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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/08/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: “cooled compartment 302” as discussed in at least para [0036]. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
delivery system in at least claim 1.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
Delivery system is interpreted to cover a pump as per [0038] of applicant specification; and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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 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 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gupta (US 20040055324 A1).
Regarding claim 1:
Gupta discloses a galley cooler (Fig. 2) [Note: The system of Gupta is an air conditioner, and is capable of providing cooling to a galley; thus, qualifies as a galley cooler], comprising:
a cooling system, the cooling system comprising:
a hot side #118, wherein the hot side comprises a hot-side inlet (see “AIR IN”; Fig. 2); and
a cold side #112 configured to, in response to cooling ambient air entering the cooling system on the hot side via the hot-side inlet, condense moist air into liquid water on the cold side (see at least [0029] & [0047]); and
a delivery system #114, wherein the delivery system delivers the condensed liquid water to the hot side of the cooling system to pre-cool the ambient air via evaporative cooling.
Note: the limitation “to pre-cool the ambient air via evaporative cooling” constitutes an intended use limitation that does not further limit the structure of the claimed invention. It has been held that “apparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does. Hewett-Packard Co. v. Bausch & Lomb Inc., 909 F.2d 1464, 1469, 15 USPQ2d 1525, 1528 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (emphasis in original). A claim containing a “recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus” if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1987); MPEP 2114/Il. By virtue of all the structural limitations required by the claim being present in the prior art, the prior art device can achieve this limitation.
Regarding claim 17:
The subject matter claimed here is substantially similar to that of claim 1. Thus, for sake of simplicity, conciseness, and brevity, please refer to the rejection of claim 1 above for the rejection of claim 17.
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 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gupta (US 20040055324 A1) in view of Zywiak (US 20050061012 A1).
Regarding claim 9:
The subject matter claimed here is substantially similar to that of claim 1. Thus, for sake of simplicity, conciseness, and brevity, please refer to the rejection of claim 1 above for the rejection of claim 9. Only the difference will be addressed.
Gupta does not specifically disclose wherein the cooling system is that of an aircraft comprising a galley, wherein the cooling system is configured within the galley.
Nontheless, using similar cooling systems in aircraft is known in the art. Zywiak teaches an analogous
a cooling system (Fig. 3) is that of an aircraft comprising a galley, wherein the cooling system is configured within the galley (see at least claims 1-2).
Thus, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date to have provided the apparatus of Gupta adapted in an aircraft comprising a galley, wherein the cooling system is configured within the galley; in a similar manner as taught by Zywiak.
One of ordinary skills would have recognized that doing so would have provided an efficient system with saving in energy consumption as suggested by Gupta ([0009-0010]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-8, 10-16, and 18-20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In grosso modo, in the field of aircraft galley cooling; Will (US 20220332427 A1) discloses a galley cooler (Fig. 1-2) comprising a cooling system #5, the cooling system comprising a hot side #9, wherein the hot side comprises a hot-side inlet #12; and a cold side #8. Will does not disclose wherein the cold side #8 is configured to, in response to cooling ambient air entering the cooling system on the hot side via the hot-side inlet, condense moist air into liquid water on the cold side; and a delivery system, wherein the delivery system delivers the condensed liquid water to the hot side of the cooling system to pre-cool the ambient air via evaporative cooling. Furthermore, Bhatti (US 20100058778 A1) discloses a cooler (Fig. 1) comprising a cooling system #120; the cooling system comprising a hot side #124, wherein the hot side comprises a hot-side inlet; and a cold side #122 configured to, in response to cooling ambient air entering the cooling system on the hot side via the hot-side inlet, condense moist air into liquid water on the cold side (see condense water at #160); wherein a delivery system (#160 & #142) that delivers the condensed liquid water to the cold side of the cooling system. The delivery system of Bhatti is not tailored to aircraft galley cooling, and is not configured so as to deliver the condensed liquid water to the hot side of the cooling system to pre-cool the ambient air via evaporative cooling. There is no teaching in the prior art of record that would, reasonably and absent impermissible hindsight, motivate one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of prior art of record to incorporate the features of claims 2-8, 10-16, and 18-20.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Burd (US 11502021 B2), Bhavsar (US 8516832 B2), Schmidt (US 3938352 A), Omer (US 20130061615 A1), and Dinh (US 4938035 A).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LIONEL W NOUKETCHA whose telephone number is (571)272-8438. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon - Fri: 08:00 AM - 04:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Frantz Jules can be reached on 571-272-6681. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LIONEL NOUKETCHA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763