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
Claims 14-27 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected claims, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 4/21/2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-13, 28 in the reply filed on 4/24/2019 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 7 including depending claims 8, 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 7 recites “a fifth heat exchanger”. The bolded phrase makes the claims limitations indefinite, because it is unclear whether or not, second through fourth heat exchangers are required by the claim. For the purpose of examination it is interpreted as a second heat exchanger.
Claim 7 recites “the hydrogenation reactor”. There is a lack of antecedent basis for the bolded limitation, because it has not been recited previously.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 8, 13 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. Claim 8 cannot allowable at this time because it is depending from claim 7 which is rejected under 112(b) rejection. Claims 3, 4 are only objected because they are depending from allowable claim 2. Claim 9 is only rejected because it is depending from claim 7 which is rejected under 112(b) rejection.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu (CN 114388841 A).
Claim 1: Liu discloses a heat exchange assembly for a hydrogenation device (intended use), comprising a first heat exchanger (FIG.4);
wherein, the first heat exchanger (100; paragraph [48]: integrating heat exchanger and shell into single unit) comprises a shell (annotated FIG.4; paragraph [48]: integrating heat exchanger and shell into single unit) vertically arranged and one or more spiral heat exchange tubes (paragraph [97]: channel 710 is in shape of gradually changing spiral tube) vertically disposed inside the shell (annotated FIG.4);
the shell (annotated FIG.4) has a top portion, an upper portion (annotated FIG.4), a middle portion (annotated FIG.4), a lower portion (annotated FIG.4) and a bottom portion (annotated FIG.4) on a periphery of the shell (annotated FIG.4);
the shell (annotated FIG.4) has a first shell passage inlet pipe (310) at the lower portion (annotated FIG.4) of the shell (annotated FIG.4),
a second shell passage inlet pipe (211) at the middle portion (annotated FIG.4) of the shell (annotated FIG.4) and a shell passage outlet pipe (222) on the upper portion (annotated FIG.4) of the shell (annotated FIG.4),
the first shell passage inlet pipe (310) connects to a hydrogen pipe (paragraph [89]: hydrogen discharged from outlet 712) for transporting hydrogen (intended use/functional language),
the second shell passage inlet pipe (211) connects to a raw oil pipe for transporting raw oil (intended use/functional language);
the shell (annotated FIG.4) has one or more tube passage inlet pipes (221), each of which communicates with a top of the corresponding spiral heat exchange tube (paragraph [97]: channel 710 is in shape of gradually changing spiral tube) and connects to a hot high fraction gas pipe (paragraph [116]: gases mixed ignited to form high-temperature gas, hot gas enters inlet zone 511 via 320) for transporting a hot high fraction gas output by a hot high-pressure separation tank (intended use) of the hydrogenation device (preamble); the shell (annotated FIG.4) has a tube passage outlet pipe (212) which communicates with a bottom of each spiral heat exchange tube at the bottom portion (annotated FIG.4) of the shell (annotated FIG.4).
[AltContent: textbox (bottom portion)][AltContent: textbox (upper portion)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (middle portion)][AltContent: textbox (lower portion)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (shell)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (shell)]
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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.
Claims 7, 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (CN 114388841 A).
Claim 7: Liu discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat exchange assembly further comprises
a fifth heat exchanger (It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to further modify the apparatus of Liu to provide duplications of the first heat exchanger including its components as disclosed in claim 1 in order to improve the heat conduction efficiency of the system, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a known device involves only routine skill in the art Duplication of parts: MPEP 2144.04 VI-B) comprising a fifth hot medium passage (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first hot medium passage) and a fifth cold medium passage (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first cold medium passage), an inlet end of the fifth hot medium passage connects to a product pipe (intended use) for transporting a reaction product output by the hydrogenation reactor (intended use/functional language) of the hydrogenation device (intended use), while an output end thereof connects to an input end of the hot high pressure separation tank of the hydrogenation device (intended use), and, an input end of the fifth cold medium passage (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first cold medium passage) communicates with the shell passage outlet pipe (310) of the first heat exchanger (100), while an output end thereof connects to an input end of the hydrogenation reactor (intended use).
Claim 10: Liu discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat exchange assembly further comprises a second heat exchanger (It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to further modify the apparatus of Liu to provide duplications of the first heat exchanger including its components as disclosed in claim 1 in order to improve the heat conduction efficiency of the system, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a known device involves only routine skill in the art Duplication of parts: MPEP 2144.04 VI-B) comprising a second hot medium passage (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first hot medium passage) and a second cold medium passage (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first cold medium passage), an input end (inherent) of the second hot medium passage communicates with the tube passage outlet pipe (212) of the first heat exchanger (100), and an input end (inherent) of the second cold medium passage (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first cold medium passage) connects to a cold low fraction oil pipe for transporting a cold low fraction oil (intended use/functional language).
Claim 11: Liu discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the heat exchange assembly further comprises a third heat exchanger (It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to further modify the apparatus of Liu to provide duplications of the first heat exchanger including its components as disclosed in claim 1 in order to improve the heat conduction efficiency of the system, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a known device involves only routine skill in the art Duplication of parts: MPEP 2144.04 VI-B) comprising a third hot medium passage (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first hot medium passage) and a third cold medium passage (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first cold medium passage), an input end (inherent) of the third hot medium passage communicates with an output end of the second hot medium passage (210) of the second heat exchanger (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first heat exchanger), and an input end of the third cold medium passage (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first cold medium passage) connects to a water supply pipe for transporting water (intended use/functional language).
