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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 4/8/2026 has been entered.
Claim Objections
Claim 17 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“a fixing interface” in claim 17 should read –the fixing interface-- to correspond with the antecedent element in claim 12.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 12, 13 and 17-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bielli (EP 1906103 A1) in view of ‘358 (DE 3128358 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Bielli discloses a dispensing device (manifold 3, Fig. 23) for dispensing heat-transfer fluid at least one circulation orifice (holes 34) of at least one cooling plate (plates 2, Fig. 10), said dispensing device comprising:
-one heat-transfer fluid duct (channel inside the manifold 3, see Fig. 11) comprising at least:
-one dispensing orifice (holes 37) configured to be positioned facing the at least one circulation orifice of the at least one cooling plate (see Fig. 17),
-one bearing surface (an exterior side of the manifold 3 facing the plates 2) configured to be of a form complementing a portion of a surface of the at least one cooling plate (the exterior side of the manifold 3 is in a planar form complementing the surface with holes 34 of the plates 2 which is also in a planar form) which bears the at least one circulation orifice (bears the holes 34 on opposite side), the bearing surface surrounding at least a part of the dispensing orifice of the duct (the exterior side surrounds the holes 37 of the manifold 3),
-one seal (gasket 42) positioned along at least a part of the bearing surface of the duct (see Fig. 15), the seal being configured to seal the dispensing orifice of the duct with the at least one cooling plate (see Figs. 17 and 18),
a fixing means for fixing the duct to the surface of the at least one cooling plate (tabs 36 inserted between the tabs 38 of the manifold 3 and the plate 2).
Bielli fails to exilically disclose a fixing means for fixing the duct to the surface of the at least one cooling plate, and in that the fixing means comprises a structure having the form of a staple arranged to surround at least a portion of the duct at a section and configured to hold the duct against the at least one cooling plate, each of the two ends of the staple comprising a fixing interface configured to interact with at least a part of the surface of the as least one cooling plate on which the fixing of the duct is done.
‘358 discloses a fixing means (bracket 60) for fixing the duct to the surface of a flap 63 (fixing a tube 10 onto the flap 63), and in that the fixing means comprises a structure having the form of a staple (a u-shaped structure) arranged to surround at least a portion of the duct at a section (surround a bottom side of the tube 10 at a section without a bore 11) and configured to hold the duct against the flap 63 (holding a tube 10 onto the flap 63), each of the two ends (flaps 62 of the bracket 60) of the staple comprising a fixing interface (the flaps 62) configured to interact with at least a part of the surface of the flap 63 (tightening the screws 65 press both the flaps 62 of the bracket 60 and the flap 63) on which the fixing of the duct is done (see Fig. 3).
Therefore, tabs 38 of the manifold 3 may be modified to include the u-shaped structure of the bracket 60 to be provided over and around the manifold 3. When the screws (39 in Bielli or 65 in ‘358) is tightened against the tabs 38 or flaps 62 of the bracket 60 onto the plate 2, a clamping pressure is applied to greater areas around the manifold 3. As a result, it is expected that the bracket 60 provides a greater distribution of the clamping pressure onto the manifold 3.
Note that the claimed fixing means now includes tabs 36 and the bracket 60 with flaps 62 of ‘358. The resultant structure discloses a fixing means (tabs 36 and the bracket 60 with flaps 62 of ‘358) for fixing the duct to the surface of the at least one cooling plate (fixing the manifold 3 onto the plate 2), and in that the fixing means comprises a structure having the form of a staple arranged to surround at least a portion of the duct at a section and configured to hold the duct against the at least one cooling plate (the u-shaped structure of the bracket 60 surrounds a side of the manifold 3 at a section without holes 37, and holds the manifold 3 onto the plate 2), each of the two ends of the staple comprising a fixing interface (the flaps 62) configured to interact with at least a part of the surface of the as least one cooling plate (the flaps 62 joins a surface of the plate 2 with the tabs 36) on which the fixing of the duct is done (as shown in Fig. 21 of Bielli).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided disclose a fixing means for fixing the duct to the surface of the at least one cooling plate, and in that the fixing means comprises a structure having the form of a staple arranged to surround at least a portion of the duct at a section and configured to hold the duct against the at least one cooling plate, each of the two ends of the staple comprising a fixing interface configured to interact with at least a part of the surface of the as least one cooling plate on which the fixing of the duct is done in Bielli as taught by ‘358 in order to provide a greater distribution of the clamping pressure onto the manifold 3, so that improves durability of the joint or to better withstand the pressure of the fluid flowing within the plate 2.
Regarding claim 13, Bielli as modified in claim 12 further discloses wherein the bearing surface of the duct at which the seal is positioned comprises a recess capable of receiving at least a part of the seal (a recess of the surface of the manifold 3 that provide a seat for the gasket 42, see Figs. 15 and 17).
Regarding claim 17, Bielli as modified in claim 12 further discloses wherein the fixing means comprises at least one tab (the tabs 36 in Bielli) bearing the fixing interface (the flaps 62 of ‘358 in modified Bielli) positioned on each side of an axis of the duct and level with the bearing surface of the duct (the bottom surface of the tabs 36 is positioned on left and right sides of the manifold 3 and level with the exterior side of the manifold 3 facing the plate 2).
