refrigerant will boil in 2 and become a gas that passes through radiator 3, which will condense the refrigerant back to a liquid to complete the cycle).
Re Claim 2. Tanaka teaches the heat conductive portion (10) extends in a direction from the refrigerant liquid inlet toward the refrigerant gas outlet in the accommodation space, and includes a plurality of heat conductive portions in the accommodation space (Figures 1-7; Column 4 lines 48-67, Column 5 lines 1-37, Column 6 lines 1-33).
Re Claim 3. Tanaka teaches the heat conductive portion includes a partition wall (10 is a wall) in the accommodation space (Figures 1-7; Column 4 lines 48-67, Column 5 lines 1-37, Column 6 lines 1-33).
Re Claim 5. Tanaka teaches the heat conductive portion is provided from the refrigerant gas outlet to the refrigerant liquid inlet in the accommodation space (Figures 1-7; Column 4 lines 48-67, Column 5 lines 1-37, Column 6 lines 1-33).
Re Claim 6. Tanaka teaches the refrigerant gas outlet is located at an upper portion of the accommodation space; the refrigerant liquid inlet is located at a lower portion of the accommodation space; the refrigerant is accommodated in the accommodation space such that a liquid level of the refrigerant liquid is located at a height between the refrigerant gas outlet and the refrigerant liquid inlet in a non-operating state at room temperature with no heat input from the heating element; and the boiling cooler further comprises, on an outer surface of the first wall, a first mount located below the liquid level in the non-operating state and to which the heating element is mounted, and a second mount located above the liquid level in the non-operating state and to which the heating element is mounted (Figures 1-7; Column 4 lines 48-67, Column 5 lines 1-37, Column 6 lines 1-33; Figures 7-8 illustrates the liquid surface line varies. Additionally, the first and second mount is an abstract delineation that can be implemented on any part of the outer surface of 2b and does not require any specific structure for implementation. Thus, multiple “mounts” could be utilized as desired on surface 2b).
Re Claim 7. Tanaka teaches the refrigerant passage includes a partition plate (13 is a tube that separates the refrigerant passage from ambient) to partition the refrigerant passage from the external passage, a peripheral wall to define an outer periphery of the refrigerant passage, and a corrugated fin (14) integrated with the partition plate and the peripheral wall inside the refrigerant passage (Figures 1-7; Column 4 lines 48-67, Column 5 lines 1-37, Column 6 lines 1-33; All components are connected together and thus are interpreted as being integrated together).
Re Claim 8. Tanaka teaches the condensing part has a structure in which a flat plate-shaped first layer including the refrigerant passage and a flat plate-shaped second layer including a connection passage to allow the refrigerant passage and the boiling part to communicate with each other and the external passage are stacked; and the condensing part is stacked on the second wall of the boiling part and integrated with the boiling part (Figures 1-7; Column 4 lines 48-67, Column 5 lines 1-37, Column 6 lines 1-33; The condensing part 3 is composed of a plurality of layers 13 and 14 that are stacked together).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892 for other relevant prior art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRAVIS C RUBY whose telephone number is (571)270-5760. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9AM-5PM.
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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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/TRAVIS RUBY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763