Claim 12: Liu discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the water supply pipe is used for transporting high pressure water (intended use); the heat exchange assembly further comprises a fourth heat exchanger (It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to further modify the apparatus of Liu to provide duplications of the first heat exchanger including its components as disclosed in claim 1 in order to improve the heat conduction efficiency of the system, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a known device involves only routine skill in the art Duplication of parts: MPEP 2144.04 VI-B) comprising a fourth hot medium passage (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first hot medium passage) and a fourth cold medium passage (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first cold medium passage), an input end (inherent) of the fourth hot medium passage (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first hot medium passage) communicates with an output end of the third hot medium passage (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first hot medium passage) of the third heat exchanger (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first heat exchanger), and an input end (inherent) of the fourth cold medium passage (Duplication of parts: duplication of the first cold medium passage) is connected to a low pressure water pipe for transporting low pressure water (intended use/functional language).
Claims 5, 6, 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (CN 114388841 A), in view of Gorbulsky (US 2004/0069470 A1).
Claim 5: Liu discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first heat exchanger (100), but fails to disclose each spiral heat exchange tube of the first heat exchanger has a vertically extending spiral section and a first and a second straight tube sections, the spiral section has a top end and a bottom end, the first straight tube section communicates with the top end of the spiral section and the second straight tube section communicates with the bottom end of the spiral section ; a vertical distance between the second shell passage inlet pipe of the first heat exchanger and the bottom end of the spiral section is denoted by H1, and a vertical distance between the top end and bottom end of the spiral section is denoted by H2, where 1/4 H1:H2 1/3.
However, Gorbulsky teaches each spiral heat exchange tube (tubes 3) has a vertically extending spiral section (annotated FIG.1) and a first and a second straight tube sections (3A), the spiral section has a top end and a bottom end (top/bottom ends equivalent to right/left ends), the first straight tube section (annotated FIG.1) communicates with the top end of the spiral section (annotated FIG.1) and the second straight tube section (annotated FIG.1) communicates with the bottom end of the spiral section (annotated FIG.1); a vertical distance between the second shell passage inlet pipe (second shell passage inlet pipe disclosed by Liu) of the first heat exchanger (FIG.1) and the bottom end (left end) of the spiral section is denoted by H1 (annotated FIG.1), and a vertical distance between the top end and bottom end of the spiral section is denoted by H2 (annotated FIG.1) for the purpose of providing maximum heat transfer rate and minimizing pressure drop (paragraph [20]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify the invention of Liu to include as taught by Gorbulsky in order to provide maximum heat transfer rate and minimizing pressure drop.
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Further, concern limitations where 1/4 H1:H2 1/3. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to further modify the apparatus of Gorbulsky to optimize H1 and H2 values such as 1/4 H1:H2 1/3 as matter of design choice, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art- Optimum value: MPEP 2144.05 II-B.
Claim 6: Liu as modified discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first shell passage inlet pipe (310) of the first heat exchanger (100) locates blow the bottom end (left end) of the spiral section (channel 710 is in shape of gradually changing spiral tube), the shell passage outlet pipe (222) locates over the top end (to clarify, if drawing in FIG.4 rotated to be vertical pipes on both sides would over the top of the spital section) of the spiral section.
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Claim 28: Liu discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1 a heat exchange process using, wherein the heat exchange process (heat exchange process takes place within the heat exchanger 100) has the following steps: the hot high fraction gas with a pressure of 9 MPa to 11.5 MPa (Gorbulsky, in paragraph [24] teaches high pressure gas, except for a pressure of 9 MPa to 11.5 MPa. 20It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to further modify the apparatus of Gorbulsky to optimize ranges such that a pressure of 9 MPa to 11.5 MPa in order to enhance heat transfer rate, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only skill in the art - Optimum Range: MPEP 2144.05 II-A) and a temperature of 230°C to 250°C output from the hot high pressure separation tank (intended use) enters the spiral heat exchange tube (channel 710 is in shape of gradually changing spiral tube) of the first heat exchanger (100) through the tube passage inlet pipe (221), and the hydrogen (paragraph [88]: substance to be processed is hydrogen) with a pressure of 10 MPa to 12.5 MPa and a temperature of 70°C to 95°C (Optimum Range: for pressure and temperature of the hydrogen) and the raw oil (intended use) with a pressure of 11 MPa to 13.5 MPa and a temperature of 130°C to 165°C enter the shell (annotated FIG.4) through the first shell passage inlet pipe (310) and the second shell passage inlet pipe (211), respectively, so as to exchange heat with the hot high fraction gas in the spiral heat exchange tube (100), then a medium outputs from the shell passage outlet pipe (222) with a pressure of 9.7 MPa to 12.2 MPa (Gorbulsky teaches high pressure gas, except for a pressure of 9.7 MPa to 12.2 MPa. Optimum Range) and a temperature of 160°C to 180°C (Liu in paragraph [116] discloses high temperature gas, except for a temperature of 160°C to 180°C. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to further modify the apparatus of Liu to optimize ranges such that a temperature of 160°C to 180°C in order to enhance heat transfer rate, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only skill in the art - Optimum Range: MPEP 2144.05 II-A), and the weight percentage of the hydrogen in the medium is 6% to 12% (Liu in paragraph [88] discloses substance to be processed is hydrogen, except for a weight percentage of the hydrogen in the medium is 6% to 12%. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to further modify the apparatus of Liu to optimize ranges such that a weight percentage of the hydrogen in the medium is 6% to 12% in order to enhance heat transfer rate, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only skill in the art - Optimum Range: MPEP 2144.05 II-A).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure which is relevant to spiral heat exchanger:
Han (US 2023/0204296 A1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAMRAN TAVAKOLDAVANI whose telephone number is (313)446-6612. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:00 am to 5:00 pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Len Tran can be reached on (571) 272-1184. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/KAMRAN TAVAKOLDAVANI/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/LEN TRAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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