Regarding claim 18, Bielli as modified in claim 12 further discloses wherein the heat-transfer fluid duct (the channel inside the manifold 3) comprises a covering structure (the U shaped wall of the manifold 3) for covering the at least one circulation orifice of the at least one cooling plate (the wall covers the holes 34 of the plates 2), the covering structure comprising a plurality of dispensing orifices (the U shaped wall has the wall having the holes 37 at the open end of the U shaped wall).
Regarding claim 19, Bielli as modified further discloses an assembly comprising at least one dispensing device as claimed in claim 12, fixed to the at least one cooling plate (an assembly in Fig. 24 has at least one manifold 3 and/or 4 fixed to the at least one cooling plate 2).
Regarding claim 20, Bielli in claim 19 further discloses wherein the at least one cooling plate is associated with the at least one dispensing device positioned at an end of each of the circulation orifices (the manifold 3 is positioned at each exterior end of the holes 34 in the plates 2 in the assembly in Fig. 24).
Regarding claim 21, Bielli in claim 20 further discloses wherein the fixing means of the at least one dispensing device is fixed to the at least one cooling plate by welding (noted that the “welding” is product-by-process limitation, and the patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production, see MPEP 2113. “welding” does not imply a distinct structure to the fixation between the at least one dispensing device and the at least one cooling plate itself, and only bears a particular structure of a joint. Bielli as modified discloses a fastener joint between the u-shaped bracket 60 of ‘358 and the tab 36 on the plate 2).
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bielli (EP 1906103 A1) in view of ‘358 (DE 3128358 A1) as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Beamer (US Patent No. 4,917,182).
Regarding claim 14, Bielli as modified in claim 12 fails to disclose wherein at least a portion of the seal is produced in ethylene-propylene-diene monomer, in hydrogenated butadiene-acrylonitrile and/or in silicone.
Beamer discloses wherein at least a portion of the seal is produced in ethylene-propylene-diene monomer, in hydrogenated butadiene-acrylonitrile and/or in silicone (EPDM rubber in “Background of the Invention”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided wherein at least a portion of the seal is produced in ethylene-propylene-diene monomer, in hydrogenated butadiene-acrylonitrile and/or in silicone in Bielli as taught by Beamer since the hard rubber like EPDM is easier to handle.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bielli (EP 1906103 A1) in view of ‘358 (DE 3128358 A1) as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Yamamoto (US PGPub No. 2015/0233652).
Regarding claim 15, Bielli as modified in claim 12 fails to disclose in a section at the dispensing orifice (37) positioned facing a cooling plate, the duct has a "U" form comprising a portion with a substantially semi-circular arrangement open toward the dispensing orifice that is partitioned by the surface of the cooling plate.
Yamamoto discloses the duct (channel inside the tank cover 52) has a "U" form comprising a portion with a substantially semi-circular arrangement (the channel is semicircular on its upper side in Fig. 2)
Accordingly, the manifold 3 in Bielli may be modified into a shape that has a U shape. This may be done by modifying the U shape with right angle corners into the U shape with semi-circular tank cover 52 in Yamamoto.
As a result, the open side of the semi-circular U shaped channel is open toward the dispensing orifice (the open side is facing the holes 37) that is partitioned by the surface of the cooling plate (and open side is partitioned by the plate wall of the plates 2 with the holes 34).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided in a section at the dispensing orifice positioned facing a cooling plate, the duct has a "U" form comprising a portion with a substantially semi-circular arrangement open toward the dispensing orifice that is partitioned by the surface of the cooling plate in Bielli as taught by Yamamoto, since a change in form or shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art, absent any showing of unexpected results. In re Dailey et al., 149 USPQ 47.
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bielli (EP 1906103 A1) in view of ‘358 (DE 3128358 A1) as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Yoon (KR 20130032143 A).
Regarding claim 16, Bielli as modified in claim 12 further discloses in a section at a portion of the duct not bearing any dispensing orifice (at the location where the annotation “3” in Fig. 15 which is not the portion having the holes 37), the duct has an arrangement that is totally partitioned (the channel is completely partitioned from the exterior by the wall of the manifold 3).
Bielli as modified fails to disclose in a section at a portion of the duct not bearing any dispensing orifice, the duct has an arrangement that is substantially circular.
Yoon discloses in a section at a portion of the duct not bearing any dispensing orifice (channel inside the tank 100 away from the opening in plate 310), the duct has an arrangement that is substantially circular (inlet 120 is circular shown in Fig. 2).
Therefore, the channel inside the manifold 3 away from the holes 37 in Bielli may be provided with the circular inlet 120 as taught by Yoon.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided in a section at a portion of the duct not bearing any dispensing orifice, the duct has an arrangement that is substantially circular in Bielli as taught by Yoon in order to supply a fluid into the radiator of Bielli.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 12 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument (the bracket 60 placed around a rectangular tube 10 in ‘358, DE 3128358 A1).
Conclusion
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/JIANYING C ATKISSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/F.K.L/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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